When we think of consumer technology products, smartphones inevitably end up hogging the limelight in India. There are, however, other tech products that appear to have gained more acceptance in our homes. In our weekly ‘Friday Buying Guide’, we will focus on one consumer electronic item– it need not be an internet-enabled one– and explain what to keep in mind when considering this product for your home. This week, we are focussing on a popular kitchen appliance – the Air Fryers.

Air Fryers have emerged as a popular product, as many of us are becoming more conscious about what we eat. The Air Fryer relies on hot air to quickly cook food with very little oil required, and it is largely based on the principle of convection – where heat is transferred quickly via the air in this case. This is also why many of these also come with the ability to bake quick cakes, roast or grill meat items, veggies, etc. But the idea with the Air Fryer is that you can get crispy crunchy French fries or chicken nuggets without worrying about them being deep-fried and thus soaking in oil. The Air Fryer is especially great for those who want to keep a strict calorie count.

Most Air Fryers will let you set the temperature and time for the duration of the food. The fancier digital ones will also come with options for preset cooking menus, as well as extra accessories. There’s a bottom basket where the food is placed before you turn on the machine to start cooking the food.

Air Fryers are perfectly safe because the food is cooked using principles of convection and circulating hot air. You just need a little bit of oil for greasing purposes. Most of these come with a stainless steel grill where the food is placed for cooking, which is safe and fit for consumption as well.

When it comes to an Air Fryer, you need to keep the size in mind. This applies to how big the product is and the cooking capacity. The first aspect is important because the Air Fryer will occupy some countertop space in your kitchen–especially when in use. If you have a smaller kitchen with less space to spare, it might be wise to get a smaller or more compact Air Fryer.

The downside is that the Air Fryer in question will have a limited cooking capacity. Some smaller ones might have a capacity of 2 litres or so. The disadvantage is that if you have a large family, you might have to do your cooking in batches with a smaller Air Fryer. Ideally, a 4-litre Air Fryer should suffice for most homes with compact kitchens and smaller families. But if you have space to spare and a bigger family, a bigger Air Fryer with 6-litre capacity might make more sense.

You must have seen several digital Air Fryers in the market with fancy settings and menus, and these look tempting. The old models — which typically start at Rs 4000 or so– usually come with rotator knobs for managing timer and temperature. The Digital Ones are fancier, many come with set menu options, say for cooking veggies or reheating a frozen pizza or making french fries. Some of these might cost more, especially if you want a digital option with a larger capacity.

Remember, the core cooking technology is more or less the same across these. You are paying for a fancier-looking version. Make sure you are comfortable using and figuring out these digital versions when considering such an option.

This might seem unnecessary, but many Air Fryers also support different types of cooking, instead of just making French Fries. If you are planning to get one and don’t have an oven, for instance, the Air Fryer can be a place for baking some quick cakes. Some Air Fryers come with other accessories that must be purchased separately. For instance, Philips offers a baking accessory for select Air Fryer models. It also offers a spare, replaceable basket if the main one gets damaged.

Some companies offer an extra grill or rack that can be placed in the basket itself to give you two layers of cooking. So you can get double the amount of chicken tikka in one go when using the rack. Of course, there are unofficial accessories, which will fit in the Air Fryer, so you can also get those, but there’s an added hassle of figuring out the exact size.

You also want to ensure that the Air Fryer supports a wide range of temperatures, along with timer options. Don’t get one where the timer might be limited to 15 minutes at max, because some foods take a bit longer to cook. Remember, the temperature settings need to be changed according to the food in question. So make sure yours offers a wide range of options to set this. Finally, smart connectivity is one aspect you can consider. Xiaomi and Philips both have options for this, but it’s not something everyone will need. With an Air Fryer, you mostly have a clear purpose when buying this: controlling the oil intake in your food. Most products in the market will do this easily. You just have to remember how many of the extra additions you want.

The Friday Buying Guide will be a regular weekly column where our team looks at a consumer electronics product and what to keep in mind before buying one.

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