Air fryers are simpler than you think, but still pretty neat

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 8 тис.

  • @JimmyDorff
    @JimmyDorff Місяць тому +11079

    One extra thing, the dedicated air fryers exhaust a lot of air while a convection oven recirculates the same air. This makes the air fryer dryer and crispier.

    • @TechnologyConnections
      @TechnologyConnections  Місяць тому +4237

      Ooohh, good point, though how precisely the intake cooling air mixes with the "hotbox" air seems hard to work out without a lot of modelling I definitely will not be doing.

    • @irreverend_
      @irreverend_ Місяць тому +410

      ​​@@TechnologyConnectionsI have an instant pot with an air frying/grilling option, and the amount of air expelled seems to be significantly less than the power of the fan. I think the main difference other than the air expulsion, is the speed at which the air is being blown around inside it (which I'm sure when I've finished watching the video I'll find you mentioned :) )

    • @mister_milkman
      @mister_milkman Місяць тому +225

      And use more energy.
      Air fryer owners who keep replying the same thing over and over, I don't care if it's just a tiny bit more energy, go eat your fries and chicken nuggets.

    • @mandrakethemadcoder
      @mandrakethemadcoder Місяць тому +118

      Still, a convection oven does have an exhaust up top to get rid of some moisture.
      I use the convection/grill-mode that uses the grill heater at the top of the oven, gives my fries that crispy feel and reduces the time needed at the same time.

    • @TheScrubmuffin69
      @TheScrubmuffin69 Місяць тому +92

      ​@mister_milkman wow good observation Einstein. Who cares? It's probably pennies a month extra.

  • @arcadely
    @arcadely Місяць тому +5495

    I'm sure somebody said this the other week but I'll say it too: I always enjoy a video where Alec discusses a box that changes the temperature, and sometimes other key attributes, of its contents.

    • @InventorZahran
      @InventorZahran Місяць тому +62

      All the box does is change the temperature. The physics-ual properties of its contents are what determine what else happens.

    • @KingTaltia
      @KingTaltia Місяць тому +172

      Man, it really is amazing how much intricacy there is in "Box that changes temperature" in the human ecosystem. Enough Alec practically runs his channel on those alone!

    • @dillis2188
      @dillis2188 Місяць тому +10

      Is this comment a euphemism?

    • @PeregrineBF
      @PeregrineBF Місяць тому +55

      @@KingTaltia Per the second law of thermodynamics, every box which does any work is a box that changes temperature!

    • @ku8721
      @ku8721 Місяць тому +19

      Reminds me of a Ryan George video: I've got a box that makes food cold and another one to make food hot!

  • @bigclivedotcom
    @bigclivedotcom Місяць тому +1331

    An air fryer is the perfect no-preheat oven for bachelor portions. I use mine all the time. Don't try degreasing the drawer with hot water and drain cleaner though - 'cos all the non stick coating comes unstuck and you end up with a shiny metal drawer instead.

    • @SonicKiwi123
      @SonicKiwi123 Місяць тому +69

      Ever since I started using air fryer liners, I've never gone back. There's a few drawbacks depending on which ones you get but as long as you always use them the basket will stay pretty clean. Best bet is to use one without holes below the false floor, and one with holes above it.

    • @jtm94
      @jtm94 Місяць тому +57

      ​@@SonicKiwi123I just don't clean mine often...

    • @KayakTN
      @KayakTN Місяць тому +62

      They're great for reheating previously-fried items. Egg rolls and french fries are fine.

    • @trioptimum9027
      @trioptimum9027 Місяць тому +32

      Real talk, though: toaster ovens do 85% of the same job. They're also GREAT for reheating a slice or two of pizza.

    • @exshenanigan2333
      @exshenanigan2333 Місяць тому +20

      ​@@SonicKiwi123 that's a lot of work for a device made for convenience. I throw the basket and the tray in the dishwasher.

  • @jennifereldridge4795
    @jennifereldridge4795 Місяць тому +186

    Please never stop. It is nice to get a peek into how these machines work when I want to be an informed buyer, as well as feeding the curious cat in me. Thank you.

    • @GRAYgauss
      @GRAYgauss 13 днів тому

      Clearly not a curious cat if you need someone to explain how these things work. Curious cats would have figured it out themselves.

    • @jennifereldridge4795
      @jennifereldridge4795 13 днів тому +2

      @GRAYgauss Never had one of these to tear apart, nor had any reason to look into these specifically. Nor am I mechanically minded as being a curious cat isn't necessarily devoted only to machines. I have lived in several countries and enjoy taking in a variety of information, whether linguistic, psychologic, historic, etc. His videos are particularly fascinating and informative to me as my mechanical/electrical knowledge is particularly low. My curiousity isn't very focused. Perhaps you could feed my curious cat by telling me why you decided to pick at a random person on the internet trying to show gratitude and interest in a video.

    • @Jago-Shogun
      @Jago-Shogun День тому

      @@GRAYgauss she doesn't want to be a fried cat who was killed by curiosity by putting a screw driver in an electric component. lmao

  • @chrislizon7483
    @chrislizon7483 Місяць тому +837

    Thank you for continuing to put in enough effort to turn your script into subtitles. Not many channels caption their videos well and It's very appreciated.

    • @theelmonk
      @theelmonk Місяць тому +39

      Google's auto titling is utterly awful except for when it's amusingly inaccurate. I even found one occurrence where it had turned youtube-friendly speech into bad language.

    • @ThylineTheGay
      @ThylineTheGay Місяць тому +27

      honestly a waste of effort writing a good script to _not_ caption it

    • @coinger1763
      @coinger1763 Місяць тому +13

      this, so this.
      i have like 5 small-ish channels that i love that put in the effort of proper captions when giant chanels just dont which is sad cuz captions are an amazing accecabuility tool and you just know that big channel has the resources to properly caption every vid but they just dont

    • @albertbozesan
      @albertbozesan Місяць тому

      I always run my video through something Whisper-based to make subtitles. It takes 5 mins max and is so much better than the UA-cam autocaptions!

    • @ThylineTheGay
      @ThylineTheGay Місяць тому

      @@albertbozesan look up the article "Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said" it's very damning towards the accuracy of whisper

  • @terryenby2304
    @terryenby2304 Місяць тому +1243

    Air fryers are SO convenient for me as a disabled person. It’s faster, I don’t have to bend down to reach an oven, I’m less likely to burn myself, and when you drop baskets they tend to keep the food inside! Plus our oven is super basic.

    • @11ofcups
      @11ofcups Місяць тому +94

      Yes!!!! Also it doesn't heat up the house as much in my experience- that's very important because my heat tolerance sucks and I live in TX

    • @jmzcolton
      @jmzcolton Місяць тому +79

      My dad had significant mobility issues, and while I'm sad he isn't around to enjoy their conveniences, I feel joy knowing you get to. Inclusiveness rules.

    • @kareningram6093
      @kareningram6093 Місяць тому +23

      Ohh, I never considered that before! That's a great point. Thank you!

    • @GoBlueGirl78
      @GoBlueGirl78 Місяць тому +21

      Same here! I have arthritis in my spine & hands & using the oven is quite difficult for me. Small, countertop appliances like the air fryer are so helpful.

    • @dh2032
      @dh2032 Місяць тому +8

      it when microwave, first came out and promo's, bleb, that they could cook anything, in excepted practise onlt ever warmed cold coffee, and defrosted frozen food, and conventual oven still ended up doing everything else, My has taken over all cooking duties, except pizzas, and that mainly and thing where its size problem?

  • @nickman8327
    @nickman8327 Місяць тому +3675

    1:34 was not expecing a "why do they call it oven when you of in the cold food of out hot eat the food" reference

    • @nowionlywantatriumph
      @nowionlywantatriumph Місяць тому +362

      I wasn’t, either, and yet, I absolutely should have been.
      Whom amongst us could forget the “Dietz nuts”?

    • @cashnelson2306
      @cashnelson2306 Місяць тому +64

      That is generally how jokes work

    • @Avendesora
      @Avendesora Місяць тому +72

      @@nowionlywantatriumph There was (is?) an actual product called Dietz Nuts. It was bite-size pieces of cured meat lmao, all I really remember is I really really really didn't like one of the spices they used in it.

    • @KeiFlox
      @KeiFlox Місяць тому +277

      I've never heard that joke/reference and it felt like I was having a stroke listening to that part.

    • @Treblaine
      @Treblaine Місяць тому +67

      A certified internet classic. Put it in the museum, boys., so we can preserve it for future generations.

  • @DangerAngelous
    @DangerAngelous Місяць тому +102

    0:12 The teleprompter: “Oh I’m sorry, it be No Effort November for just you, only you! never get a stupid break from this guy…”

  • @toast_recon
    @toast_recon Місяць тому +1872

    I used to be in the "it's just a convection oven" camp - obviously it's literally true mechanically, but the specific parameters of amount of air movement relative to cooking cavity size are important. It's like saying "A shovel is just a wide pickaxe" - literally true, they both impact and scoop and are made of a metal head and wood handle, but that width parameter is transformative.

    • @robertknight4672
      @robertknight4672 Місяць тому +17

      Are they due now have the toaster oven variety which can convection bake as well as air fry ad all the normal toaster oven functions. Like most toaster ovens you can even do conventional baking without the fan..

    • @feha92
      @feha92 Місяць тому +95

      It is not literally true mechanically. Because the air frier's mechanism is built so that it imports air from the outside, and dumps out the hot & damp air that has taken up moisture.
      But yes, the exact amount of airflow and overall aerodynamics do matter too. Like when he had a drip-tray under the basket blocking the air-flow from the fan below it.
      Also probably other factors matter too (maybe how much radiative heat is transferred from black-body radiation, and such?).

