We had a bake-off afternoon, using the Proscenic to whip up a superb apple pie (we used an enamel pie dish sitting in the basket) and a savoury quiche. No soggy bottoms in sight, as the heat was evenly distributed. Air fryers can cook virtually anything in them," according to Lara Brittain, kitchen and appliances expert at Currys. "However we do not recommend cooking anything considered a wet food i.e. anything in a wet batter as you would not get the best results and the batter would probably run off." How does an air fryer work? Meanwhile, your food is held in an air fryer basket, which has vents to allow this hot air to pass through and cook your food evenly. We tested some of the best air fryers on the market. Read on for our verdict. Best air fryers at a glance: Cons: Takes up quite a bit of counter space, cooking chamber isn't big enough for some cuts of meat

In comparison to deep-fat frying, air frying can be a healthier alternative," according to Lara. "Using convection cooking rather than oil means there will be less fat in the final food that ends up on your plate." What is the best air fryer? For big families, the Tefal ActiFry Genius XL only needs one spoon of oil. Its extra-large, 1.7-litre fryer cooks family meals like curries or tajines. Its touch-screen interface makes everything simple and comes with lots of different meal ideas. There's also a delayed start function so it'll have food ready in time for when you get home. And it'll keep meals warm until you're ready to eat.

How does an air fryer work?

There was no specific keep warm function, but we found this model held onto heat really well when the drawer was fully shut. One niggle with this model was the crumbs would fall through the basket to the bottom of the unit on air fry mode, which means extra cleaning.

One of a growing number of air fryer models in the Tower range, the Tower Vortex 7-in-1 Air Fryer is a combi-steam machine that offers a generous 7-litre cooking capacity, lots of features and functions in a stylish-looking design. It’s a reasonably chunky thing, with dimensions of 42.7D x 31.9W x 38.7H centimetres and weighing in at 6.65 kilograms, so it’ll dominate your worktop if you’re in a galley kitchen. However, the square-ish design lines also means the appliance can be stored fairly easily once it has cooled down and been wiped over. The downside? It's hard to find one in all honesty– but we did notice that when using the manual setting, there's no option for setting a reminder to shake the basket for evenness. This is a digital air fryer you’ll use a lot, simply because it’s compact enough to be right there on the worktop where you can see it rather than stashed in a cupboard. 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?Pros: Alexa compatible, has recipes to choose from, large capacity, keep warm function, great design That’s why the Tower Vortex 7-in-1 Air Fryer with Steamer is appealing to me, because it can combine air frying with steaming. It's a match made in heaven. Delicate foods, with fish being a prime example, are hard to get right in an air fryer, but the Tower Vortex 7-in-1 Air Fryer with Steamer has proved to be excellent at getting things spot-on. For one thing, lose your toaster. Cuisinart’s dedicated mode means you can do a whole tray of bread or bagels in one go, and choose your perfect shade.

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's not too noisy, offers great functions – air fry, grill, bake, saute and roast – and doesn’t take up too much space.We liked the green pre-heating light, which pinged off to show us when the time was right to place ingredients in the "fry pot" drawer, which had an optional crisping tray for extra crunch. With temperature settings up to 200 degrees, we got a real crunch to that coating, prompting one tester to say she was giving up on Colonel Sanders and going homemade from now on – praise indeed! It's true; airfryers really do change the whole cooking game. This Breville offering is unbelievably straight forward to use, with predetermined categories handily represented by diagrams that include chips, poultry, vegetables, red meat and fish which are pre-set to the exact time and temperature each one needs.