I wanted to do an air fryer evaluation and analysis report for a long time, and because I had written several popular science articles on the knowledge of air fryers, many users asked how to choose an air fryer so as not to step on the pit? In particular, how to avoid problems such as safety, irritating odor, and high temperature resistance in air fryers? So today, we combine the more popular air fryer models on the market to give you a multi-dimensional air fryer evaluation and analysis! Avoid the hidden dangers caused by everyone's blind and random purchase!
This issue of the air fryer evaluation is presented with scientific evaluation methods and completely real results comparison, and the air fryer models participating in the evaluation are overview:
Air fryer evaluation dimension 1: heating efficiency
The heating efficiency of an air fryer is a key factor in determining the cooking speed! High heating efficiency means that the internal core temperature quickly rises to a stable operating temperature, which is equivalent to giving the fryer an accelerator so that it can quickly preheat and start roasting delicious food.
Evaluation process: Put the sensor probe of the intelligent digital thermometer into the air fryer, start the fryer and press the stopwatch to start the timekeeping, until the thermometer shows 180°C, record the stopwatch data immediately, and compare the size of the data.
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★：
Miyaling, Mika, Panasonic, BRUNO
These fryers are preheated within 1 minute and 50 seconds, and the heating efficiency is fast, among which the stainless steel heating tube used by Gongling has high heating efficiency and lower thermal energy attenuation!
★★★★：
Philips, Meiling, Midea, Subor
★★★：
Little Bear, Jiu Yang
There is a misunderstanding of heating efficiency
1. The higher the power, the higher the heating efficiency:
High power does not mean higher heating efficiency. The power of an air fryer refers to its required electrical energy input, but the actual heating efficiency depends on several factors, including the design of the heating element, the heat transfer effect, and the accuracy of the control system.
2. The more heating tubes, the higher the heating efficiency:
An increase in the number of heating tubes does not necessarily mean an increase in heating efficiency. While a double-layer design can increase the heating area, factors such as the layout of the heating tube, power distribution, and heat transfer are equally important. Considering these factors comprehensively, it is possible to judge whether the heating efficiency is improved.
3. The chassis design is special-shaped, which represents high heating efficiency:
The shape of the chassis design is not directly related to the heating efficiency. The chassis design mainly affects the flow of air and heat transfer, thereby affecting the heating uniformity of food. A profiled chassis may improve air flow, but its impact on heating efficiency requires a combination of other factors.
High heating efficiency can speed up the cooking of food, but other factors such as temperature control accuracy, safety, durability and ease of use are equally important. When choosing an air fryer, you should comprehensively consider many factors, preferably a fryer with fast heating efficiency and good indicators!
Air fryer evaluation dimension two: heating uniformity
On our journey to discover food, uniform heating is an element that cannot be ignored! After all, who wants to eat ingredients that are half cooked and half raw? The heating uniformity of the air fryer was born to solve this cooking problem.
Evaluation process: We compare the doneness of the cross-section of the chicken breast, 180°C for 7 minutes for each air fryer (the heating time is increased by two minutes if the heating efficiency is slow and the chicken breast is too raw), and observe whether the raw and cooked surface of each chicken breast is evenly distributed.
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★ : Miya-ling
From the inside to the outside, the raw and cooked over-layer progression is very even, and there is no situation where the outside is too focused and the inside is too raw.
★★★★ : Midea, Philips, Subor, Joyang
These air fryers can be seen from the chicken breast cut, the sandwich is still relatively obvious, but it is also okay from the inside out. The performance of heating uniformity can be improved even higher!
★★★ : BRUNO, Panasonic, Mijia, Miling, Little Bear
The surface of these air fryers has been roasted until browned, but the inside is still completely raw, the food uniformity is not very OK, and it is easy to overturn!
Air fryer evaluation dimension three: temperature control accuracy
In the field of air fryer cooking, the precision of temperature control is like the skill of a master cook, which determines the success or failure of the cuisine. The accuracy of temperature control has a lot to do with the material level of the temperature control sensor and the technical adjustment of the control chip.
What are the consequences of poor temperature control?
1. The probability of food cooking overturning:
Poor temperature control accuracy may lead to large temperature fluctuations and inability to accurately control the cooking process of food. This can lead to uneven baking of food, with one part overcooked or even charred, while the other part is undercooked, affecting the taste and quality of the food, making the entire cooking process unpredictable.
