I've bought the 3 litre version a few months ago and though its a bit small it works a treat. This being 8 litres would probably be practical for a family of 4.
1800W
7 preset cooking functions
30 minute timer
Touch control
Non-stick coating
Fits a whole chicken
80°-200°C cooking temperature
Overheat protection
Non-slip feet
Fits a whole chicken
It'll be very tight
It'll be very tight
which type of chicken?
My type of chicken
I might give this a go.
Besides frying chips, is there anything else they're good for?
I'd imagine cleaning these is quite tedious as well with the oil floating around in there
Schnitties and roast pork are pretty good too. I tend to use it as a fast oven than as a replacement for deep frying).
They are great for almost anything that you would normally deep fry or pan fry. They can even toast bigger things like hot cross buns or rolls or even bake cakes etc.
Cleaning is a breeze as there isn't much oil at all and the basket comes straight out of the draw and is very quick to wash.
It would be great if these budget versions had an optional stand/shelf so you could cook on two levels. And a food agitator would be cool so you wouldn't have to toss every few minutes but the more expensive ones have these things.
unfortunately these use as much if not more power as a full oven. no insulated walls and a great big element. not really a green solution. (if you
care about that stuff)
Actually the walls on my el-cheapo Kmart one are insulated very well. Compared to the 200 degrees inside the outside is only warm to the touch. And since they warm up in a minute, compared to our full oven which takes 10+ minutes to reach cooking temperature I would say cooking smaller meals is more efficient but I have no proof of that.
yeah but they force air through at a great rate (the top and bottom vents). i have compared power used by the "kmart" one and my fan forced oven. 15 mins of airfrier uses mor power than 1.5 hrs of oven on 180c.
@ihbh: to be honest it seems pretty self evident fast equals power. these are little uninsulated boxes that vent /stream air over superheated elements.
@mudguppy1: Wow that's a massive difference and doesn't seem right. How did you do your measurements? I did some research before I bought the air fryer and a few keen users had done power comparisons and the air fryer usually came in around half of a full sized fan forced oven for a regular amount of food. Seeing as there is much less volume to heat up and keep hot it makes sense. They force air around the food at a great rate, but that super heated air doesn't come out, so the air fryer element cycles off quite a lot too. Our fan forced oven vents warm air out the front, similar to the warm air coming out of the air fryer. Obviously if you fill the oven right up and need two batches to do the equivalent in the air fryer it would negate the power differences.
One such example from whirlpool:
"Ok, the results are in. Cooking chips in a Actifryer vs a electric oven ( modern, tripple glazed door, well insulated)
Actifry, 17mins at 0.31kWh.
Oven to cook the same amount of chips came in at 0.64kWh including cooling down fan.
So it is more than half the cost to run."
@Hazza: when your oven vents warm air it is only the warm air around "the skin" of the oven not its internal air. it protects joinery etc..
@mudguppy1: Yes that's correct, but from what I have witnessed, the air fryer is doing the exact same thing (to protect the bench and surroundings etc). I can tell you now, the air coming out from the air fryer is not the 180-200 degree internal air.
Yeah if you isolated both events completely it should be accurate. The specific tests that others have done should have less room for error though. Oh well, either way its only a difference of cents not dollars.
@Hazza: i think you might be wrong air friers are not sealed they cycle the air (check the vent at the back, cover it if you feel lucky even.
@mudguppy1: Well technically we are both partially right. It would be silly for the fryer to continuously let hot air out as it would waste energy for no reason. The moving of the super heated air is internal to the fryer in order to cook the food quickly. The exhaust is simply for pressure equalisation and heat reduction if you lower the temp while cooking. So yes some small amounts of hot air may be released for pressure equalisation but it would have little if any impact on the efficiency IMO.
@Hazza: I used the Kmart one again tonight. I was a little surprised as the exhaust vent had a slow constant flow even once up to temperature so obviously the cheaper ones don't have a pressure sensor, so instead leave the vent open for pressure equalisation for the whole cook. The air was around 60-70 degrees for a 180 degree cooking temp. But the walls are very well insulated and from further reading air fryers appear to be commonly known to be twice as efficient as an oven when cooking small quantities. Interesting read: https://10warriors.co.uk/energy-efficiency-of-air-fryers/
Yeah but they heat up and cook faster.
