Air fryers seem pretty popular in the deals around here, so I'm interested to get some people's takes on cleaning them:
How often? After every use? Never? Every couple of weeks?
How do you do it? Scrubbing? Chemicals? Dishwasher?
How clean do you expect a clean to be? Spotless and shiny? Just clean enough?
(My own answers in italics. Maybe also do a more thorough clean every couple of months.)
Can you line the container with foil and just throw the foil away when it gets 'dirty'?
The fan is powerful so very difficult, the foil easily flies away and cover the heating coil.
Tip from a past career in hospitality:
Get foil to stick to your baking sheets/metal surfaces one of two ways:
Spray with cooking oil and put sheet down. Foil will stick well, though you will have to wash oil with soap when you remove.
Wipe with wet towel, creating a thin film of water and put sheet down. Foil will stick less well, but cleanup is easier.
Very effective. This is how we lined trays every day.
Using sheet foil seems like a hassle but if they made formed foil liners I think it would be a great idea.
I've used baking paper in mine when I don't want liquids going everywhere, like when cooking kievs.
Works well, just make sure the paper is low, near the bottom of the food tray. If it say, has high edges that go near the element, it will catch fire.
I do this with the Philips XXL too. Baking paper at the bottom and place basket on top for anything messy.
Not recommended for fries or anything small that benefits from the proper air circulation the machine is designed for.
Otherwise, just take the whole basket & base unit out and pop into dishwasher. Simples.
Top heating element still clean after few months use so haven't needed to do anything.
for Kievs I use mini loaf pans like these https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/807331/?go…
That's a great idea. Thanks.
I line mine with foil. I mould it to the shape and the basket sits perfectly on it. New one every few weeks.
I give mine a wipedown after each use, but after about 6 months, Ive been thinking about throwing it out and getting another one.
If it still works I’ll take it ;)
I put the tray into the dishwasher every week and use wipe to wipe down the coil once a month. As you are cooking at 180-200 degree, the bacteria should be killed.
It’s like BBQ hot plates, the less you clean it the better food tastes
a lot more smoke as well
Pouring some beer in it helps too :p
Depends what I cook in it. If it is just potatoes/chips/gems/wedges, just a quick wipe down. If it is meat and juice are on the bottom of it, just hot water, dishwashing liquid and a quick wipe and it is all clean.
I'm the same as you - about once every 10 days, dishwasher :) Easy! Unless I cook fish or something… learned that the hard way!
after every use, water and detergent. spotless and shiny.
Looks like not many people clean the heating element. I use steam to clean it.
I didn't even know it was accessible and needs cleaning. I'ma look into this tonight.
clean after every use. seems nasty if not otherwise. could be wrong 🤷
I clean my after every use. I have two and the Aldi one is way easier to clean. For reheats or chips is is just a wipe out with papertowel but anything else it is a full wash. Hot tip - after cooking anything that sticks to the basket, pour in hot water as soon as done and let soak a bit. Then I wash it up using a dish brush and let to dry. Too easy just a bit bulky but they fit in my small sink. Too easy.
Chuck it and get a SELF-CLEANING PYROLYTIC fan forced oven.
I have an Electrolux EVEP613SB and it does everything one of those air fryers can and much more. For example, it can also grill steaks, keep food warm,etc
I still can't see any advantage of one of these severely limited capacity air fryers over a HIGH CAPACITY self cleaning fan-forced oven.
My fan forced oven is, in effect, an large capacity air fryer without all that fiddly cleaning involved, after all.
So why would you spend huge $'s on a tiny air fryer?
Just this weekend I thought I'd show the kids what I used to do as a kid and we shrank some chip packs in the oven. It took almost 10 minutes for the oven to get to temp.
The air fryer heats up in 1 minute. It does not require me to use and dirty an oven tray.
I have 2 fan-forced ovens. They each have their place. So does the air fryer.
I just stumbled on a re-run of a Frasier episode. I wanna plop myself on the couch and watch it while stuffing my face with hot chips.
Do I:
Burn 5kW for 10 minutes to warm up the oven, space out the chips evenly on a tray, then spend another 20 minutes at 2.5kW (5kW with a 50% duty) waiting for them to cook, and then have them ready to eat when the episode's over?
Rip the chip pack, empty it into the air fryer and have hot chips in my lap in 12 minutes?
If you want option 1, all power to you. I'll pick 2.
@fantombloo: "space out the chips evenly on a tray"
HUH? I just empty the chips onto the tray and spread them out. A 10 second job.
"spend another 20 minutes at 2.5kW (5kW with a 50% duty) waiting for them to cook"
HUH? I don't sit around waiting like you. I go back to the computer or do some other activity for 20 mins.
I rip the chip pack, empty it onto the baking tray and have hot chips in my lap in 20 minutes? Only 8 mins more than you. AND I can cook a huge pile of chips if I'm serving for more than one.