    • @Kymlaar
      @Kymlaar Місяць тому +52

      @@feha92 I like the term "imports air." I understand it may be technically correct, but I can imagine a Storybots episode where something inside of the air fryer is putting in a parcel request for some fresh imported air.

    • @RisenThe
      @RisenThe Місяць тому +35

      Calling an air fryer a convection oven is like calling a tornado "a light breeze".

    • @toast_recon
      @toast_recon Місяць тому +42

      @@feha92 that's a couple fair points. If we made a category of devices that are"box that gets hot", a regular toaster is one where radiant heat dominates, heat is very high, air movement is next to none. A conventional oven, only natural convection, convection is the dominant heating method unless you're on the top rack on broil (radiant heat definitely matters there). A convection oven, some forced air movement, it's enough to stir the chamber up significantly more, but it's a dinky fan and a big chamber, only slightly different than conventional oven. Air fryer, the thing sounds like a jet engine with its powerful fan for such a tiny chamber, it blasts with dry air from the outside.
      You could put all this in a weird 3D space, with the axes being chamber size, air flow rate, exchange rate with outside air.

  • @alexanderdiogenes8067
    @alexanderdiogenes8067 Місяць тому +2088

    Even though I'm familiar with the old meme, the "of-in of-out" bit still made me think I was having a stroke

    • @chrishill601
      @chrishill601 Місяць тому +45

      I only ever heard it from one group of streamers I watch, so hearing it here threw me, too.

    • @ChildrenOfOwls
      @ChildrenOfOwls Місяць тому +69

      Fargield

    • @2phonesbabyken
      @2phonesbabyken Місяць тому +48

      I'm just shocked he included it lmao

    • @BackwardsPancake
      @BackwardsPancake Місяць тому +127

      This is the most shockingly comprehensible delivery of this joke I think I've ever heard.

    • @Cheesus-Sliced
      @Cheesus-Sliced Місяць тому +25

      I audibly giggled when I heard of in the cold

  • @sagecolvard9644
    @sagecolvard9644 Місяць тому +122

    I have a toaster oven with a convection setting that is labeled "Turbo". This video taught me that if it was just a bit newer it would be labeled "air fry" instead.

    • @afterthought3341
      @afterthought3341 Місяць тому +8

      Love the _Turbo_ on heaters.

    • @llewelynbendtsen5190
      @llewelynbendtsen5190 28 днів тому +14

      Man, you mean in an alternate reality we have TURBO COOKERS instead? We missed out.

    • @doctorsphoenix4681
      @doctorsphoenix4681 18 днів тому +1

      Mine says both ‘turbo’ and ‘airfry’ 😁

    • @semiperfekt
      @semiperfekt 2 дні тому

      @@llewelynbendtsen5190 If it was the 80's then yes

  • @BarefootedRay
    @BarefootedRay Місяць тому +34

    Aleck, I'm a totally blind veiwer of your ytube channel and have been for some time. This airfrier video of yours is one of your best. I was gifted a Philips airfier for Christmas of 2015 and still use it today. I alsos have a Quizinart airfrier toaster oven ′the TOA60. Ouen my gums finally heal from having all my teth pulled, I can't wait tu get back to airfrying Applewood baken. Keep up the good work.

  • @fricki1997
    @fricki1997 Місяць тому +2632

    16:40 I believe there's a special place in hell reserved for the person that started the trend of putting objectively terrible touch controls into every appliance.

    • @Earth-Apple
      @Earth-Apple Місяць тому +182

      It's a cost saving feature. Touch buttons are cheaper and more robust than normal buttons. I hate it too.

    • @joshualfalken
      @joshualfalken Місяць тому +12

      yes. it's called the meijer's demo aisle

    • @klausnielsen1537
      @klausnielsen1537 Місяць тому +116

      I hope you are right! I particularly despise touch pad interfaces in rooms where my hands might be wet or greasy. Like in the kitchen or bathroom. Yuck!

    • @joeyr4018
      @joeyr4018 Місяць тому +86

      Very fun with our washing machine and dryer, both appliances where the touch controls won't work with cold or damp hands. Which practically will never happen when handling wet laundry ...

    • @zacker150
      @zacker150 Місяць тому +42

      I like touch buttons in the kitchen. It's a lot easier to clean a flat surface.

  • @aggies11
    @aggies11 Місяць тому +402

    Crispyness: one thing worth noting that may explain why air fryers became popular despite convection ovens existing for so long, is how you actually make that desirable "crispy/crunchy tasty texture".
    It's not just HEAT. It's a combo of heat and moisture. In order to get the desirable malaird reaction, you need to get it up to a pretty high temperature (up to 330F) which is well above boiling. But if there is any moisture in your food, the water will actually prevent the internal food temperature from going above boiling. The more heat energy you put in, the water will "steal" from the food and use it to evaporate.
    So in order to effectively crisp your food you need to dry it out/remove moisture. In reality it's a combo of dry it out, and provide high heat at the same time. This is the real challenge.
    As mentioned in the video, air is a poor conductor of thermal energy. There just aren't a lot of air molecules to bump into your food to give it heat. Which is why hot cooking oil works great in a traditional deep fryer. It surrounds the food with lots of hot molecules to bump into (and transfer heat). Plus since steam floats in oil, when the moisture evaporates out of the food as steam, it bubbles up to the surface and leaves. This creates convection currents in the oil, meaning the hot oil is circulating so your food is always bathed in a fresh supply of super hot oil.
    So to get air working as close to oil as possible, you don't just need a fresh supply of super heated air, you also need a way to quickly remove that moisture. The best air fryers have very intentionally designed internals to get the optimal air circulation patterns that provide fresh, hot air evenely over the food surface AND to carry away moisture and remove it from the air.
    Which explains why not all devices are created equal. HEAT + FAN is not enough to result in a good cooking experience.
    (As I've personally found, smaller units tend to perform better, as smaller areas are easier to maintain high heat and are more forgiving with airflow currents).

    • @rosiefay7283
      @rosiefay7283 Місяць тому

      But 330°F is only 166°C, so, well within the temperature range of ovens, including air fryers.

    • @calebbarnhouse496
      @calebbarnhouse496 Місяць тому +30

      ​@@rosiefay7283 yes, but ovens are much larger, so they take a lot longer to heat up even with there larger plug

    • @aggies11
      @aggies11 Місяць тому +34

      @@rosiefay7283 Great point! this is where the more close up view of the chemistry that is happening comes in handy. The basic idea is the temperature inside the oven isn't uniform. It might be 330F at the element, or 330F at the thermostat, but it could (and usually has to be) lower near the food.
      Plus, and this is the tricky part. If there is any moisture in the food, it will stay at 220F and won't go any higher, until the moisture has evaporated. This evaporation actually takes a relatively large amount of energy, so just evaporating the water will take a LOT of heat away from that 330F air. The higher the air temp the faster it will evaporate, and you need to evaporate before you can get the delicious crisp/browning.
      Also note, that if you evaporate too slow, (ie at too low a temp) then what you end up doing is drying out the food and not browning it. So it gets crunchy, but in a dessicated dried out jerky sort of way, and less that delicious crisp. (And for a french fry you want crispy on the outside and moist in the middle. If the whole thing is dried through then it'll just be a dried potato, which is way less appetizing).
      So the magic of an air fryer (why they call it "frying" at all) is that it tries to mimic what happens in a deep fryer. Convection currents of hot oil swirling around your food, heating it up and carrying away steam/moisture. But since there is no oil they have to do it with air. And air is way more diffcult/less forgiving so it's necessarily not going to work as well. (And be much more challenging to do it right).
      As a side note: look at any guide to tell you when your meat/fish/food is done, and see what internal temp you are looking for. (Eg. 150F, 160F, 170F etc). You'll notice none of them are that hot (they are all, well under boiling), even though your oven or gill might be set to 450F or higher. The temperature you cook at is NOT the same temperature your food is at. Which is the entire challenge of cooking. How to transfer enough heat into your food, to get it to the desired temperature, at the desired pace, to make it taste good. It's why sous veide cooking is also an interesting work around to this.

    • @Kennyselman
      @Kennyselman Місяць тому +17

      From a cook perspective, if you are doing baking, like bread, cookies or a cake, baking in an oven by convection ovens works better.
      If you are doing convection baking for fish, chicken, fries or veggies, an air fryer works better, weirdly.
      Why? Smaller space, more air intake, and a stronger heating element cranked to max with air moving over it does 2 main things. First, heating the food from overhead, providing direct heat. But second, it works as a heat pump, moving the hot air out, and with it, the humid air from removing moisture from the food.
      So, that makes it also...a crappy too high temp dehydrator!
      That...actually is why it works super well? Weirdly?
      As for why air fryers are actually good to a cook, and why most of us who work in the industry encourage em?
      Good for cooking for 2 people, like a small piece of salmon on a night off, and it reheats leftover fries from the local diner perfectly.
      Reheated fries in a home appliance? Worth the money, period.

    • @davidmcgill1000
      @davidmcgill1000 Місяць тому +7

      The smaller space is also easier to manage the temperature in. A normal oven pretty much has to make a guess about what temperature the food is at since all its sensors are on the exterior of the massive box full of air, but if there is less space in that box then it has a better shot at holding the temperature at where it needs to be at.

