Air fryer

I've been reluctant to buy an air fryer, but I see that Smith's is selling a Toastmaster 2.6 qt model for $25. Anyone have any experience with them?

My youngest son bought one and raved about it. He used it to cook roast potatoes for a roast on two occasions when we visited, but I noticed he'd reverted to a baking dish in the oven most recent time we visited (and the roasties were many times better) .

Maybe there's a point if money is tight and you want to cut the bill on using an oven.

Larry, no experience with that specific model but we love our air fryer, which I just view as a small scale convection oven. We use it as a substitute for deep frying (something we never did very frequently) but still pan fry since doing so produces Maillard-generated crust in a way that air frying won't. And it should be noted that deep frying produces a better crust too due to the greater heat transfer you get from oil vs. air. But things like Buffalo wings and eggplant parmesan work really well in it.

[Robin Garr]

We got a small air frier (Ninja Air Fryer Pro) during a Prime Day sale last year, and I'm pretty happy with it. I won't say we use it a lot, but it gets pulled out every couple of weeks for a variety of chores ranging from fried potatoes to tofu creations, and I've never been disappointed with the results.

Friends of mine also rave about the Ninja.

I certainly need a toaster, if not a toaster oven. I'm told an air fryer can stand-in for those.

I suppose I like making egg rolls from time to time... maybe an air fryer saves me some trouble boiling a pot of oil? (Sounds somewhat medieval? (Though, as it happens, I have some Cistercian plain-chant on as background music so that might be influencing my opinion....))