BUT WAIT THERE"S MORE: I can also cook some chicken tenders, chicken pieces, a chiko roll, rissoles, steaks, or vegies etc AT THE SAME TIME
THE BONUS is NO CLEANING UP AFTERWARDS!
@Gekov: There's something to be said about the quality of the fries as well. We all have ovens but there's a preference to use an Airfryer over a baking tray. The air circulation does help make them crispier and without added oil.
Your main argument so far has been capacity. That's easily afforded by the XXL models and others have even larger units. My unit does 1.4KG of fries in one go and about 10-12 minutes flat. That's the same amount for a standard oven tray of fries. I don't need a kilo of fries in go so comfortably mix and match things onto the tray e.g. fish and chips. It's convenient and quick. Then you pop the basket in the dishwasher with the plates without need for a pyrolytic cycle.
It's odd you have the mentality that because you do something a specific way then no one else must have a differing preference.
@Hybroid: "The air circulation does help make them crispier and without added oil"
EASY: If you want crispier chips in a wall oven just dial up the temperature to say, 230ºC, over a shorter time frame.
I get truly crispy chips that way.
The only advantage I can see with an air fryer is a shortened wait time from 12mins to 20mins.
Doesn't justify big bucks on an air fryer INHO.
@Hybroid: "The air circulation does help make them crispier and without added oil"
Frozen chips do not require added oil, either for an air fryer or a wall oven, they already have some applied.
As for freshly cut chips, added oil is necessary whether for an air fryer or wall oven.
Not sure what your point was.
"Then you pop the basket in the dishwasher with the plates without need for a pyrolytic cycle"
In my case NOTHING is needed to be done after the cooking. I still have not seen a need for pyrolytic cleaning after over a year of cooking!
@fantombloo: "and have hot chips in my lap in 12 minutes?"
So does that mean you sit around waiting for 12mins?
A wall oven is almost as good for a tiny 8mins more!
Some people see that as an "overwhelming advantage" for air fryers … believe it or not.
@fantombloo: At 30c/kWh that is 50c. You would need to cook a lot of chips to cover an air fryer.
Maybe replace your oven's thermostat. Mine used to be like yours. Now mine is 5m to pre-heat and maybe a 30 second burst if I am liberal with the door.
A 1500W air fryer might use 8c worth of power for a twelve minute cook. Five an a half minutes of a properly working 5kW oven is 5.75c more. So you would need to cook 920 batches of chips to cover the cost of a $69, 3.2L Kmart air fryer.
Not arguing with your convenience argument. Night and day more convenient. Just your maths and oven are a little off.
I agree why would you even consider spending $69 on a Kmart airfryer when you could spend $600+ on a pyrolytic oven and another $150 getting an electrician to legally install it not to mention the pyrolytic oven will only use about twice as much power to heat a small serve
"why would you even consider spending $69 on a Kmart airfryer when you could spend $600+ on a pyrolytic oven"
For a start, a pyrolytic oven will last a lifetime, but an air fryer would last a couple of years - if you're lucky!
And all that cleaning after each session! No Thanks.
"the pyrolytic oven will only use about twice as much power"
Twice as much? seriously? You just made that up didn't you? Maybe 20% more.
But, but, but, it's so much more versatile. You can cook a whole meal for several people. Try doing that with an air fryer.
true I did just pull the figures out of the air but a quick look shows the cheapest pyrolitic oven at Appliances on line is the Beko at $869 and this uses 3.3Kw compared to the kmart air fryer at 1.8Kw so you are advocating people should remove their working existing oven and install a pyrolitic one at a cost of aproximately $1019 instead of buying an air fryer for $89 wish I had money to throw away like that.Also in my experience I can cook 2-3 chicken tenders or a pie about 30%faster in an air fryer than I can in the oven
Also if I invested the $930 saving I would expect to earn enough to be able to purchase a new air fryer every 2 years and still have the capital invested
Seems rather silly to 'chuck it' like you suggest if it's already bought and you're closing with 'why would you spend huge $'s'. That really would be a waste of money, wouldn't it?
"It does not require me to use and dirty an oven tray"
I line the baking tray with baking paper, so that the tray almost never needs cleaning.
After a few uses I just chuck the baking paper once it deteriorates enough.
Have almost never cleaned a baking tray coz they never get dirty enough.
Maybe just a wipe with a paper towel if they get too greasy.
To summarise, the pyrolytic SELF CLEANING wall oven, for me, means NO CLEANING AT ALL, not even for the baking tray, for over a year now.
"I have 2 fan-forced ovens"
Why do you need two?
"I just stumbled on a re-run of a Frasier episode"
Have you heard of video recorders?
