Tefal’s air fryer may be cheap on energy, but is it any good?

Air fryers are increasingly popular kitchen appliances used to fry foods (case in point: #airfryer viewings on TikTok have reached nearly five billion). Most commonly, it’s meat and potato chips that hit the heat, but (spoiler) Tefal ActiFry Genius XL 2-in-1 YV970840 Health Air Fryer, £210 loves a sauce, too. Ideal for cooking on the cheap, moneysavingexpert.com estimates that air fryers can cost half as much to run as a conventional oven, which is why the world’s bonkers for them right now (hello, cost of living crisis). 

So, how do air fryers actually work? Well, here comes the science bit: like a miniature fan oven, air fryers circulate hot air around the food, producing a crunchy, crispy exterior, thanks to a chemical reaction known as Maillard. 

But what makes Tefal ActiFry Genius so, um, genius is its ‘2-in-1’ technology, which allows you to get all parts of a meal ready at once, so that nothing’s cold, nor overdone – for example, if you’re cooking crispy chips and juicy chicken, the ‘2-in-1’ programme will beep to tell you when to add the chicken to the top tray. That way, everything will cook together and be ready at the same time, making you look like a profesh without the graft.

Also, its (actual) Genius smart settings take all the guesswork out of cooking, which is supremely useful for useless cooks, like myself. There’s even an automatic stirring feature and automatic ‘keep warm’ mode. TBF, I wouldn’t be surprised if it also unloaded the dishwasher, fed the dog and put the kids to bed for you, too*. Oh, and because it’s Tefal, it’s non-stick and easy-clean. Winning.

[*Sidenote: It won’t, yet.]

1. Healthy cooking –  Air fryers are a healthier alternative to deep-fat fryers, so if you eat chips, chicken goujons or roasties on the reg, making the switch to air technology is a smart move. How? Air fryers significantly decrease the amount of oil absorbed into foods and less oil equals fewer calories consumed. You could even make doughnuts and get healthier-ish results.

2. High speed – Touted as the kitchen gadget for making dinner in 15 minutes, air fryers get hot immediately and cook food faster (chicken thighs took 40 minutes in our usual oven, plus 5 minutes to heat up, but only 20 in the air fryer). 

3. Low cost – According to a Uswitch report published in October 2022, air fryers are cheaper to run than traditional ovens – approx 14p per day, compared to 87p per day for electric cookers. As energy bills soar, this money-saving, energy-saving alternative is a useful way to save cash. However, it’s also important to note that the running cost will vary, based on your energy tariff, location and the size of the air fryer you’re using.

Is the air fryer the best appliance to save cash when cooking? It’s hard to say. Sure, it was cheaper to use than our oven, but how does it fare when rustling up much-loved family fare? Here’s how we got on with staple Sunday roasties…

• It’s quick! Our roasties took 30 minutes to cook, instead of the usual 60 in the oven
  
• It costs less
• Our tatties tasted as delish as usual, and a touch less greasy (so we ate more, obvs)
• The best bit? You can put it in the dishwasher. I mean, actual Genius

Having said that, once I’d navigated the lengthy instructions (not my strong point) and powered up the air fryer, I was surprised by how noisy it was. It also takes up a lot of space – not surprising really, when you think that you’ve got a small fan-assisted oven on your kitchen countertop. 

And here’s the thing, it is a small oven of sorts, and as such, will only cook as much as a small oven can. Fine for small meals, smaller families, students, single home-owners or house shares, but for families of four or more? Let’s put it this way: You won’t be able to cook Christmas lunch in this. Or a full Sunday lunch for that matter. If you like your roast chicken with trimmings, you’ll still need to turn ye olde oven on. And it’s not a case of filling the basket to the brim either: if the air in the air dryer can’t circulate, it won’t cook evenly.