  • @OlafsLeftArm
    @OlafsLeftArm Місяць тому +558

    As an one person household, an air fryer has been a really great tool! Effective and efficient at cooking small portions. Just make sure to pick a model that is easy to clean!!! Not just the basket, but also the oven NEEDS CLEANING.

    • @leechowning2712
      @leechowning2712 Місяць тому +13

      Mine just has racks, which makes it easier to clean.

    • @Ithzzz
      @Ithzzz Місяць тому +47

      ngl this was the biggest selling point for me getting one. Its waaay easy to clean and its perfect for making small meals for one person

    • @kaydog890
      @kaydog890 Місяць тому +36

      Had mine for like 5 years and never cleaned. It's like cast iron, adds to the flavor

    • @Blackadder75
      @Blackadder75 Місяць тому +2

      I have a Philips, it's kinda hard to clean. So I picked up a 2nd one from a thrift store that looked almost new, as if it was only used maybe once. Let's see if this one is better, although I forgot which brand it is.

    • @sleeperchell9470
      @sleeperchell9470 Місяць тому +12

      I just use aluminum foil under most of my frozen food unless I want it extra crisp. It prevent any grease from reaching the container, and after you finish heating, you can just plop it out. It reduce the washing frequency to about once a month since it no longer smell

  • @metulskysrevenge
    @metulskysrevenge Місяць тому +18

    Danke!

  • @thanksfernuthin
    @thanksfernuthin Місяць тому +317

    I didn't think much of them. But I kept hearing how much people loved theirs so I bought one. One of the best appliance purchases I've ever made. I use it way more than the oven or toaster oven. Crazy handy. Sometimes... and I don't believe I'm admitting this... when everyone says something is great... it actually is!

    • @nickwallette6201
      @nickwallette6201 Місяць тому +46

      Same here. Was expecting this to be another "hot pot" or whatever the fad before it was. In reality, I've just relegated my full-size oven to an appliance I only use to make Thanksgiving turkey.

    • @gorak9000
      @gorak9000 Місяць тому +6

      They're still a fad though - everyone was talking about them a year or 2 ago, and now you hardly hear anyone mention them

    • @thanksfernuthin
      @thanksfernuthin Місяць тому +40

      @@gorak9000 I don't know who you hang out with but the fact he made a video about it kind of contradicts your point.

    • @snowstrobe
      @snowstrobe Місяць тому +25

      @@gorak9000 I just got one, mainly because people who bought them a few year ago are still using theirs and find them really useful. So it is still a thing.

    • @Roadent1241
      @Roadent1241 Місяць тому +7

      I've actually lost weight cooking my bacon and other such fatty-cooked food in these instead of a frying pan!
      Dad wasn't convinced either but he bought a semi-broken one (the timer is wonky). Needless to say we have another two waiting in the cupboard for this one to die over a year later XD

  • @arthurdurham
    @arthurdurham Місяць тому +239

    Sometimes rethinking an existing thing is just as good as creating a new thing.

    • @TheWinjin
      @TheWinjin Місяць тому +18

      Yes! One thing that has always bothered me with conventional ovens is that they're designed to be the size of a car trunk. You can bake a not-so-small child in there.
      It may be good to have the option to do that once a year, but for my everyday cooking I bake like... 300 grams of food. 1 kilogram, tops. It's a brick sized portion usually.

    • @arthurdurham
      @arthurdurham Місяць тому +9

      @TheWinjin Um, do you know that from experience?...

    • @w1nterdays
      @w1nterdays Місяць тому +4

      @@TheWinjinI have questions and I’m not sure I want to know the answers

    • @markwright3161
      @markwright3161 8 днів тому

      @@w1nterdays Maybe misunderstood someone describing being pregnant as 'bun in the oven', got bored of looking after them by age 6 and tried to return them :)

  • @MartinodePueblo
    @MartinodePueblo Місяць тому +205

    We bought an airfryer for multiple reasons. The most important ones are speed and cost of running.
    We have a full on stove oven that pulls 5kW and has to be on for 20 min before actually being warm. Then add whatever you wanted to ... 'oven' and youre at 25 maybe 30 minutes total. 2/3's of the time is just heating the oven (and kitchen... especially in summer...). Also we pay around 40-45 cents / kWh so that adds up REALLY fast.
    The airfryer is warm in 2 minutes and pulls just 1100W. I can throw some bake-off rolls in there and they will literally be done in 8 min. It takes less than 1/3 of the time of the oven while pulling almost 1/5th of the energy (also considering that once the airfryer is warm the heating element turns off).

    • @dreddwailing5505
      @dreddwailing5505 Місяць тому +10

      You can get some of your preheating energy back by turning off (or fan only setting) five or ten minutes before the end of cooking time

    • @thecon_quererarbitraryname6286
      @thecon_quererarbitraryname6286 Місяць тому +10

      Energy prices are horrendous in Germany as well, but my preferred energy efficient way of heating stuff is the microwave. 😅

    • @xtradi
      @xtradi Місяць тому

      I have both airfryer and microwave. Never bake, so I don't need oven atm

    • @Peltastes
      @Peltastes Місяць тому +3

      ​@@dreddwailing5505I agree and do that from time to time but be careful guys... I've gotten myself into situations where I forgot that the food is still in the oven at a very high temperature, even if the oven is turned off... Needless to say: burnt food.

    • @awildjack3437
      @awildjack3437 Місяць тому

      Where do you live that energy’s that expensive?!? In California it’s .32c and that’s already 3x the national average

  • @SteveVall
    @SteveVall 13 днів тому +1

    As someone who refuses to use non-stick pans with PFA filmed forever chemicals, I choose to use 'toaster oven style' air fryers. I own that same black and decker air fryer model and love it & would recommend everyone else to get something similar. Waiting an additional couple minutes instead of being infected with PFA's for life isn't even a choice for me. Those air fryers that pull out all use non-stick PFA cooking surfaces. I hope at some point you will release a video doing a deep dive on non-stick pans starting with Teflon in the 50's.

  • @lukasgayer5393
    @lukasgayer5393 Місяць тому +91

    "No effort" and still delivers one of the best technical contents around with grace, wit and lovely puns. :D This is why I love this channel.

  • @RoseArkana
    @RoseArkana Місяць тому +270

    No effort November genuinely is the best month of UA-cam, your attitude and wit make it pure gold.

    • @Nick-dw7gg
      @Nick-dw7gg Місяць тому +4

      I know I’ve been waiting eagerly for November lol

    • @Roadent1241
      @Roadent1241 Місяць тому +1

      Is this every year or started this year? I seem to have only heard of it this year.

    • @RoseArkana
      @RoseArkana Місяць тому +1

      @@Roadent1241 every year as long as i've been watching!

    • @Roadent1241
      @Roadent1241 Місяць тому

      @RoseArkana Well somehow I've completely missed it and I've been watching YT for as long as it's been out.
      I know of no nuts November so I understood that was the only thing.

    • @m4rcyonstation93
      @m4rcyonstation93 Місяць тому

      ​@@Roadent1241 its just for this channel

  • @KeiFlox
    @KeiFlox Місяць тому +2237

    0:18: The teleprompter heard you saying No Effort November.

    • @Maaar10Avali
      @Maaar10Avali Місяць тому +53

      That one had me giggling for a good minute, what a start to the month

    • @aristofeles
      @aristofeles Місяць тому +20

      I know I didnt edit the right way... but ok, november. Epic.

    • @luigigaminglp
      @luigigaminglp Місяць тому +17

      "Aight no effort it is!"

    • @amyself6678
      @amyself6678 Місяць тому +6

      thanks. deja vu.

    • @thecorruptedbit5585
      @thecorruptedbit5585 Місяць тому +10

      "WE'LL DO IT LIVE!"

  • @gunthergunthus4380
    @gunthergunthus4380 Місяць тому +4

    Jooooo, crazy congrats on 2.5 million subscribers. Last time i saw one of your Videos you ranted about percolators with not nearly as many subscribers. Love that you are still at it. Keep doing your good work.

  • @mikeebrady
    @mikeebrady Місяць тому +872

    8:32 "...with minimal effort." I thought this was No Effort November, not Minimal Effort March!

    • @Keyan9
      @Keyan9 Місяць тому +40

      Now you've done it, the next video isn't even going to have any cuts!

    • @TechTroppy
      @TechTroppy Місяць тому +11

      ​@@Keyan9 next video won't happen at all with no effort

    • @adamcetinkent
      @adamcetinkent Місяць тому +15

      Typing March is way more effort than typing May!

    • @MissRora
      @MissRora Місяць тому +9

      @@adamcetinkent Maximum Effort March and Minimal Effort May?

    • @Punchy361
      @Punchy361 Місяць тому +7

      The next video is just going to be Alec boiling water in his underwear now. I hope you're happy!

  • @quinton1661
    @quinton1661 Місяць тому +2543

    Bloopers on a No-effort November video?! This feels like it required effort...

    • @johng.1703
      @johng.1703 Місяць тому +101

      pretty sure that it doesn't take any effort to mess up your script.

    • @dojelnotmyrealname4018
      @dojelnotmyrealname4018 Місяць тому +43

      I mean he also wrote a script and set up an autocue

    • @Celia97799
      @Celia97799 Місяць тому +27

      Not if your goal is a UA-cam video. Bloopers are free watch time really

    • @DonMilchschnitte
      @DonMilchschnitte Місяць тому +7

      Those aren't bloopers, they are references to the "why do they call it oven" Garfield comic image.