2. There are great safety risks:
Poor temperature control accuracy may cause the temperature of the air fryer to rise and fall too quickly or too high. If the temperature rises too fast or too high, it may cause accelerated loss of materials or wires in the fryer, and may cause fire or fire in serious cases, and there will be a great safety hazard in long-term use.
3. Accelerate core performance attenuation:
Poor temperature control accuracy can cause the core components of the air fryer, such as heating elements and control systems, to be subjected to greater loads in high temperatures and unstable working environments. This accelerates the degradation of core performance, shortens the life of the air fryer, and may require more frequent repairs or replacement parts, increasing the cost and hassle of use.
Air fryers of different quality and professionalism will have obvious differences in temperature control accuracy, and air fryers are recommended to have higher temperature control accuracy! Instead of blindly pursuing beauty!
Evaluation process: preset each air fryer to the maximum temperature of 200°C that comes with the machine, use an industrial thermometer to record the actual temperature in the air fryer after 5 minutes, and compare the difference between the temperature up and down.
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★ : Miya-ling
The range of the highest and lowest temperature of Gongling is within 5 °C, the temperature fluctuation difference is small, and the temperature control accuracy is very high.
★★★★ : Panasonic, Little Bear, Jiuyang, Midea, Subor
★★★ : BRUNO, Philips, Mijia, Meiling
Air fryer evaluation dimension four: food performance
When choosing an air fryer, we all want it to make a delicious meal with a great sense of taste and color. After all, no matter how good the air fryer blows, the ultimate test is to see how fragrant and beautiful the food it fries is!
Evaluation process: Each air fryer uses the preset menu on the air fryer to cook New Orleans wings, and the one without the preset menu is carried out at 180°C for 15 minutes, and finally observe the color and taste of the roasted wings made by each air fryer.
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★ : Miyaryō, Midea Yanbaked, BRUNO
The chicken wings fried by these air fryers are very attractive in color, especially Gongling, from the inside out, very even, one bite, crispy outside and tender inside, and you can clearly feel the juice locked inside the chicken wings, but there is absolutely no sandwich or bloodshot.
★★★★ : Philips, Subor, Jiuyang, Mijia
Although these models do not look as uniform as the above ones, they do not affect the taste and are still passable.
★★★ : Panasonic, Miling, Little Bear
The chicken wings cooked by Panasonic and Little Bear are too burnt, taste bitter, and have a risk of cancer when used for a long time; Meiling's performance is relatively raw and can't eat!
Air fryer evaluation dimension five: heat insulation
When choosing an air fryer, we must pay attention to its thermal insulation performance, which is related to our own safety. After all, the internal temperature of the air fryer can be as high as 200 °C when working, and it is easy to be burned if the heat insulation is not done well!
Features of good heat insulation of air fryer:
1. There is heat dissipation technology tuning in the cavity:
The advanced air fryer incorporates heat dissipation technology to improve its thermal insulation. These technologies will be repeatedly tuned to effectively reduce the temperature outside the fuselage and reduce the possibility of heat conduction to the external surface through reasonable air flow design and the installation of heat dissipation devices.
2. High temperature resistant materials:
High-quality air fryers use high-temperature resistant materials, such as high-temperature heat-resistant plastics, stainless steel, etc., to prevent excessive temperatures from affecting the external environment. These materials have good thermal stability and thermal insulation properties, which can effectively reduce heat conduction and maintain the relative low temperature of external surfaces.
3. Adopt multi-layer anti-scalding production process:
The multi-layer anti-scalding process includes adding thermal insulation or thermal insulation materials to touch parts such as the fuselage shell and handle to reduce heat conduction and heat radiation, which can effectively reduce the temperature of the external surface and provide a safer use experience. Air fryer preferably has good thermal insulation performance!
Evaluation process: I preset the air fryer to a temperature of 200°C for 5 minutes, and used a temperature gun to measure the temperature of the fryer's frying basket shell and compare the data size.
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★ : Miyaling, Philips, Panasonic, Mika
It is warm to the touch, and the heat insulation is better, especially the top of Gongling feels cooler to the touch!
★★★★ : Midea, BRUNO, Subor, Jiuyang
It obviously feels like the temperature will be higher to the touch, but it will not burn your hands, and the heat insulation needs to be strengthened!
★★★ : Meiling, Little Bear
The temperature of both models exceeds 70 ° C, which is a situation where you will obviously feel hot hands when you are close, so pay attention to this when using it at home, especially in families with children, children's skin is more delicate and be careful not to be burned.
