topic Re: Question for Air Fryer owners in Kitchen

Question for Air Fryer owners

shoesnbags — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:08:10 GMT

I received a 1.6 qt. Cooks Companion brand (Evine) air fryer as a Christmas gift from a relative. Aside from the fact that I'm not particularly interested in an air fryer, it strikes me that this tiny size isn't very useful. Does anyone here have this size air fryer? I don't want to use up valuable kitchen storage space on something that I can't picture using much (or at all?). My Insta-pot, Vitamix blender, Kitchenaid stand mixer, slow cooker and bread machine all earn the valuable space they take up. I'm thinking of donating this gift. Comments?

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

I am still oxox — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:12:44 GMT

I love my Air Fryer, I have a 2.4 quart, the other night I made sweet potato fries, baked broccoli and bagel chips. it is easy to use and easy to clean and for me easier than opening my oven

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Carmie — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:35:49 GMT

Wow, that is small. It would be good for one, maybe two people at most.

i have a larger one, but use mine most when the grand kids are here. They eat french fries, fish sticks, cheese sticks and other breaded items, my DH and I don’t.

I made buffalo wings in it twice, but I can’t fit many in, and had to make them in batches, so the oven is a better choice for me to make those. Asian egg rolls are very good cooked in an air fryer.

if you don’t like “heat to eat” frozen items or FF, you probably won’t have a need for It.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

momtochloe — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:44:53 GMT

@shoesnbags I have one of the original air fryers (2.2 qt) from Evine which I love and when it goes I would like to upgrade to a larger size so I can make a chicken or small turkey breast in it.

The thing with air fryers is all about your lifestyle and how you like to cook. As it's just me, the smaller fryer works for me as I am not a fan of leftovers (although an air fryer does reheat things nicely). The size that was gifted to you is pretty much for folks that cook for one or two. If that works for your lifestyle and if you like either simple meals or cooking from frozen it's a nice little appliance. If you are used to more complicated meals, it may be tough to give up shelf space for something you may not use very often.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Fiero Woman — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:50:18 GMT

My favorite things to make are wings or chicken legs. I spray them with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle with Emeril's Original Essence. Set for 350 and about 15 minutes, flip the wings or legs and go until done (about 10 minutes). Yummmm Pork chops - make up a simple marinade and put in pork chops for about 30 minutes. No oil needed. Use the same cooking time and temp as chicken. This would work for almost any cut of meet. So moist and delicious. I don't do a lot of frozen foods, I use fresh. I also do fish - fresh. Same as with the chicken but I use an egg, dredge fish, panko crumbs and wonderul. No oil and delicious. Experiment, it is worth it. No frying.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Fiero Woman — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:51:13 GMT

Paula Deen has the best cookbook out there or look up recipes n her website.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Fiero Woman — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:54:46 GMT

I also like Meredith's cookbooks for air fryers but Paula has more normal foods. "Fried Green Tomatoes." out of the box. The world is your oyster, have fun.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

RollTide2008 — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:39:36 GMT

I use my air fryer way more often than I do my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

shoesnbags — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:43:37 GMT

Many thanks for all of the replies! My question, though, is whether anyone has such a small air fryer - 1.6 qt. The cooking surface is so small, that it seems it would take several batches to cook enough for three of us.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Daysdee — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:47:02 GMT

Never thought I would buy one since I don't eat French fries or other appetizers they demo. Bought one last year at QVC-I think it's 3.6 qts. Love it and use it several times a week. Make my lunch in it many days. Also have done small turkey breast, fish, chicken, steak, burgers, etc. Love it for heating up sandwich brought home from a restaurant. Doesn't get soggy like it does in microwave. Cooks items fast and clean up is super fast too.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

blackhole99 — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:51:28 GMT

I have a smaller air fryer and my husband and I use it for french fries and egg rolls mostly. It's really just for one serving unless you don't eat much. Mine does like 2 handfulls french fries or 4 egg rolls. Also, my fryer although it is easy to clean and I do, it's plastic housing and takes on the odor of the food you cook. I would not cook meat in it.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

Catlady Nicole — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:58:44 GMT

Hello @shoesnbags, to address your question, no we do not have that size. Ours is the Cooks Essentials 3 quart, and for the two of us, I find even 3 quarts is too small. Only one pizzeria style slice of pizza will fit in it, whch is what we reheat. 1.6 quarts seems strangley small. Definitely cooking for one size.

