Where did the recent air fryer trend come from anyway?

Better efficiency but more importantly it heats almost instantly. Thing is like magic. No preheating for 5+ mins.

Plus having a second oven is fucking awesome. I’m out there on thanksgiving with an oven full of turkey, baking dinner rolls on the side like an absolute gangster.

Where did the recent air fryer trend come from anyway?

Clearly you don't own an air fryer

Why is this even a meme? Omg why do can openers exist? 9 inch angle grinders already exist. We had a kids toy lolol

Yeah that's what I said before I got one too.

Air fryers are the shit.

Ovens are so funny it’s just a fire in tinfoil

Air fryers dont heat the entire house 5 degrees. Also they are like 15x faster to make food for 1.

Not everyone has a convection oven. They are portable convection ovens, not portable ovens.

I have a toaster oven because I don't need to heat my entire oven and use much more energy and time to heat the entire thing to reheat a slice of pizza.

I use the convection function when I'm working with large amounts but for 1-2 people, the air fryer is much faster.

I cook chicken and steak in ours and it comes out way better than any other method I know and it’s easier than any other method I know

Maybe it’s the wrong name but the device is amazing, it’s my favorite kitchen appliance by far

No, it's not an oven. It's a convection oven, which has existed for decades but never caught on until they were rebranded as air fryers.

Even with an expensive convection oven I can't get things to come out as good as they do with an air fryer. The small area through which the warm air circulates is probably the reason. The fan in my air fryer is the same size as the fan in a household oven with convection options, but a much smaller volume of air.

Most people don't actually have convection ovens. Whoever wrote that post probably doesn't even understand that there's a difference between a convection oven and a traditional oven in the first place.

The things that consistently come out better for me in my air fryer (with less cook time) over the traditional oven are:

Home fries Bacon Salmon Chicken thighs Any vegetable Leftover steak Leftover pizza

There are actually very few things I care to use my traditional oven for, it's all just quicker and comes out better in the air fryer. Pretty much anything where you want it to be browned/crispy without overcooking the inside or using a ton of butter will be better in the air fryer.

I live alone. I can fit the same amount of stuff I would cook in my oven into my air fryer and cook it better with less electricity and less clean up.

They're a trend because they're really good

Cause its so convenient, fast and efficient. I have kids so I can make food quickly (sous vide'd chicken I've done some days earlier, usually) and it doesnt draw electricity as much as my normal oven. I quite like it, and it makes my life easier.

I orginally bought it like 6 years ago to make chicken wings, but nowadays I use it for pretty much everything.

You dont have to like it, thats your prerogative.

yeah they're just small convection ovens. Great for heating bread rolls, we use ours more as a toaster than for "frying" (they don't fry)

Air fryers have fans to keep the air circulating. That makes the food cook very differently than a traditional oven. It's more like a convection oven, but with even more airflow.

Decent air fryer : $300

Air frying capable oven (lower range) : $600

Good air frying capable oven : $1500+

There is a difference between an air fryer and a convection oven. An air fryer has its heating element in the top with the fan so it is actively blowing hot air down on the food. It's basically a convection broiler.

I think what's more convenient about an air fryer is that it is smaller than a convection oven. It's the next generation of toaster oven.

An air fryer is a small convection oven, but convection ovens aren't particularly common in my experience. It's definitely different than a traditional oven.

I've been considering to buy one for some time and recently found a model capable of "air frying", de-hydrate food and a third function I can't remember right now.

For a relatively small footprint, having three machines in one sounds nice.

I have an oven in my apartment, I use the stove top but I have honestly never once used the oven part. I cook for one so I just simply never make meals large enough to need it, I just make anything that needs ovening in the air fryer. Also don't own a toaster, same deal pop it in the air fryer. It and and instapot are some actual goat level kitchen appliances.

Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's worse https://youtu.be/AASP4P5vRAA?si=aXMjrYK_aRIKX3YR

I have an air fryer but I use its grill more than anything.

This doesn't make any sense.

I have a toaster oven I use for small portions and my oven has an air fryer option.

I totally would have bought into the air frier ecosystem earlier if I'd have known I'd be calling it my wife's easy bake oven.

Actually got one 2-3 weeks ago and damn, these things are freaking awesome! It doesn't really fry like a deep fryer would but I haven't touched the deep fryer since and I used that thing more than I care to admit.

Recent? Air fryers have been a thing off and on since the late ‘70s when they used to sell those funny shaped stovetop versions. So that’s 40+ years of air fryer trends.

We got one a few years ago and, while I was highly skeptical about their usefulness, found that it does a fast job of cooking things evenly. I can toss a pork loin in it and it’ll be done in 10 minutes while I’m maybe cutting up some veg for steaming.

Yeah, and? I'll take any oven I can get! I've got a toaster oven too! I've seen people with two ovens stacked on top of each other like a washer/dryer combo! Now that's living the dream

That's why there are microwaves with a convection oven function.

Ovens have the problem that volume is directly related to the time and energy it takes to bring the temperature up. The oven size isnt designed well for cooking for small number of people, or for snacks.

Then why does it taste better? If I bake chicken tenders in an oven, it tastes, well, baked, but if it's cooked in an airfryer, it tastes so much better.

I dont know why but moving the air around just isnt a standard thing in conventional ovens. It greatly speeds up the heat transfer so things cook faster, and crispier.

And the smaller sizes are nice, I dont typically need 2'x2' cooking space, it ends up being a waste of time and energy preheating these big things.

They've also become popular in the UK recently due to the cost of living crisis there.

I'm guessing it came from a college student who wanted to stop using a hotplate for everything.

Damn, y'all must have a lot of spare counter space.

Image Transcription: Twitter Post and Replies

alicia, @nerdjpg

Air fryers are so funny cause it's like. That's an oven

alicia, @nerdjpg

They made easy bakes for adults

Low fat is for better health. It’s not exactly a bad trend and you seemed genuinely confused.

I have a convection toaster oven that I have had for years. It is incredibly useful and has enough room to rotisserie a chicken in it, which is much more capacity than any air fryer I have personally come across while not taking up much more room. I highly recommend getting a convection capable toaster oven over anything branded as an air fryer.

Yeah I really don't get the point my yousemate has one and he insists it cooks certain things better than an oven, but its really just the same and it just seems like a mindless fad people are following that's being pushed to sell useless tat.

They also suggest you use oil when trying to fry things. You just use a lot less oil when you do.

But if you try frying, like, french fries in an air fryer, even with some spray on oil, it doesn't come out the same. It comes out like they were baked. If I wanted them baked, I wouldn't have used a frier.

air fryers suck because they make your apartment or house smell like the dogshit you eat