We prefer the simple manual dials on this air fryer to the befuddling touchscreens of other air fryers (including the touchscreen variant of this model), but the dials are not very well designed.

Most air fryers pair a heat source at the top of the appliance with a large fan that circulates the hot air. It scored the highest marks across the board for ease of use, thanks to its intuitive, easy-to-read buttons and clear and useful owner’s manual. The visual window allows you to keep an eye on your food without having to open the fryer, helping to maintain the perfect cooking temperature and ensure your food comes out perfectly every time.But the display can be hard to activate with greasy fingers, and the display is cluttered with unhelpful presets. For example, large, clear function icons and controls, or perhaps an audible indicator for when each function has finished?

New to Cosori's range of air-fryers, the TurboBlaze is a stylish, six-litre gadget with nine presets, including air-fry, roast, grill, prove, and reheat. Hot air circulates 360° inside and quickly penetrates the ingredients for a crispy exterior and tender interior without adding oil, allowing you to enjoy delicious low-calorie, low-fat meals. They often do a lot more than just air-frying – look for models that offer additional presets, such as reheat, bake, roast, dehydrate and grill, plus specific ingredients like bacon, sausages, steak, fish, or even desserts. The Philips 3000 Series Airfryer L HD9252/91 is the same air fryer as the HD9200/91, but this one has a touch screen instead of dials.Nothing revives leftover french fries or crisps up a handful of dino nuggets quite like an air fryer.

The cooking results, too, were excellent – both thick and thin-cut air-fried chips were a success, as was a deliciously crisp duck breast, which cooked at 180C for just 15 minutes.

These ovens also give you more delicate control over the way you cook—many give you the ability to turn the powerful convection fan off so your baked goods don’t become dried out.

Our chicken breast – air-fried at 200C for 15 minutes – was golden and crisp, with juicy, succulent meat in the middle. The dial-operated version of our new top pick, the Philips 3000 Series Airfryer L, is currently sold out. Just bear in mind that it will take longer for the heat to get through and you might need to increase the air frying time by a few minutes. The handle, however, is only good up to 180ºC in the oven; this makes it quite hot, so it must be used cautiously. Its streamlined interface has only four preprogrammed settings—air fry, roast, bake, and reheat—all operated by a single dial, which makes the Vortex Mini easy to use right out of the box.The Vortex Mini also helpfully makes a light beeping noise halfway through the cook time to remind you to flip the food, regardless of the setting. We cooked BBC Good Food’s basic omelette in each pan, making a note of how long the pan took to pre-heat. It’s visually more trim, too; the simple dials and nearly rectangular build set this air fryer apart from its globular, spaceship-like counterparts. You may prefer a digital version, where you press buttons to set this, and can see the remaining time digitally displayed.