    • @Jackpkmn
      @Jackpkmn Місяць тому +10

      The thing about getting good at something is that it requires less and less 'effort' to do well the better you get. This is the most obvious when you look at competitive pvp gaming, often people who do very well get called 'sweats' because it is presumed that those people sweat their asses off working super hard to execute complicated advanced strategies and complicated movement patterns. But the reality is that those players play like that completely effortlessly due to practice and experience. The same kind of thing is going on here, he's been making videos so long hes got so much experience with the process that it would be more effort to cut more of the corners on it than it would be to simply go with whatever the regular process is for the most part.

  • @demetreasandrews
    @demetreasandrews Місяць тому +308

    The biggest selling point for an air fyer for me is that I don't have to heat up my entire apartment every time I want to cook something. I live in south Texas and it gets well in the 100s. Using the air fryer helps tremendously to keep my place cool with out the need to constantly use my A/C

    • @strayiggytv
      @strayiggytv Місяць тому +14

      I'm also in Texas and came here to say this. Useing an oven while my window unit strains to keep the house cool as is is a fools errand.

    • @james.lambert
      @james.lambert Місяць тому +28

      I knew there was some way to link this to heat pumps

    • @robertoXCX
      @robertoXCX Місяць тому +21

      Another thing you could do with an air fryer is grab an extension cord and if you have a balcony, cook your stuff outside. No excess heat in the apartment!

    • @BastetFurry
      @BastetFurry Місяць тому +21

      Not only that, the air fryer uses significantly less energy for those handful of fries. No clue what you pay in the Freedom Nation but over here in Germany i pay 39 Eurocents, exchange says thats roughly 42 Dollarcents, per kilowatthour. With prices like that every watt counts.

    • @totoroben
      @totoroben Місяць тому +6

      Another plus: you can bring corded cooking appliances outside so they don't heat up your house at all. Also grilling.

  • @PipeManPeep
    @PipeManPeep Місяць тому +3

    We have a Tefal ActiFry with the stirrer. Unlike an oven, you can use a little oil, which makes foods better. We thought it would be a fad that we'd use once, then leave in a cupboard for years. We use it almost daily. We're on our second one now. Never look back.

  • @cwaldrip
    @cwaldrip Місяць тому +367

    “Room where it happened” with the HAMILTON-Beach toaster oven. Bravo…

    • @Adam_42_01
      @Adam_42_01 Місяць тому +39

      I was like “people use that expression, it’s probably not a reference to the song” but your comment convinced me that it almost definitely is.

    • @dojelnotmyrealname4018
      @dojelnotmyrealname4018 Місяць тому +28

      @@Adam_42_01 It's Alec. I don't know if you remember latent image of vaporization, but I do. He pulls stuff like this.

    • @JesusVillanueva
      @JesusVillanueva Місяць тому +16

      Well spotted, I only caught the Hamilton (Musical) reference buy failed to notice the toaster oven was also Hamilton.

    • @MereMeerkat
      @MereMeerkat Місяць тому +6

      🎵Casio-keyboard-trumpet jazz🎵

    • @kkkender
      @kkkender Місяць тому +5

      I had a "no way he did that" moment 😂

  • @mjafar
    @mjafar Місяць тому +116

    I also like how the handle and basket design makes it super easy to toss the food halfway through the cooking to get even cooking all around

    • @Kehk-in-a-MiG
      @Kehk-in-a-MiG Місяць тому +2

      I've honestly never seen one with a handle. All the ones I have seen resemble little ovens, not toaster ovens or air purifiers.

    • @Leffrey
      @Leffrey Місяць тому +10

      When you said “toss the food” I wasn’t picturing it being flipped over.
      Just a charred nugget flung into the bin

    • @mzaite
      @mzaite Місяць тому +2

      @@Kehk-in-a-MiG Skip em. They're trying to be too many things at once. I got a bucket and my mother got a more expensive Toaster Oven +, mine is quicker crispier and easier to clean.

    • @mzaite
      @mzaite Місяць тому +1

      @@Leffrey That happens too. There's a learning curve in the first few weeks....

    • @Kehk-in-a-MiG
      @Kehk-in-a-MiG Місяць тому +2

      @@mzaite Mine does not toast, just air fry and rotisserie, but it does do both excellently. The front door comes off completely for easy cleaning. I think it is called Instant Vortex or something like that.

  • @petervansan1054
    @petervansan1054 Місяць тому +1529

    Please! Do bread machines!

    • @strayiggytv
      @strayiggytv Місяць тому +61

      Yes!! And make sure it's a zojirushi because otherwise why even bother!

    • @petervansan1054
      @petervansan1054 Місяць тому +12

      @@strayiggytv he could compare different models

    • @arnoldkotlyarevsky383
      @arnoldkotlyarevsky383 Місяць тому +30

      I dont get the appeal of a device which can only really make one shape of bread. Sure you can put in different mixtures to make different breads, but learning to bake is worthwhile and you get better results.

    • @MaxAndHisBike
      @MaxAndHisBike Місяць тому +32

      @@strayiggytv My $45 Breadmaker consists of a bucket, a heating element and a turning thingy to knead the dough, from what I've seen the more expensive breadmakers don't really add anything. I mean sure everything is a bit nicer, but I suspect it's like with air fryers, and spending more doesn't really get you a whole lot more. After all the cheapest breadmaker I could find on amazon at the time bakes really good bread, rivaling what I can get from bakeries in my area (depending on my recipe ofc)

    • @abelsullivan2712
      @abelsullivan2712 Місяць тому +44

      @@arnoldkotlyarevsky383 baking is awesome but most people buy a regular loaf of bread like once a week and being able to just throw some flower, water, salt, and sugar in a machine and have it produce that loaf of bread every week but taste better for a cheaper price appeals a lot to me. I don't have a bread machine thats just my 2 cents

  • @KMO325
    @KMO325 Місяць тому +1

    I have to say, of all the kitchen fads to come out in the last 10 years, “air fryers” are the best. My air fryer is one of the cheaper models and works perfectly. Food is going to be on the crispy side, but does not dry-out meat like a microwave and can cook frozen foods about as good as a conventional oven.

  • @Bradimus1
    @Bradimus1 Місяць тому +255

    Air speed is definitely relevant. I worked in a cooled meat product factory for years i. Production and R&D. There is a convection oven, and there is an impingement oven. Convection moves some of that cold air, impingement ovens pretty well obliterate it. We used that and live steam to get the intended looks texture and cook as efficiently as we could as quickly as we could, retaining as much weight as we could. 1% of a million lbs of product is pretty important.

    • @MoonBunnyLovers
      @MoonBunnyLovers Місяць тому +23

      I love how you can find literally all sorts of people on UA-cam. Thanks for the cool comment!

    • @chemmerling
      @chemmerling Місяць тому +24

      I am so glad someone else mentioned impingement! I cleaned ovens for a national pizza chain. Impingement ovens are awesome. We could cook an entire large pizza in 6 minutes from raw. All that's used is hot air. We also cooked all sorts of things. Raw chicken spread out on a tray cooked in about 8 minutes. With my first air fryer I instantly saw the same tech, just not as direct.

    • @Bradimus1
      @Bradimus1 Місяць тому +12

      @@chemmerling yeah, millions of pounds of product at the place I worked. Various sausage, beef crumbles, meatballs mostly and mostly to go to pizza chains you've heard of. It's fine to work with giant equipment and see the cure little 10 hp grinder at a butcher shop that's similar to the small one I used in the R&D lab.

    • @bsadewitz
      @bsadewitz Місяць тому +10

      @@Bradimus1 ok so whenever a professional leaves a comment like yours on a video I end up falling down a rabbit hole because I start googling and ...
      so now I am wondering if a spiral oven is a type of impingement oven or not. I can hardly cook and here I am unable to let this go haha
      It seems like it is because the one I am looking at blasts the food with hot air along its journey.

    • @Bradimus1
      @Bradimus1 Місяць тому +18

      @bsadewitz there are lots of types of industrial cooking methods. Most impingement ovens I've seen are a tunnel, not a spiral. It not the path the food takes that makes it an impingement ovens, it's the fast, high volume of hot air being directed at the food that's completely removing the boundary layer of cold air.
      I'd liken it to 1.5 gallons per minute from a kitchen faucet, vs 1.5 gallons per minute from a 1200 psi pressure washer. It just going to be able to bring the temp of the food up much faster and brown much better.

  • @ZenIsFluffy
    @ZenIsFluffy Місяць тому +188

    Ive been largely critical over air fryers as well. But. As someone who doesnt have a convection oven and hates heating up the whole oven in the summer. Maybe i should consider one. Pleasantly suprised to hear your conclusion as well!

    • @lukerinderknecht2982
      @lukerinderknecht2982 Місяць тому +36

      Honestly, it's the #1 used small appliance in our house. Very handy.

    • @KoreyThatcher
      @KoreyThatcher Місяць тому +19

      I love mine! It’s like a microwave that makes better food

    • @TheBollockz
      @TheBollockz Місяць тому +5

      I was very critical over them as well. I recently got one (cosori), and I am totally converted.

    • @gregdubya1993
      @gregdubya1993 Місяць тому +9

      Our has become as used as our toaster. It has joined the ranks of toaster and coffee maker by getting to stay on the counter at all times.

    • @swedneck
      @swedneck Місяць тому +6

      i was also a bit sceptical of them until i got one, then i started going from "well this is fine actually" to "oh this is neat" and now i genuinely think it's something most regular people should have.
      It's like how you can definitely make coffee without a drip brewer, but they're just so monstrously convenient and cheap enough that the only things that should really put you off having one is: knowing that you'd never really use it (yeah right), or simply not having the space for one (they are annoyingly big).

