Its aluminium and Teflon basket was good quality and generous in size, with enough room to cook for the whole family. Basic models will air fry, but some will use different elements and heated trays to bake, grill or even toast. Make sure anything you use is kept away from the heating elements though as otherwise it can be a fire hazard. Are air fryers healthy? And because it uses hot air to cook your food, you don't have to use as much oil, meaning the results are healthier too. Here's what you need to know. What is an air fryer?

It has a number of other settings too, including bake, roast and dehydrate settings. In total, there are sixteen presets; we haven't even had time to test them all. Yes, this air fryer oven is certainly bigger than some of the basket versions, but there may be a way to clear some space. We liked scrolling through recipes on our phone and prepping ingredients, then letting the machine get on with it, alerting us when dinner was ready. On some models, like Tefal ActiFry, it'll even help coat your food with just the right amount of oil to achieve even results. Adjusting the temperature and timer manually is just as straight forward, with clear plus and minus signs that you simply tap to change.

Steam Air Fryer FAQs

This is a posh choice that claims to cook 30% faster than conventional ovens and it certainly made us think we’d see ours go out of action if this was on the worktop. The pre-heat time is only 90 seconds on this model and that’s good news for your leccy bill, compared to using the main appliance.

We found it really simple and easy to use from the get-go: our first attempt at perfectly crispy spring rolls had us hooked, it was easy to clean afterwards and we loved the addition of the recipe book which has some really tasty-looking breakfasts, sides, desserts and more. It's an easy one to get around, however: as presets have a shake reminder, we just selected one and manually adjusted the time and temperature from there. Sorted!Dimensions: 36 x 32 x 25cm, Capacity: 3.8L, Servings: 4, Function: air fry, roast, reheat, dehydrate, Power: 1550W We particularly liked the "sync" function that sorted out cooking so everything was ready at exactly the same time, even if we pre-heated only one basket. The machine told us when to add food and if we opened one side to move things around, the other side would pause cooking. Dimensions: 38.6 x 34.4 x 28.6cm, Capacity: 4.7kg, Servings: 4, Function: air fry, grill, bake, saute and roast, Power: 1500W What should I look for in an air fryer? Considering its dinky size and simplicity, it would be a great choice for uni students and elderly family members who sometimes can’t find their way around complicated gadgets. You can use foil or parchment paper in your air fryer to make clean-up easy," says Lara. "However, parchment paper is probably a better option!"