You could set up your PVR to record Frasier (I'm a big fan too!) then, when the cooking is done rerun it from the start.
That's the most PATHETIC list of excuses I've seen for throwing big bucks at an air fryer.
Are you okay?
I have a 60cm for general use, and a 90cm that's used less often for bigger things or when people come over. At party time when the food is being pumped out they are both used together and having a second oven makes life much easier.
My ovens were used pretty much every day until I got an air fryer. If it involves reheating from a frozen pack, or is something simple thing like baked spuds or veggies, it now most often ends up in the air fryer.
Edit: you are the most PATHETIC commenter I have ever seen, so I'll be done here now thanks. Bye. <—- See how well that works?
No need to spend big bucks on an Air Fryer, just get a Kmart one for $69 Easily pay for itself in the first year.
"Easily pay for itself in the first year"
How so? If that's true I'd buy 100 and make a motsa….
Poll please
Depends what you cook. If you do chicken wings then you'll need to clean it every time. Chips and pies don't really dirty it so you don't need to clean it. I just do it in the sink with detergent then put the basket back in and turn it on for 3 min to dry it. It's a 2 min process.
Never clean it, use it for 3 months then throw it out, just like disposable razor blades.
I used to hate cleaning mine until I got a brush from the supermarket. Fill the container with hot, soapy water and go to town scrubbing with the brush. Pull the basket out and scrub the other side, scrub the tray and give it all a rinse.
I've been using the original Philips one from this deal daily for the last 4 years.
I wipe, clean, and wash it out every single time now as it's getting long in the tooth (non-stick wearing thin, mesh coming away from the basket). It's due for a dismantling and proper clean of all the nooks and crannies. Waiting for a deal on an XL or XXL now.
Lining the bottom of the tray with tin foil eliminates any smoking, as it's the oil that drips onto the hot metal that generates smoke. Sometimes I steam a 50:50 Vinegar to Water solution in it to loosen the crud from the heating element.
Controversial opinion: Air fryers are kind of a fad, it's almost exactly the same as fan forced conventional oven.
Ehhhhhhh that's your opinion to have. I, however, respectfully disagree.
It is exactly a mini fan forced oven and many many people use it that way, myself included.
However, the standard preheating time for an oven is at least 10-15 minutes and with the world and work the way it is, time is literally money. With the average air fryer, however, it takes 1-2 minutes to pre-heat.
The Air Fryer is perfect for times when you want to pre-heat that 1-3 items but, can't be bothered waiting (or time pressed) for the pre-heating time. It's also good for singles or couples who don't need that extra space for a conventional oven, and doesn't bake.
The family uses it to cook various nibbles and pastries every Saturday/Sunday morning and it's perfect. I even made "Apple Dumplings" for Mother's Day in it and it came out super perfect.
i got the smith and nobel air fryer as a gift. in the beginning cleaning was easy but now it is not (after a year). i think the non sticky coating is wearing away? also it's starting to rust (not normal?). if i buy an expensive one like philips, this won't happen right?
We've had our Phillips one from Costco for at least about 3 years and it's still running very well.
There are mild rust issues but, nothing major and it's on the drip tray so, it matters even less.
As for the non-stick coating, what are you putting in there that doesn't easily come away? Our Spinach and Ricotta pastries occasionally get annoying and stick but, it's nothing a scrubbing brush can't handle.
thanks for your reply! last night i placed some honey on top of pork chops and that took forever to remove from the mesh. i didn't want to scrub the surface so i used my wooden spatula but the rusting part this morning got to me and now there's some sticky residue on the side i can't be bothered to remove. i guess i need to stay away from sticky food then
Happy to help!
If that's the case, maybe put in some baking paper next time?
I'd suggest putting it in a warm bath with detergent for some time (10-20 minutes) before you attack it with anything.
If you want an air fryer for the crispy chips it may kill you. I don’t even buy chips anymore because it was just too convenient. I was living on the damn things for months. Not a healthy choice. As for cleaning? You will start out with an easy to clean thing but by the time you have cooked and eaten your hundredth lot of chips you won’t care anymore. They are also great fo reheating takeaways. I gotta go see a dietitian!!!
Just discovered these air fryers …
The only air fryers I would consider are these two … they both have a roller cage for frying chips etc evenly and rotisserie for roasting whole chickens etc, as well as other interesting bits & pieces.
https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/buy/kogan-12l-1800w-digital-…
AND
https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/buy/kogan-12l-rotary-air-fry…
They have a 12 litre capacity & can take a whole chicken.
I'm tempted to try one out.
Any recommendations?
What happened? Did your SELF-CLEANING PYROLYTIC fan forced oven cheat on you or something?
"Did your SELF-CLEANING PYROLYTIC fan forced oven cheat on you or something?"
The wall oven doesn't have a rotisserie which I would find very useful for evenly frying chips or a whole chicken.