  • @Hoocho
    @Hoocho Місяць тому +161

    As a human:
    Mate. I watch every video even if the tech is not interesting to me (which is rare) because I know the *connections* you make to other tech and the dry whit will make it worth a solid watch.
    As a fellow video editor: I just love how you structure it all.
    As a fellow obsessive human: I love watching your obsessions morph from one topic to another.
    And as a fellow UA-camr…
    I just love it all.
    Big ups and keep doing you.
    😂

    • @michami135
      @michami135 Місяць тому +4

      I feel the same way. Dishwasher video? Boring. Oh wait, it's by Technology Connections? Add to my watch list. It'll be good.
      BTW, my wife has a cheap air fryer and she loves it. She puts fries, tots, or other sides in there to cook while she's using the oven and stove for the main dish.

    • @RobSpeaking
      @RobSpeaking Місяць тому +2

      @@michami135that dishwasher video has been used to explain stuff to people so many times. LOVED it.

  • @scottyoung7414
    @scottyoung7414 Місяць тому +7

    I literally bought this same cheap air fryer a few weeks ago. The timing for frozen fries and chicken nuggets makes it worth it.

    • @Kirito_2016
      @Kirito_2016 29 днів тому

      Crispy chicken nuggets are 90% what I use for my air frier. Even if I didn't eat chicken nuggets, it'd still be worth.

  • @TillyOrifice
    @TillyOrifice Місяць тому +157

    We were surprised when our ultra cheap air fryer turned out to be so useful that it almost replaced the main oven. In fact we remain very pleased with it, even after the numbers around the on-off/timer knob wore off, and later the knob itself fell off. It's now almost a year old and looks much older-well made they ain't. But it still gets used several times a day.

    • @stevef4010
      @stevef4010 Місяць тому +5

      OMG yes. the numbers come off so fast and easily. Design overlook

    • @Imperial_Squid
      @Imperial_Squid Місяць тому +17

      My mum ended up in the same situation with an air fryer replacing the oven. In fact, since she lives in a small flat with very little space, the oven just acts like a really weird cupboard at this point lmao

    • @no.no.4680
      @no.no.4680 Місяць тому +4

      Keep an eye out for Black Friday deals. Mine was 50 bucks a few years ago and there are no numbers to scratch off and dials to wear out. Still looks pretty new.

    • @seraphina985
      @seraphina985 Місяць тому +2

      @@Imperial_Squid I am similar especially with the fact I live in a one person household, I at this point only use the main oven if I am cooking something that physically wont fit in the basket like a pizza or something. That said I pretty much have always recognised the air fryer is similar to an individual sized fan assisted oven, some items you need to tweak it a bit especially for me as I had an ancient second hand regular oven I used for that stuff before. But it did not take me that long to instinctively figure out the adjustments to make on the fan assisted oven instructions on the packet to make it just work first time, and only a little bit longer before I was back to not even really need to look at those at all unless it was something really unusual for me to be cooking. They are really great for conveniently cooking reasonable quantities of food for one or two people at a time which is ideal for a lot of household aka the vast majority of adults that do not have children or who's children have moved on to their independent lives.

    • @Barteks2x
      @Barteks2x Місяць тому +4

      @@stevef4010 Not a "design overlook", it's just cheaper, they know perfectly well it's going to come off, but *you* don't until you buy it and it does

  • @Trueno1600
    @Trueno1600 Місяць тому +27

    Technology Connections.... Making me interested in things I have no interest in for many years!!!! This guy really earned his success and mastered his art, as I can't let any of his videos pass without watching, whatever the subject! Keep it up!

  • @whisperpone
    @whisperpone Місяць тому +25

    1:45 of out hot eat the food
    this meme has been living in my head rent free for years, thank you!

  • @BanFrenchRoast
    @BanFrenchRoast 23 дні тому +2

    Thanks!

  • @biglol4ever
    @biglol4ever Місяць тому +34

    I did not expect this video to be positive on Air Fryers but you are one of the few people I trust to actually closely look at the pros and cons of such devices ^^
    I own a smaller full oven and it does "air frying" better than any full sized- or Toaster- oven I've used

  • @Drew-Dastardly
    @Drew-Dastardly Місяць тому +47

    I totally agree on using the cheapest least fancy "air fryer" without all the fancy touch buttons and flashy lights. None of those buttons do anything other than change the instant setting of temperature and cooking time which you inevitably have to then change anyway as any cook knows.

    • @hughjazz5608
      @hughjazz5608 Місяць тому +2

      Agreed, though the best middle ground for me is one with knob controls and screen to show its temp and time

    • @Flamekebab
      @Flamekebab Місяць тому

      I'm rather fond of my air fryer's built-in reminder chime. Set it to "fries" and it'll prompt every five minutes that the fries need shoogling. Stops me from forgetting whilst I'm cooking other things in the background.

    • @Drew-Dastardly
      @Drew-Dastardly Місяць тому

      @@Flamekebab Quick cooking like under 20 minutes I'm just in the Kitchen anyway watching TikTok on my mobile to pass the time away. I do not need shoogling beeps and loads of buttons to distract me from that. The only other time I use TikTok is when sitting on the bog.

    • @Flamekebab
      @Flamekebab Місяць тому +1

      @Drew-Dastardly I was meaning that I'm using the air fryer for one component of the meal but I'm busy cooking other things using other means (usually a hob). I tend to min/max my cooking pretty hard so that I don't get bored!

  • @PierreAlainMaire
    @PierreAlainMaire Місяць тому +59

    I treat mine as a german appliance and salute it with "Guten Tag, Herr Fryer" . I love my ActiFry, slightly different functioning (with a rotating mixing arm). Thanks for the nice video !

    • @Jakuzziful
      @Jakuzziful Місяць тому +4

      Wow never saw one with a stir function. Ja then I guess he isn't german but austrian and from steyr.

    • @PierreAlainMaire
      @PierreAlainMaire Місяць тому

      @@Jakuzziful 😄👍🏻

    • @BaddDukk
      @BaddDukk Місяць тому +1

      Interesting. We hated our ActiFry as it never seemed to do a good job, but quite like our Ninja dual basket air fryer.

    • @reeflab2221
      @reeflab2221 Місяць тому +1

      Same for my bmw and sennheiser headphones

    • @wolfgarward9285
      @wolfgarward9285 Місяць тому +1

      @@BaddDukk Same here, ActiFry just managed to either dry everything way too much or turn it into a mush and cleaning was such a pain. Only thing it was actually good at was roasting nuts and seeds and because I could do few big batches and have enough for months the cleanup wasn't that much issue then but using it daily? Nope. My bad experience with ActiFry was why it took me so long to buy another one until I tried out basket type at my friend's and oh what a difference. Cleanup, convenience and results that cannot be compared with ActiFry.

  • @simplexicated
    @simplexicated Місяць тому +3

    Thanks

  • @daniagatha
    @daniagatha Місяць тому +28

    Here in Brazil Air Fryers are used so much because convection ovens are not common. So when Air Fryers were launched here it was/is a blast.

  • @tyson145
    @tyson145 Місяць тому +167

    My air fryer was a game changer. As a single guy I did despise having to preheat my oven to cook a single chicken breast, chicken wings, fries, etc etc.
    Then the air fryer came into my life, and it became "put it in, hit the preset, walk away"
    I still get what he's saying, but damn they are handy for single people!

    • @bordersw1239
      @bordersw1239 Місяць тому +11

      Family of 4 - 6 our airfryer is used for 90% of cooking. Main oven only for pizza, baking multiple cakes , large casseroles or roast dinners .

    • @Roof_Pizza
      @Roof_Pizza Місяць тому +6

      I got tired of my small deep fryer and ordered an air fryer which arrived just today. Waaay better than I expected and the cost of oil is gonna pay for the fryer in no time.

    • @padawanofconfusion5954
      @padawanofconfusion5954 Місяць тому +1

      Same! I also use it to toast frozen bagels/buns for breakfast. Really fast and keeping bready things frozen helps prevent me being sad about throwing out moldy breadstuffs. So convenient

    • @AlyssaNguyen
      @AlyssaNguyen Місяць тому +3

      As a single person, I really wish replicators existed.

    • @OliverCooksey
      @OliverCooksey Місяць тому +2

      Agree 100%. I have been in my house for over 2 years and only used the over 1 time to make some biscuits for Christmas. My airfryer is a larger one with 3 shelves or a rotating basket (great for chips). I use it for everything from cooking chips, pies, chicken etc. it's also a great tool to have when reheating pastry and other food that a microwave turns soggy. Simply heat the food back up in the microwave and stick it in the air fryer for a few minutes to crisp it back up!

  • @stendemen1995
    @stendemen1995 Місяць тому +25

    I had the exact same reaction when we were thinking to add one to the house - it's just a convection oven! We have a convection oven! So I tried using it... And it's just not the same. It's as you say - it's fast, gets great results fast, and you don't have to faff with a big oven and all its trays, preheating etc.

  • @Chestnut442
    @Chestnut442 Місяць тому

    You have absolutely the BEST channel for this category as far as I am concerned. This was another great, logical and balanced review (and I love your out-takes). Keep up the excellent job!