Plus proper ovens draw much more than the standard 2400w that a power point provides and the 1800w of this Aldi oven.
So they are "green".
elements are on for much longer than conventional oven and also ovens are contained and do not vent the heated air as "air friers do". Dont get me wrong my daughters use our kmart one all the time cause its quick and easy but it aint green in any way.
They’re great for frozen pies- meat or dessert fruit ones. The pastry comes out really crisp. Croissants come out lovely and flaky, and I also sometimes heat up jam donuts from the bakery (though I sit them on al foil so the jam doesn’t go everywhere).Reheating pizza too. Also good for browning meat like meatballs before adding to pasta sauce. I have a Phillips one but I doubt it would be much different from the ALDI version.
Since there is no oil to "float" in, could you still deep fry a Snickers bar in batter?
I would say that it works more as a concentrated oven than a deep fryer..
Wasn't it $79 last time?
Kmart one is cheaper ($69) and I use it almost on a daily basis
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/air-fryer/2014919?&gclid=EA…
3.2 litres capacity
LED control panel with 7 pre-set functions
Removable frying basket
Overheat protection
30-minute automatic shut-off
Adjustable temperature up to 200 deg. C
Operation light indicator
1500W
3.2L vs 8L capacity.
3.2 litres capacity
3.2 v8 (aldi audi)
6L v8 + supercharger FTW! lol
Given the capacity, how many adults would you say it’s suitable for? Just one or could you cook for 2-3?
You'd need a couple of these to fit an adult, mincing them first would help a lot though.
Well played 😂
Depends what your cooking, hopefully not people lol.. I would say 2-3 would be no problem. In the 3.2L we can do enough side fries for 2 adults and 2 kids.
That’s great to know, thanks!
Is anyone familiar with the technicalities?
I understand they are basically small fan-forced ovens, and "fry" chips in the same way you cook them in an oven.
What advantage do these have over a regular fan-forced oven in my kitchen wall?
I guess they pre-heat and cook a bit faster, with more air-flow in a small volume.
But do they really do anything a modern oven can not?
On your next road-trip holiday, you can take the air fryer with you. It allows you to cook (in a limited way) when staying at cheap motels which don't have a kitchenette. Just find a department store for frozen chips or pies or a chicken.
When teamed with a portable induction hotplate and a pot, there's a lot more cooking you can do. Just don't plug both the hotplate and the fryer in at the same time, or you could trip the circuit breaker at the motel.
Nice idea. More practical than taking a toaster oven?
I found this:
https://www.cnet.com/news/air-fryer-vs-convection-oven-which…
I think it depends on how many people you are cooking for. I think this air fryer will cook a whole bag of frozen potato gems, that's half a meal for two adults plus two kids. A (purchased) hot chicken, plus some frozen veggies reheated with the induction hotplate, and you're done.
For a small family, I think most toaster ovens would struggle to cook enough food quickly enough.
With the right-size baking tins, it may even be possible to make bread in an air-fryer? I haven't tried this. Would you be able to make bread in a toaster oven, or would it just burn before cooking through?
@Russ: Agree with this. Although the 3.2L Kmart one can fit a whole 1kg bag of fries/gems, so this one would fit much more. Since it can bake cakes, it would work with making bread. I have been meaning to try for a while.
I just bought one of these, so I hope it's good! There was a bit of a line up before opening time but most people were there for the beauty creams.
I got one, they were all gone within 15 min.
its a huge unit. here's a pic with a mug for comparison.
No crowd at my local Aldi so had no problem in getting one, and I agree.. it is a big unit. It looks and operates exactly like my K-Mart one, but fatter. :D
They put them near the cast aluminium cooking pots and I tell you it was a like a pond of frenzied pirahnas.
Anyone come across stores that still have stock in Sydney? Been to 4 stores and couldn't find stock.
It is true that the bigger version (8L 1800watts) takes longer to cook (previous version 3L 1200-1400watts) when cooking the same amount of chips?
Pretty sure a chicken would prefer a larger place to forage