See photos of foods I have cooked in this air fryer. I bought it primarily for use as a small countertopoven more than as an alternative to pan-frying, and this model (called simply “compact air fryer” not “air fryer/convection/toaster oven” was less expensive than most other oven-like options, despite the fact that it has convection-oven fans that circulate hot air around the whole space. Unlike the more expensive versions by Cuisinart and others, this model (about $94 when I got it, down to $85 now) only has heat elements at the top (and has only two controls, the temperature dial and the on-off/timer dial. It is only possible to turn on for a timed duration, maximum 60 minutes (I haven’t used it for anything longer than 30 minutes so far, and since I can be distractible, I prefer to limit how much I can burn things with the auto-off timer feature. It’s probably a good choice for anyone with distractibility or memory problems to prevent fires. However, the top-only heat elements mean that, while the bottom of things gets *cooked*, it doesn’t really get *browned* unless you flip it halfway through. That’s why they don’t call this model a toaster even though you can toast in it, just one side at a time. So, what have I made with it? A surprising variety of things. From left to right, fries, roasted red bell pepper and onions, and an Aidells chicken burger; a loaf of artisan bread; crisped tortillas for tostadas; panko pork and vegetables; and oatmeal-raisin cookies. You can see on the cookies that, unlike in the oven, you need not worry about the bottom of the cookies burning and sticking to the pan; they are cooked all the way through but the underside isn’t brown, only the top. If I wanted the bottom brown too I could have flipped them for a minute or two. I did flip everything else pictured (except the bell pepper and onions) for even browning. The bread was the biggest surprise and delight, as I love to make small loaves frequently so I always have fresh bread, and during summer I hate to turn on the big oven for half an hour or more, just for a small loaf. I actually made two loaves that day as an experiment. The first one got a bit too brown and crisp on the top and was off-white (though fully cooked) on the bottom, in for 20 minutes at 400° - it also was flatter because it only had a 30 minute final rise before baking, but this one pictured rose for an hour, and was baked on parchment paper in the elevated basket instead of on the flat metal sheet. But the important thing was that I put it in at 375° for 12 minutes, at which point the outside was fully set; then I flipped it over and gave it ten more minutes, thus browning the underside too. It wasn’t too crispy-crusted to slice well, but it had a very satisfying snap when biting into the crust. I can imagine making perfect banh mi rolls in this oven. This was a fairly wet dough, not quite as wet as the NYT no-knead recipe but close. Other than a few cooking classes, I had never used a convection oven before. It really cuts down on cooking time and temperature settings. If you have used them, you won’t have as much adjusting to do with this. One thing I saw mentioned in another review was a loud noise and the buckling of a baking tray. This happened to me but after the tray cooled down it snapped back into the former flatness, and it didn’t affect what I was cooking at all. I’ve had flat pans do this under high heat, especially from one direction only, in a regular oven, so it didn’t alarm me, that is how metals can react to sudden and rapid heating, certain metals more than others (thin aluminum does it more than steel). If it really bothers you, I’m sure you could find a thicker steel pan to use in this oven, but since there’s no lasting damage, I don’t fuss about it. By the way, air-fried French fries are really unappetizing. Crispy outside, sure, but too dry and flavorless inside. Cuisinart recommends spraying oil on starchy things to keep them from sticking to the basket or pan, but you also really need some fat for flavor and to keep the food from drying out. So don’t think this is going to be the answer to your low-fat diet. (I also can’t stand air-popped popcorn; in fact, I have recently rediscovered popping corn in oil in a saucepan on the stove, the way we did before microwaves and popping machines, and it’s actually delicious if you use good olive oil — even without adding butter! I was shocked.) If I were buying it again, I might wait till I could afford the more expensive ones with 4 dials and top and bottom heat elements so I could avoid the split-time food-flipping, but I didn’t have more than $100 to spend and now that I’ve figured out how to brown the whole item, I’m happy not to have had to shell out $200-$300. I might also like a better-insulated one, because this does warm up the immediate area and can be hot to the touch; but it’s usually not on for long, and the heat dissipates quickly once it’s turned off.