  • @allenwiddows7631
    @allenwiddows7631 Місяць тому +37

    This demonstrates the value of certain “unitaskers,” which do just one thing and they do it well. Multitaskers, such as a toaster oven combo, may be a jack of all trades, but definitely as master of maybe one or two, if any. I have one of those toaster oven/air fryer/convection oven combos and on most modes, it does a fairly decent job-however, it really stinks at making toast. Some of these devices actually border on a class of device that Alton Brown termed “doppletaskers”-devices that really suck at what they were designed to do, but excel at tasks that they weren’t designed to do. Blade coffee grinders come to mind-lousy at coffee, but great at grinding spices. I notice these days that even the manufacturers are starting to recognize this by inserting the words “and spice” between the words “coffee” and “grinder.”

  • @manuel0578
    @manuel0578 Місяць тому +156

    I like that you can buy small ovens now because it’s a huge waste of energy to heat a huge volume of air for my frozen pizza

    • @mark9294
      @mark9294 Місяць тому +3

      Absolutely.

    • @Armbrust210
      @Armbrust210 Місяць тому +5

      I feel the same, but you do really have to use it lots to make up for the energy it's production ate up

    • @dogsbecute
      @dogsbecute Місяць тому +7

      @@Armbrust210 the energy used to make an air fryer is orders of magnitude lower than the energy used to produce a standard oven thats only used to heat up a frozen pizza lol thats a hellofa lot more manageable .

    • @jamesharding3459
      @jamesharding3459 Місяць тому +4

      The thermal mass of air is so low that a normal-sized pizza entering the oven a single degree warmer or colder would involve several orders of magnitude more energy transfer than warming the ~1 cubic meter of air.

    • @rizizum
      @rizizum Місяць тому +3

      @@jamesharding3459 There heat isn't gonna stay in the air only though, it's gonna go through all the over and escape it, and mos tof it won't even go to the pizza

  • @bananadime
    @bananadime Місяць тому +22

    Excellent video 👍 as a poor college student living in a crappy studio apartment, I love hearing your technical yet practical breakdowns on fads such as these that are very applicable to my everyday life; ie: the swamp cooler video, the recent mini fridge video, the 'too much laundry detergent video', and so many more I can't recall. Your videos are truly a life changer for me, keep it up, friend.

    • @mzaite
      @mzaite Місяць тому +1

      An air fryer and an electric kettle is all you need in a dorm. (usually there are communal microwaves) totally changes the game over banned hotplate and a toaster oven.

    • @bananadime
      @bananadime Місяць тому +3

      @@mzaite amen brother, the hotplate ban makes my life sooo much harder, thank God for air fryers

  • @88Seamole
    @88Seamole 29 днів тому

    Thanks man. I was asking around about air fryers because they seem to be 'the thing' these days and someone just sent me this vid with caption 'you should watch that'. That person was 100% correct, it was a joy to watch, you're a wonderful tester, I love the energy and I fell like I've learned something today. Thank you!

    • @88Seamole
      @88Seamole 29 днів тому

      Oh, one more thing, really shows how down to earth someone is to just causally go 180° cause there was new data / experience that made one believe something completely unexpected is correct. Kudos for that!

  • @blythy87
    @blythy87 Місяць тому +53

    I knew exactly what I'd be getting when I started the video, and I am not disappointed at all at the levels of air fryer snark.

  • @ZaphodHarkonnen
    @ZaphodHarkonnen Місяць тому +37

    Down here in NZ we’d call a fanless oven mode a convective oven and the fan mode ‘fan forced’. You’ll generally find the instructions on packaging specifically note convective and fan-forced with different instructions. Usually a drop in temp by about 20C and smidge shorter cook time. Fan-forced also tends to share the instructions with air fryer.

    • @GeneCash
      @GeneCash Місяць тому

      Huh. In the US I've never seen an oven without a fan that comes on all the time.

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Місяць тому +3

      ​@@GeneCash that's funny, I'm the opposite and I can't remember the last time I've seen a convection oven. My oven, friends, family, are all standard... Even the more modern flat top ones.

    • @lsixty30
      @lsixty30 Місяць тому +18

      Yeah that makes more sense than calling a fan oven convection. Convection happens WITHOUT a fan, it’s just the way hot air moves in an oven. Really weird to call a fan oven a convection oven.

    • @badwolf9090
      @badwolf9090 Місяць тому +4

      Here in the UK we have a standard oven or "fan assisted oven" mode. I've seen plenty of non-fan assisted ovens.

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Місяць тому +4

      @lsixty30 that has always confused me too, because convection is natural... Forcing air with a fan isn't the definition of convection!

  • @kali_muon
    @kali_muon Місяць тому +229

    thank you so much for always including captions, even on the no effort videos. it's such a big help. 💜

    • @bewilderbeestie
      @bewilderbeestie Місяць тому +11

      It's really easy to do. In Davinci Resolve, I can just press the 'add subtitles' button and it'll use pretty decent (better than UA-cam's) voice recognition to process the video and then just add them. It makes editing easier, too, when you can do text searching to find specific lines.

    • @WackoMcGoose
      @WackoMcGoose Місяць тому +4

      @@bewilderbeestie ...Well _s(peppino taunt noise),_ and here I've been _manually transcribing_ for baked-in subtitles in my dashcam videos this whole time...

    • @ThylineTheGay
      @ThylineTheGay Місяць тому

      @@bewilderbeestie or if you have a script, you can just adapt the script

    • @bewilderbeestie
      @bewilderbeestie Місяць тому +1

      @@ThylineTheGay I'm not organised enough to have a script!

  • @Emptiness_Machine_2001
    @Emptiness_Machine_2001 29 днів тому +1

    We have a Delonghi Airfryer for like 10 years now. It's round, has a rotating arm in the middle that you can remove or use to flip and rotate your fries, it also has a bottom heating element under the non stick.... Really deep "pan" and the small heating element with the fan that goes louder and louder the older the thing gets.
    Imo it's the best design, cause it will cook everything really evenly, you don't need to shake anything etc and if you turn on bottom heat and set the top air fry heat to low, you can make certain frozen dinners that normally require a pan in there, without a need to get up and stir anything, it can be turned into a self stirring pan for lazy people.
    At work (i work with kids that to various reasons can't live with their parents) we have a cheap modern Airfryer like in the video, and the thing actually heats up faster
    My old delonghi is quite slow i have to admit, but they still offer this design with more wattage so go buy this i guess.
    The one st my job is fine, especially for how cheap it was, but the coating kinda sucks, it's not stick but everything.... Sticks. And it doesn't really cook evenly even if you shake the basket around multiple times.

  • @frankmalenfant2828
    @frankmalenfant2828 Місяць тому +9

    I still have the same toaster oven on my kitchen counter since I moved from my parents house 18 years ago. And I still use it every morning for breakfast. I love things that don't break after 5-10 years.

  • @jteitel
    @jteitel Місяць тому +387

    I would like to think that designing a toaster-oven that can also air-fry is not insurmountable. But testing dozens of toaster-ovens is beyond the scope of this channel.

    • @JeremyT923
      @JeremyT923 Місяць тому +48

      Indeed, especially during No Effort November.

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Місяць тому +19

      I have a (Cuisinart?) toaster oven that has a convection oven fan.
      It works good to bake chicken faster than standard

    • @Sb129
      @Sb129 Місяць тому +39

      We should suggest it to Project Farm then

    • @jteitel
      @jteitel Місяць тому +6

      I have a Breville toaster oven that has a convection mode. When I tried to use it for "air frying" fries it didn't do a very good job but I don't have one of those special baskets. I may get on and try again

    • @wingsounds13
      @wingsounds13 Місяць тому +4

      @Sb129, that is a great idea and I bet that he would do a bang-up job of it. Now I'm curious about what kind of tests and metrics he would devise.

  • @parrotheadlasvegas
    @parrotheadlasvegas Місяць тому +15

    I think the idea was that you could spray a light layer of oil or fat onto the food and the air would bring the heat therefore frying with the smallest amount of fat possible instead of deep frying. I think the name air fryer was to differentiate these from deep frying immersion fryers.
    I've had the simple kind but I love my 2 basket complicated version for being able to do 2 things at once with different settings.
    Air fryers also excel at reheating fried foods and pizza. I like my refrigerated cold pizza the next morning but to each his own. Frozen pizza can be cooked by the slice well and quickly in an air fryer too!
    If the basket is big enough you can do a whole bird (especially Cornish Game Hens) and bake refrigerated roll dough or cupcakes/brownies.
    Thanks for another great video!

    • @cheezitz6730
      @cheezitz6730 Місяць тому +4

      i remember seeing an as-seen-on TV ad for one of the first air fryers and they had a little tray you filled with oil

    • @UNSCPILOT
      @UNSCPILOT Місяць тому +1

      @@cheezitz6730 Kinda seems funny, especially having used my Air fryer so much, unless we're doing fries from scratch nothing really needs any oil and it's best directly applied so that little tray would probably be pointless, if not an extra mess not worth the trouble to use

    • @justinsayin3979
      @justinsayin3979 Місяць тому +1

      _I think the idea was..._ that consumers are stupid enough to buy a toaster oven for $200 if we tell them that baking is actually frying only healthier.
      But for $50, they're not bad appliances.

  • @nextlayersecurity
    @nextlayersecurity Місяць тому +5

    Breville Airfryer Pro convection airfryer is the Cadillac and it's wonderful. Our most used kitchen appliance for past five years. Multiple times per day .... Recommended 🎉

  • @WanJae42
    @WanJae42 Місяць тому +232

    Heck yes. I was wondering how my air fryer might affect my heat pump efficiency. Now, I'll bet imma find out ...

