Like any kitchen gadget, you want something that’s going to make life simpler, and there’s no doubt that frying and baking conventionally can be messy, smelly and even dangerous.

BBC Good Food’s expert reviews team has been reviewing air-fryers for four years, and regularly tests new models to ensure we’re bringing you the most up-to-date recommendations of the best air-fryers to spend your money on. Some of our fryers had up to nine pre-set programmes for popular foods like chips and, bizarrely, shrimps.You may prefer a digital version, where you press buttons to set this, and can see the remaining time digitally displayed. Air-fryers vary in their energy efficiency, but it is possible to calculate how much energy an appliance will use, which in turn will help you cost up the impact it’ll have on your bills.

You can operate it from a smartphone too, which is a fun bonus, though for safety reasons it has to be switched on manually. As for what you can cook with them, air-fryer chicken breasts, halloumi, doughnuts, buffalo cauliflower wings and, of course, air fried chips can all be made using air crisp functions. litre capacity – ideal for one-three portions – and takes up very little space on the kitchen counter. If you have the space on your countertop for another boxy appliance, Breville’s latest air-fryer is a statement multifunctional gadget that, when on, will draw attention from across the room.Digital touch controls are easy to use and feature a 90 minute timer and temperature adjustment up to 200 degrees C. Despite its large footprint and some initial difficulty with the match and sync functions, which allow you to finish cooking different foods at the same time, we were able to master the controls fairly quickly. Again, these tend to be the more expensive models, but this could a factor to consider if you want to go off and leave your dinner to cook itself.