What is it?
A compact hot-air cooker. Traditional fryer cooking is known to be unhealthy but remains a popular (and tasty) option. Airfrying could be the ideal replacement as it is faster than grilling, provides a more pleasing texture to food and uses a fraction of the oil.
Good points?
The device design is well thought out and keeps bulk to a minimum with its flat top and rounded body, meaning it can be stored in all but the smallest of cupboards. Operation is a cinch with only a temperature gauge and timer to set which is all outlined in the manual.
The cooking speed is comparable to a normal kitchen oven but the real benefit of the airfryer is that it gives food a crispy exterior with soft innards, so perfect for chips, chicken and pastries.
Bad points?
The price tag will put many off. The small food tray impedes efficient cooking and means you'll be doing multiple loads for a Sunday roast. The action to remove the food basket is not sleek and results in frustration.
Best for ...
People seeking healthier alternatives to deep fat frying or those with limited or no kitchen space for an oven.
Avoid if ...
You intend on feeding more than two people as the 800g capacity is further limited by requiring the ingredients to have enough air circling them to cook properly.
Score: 7/10
Philips Viva Airfryer HD9220, £180 (Philips.co.uk)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here