Aluminium foil can go in the air fryer basket as a base for certain foods but only use a small amount and only in the basket of the air fryer. Never wrap or cover the food or use an excessive amount of foil as the less foil you use, the more airflow you’ll have. With its five different settings that enable you to grill, bake, roast, air fry and dehydrate, it's an air fryer with a difference. We reviewed each one to see how the fryer fared…

With a generous six-litre capacity, it comes with a selection of trays and bowls to cook in, all of which are dishwasher friendly. And while I’m grumbling, this air fryer’s two baskets feature a dual-skinned front that stays reasonably cool in use, but neither the baskets nor their food trays are dishwasher safe. If you’re as lazy as me when it comes to washing up, that could be a pain. Finally, there’s no shake reminder, which would be helpful to ensure even browning on foods. Not only does an air fryer promise to cut down your cooking time, but it does so with as little need for oil as possible. So you can still achieve that deep-fried effect without the unhealthy aftertaste. It works brilliantly, too. Mid-week we made halloumi kebabs and rice in one pot, in just 15 minutes. That’s good going, and there’s very little mess at the end. For example, potato wedges take 20 minutes at 190 degrees, so you would simply select the air frying button at 190 degrees, preheat and then insert the food.

Salter Digital Hot Air Fryer review

Persevere and this air fryer can deliver some quality results: crispy chips and nicely browned sausages, not to mention faster cooking times and better results for frozen essentials. With a single 5-litre drawer, there’s a good amount of space for cooking for families, too.

You can cook individually, use the same setting on both drawers or, cleverly, use different settings on each drawer but have them synchronise to finish at the same time. There are options to air fry, max crisp (a 240C turbo setting), roast, reheat, dehydrate or bake. To prepare for Christmas dinner, I tested out Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon. Too long meant they reduced to barely the size of a pea and were very crispy, but by Christmas Day, I'd learned the perfect cooking time of 10 minutes and they were plenty flavourful. Bacon is also a great meat to cook in the air fryer if you like it crispy, but a beef burger dried out and didn’t retain its moisture, so it was almost inedible.This sizeable cooker can air fry, grill, pressure cook, steam and more. Results across the board are fantastic, but you’ll need to ask yourself whether you realistically need this much cooking space and number of functions before you buy it. The booklet also explains all the different timings and how to use the settings for air frying, baking, roasting, grilling and dehydrating. How to clean the Aero Grill Pro I decided to keep things simple and tried some home-made air-fried chips, which turned out to be very crispy and the kids didn’t complain. Air fryers work by convection, meaning they circulate hot air around your food, ensuring every bit of surface area is exposed to the oil and heat. You simply need to spray or pour a little oil onto whatever you’re cooking before switching on the appliance – although you don’t always have to use oil if you don’t want to. Add just a dash, however, and a clever chemical process called the Maillard reaction creates a crispy result with far less fat – up to 99% in some cases. With a higher-than-average temperature option of 230C, rather than the usual 200C, the Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry can cook food faster than many other air fryers, although it does take a bit longer to heat up.

We decided to use a bunch of bananas that were about to turn, cutting them into thin slices and layering them into the supplied tray. Tip. Add a dash of lemon juice to stop them turning brown. Not just an air fryer, but a complete cooker, the Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK is built to deliver nutritious food in as little as 15 minutes. It does this with its two layer cooking: base on the bottom (pasta, grains, rice, potatoes and so on), and protein on top (meat and veg) that is crisped up by the grill. Air fryers are surging in popularity, as we all become increasingly health-conscious and try to cut down on our calories, as well as our energy bills. They're well established now, and more and more innovations are appearing as manufacturers try to create the perfect multi-function kitchen tool.

While it may not best its peers, Salter’s Dual Digital air fryer is still a very attractive option when picked up at the right price

Also, there are question marks over the health benefits of air-frying more generally. it’s healthy compared to frying in oil and there are lots of from-scratch healthy recipes to choose from but there are other ways to cook that use no oil at all. Despite being a budget-friendly option, the T17023 was no slouch in testing, cooking oven classics such as spring rolls and hash browns to a commendable crispness and performing solidly when tasked with more delicate items like meat and vegetables. And since cooking time is reduced, the nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and all-important flavours are retained when grilled. Inside, there’s space for a 6-litre air fry basket, which is enough space to cook for large families. For grilling, there’s a grill plate that drops into place, which is big enough to take large skewers of food, plus whole steaks and portions of fish. The biggest bonus about owning an air fryer is not only the promise of cutting down your cooking time but doing so with as little need for oil as possible, not to mention it saves energy on the household bills. It means you can still achieve that deep-fried effect you're probably craving after healthy eating, without that unhealthy aftertaste.

If you’re moving to a new home or in the process of upgrading your kitchen with the latest appliances, you might be interested in our other best lists. These include the best microwaves and combi ovens, the best toasters, the best kettles and the best coffee machines. Best air fryers at a glanceFor starters, this can be useful, but once we were used to the air fryer, we found it easier to skip the app and use the controls on the front. The instructions recommended washing before use - after that our hardest decision was deciding what to eat first. Air Frying Air fryer technology is improving all the time. Older models might take a while to get going, and can require more oil than newer designs. Cheaper models may also require you to parboil chips, which might not be ideal if you’re looking for fast cooking times. Just as I found with the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone, you’re likely to use the Dual Air’s sync mode a lot when preparing a meal. It’s extremely helpful to dial up two different programmes, then just start the Dual Air running and have it deliver everything ready at the same time. Sometimes you’ll want greater flexibility, though, and this fryer offers it. You can essentially programme each side completely independently of the other. For example, you could bake for 40 minutes in tray two, while you cook a series of other foods in tray one.