My main gripe with most air fryers is their small sizes, limiting their usefulness, but these two have a 12 litre capacity which can take a whole chicken on a rotisserie or a big pile of chips in the rotating cage.
They also look a lot easier to clean than most of the others I've seen.
Plus I'm interested to see if there would be any improvement in the crispiness of french fries as someone here cliams.
One of them is only $69, so could be worth a try.
very interesting …
Just found an interesting article ….
Why we don’t recommend pod-shaped air fryers
Three of the appliances tested in this review of appliances with air frying capabilities.
Here are some of the different types of appliances you can use to “air fry”: the Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven (left), the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven (middle), and the Philips HD9641/96 pod-shaped air fryer (right). Photo: Sarah Kobos
Air fryers fall mainly into two camps: small, pod-shaped models and larger models that look like a typical high-end convection toaster oven. There are also a few outliers with extra-gimmicky features, such as the T-fal ActiFry FZ700251 and the Oster DuraCeramic Air Fryer (both of which look like something out of an ’80s sci-fi movie), or the Ninja Foodi (a combination air fryer and pressure cooker).
The Oster DuraCeramic Air Fryer shown on a countertop with its lid open.
Pod-shaped air fryers have a single fan and heating element positioned on top of the oven cavity. Toaster-oven air fryers usually have heating elements on the top and the bottom, and a fan on the top or the side of the oven’s interior. How well the heating elements and fan work varies from model to model in both categories. Some air fryers ran so hot and had such powerful fans that they cooked unevenly and concentrated heat on top of the food, behaving more like convection broilers than convection ovens. Other models we tested ran so cool that it was hard to tell whether they were even on. But after testing six pod-shaped air fryers in 2017 and nine toaster-oven-style models in 2019, we’ve concluded that the pods aren’t worth getting.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-fryer/
Read it just in time, as I was considering buying one of those air fryers to try it out and see what all the fuss was about …. saved by the bell!
@Gekov: Another interesting bit … from the same site as above
You Don’t Need an Air Fryer. You (Probably) Already Own Something Better.
Convection toaster ovens can do everything air fryers can do—and more.
We found that pod-shaped air fryers often had more-powerful fans, but this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, since they could produce dried-out foods and overcooked cakes. And the “fryer” baskets in pod-shaped models were too limited. Even filled to capacity, they could fit only a couple of servings of food at a time, which isn’t practical for larger households. In general, we found that pod-shaped air fryers didn’t cook as evenly as the toaster-oven models because their cramped interiors didn’t allow heat to fully circulate around the food, even when we shook the basket periodically.
Overall, the nine toaster-oven air fryers we tested performed far better than the pod-shaped air fryers. The toaster-oven air fryers had more space to spread food out so that it cooked evenly and browned better. And most offer more cooking options, such as pre-programmed settings for making toast, dehydrating fruit, or baking pizza. Some even have a rotisserie mechanism. Most toaster-oven air fryers come with better accessories, too, like a baking pan, an air fryer basket, or multiple oven racks. That said, even though the toaster-oven air fryers performed much better than the pod-shaped air fryers, none of them were better than our favorite toaster oven with convection, the Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster Oven.
For the record, you can get similar “air fried” results when cooking food in a full-size oven with convection. But because a full-size oven is so much larger than a toaster oven or an air fryer, it takes much longer to preheat and can take longer to cook food. The Cuisinart TOB-260N1 toaster oven preheats almost immediately, making it the better choice if speed is part of what appeals to you about an air fryer.
Another video indicates that air fryers are no better than convection ovens for crispiness or even speed of cooking ….
The main adavantage of an air fryer is the use of less power.
The tester did not see a need to buy an air fryer …
I use dishes that can go in the air fryer and wash those dishes instead. Much faster.
This air fryer looks much better than most of the stuff mentioned ….
https://tvshop.com.au/products/air-roaster-pro
Looks much easier to clean as well.
This looks like the air fryer for me.
https://tvshop.com.au/collections/kitchen/products/air-roast…
Stainless steel cavity, rotisserie, rolling cage for evenly cooking fries, skewer rack, digital control panel.
Convenient front door opening, just like a full sized oven.
Looks much easier to clean than those pod shaped things, with a removable drip tray.
And no non-stick surfaces to wear out.
WOW!
I specifically like the idea of rotisserie chicken.
And best of all, a 30 day trial, which I'll be taking up, is offered!
OOPS that link doesn't work …
Here is the right one …
https://tvshop.com.au/products/air-roaster-pro?_pos=2&_sid=8…
A quick wipe with a paper towel after each use while it's still hot after pouring the excess fat out.
A wash in the sink every couple of weeks or so or sooner if it's starting to get a buildup of food crud.
Apart from that, nothing.