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Air fryer for the boat?


nicknorman

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Air fryers, the latest kitchen must-have, apparently.

 

We have a bit of a problem in that the boat has a full size gas fan oven. It is great in many ways but it does chuck out a lot of heat, both during cooking and for quite a while afterwards when the fan continues to run blowing air between inner and outer casing to keep outer casing cool. All of which makes the kitchen area very hot even in winter, and last summer we had to avoid using the oven because it was too hot even before we lit the oven. And if it’s raining we can’t have the kitchen sliding windows open. Problem!

 

Bring on the air fryer. Yes it does use 1700w max but once up to temperature the power consumption decreases a lot (not quite sure to what, research at home ongoing). But what is noticeable is that the outside of the air fryer remains cool, it hardly gives off any heat so all the energy goes to heating the food, very little is lost to the kitchen.

 

Last night we had chicken and new potatoes done in it, chicken remained moist and potatoes were rather nice.

 

We are lucky in that we have about 6kwh of battery power but to be honest, even if it meant running the engine for power I think it would still be useful in summer weather.

 

Has anyone else tried them?

Edited by nicknorman
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Yes - we have one (or sometimes two depending on how many on board) it is a 1400w Aldi Air Fryer and is in fact now our main source of cooking.

 

We also have two at home and, again, they are our main source of cooking. At home our 'big oven' is a LPG commercial 6 ring hob and an oven big enough to get to 25lb Turkeys in. so it is a heck of a waste just doing a couple of pies and some oven chips.

 

Wouldn't be without them at home or on the boat.

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21 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Yes - we have one (or sometimes two depending on how many on board) it is a 1400w Aldi Air Fryer and is in fact now our main source of cooking.

 

We also have two at home and, again, they are our main source of cooking. At home our 'big oven' is a LPG commercial 6 ring hob and an oven big enough to get to 25lb Turkeys in. so it is a heck of a waste just doing a couple of pies and some oven chips.

 

Wouldn't be without them at home or on the boat.

No wonder the shops have sold out of air fryers - you've cornered the market!😒

 

Howard

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17 minutes ago, Chris John said:

They’ll be confined to the back of the cupboard with the bread makers, toasty machines, nutri bullets and all the other must have kitchen gadgets when the next fad comes out. 

I miss sandwich toasters on the boat, apparently they are a bit old hat but the best cheese and ham sarnies are cooked in a sandwich toaster, if I ever go back to bricks I will dig one out of someone's cupboard 

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I'm new to air fryers as I wanted to cut down on the use of my big oven, I got a Ninja foodie as it's also a pressure cooker, been OK so far 

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

I miss sandwich toasters on the boat, apparently they are a bit old hat but the best cheese and ham sarnies are cooked in a sandwich toaster, if I ever go back to bricks I will dig one out of someone's cupboard 

I still use my sarnie toaster.

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1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

Air fryers, the latest kitchen must-have, apparently.

 

We have a bit of a problem in that the boat has a full size gas fan oven. It is great in many ways but it does chuck out a lot of heat, both during cooking and for quite a while afterwards when the fan continues to run blowing air between inner and outer casing to keep outer casing cool. All of which makes the kitchen area very hot even in winter, and last summer we had to avoid using the oven because it was too hot even before we lit the oven. And if it’s raining we can’t have the kitchen sliding windows open. Problem!

 

Bring on the air fryer. Yes it does use 1700w max but once up to temperature the power consumption decreases a lot (not quite sure to what, research at home ongoing). But what is noticeable is that the outside of the air fryer remains cool, it hardly gives off any heat so all the energy goes to heating the food, very little is lost to the kitchen.

 

Last night we had chicken and new potatoes done in it, chicken remained moist and potatoes were rather nice.

 

We are lucky in that we have about 6kwh of battery power but to be honest, even if it meant running the engine for power I think it would still be useful in summer weather.

 

Has anyone else tried them?

 

We have had an air fryer for many years (but not on the boat), a Tefal Actifry and we find it's OK for what it is but the big issue with it is in the main you can only cook one part of the dish at a time. We use it in the main for cooking healthier air fried chips rather than deep fried.

 

We have toyed with getting one of the newer two drawer types that gets around this problem but they are currently like hen's teeth at the moment due to their popularity on social media channels such as FB/Tik Tok/You Tube. That is what seems to be driving the current craze for them rather than them actually being any good. Plus we are reluctant to buy another cooking appliance for the kitchen when we have two ovens, a hob and a microwave, and an old but still functioning air fryer.

 

Lots of videos seem to suggest they can be a bit of a faff and when I see videos of people cooking stuff in one and then keeping stuff warm in their main oven whilst they cook the remaining parts of the dish in the air fryer I have to ask what is the point of that?

 

If we did get one it would be use in the caravan to save on LPG and it would have to be a dual drawer type.