    • @wasd____
      @wasd____ Місяць тому +50

      Pro-tip: air fry outside, right under your heat pump's intake. Then you can pump some of that waste heat back into your house and turn it into house heat! 😃
      ...Or just air fry inside and all of the waste heat stays in and warms up your house, I guess, but then you don't get to cook outside...

    • @SentientTeapot2444
      @SentientTeapot2444 Місяць тому +22

      I haven't had to turn on my heat yet because my GPU makes my room nice and toasty before bed. Maybe an air frier can do the same for my living room!

    • @JimmyDorff
      @JimmyDorff Місяць тому +1

      @@wasd____ I think I'll try this! I almost exclusively use my air fryer outdoors, because it smells up the house with the aroma of whatever is cooking.

    • @gordon8657
      @gordon8657 Місяць тому

      ​@@SentientTeapot2444might as well just get an electric heater. Cause it's gonna be the exact same efficiency

    • @jonatanrullman
      @jonatanrullman Місяць тому

      Well gee golly wiz. Let me tell you that no air fryer is complete without taking advantage of the latent heat of vaporisation.

  • @SigiMario
    @SigiMario Місяць тому +50

    I love this channel. There's nothing else to say, really. I just love that I can get content like this.

  • @ozmo7771
    @ozmo7771 Місяць тому +13

    The bit at the beginning got me curious about my apartment's crappy oven, so I open it up and lo and behold, no fan! No wonder it's so much slower to cook than any other oven I've used. This channel has taught me so much about my kitchen appliances it's a little crazy.

    • @nickwallette6201
      @nickwallette6201 Місяць тому +3

      I don't think I've ever had an oven with a fan. But then, given ovens tend to last a while, I don't think I've had one made before the new millennium either.

    • @gorak9000
      @gorak9000 Місяць тому +1

      I think convection ovens became a "thing" after 2000 or so, and probably only the "high end" ones at that point - no typical home gamer ovens had convection before that

    • @chrish931
      @chrish931 Місяць тому

      Only very high end home ovens have convection fans and even then its rare, thats why oven stove combos are on 220 volt outlets, they heat with pure electrical power and insulation. Most large convection ovens are industrial, the ones you find at home are large toaster oven sized. Your apartments crappy oven is slow because the element is probably half dead and its poorly insulated.

    • @frodolon
      @frodolon Місяць тому

      @@chrish931 At least for Germany what you’re saying is wrong. Even my student accommodation has a crappy underpowered convection oven with 5 modes (convection, heat, grill, light, off).

  • @shawnpitman876
    @shawnpitman876 Місяць тому +1

    Counter argument: the Hamilton Beach air fryer is the best air fryer because it's more easily mounted to the underside of a cupboard than the other airfryers.
    Plus those cheap airfryers that you're touting have PFOS, PFOA, BPA, and PTFE "teflon", which is dangerous when exposed to higher heats(like when you're air frying) because it breaks down.

  • @shanebarnes4622
    @shanebarnes4622 Місяць тому +41

    My Mom worked in big commercial kitchens for years and was already a believer in "convention cooking" and was skeptical like you of these devices. She got one and now loves it!

  • @wvdh
    @wvdh Місяць тому +8

    I think the big difference between a "regular" convection oven and an air fryer is the fact that it combines the heating element for direct radiative heating, (like a toaster oven/overhead grill/broiler) and circulating air (like a convection oven).
    Compared to the toaster ovens there seems to be also a lot more heating element compared to the surface area: the airfryer element is almost completely above the whole surface, while the toasteroven heating elements are much further away from each other.

  • @peterdedes2460
    @peterdedes2460 Місяць тому +20

    many convection ovens, in order to more evenly distribute heat, reverse the convection fan at intervals. hence the stopping and starting

    • @UNSCPILOT
      @UNSCPILOT Місяць тому +3

      That would explain alot, and probably part of why dedicated air fryers put the fan up top so it can just go full bore non-stop

    • @VideoArchiveGuy
      @VideoArchiveGuy Місяць тому

      Every convection oven I've ever seen over a period of decades operates like this - the fan runs for a bit, then stops, then reverses.

    • @peterdedes2460
      @peterdedes2460 Місяць тому +4

      @@VideoArchiveGuy in my career as an HVAC/R service engineer and gas/propane technician, my sample set includes mostly commercial and industrial equipment where reversing is not always the case. You can typically tell by the type of blower wheel installed: forward curve or backward inclined, single direction; vertical paddles, bi-directional

  • @VoraciousGobbler
    @VoraciousGobbler Місяць тому +1

    I love your videos so much, brother. I love your vibe and I have learned so much from you. Learning about simple technology and mechanisms is such a good escape from the abundant negativity and despair. You’re making the world a better place for me and many others. We are lucky to have you.

  • @theNapalmSoul
    @theNapalmSoul Місяць тому +52

    7:43 No footage November

  • @DDock3287
    @DDock3287 Місяць тому +22

    I have used this at least once a day for 7 years at this point. Good oven AND air fryer. Highly recommended. Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro

  • @thierryvt
    @thierryvt Місяць тому +8

    Living by myself these air-fryers are great little devices, and it actually has replaced my big oven. Mostly. Even things like bread or the occasional cookie/brownie I will do in the airfryer. Works just fine.
    Really the only time I turn on my big oven is if I'm having to cook for more than 1 guest, which is rare. Or when I'm cooking big batches of stews or spaghetti sauce to freeze.

  • @testdriver3146
    @testdriver3146 Місяць тому

    Dude, you always manage to put a smile on my face, even when you talk about stuff that I have absolutely no interest in whatsoever.

  • @plasticsoundwavecult
    @plasticsoundwavecult Місяць тому +12

    We’ve had our air fryer for a couple years and it just sat on the counter. But about 4 months ago I tried some frozen burritos and wow I really preferred that over the microwave. Then I started using it for other stuff. The grilled cheese sandwiches are to die for that I can whip up. I use it all the time now and it is easy to handle and clean. You can basically cook anything that will fit in it. Great episode.

    • @lmpeters
      @lmpeters Місяць тому

      I have a microwave that doubles as a convection oven, and it features a "roast" mode that turns on both elements at the same time. It rapidly became my favorite way to reheat frozen burritos, as it's only a bit slower than pure microwave, and the burritos don't come out soggy.

    • @rfwillett2424
      @rfwillett2424 Місяць тому +1

      You can experiment with pre-microwaving food , then put it in the Air fryer. I've had a lot of luck using both when doing roast potatoes, and heating some frozen foods. It tends to work best with bulkier foods, with thin foods it's a waste of time.

    • @ThylineTheGay
      @ThylineTheGay Місяць тому +2

      @@lmpeters my microwave's bake mode has not been actually used in ~20years, so turning the mode on just spits out smoke from all the oils accumulated on the element from ~20years of microwaving, lol

    • @lmpeters
      @lmpeters Місяць тому

      @@ThylineTheGay It might be worth degreasing it and experimenting, since it has all the benefits of a toaster oven and then some.

    • @flossimoth
      @flossimoth Місяць тому +2

      same happened with me. mum had a pretty new airfryer when she died, my brother didn't want it so I took it. it sat unused on the counter for two years... then the oven broke.
      it took almost a week for the real estate agency we rent from to get someone out to fix the oven. I had already meal planned and shopped for a fortnight's worth of food and didn't have the funds to completely change my mostly oven-based plans... so I tried the air fryer and was very impressed.
      I still prefer the oven for larger volumes of food and for baking, but for smaller things that I want crispy? hell yeah.

  • @FatTracksMusic
    @FatTracksMusic Місяць тому +46

    You're a legend man please never stop

  • @NathanMaharaj
    @NathanMaharaj Місяць тому +28

    lol how does "No effort November" turn into the angriest of your videos I've seen so far? I love it.

    • @MrMisterkrazy
      @MrMisterkrazy Місяць тому +12

      Logical conclusion: not being salty requires effort

    • @a.t.sweeney9325
      @a.t.sweeney9325 Місяць тому

      @@MrMisterkrazy Can confirm. I'm salty as seawater when i don't have the energy to curtail it

  • @dang9668
    @dang9668 День тому

    Thanks to you, and my father in law contractor. I’m quite the homeowner! Repair and utilize anything properly, always. Not to mention knowing exactly what things are and not being boiled over by marketing. Thanks!

  • @LordMarcus
    @LordMarcus Місяць тому +22

    I have a standalone air fryer. It sounds like a jet. Moves a fuckload of hot, dry air.

  • @AmazingJeeves
    @AmazingJeeves Місяць тому +45

    0:30 - THANK YOU for leading with this. This fact is why shopping for a regular toaster oven is annoying today; every manufacturer wants to call theirs an "Air Fryer Toaster Oven" and charge 15% to 40% more for the same box of toasty coils with an added fan.
    (edited because autocorrect)

    • @wck
      @wck Місяць тому +1

      Which doesn't even work, because a large part of why air friers get food crispy is because the cooking area is small and the fan is big. Air frying needs really turbulent air flow that you just don't get in any of those toaster ovens with a fan.

  • @kyx5631
    @kyx5631 Місяць тому +39

    The essence of NEN is seen at 15:22, where the camera's focus point is set to the edge of the table so EVERYTHING looks blurry... And Alec didn't bother to take another shot. Never change

  • @darius2640
    @darius2640 Місяць тому +1

    for reasons, i dont own a stove of any kind right now so i use cheap small air fryer as oven replacement for all my food warming needs, and it works very well, i could almost live like this all the time if only it could also boil a pot of water, one drawback is it uses surprisingly lots of kilowatts of energy

  • @importprogram
    @importprogram Місяць тому +30

    I will say the Kitchen Aid Countertop Oven "with air fry", is probably one of the best appliances I've used. Easy to use the menu for mode, time and temp with its single dial, is great. It can toast, bake, air fry, and reheats food extraordinarily well. I will agree at 15:30 , the basket is great, because the oven baskets are such a pain to wash.