Do you cook for one? If not, I'd say it might be donate worthy.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

GCR18 — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:16:51 GMT

That is very small. I have a 3.5 and find that small even cooking one serving. I would think a lot of foods may not fit. Are there any pictures on the box saying what to cook in it? Seems to me it's too small to cook much of anything.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

shoesnbags — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:49:42 GMT

@Catlady Nicole wrote:
Hello @shoesnbags, to address your question, no we do not have that size. Ours is the Cooks Essentials 3 quart, and for the two of us, I find even 3 quarts is too small. Only one pizzeria style slice of pizza will fit in it, whch is what we reheat. 1.6 quarts seems strangley small. Definitely cooking for one size.

Do you cook for one? If not, I'd say it might be donate worthy.

Thanks so much @Catlady Nicole.❤️ That's exactly what I was asking! I cook for three, so this will not work for me.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

shoesnbags — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:53:26 GMT

@GCR18 wrote:
That is very small. I have a 3.5 and find that small even cooking one serving. I would think a lot of foods may not fit. Are there any pictures on the box saying what to cook in it? Seems to me it's too small to cook much of anything.

Thanks so much @GCR18. This is what I wanted to know. I'll donate this and if I ever want to try air frying, I'll buy a larger size.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

BeccaLou — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 05:19:04 GMT

Shoessnbags, use it when i'st maybe just you. Or to use for portion control. It would be nice it we could upsize they kitchen helpers. I use mine for all kinds of things. I even put my tempt-tion soup bowl with the handle in mine to heat up a can of soup, a can of vegetables, and bisquits, and oatmeal, that is the minute kind. It works great for everything. Play around with it I would bet you will find a lot of uses for it. Happy Air-Frying !!! Also frozen burritos for breakfast, so fast the burrito is done usually at the same time as my coffee.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

KaySD — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 08:24:31 GMT

Yes, that does sound small for three people. But perhaps it will be perfect when any of you are eating alone? It's fast and really does a great job on so many things. I found some parchment rounds the diameter of my 2.4 quart, that have perforations in them. They really make cleanup easy. Fish, chicken, "grilled" sandwiches, veggies, all good and I like having different ways to cook things.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

qualitygal — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 09:56:55 GMT

We started with the smaller and I was content with that. My husband thought we needed a larger one. So we have one of each. MISTAKE for us. Both are already on a shelf in the basement. You need room to store them. Trying to figure out how to decorate them.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

JeanLouiseFinch — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 10:44:25 GMT

@shoesnbags wrote:
I received a 1.6 qt. Cooks Companion brand (Evine) air fryer as a Christmas gift from a relative. Aside from the fact that I'm not particularly interested in an air fryer, it strikes me that this tiny size isn't very useful. Does anyone here have this size air fryer? I don't want to use up valuable kitchen storage space on something that I can't picture using much (or at all?). My Insta-pot, Vitamix blender, Kitchenaid stand mixer, slow cooker and bread machine all earn the valuable space they take up. I'm thinking of donating this gift. Comments?

@shoesnbags- I agree, 1.6 qts. is not a useful size at all. We gave our kids Paula Deen 5.8 qt. air fryers in 2016. Our daughter & her b/f loved theirs. One son never used his. When our daughter's was lost in an apartment fire, he gave his to her. They use it often. I had a large PD too, but gave it to my sister when I saw the Todd English model. We don't use it a lot, but it has several nice features.

Re: Question for Air Fryer owners

SharkE — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 15:14:07 GMT

Love mine !