 

For me the jury is still out on the benefits.

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I can't help feeling a lot of the objections are the traditional "bah humbug, new-fangled technology, who needs it?" as opposed to the genuine objection of "it'll make my electrics melt"... 😉

 

Compared to other ways of cooking the same food (e.g. oven), they are quick, convenient, save a lot of energy and kick out less heat into the kitchen. We have had one at home for several years and it's used several times a week, it has never "gone out of fashion". Same with the bread machine (on the third one now?), that's been used a couple of times a week for more than 20 years now...

 

I'll have an air fryer (or maybe a Ninja combo thingy, but they're a lot bigger) on the boat for all these reasons, but then power isn't going to be a problem in my case... 😉

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Just now, buccaneer66 said:

Thinking about I had an air fryer long before they became trendy as I had one of these for years.

 

 

 

My rented place in Corby didn;t have a cooker so that thing did all.

 

Yes I reckon our Tefal Actifry Mini must be about ten our eleven years old. They have suddenly become extremely popular as they are being pushed on the back of the cost of living crisis. But to me if you are struggling to pay for your energy you are sure going to be struggling to buy something that costs anything between £100 to £ 250 (for a decent one).

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26 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

I miss sandwich toasters on the boat, apparently they are a bit old hat but the best cheese and ham sarnies are cooked in a sandwich toaster, if I ever go back to bricks I will dig one out of someone's cupboard 

You can get sandwich toasters to fit in your solid fuel stove. 

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Would recommend a Ninja Foodi multi cooker over a conventional air fryer, specifically the new style one with the smart lid. (Original ones have 2 lids making it cumbersome)

 

Air fryers are somewhat limited in terms of what they can be used for, but the Ninja Foodi multi cooker adds so much more functionality, e.g.

- Pressure cooking 

- Sear/saute

- Slow cooking

- Steam

- Bake/roast

 

And more... 

 

Personally wouldn't limit myself to an air fryer when the multi cooker can do that and more. I now never use my oven at all and the gas hob is very rarely used. Everything takes so much less time to cook with less mess and fuss. Very well constructed. Can't fault it but it did take a little getting used to.

 

It does say in the instruction manual that it's not to be used on boats but it's very sturdy so unlikely to be an issue on calm waterways. 

 

This is the one I have but I think I only paid £230 for it.
https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-11-in-1-smartlid-multi-cooker-6l-ol550uk-zidOL550UK

 

They are somewhat big/bulky and quite heavy too. Probably not ideal if you only have a small galley with limited worktop space. Also need to ensure there is sufficient room to open the lid. 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Tonka said:

You can get sandwich toasters to fit in your solid fuel stove. 

 

And by coincidence they are called a Ridgemonkey

 

Often used by caravanners and campervanners too.

 

 

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Just now, RichM said:

Would recommend a Ninja Foodi multi cooker over a conventional air fryer, specifically the new style one with the smart lid. (Original ones have 2 lids making it cumbersome)

 

Air fryers are somewhat limited in terms of what they can be used for, but the Ninja Foodi multi cooker adds so much more functionality, e.g.

- Pressure cooking 

- Sear/saute

- Slow cooking

- Steam

- Bake/roast

 

And more... 

 

Personally wouldn't limit myself to an air fryer when the multi cooker can do that and more. I now never use my oven at all and the gas hob is very rarely used. Everything takes so much less time too cook with less fuss and mess. Very well constructed. Can't fault it but it did take a little getting used to.

 

It does say in the instruction manual that it's not to be used on boats but it's very sturdy so unlikely to be an issue on calm waterways. 

 

This is the one I have but I think I only paid £230 for it.
https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-11-in-1-smartlid-multi-cooker-6l-ol550uk-zidOL550UK

 

 

 

We've got the same one, my wife loves it, I think it's a bit of a PITA just as an air fryer -- harder to get stuff in and out, *much* bigger (and more expensive). You pays yer money and you takes yer choice...

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1 hour ago, roland elsdon said:

We have never even owner a hair drier never mind an air frier. Sophistication is getting bread to rise on the mighty listers cylinder  heads, and air frying is lumps of 20/50 being hurled out of the exhaust as flaming lumps, when you wind up  flat out in a tunnel.

 

Diesel and oil flavoured bread!

Sounds delicious (to a boater)  😜

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5 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

We got the Instant vortex 5.7 litre one to try at home, which is small enough to fit in the boat’s kitchen cupboard but big enough for a meal for 2. I think! And not bad for £100

 

https://instantbrands.co.uk/shop-all-products/vortex-air-fryer/
 

That was also a Which? "Best Buy" choice, only downside is it's a bit big (32 x 33 x 43cm (W x H x D) and 5.5kg) -- but then it holds more than some others... 😉

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