    • @roeserr
      @roeserr Місяць тому +2

      The breville smart oven pro also the best appliance I've ever purchased

    • @forzaguy1252
      @forzaguy1252 Місяць тому +1

      The kitchen aid one is great toasting because it accounts for the temperature of the oven

    • @mzaite
      @mzaite Місяць тому +1

      @@roeserr Breville is THE king of Countertop cooking. But Damn $$$

  • @splitt3r
    @splitt3r Місяць тому +8

    I got a Gourmia French door air fryer toaster oven. It does both really well. The fan is off when it's baking, it's also located on the side so it doesn't lose much heat when it's baking and blows directly on the food if you put the basket in the middle row. Best $25 thrift shop find ever

  • @agbook2007
    @agbook2007 Місяць тому +18

    I loved the snark on this video. Simply perfect for No Effect November. Bravo!

  • @gabrielcascaes8320
    @gabrielcascaes8320 Місяць тому +1

    This channel is incredible! I have been thinking about Airfryers vs Convection Ovens for a while now, and this video really helped me decide what to do on the kitchen I’m designing, thanks a lot!

  • @marcuswaterson
    @marcuswaterson Місяць тому +130

    18:10 I'm 99% sure the name was picked for marketing reasons, to hone in on their target audience. People with an oven probably don't wanna buy an 'oven' that's that small, especially when they know their big one can do the same job. But saying "it's like frying, but healthier because you're not using oil?" That draws people in.

    • @afjer
      @afjer Місяць тому +8

      I still coat my chicken in a thin layer of olive oil before starting the air fryer for extra crispiness.

    • @HomemadeBrownies1
      @HomemadeBrownies1 Місяць тому +4

      And yet like a fool I still spray olive oil on anything I whack in my air fryer

    • @marcuswaterson
      @marcuswaterson Місяць тому +3

      @@afjer In all fairness my experience of actually trying to fry some chicken nuggets led to the nuggets becoming biscuits on the outside, so I do the same too on those. Rest though, I usually don't.

    • @rfwillett2424
      @rfwillett2424 Місяць тому +10

      I remember when they were first develping the Air fryer back in the late ninites and it was all about getting the same tase as deep fried food with far less oil. If I remember correctly, I saw the Dutch engineer who invented the Air Fryer, Fred van der Weij on an Australian science show. At the time the product under development was aimed more at commercial kitchens.

    • @GeminiWoods
      @GeminiWoods Місяць тому +9

      While I do realize it's not actually frying anything, I must admit that everything i put in it comes out far crispier than anything I put in my oven without burning it. I can honestly see why they call it that.

  • @mikemiller347
    @mikemiller347 Місяць тому +12

    Former air fryer curmudgeon here, love mine now too. Another reason I love it is for teenager use. Have to set a timer and it turns off, unlike oven which can be forgotten about. Oh look a butterfly. If you know, you know.

    • @magpielark
      @magpielark Місяць тому +4

      as a twenty-something with ADHD... I concur lol

  • @thecivilizedgamer2533
    @thecivilizedgamer2533 Місяць тому +6

    I've got a nice Breville toaster oven with digital controls, it has bake, convection and air fryer modes, and I literally never use my full-size oven. It also goes up to 480 F and therefore makes great pizza :) I found a pizza stone that fits it perfectly.

    • @ca296
      @ca296 16 днів тому

      But do you toast bread with it? If so, does it turn out good? Thanks

  • @bb55555555
    @bb55555555 23 дні тому

    thank you for doing this. I had been asking you to do air fryers and finally you did it. You are absolutely right it is nothing more than a compact convection oven. But the way you present topics like this makes it all the more enjoyable.

  • @GoodVolition
    @GoodVolition Місяць тому +5

    I own a convection oven, but I have noticed that it doesn't work as well as a simple counter top air fryer. I actually upgraded from an ancient oven specifically to get rid of my air fryer. However, due to the quick pre-heat and dishwasher safe basket I've still just wound up using the air fryer. It's just more efficient and reliable.

    • @jbradleyk
      @jbradleyk Місяць тому

      Yeah, the food in my air fryer is often done by the time my inbuilt convection oven has even heated up. I barely use my proper oven these days, it's just too slow and I'm usually only cooking for one or two.

  • @Conmann
    @Conmann Місяць тому +6

    i used mine for the first time in about 3 months while watching your videos yesterday. i didnt mean to summon you but im glad it worked

  • @notosdude
    @notosdude Місяць тому +6

    The air fryer + pressure cooker combo makes one worth it 1,000% of the time

    • @scottorgan2255
      @scottorgan2255 Місяць тому +1

      I have a Ninja foody that is an air fryer and pressure cooker it's big enough to cook a large chook or leg of lamb, has a 6 litre stainless steel pot with a stainless steel oven rack i use baking paper under the food to keep it clean, after cooking you take the pot and rack out to clean. I stopped using the regular oven and microwave for cooking for me was the best $400 investment

  • @santiagohuergo5414
    @santiagohuergo5414 19 днів тому

    I bought from Walmart a cheap microwave that advertised also being an oven, a convection oven, and an airfryer in a very confusing way.
    Now I have a better understanding of what the hell is going on inside this machine and how to use it better (because honestly, it works pretty fine).
    Thank you, and keep the no effort!

  • @Kamryx
    @Kamryx Місяць тому +40

    7:02 lol I literally have this exact model sitting next to me but it’s whatever revision came before the air frying trend and it’s just labeled “convection” with a little fan symbol instead

  • @johnrobinson9857
    @johnrobinson9857 Місяць тому +24

    8:09 not the B roll!

    • @freespace21
      @freespace21 Місяць тому

      Alec, it feels too perfect... 🤔 You did that on purpose, didn't you?😆

    • @DG-mi2mc
      @DG-mi2mc Місяць тому

      Nooooooooooo

    • @timtimethymetie
      @timtimethymetie Місяць тому

      RIP B roll we hardly knew ye.

    • @Power-Wiesel
      @Power-Wiesel Місяць тому

      😱😭

  • @evelynr1629
    @evelynr1629 Місяць тому +9

    idk what your mental health is like, but I really hope you feel proud of where you are. you make such lovely videos and i look up to you for such great content.

  • @Alter292
    @Alter292 Місяць тому

    I was the same way years ago about calling it an air fryer when it objectively is not, but I got over that after buying one for cheap. I only have enough space for a single tabletop appliance and my air fryer replaced my microwave in a heartbeat. It reheats things so much better. Worth the hype

  • @CrispyLlamasMedia
    @CrispyLlamasMedia Місяць тому +43

    It drives me crazy that your UA-cam channel has existed for so long and i only found you this year.
    Obsessed lol

  • @ozziegerff
    @ozziegerff Місяць тому +302

    Nobody tell him about microwave airfriers...

    • @John-yh5gm
      @John-yh5gm Місяць тому +37

      That's a thing?

    • @Spiker985Studios
      @Spiker985Studios Місяць тому +78

      I have never heard this term, and now I'm annoyed. Thank you for your services

    • @rarbiart
      @rarbiart Місяць тому +25

      I would add to the definition of an airfryer: "Having a basket with a vertical handle, which can be yanked out at any time". IOW: all those toaster ovens etc, with a "air fry" option are just wannabes.

    • @whatr0
      @whatr0 Місяць тому +20

      I have one and it sucks absolute balls lol, microwave works great but the air fryer/convection setting is bolted onto the back and is not nearly fast enough to cook things well
      does still heat up the house less than the regular oven so it's at least a little handy in the summer for small batch stuff at least

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Місяць тому +7

      ​@@John-yh5gm I guess it is now!
      I have a microwave I got many years ago that has a regular heating element coil at the top for baking... I use it to make baked nachos, or to melt cheese on baked pasta dishes without warming up the real oven.
      Only downside is you have to remember to clean splattered microwaved food off the heating element or else it burns when you do eventually use the element (if used infrequently like I do).

  • @AstolfoGayming
    @AstolfoGayming Місяць тому +24

    I bought an air fryer some 18 months ago, and have not regretted it since. I knew it was basically a small convection oven when I bought it, and have treated it as such. The pre-heat time and overall amount of air being heated in my regular oven has always felt kinda.. wasteful to me, so when I saw a decent air fryer on sale I jumped on it, and use it more than my regular oven. Though of course sometimes I need to cook something that doesn't fit in the air fryer and it still gets put in the regular oven, but at least now I don't have to spend 50 minutes cooking fries (my oven takes like 20 minutes to pre-heat)

    • @UNSCPILOT
      @UNSCPILOT Місяць тому

      makes me think, it would be interesting to see the power use stats for, say, baking the same amount of fries in a conventional oven, Vs doing the same amount in an air fryer, would be neat to see what you might save on an electrical bill

  • @oneleggyboi
    @oneleggyboi Місяць тому

    i bought this exact air fryer like a year ago and i absolutely love this. as someone who doesn’t have a traditional kitchen to cook in my air fryer and rice cooker are life savers for making a warm homemade meal. ive used the more complicated types like the ninja one that opens up and has all types of settings and i would choose the cheap one with the two nobs and a basket over all of that other stuff. it gets the job done well.