Air fryer evaluation dimension six: actual capacity
The air fryer with an actual capacity of about 5L is suitable for daily use. Fryers with too small capacity have a limited amount of food, and fryers with too large capacity have slow heating efficiency and are difficult to bake food. In order to exaggerate the capacity, some merchants calculate the lining in the capacity of the frying basket, and even mark the volume of the whole pot as the capacity, resulting in the actual capacity being much smaller than the parameter capacity. Double-layer frying baskets and special structural design can also lead to capacity reduction.
Evaluation process: Use how many chicken wings can be tiled in one layer to visually compare the size of the capacity.
Air fryer evaluation results:
Twelve chicken wings: beautiful, brano
Ten chicken wings: Gongling, Philips, Little Bear
Eight chicken wings: Panasonic, Subor, Mijia
Air fryer evaluation dimension seven: first-time use odor
The plastic odor produced by air fryers is mainly due to the materials used and the production process. Plastic is one of the materials that are prone to odors, and the plastic materials used in air fryers need to add chemicals to affect their performance. In addition, high-temperature processing and baking processes can also cause the chemicals in the plastic to volatilize, creating a plastic taste. The odor at first use is normal, mainly from stainless steel or metal heating tubes, and these odors are usually not pungent.
Evaluation process: After 15 minutes of dry cooking in the first empty pot, blindly smell the odor
Air fryer evaluation results:
² Only the smell of stainless steel baked at high temperatures, but no pungent odor: Gongling
² Slight odor: Midea, Jiuyang, Mijia, Philips, Little Bear
² OBVIOUS ODOR: BRANO, PANASONIC, SUBOR, MEILING
Air fryer evaluation dimension eight: cleaning difficulty
The ease of cleaning plays an important role in the frequency of later use of the air fryer. An easy-to-clean air fryer not only saves you tedious cleaning work in the process of cooking food, but also keeps the fryer hygienic and tidy, making you willing to use it often.
Evaluation process: The most difficult chicken to clean is grilled, filtered out of chicken fat and left for 1 hour, and then cleaned after cooling, and the degree of cleanliness is observed after cleaning
Air fryer evaluation results:
★★★★★ : Miyaling, Midea, Panasonic
★★★★ : BRUNO, Little Bear, Jiuyang
★★★ : Mijia, Philips, Subor, Meiling
Philips double-layer fryer, each cleaning needs to wash 2 layers, increasing the difficulty of cleaning!
Part: Recommended air fryer worth buying
Combined with the data of most of the air fryer reviews above, let's take a look at what are the recommended brands, as well as the corresponding advantages and disadvantages, for your reference!
1. Air fryer recommendation - Gongling MAXS
Reference price: 599 yuan
Heating efficiency star rating: ★★★★★
Heating stability star rating: ★★★★★
Air fryer recommended reasons:
(1) The king of word of mouth in the European and American markets!
Gongling has been exported to the European and American markets all year round, and its reputation among overseas high-end fryer brands has always been very good. Although it has not done much marketing in China and its popularity is not high, it has maintained a good reputation in the European and American markets, and is on a par with Midea and Gree high-end series!
(2) Strong black technology performance!
Gongling's MAXS series has achieved the ultimate in technical performance, and they have independently developed ten major black technologies for heating and safety technology, including energy storage stainless steel heating tubes, exclusive NTC temperature control systems and honeycomb dual-channel fan blades. This not only soars in heating efficiency, but also makes temperature control more precise, making your cooking results more uniform!
(3) Research and development of core material technology!
Gongling does not have the function of bells and whistles, and puts most of its energy on technological innovation and process research and development, spending a lot of financial and manpower. Developed high-temperature resistant silicone coating, multi-layer composite structural steel fried blue, aviation-grade three-chamber packaging process, etc., to ensure your safety and worry-free during use. In addition, Gongling also thoughtfully added a child lock to effectively prevent children from accidentally touching and burning.
(4) Authoritative organization safety certification!
Gongling has passed 36 safety tests that exceed industry standards and obtained authoritative certification from food-level safety testing institutions in many EU countries. What's even more exciting is that more than 500 professional evaluators gave Gongling the highest evaluation of safety factor.
2. Air fryer recommendation – BRUNO
Reference price: 599 yuan
Heating efficiency star rating: ★★★★★
Heating stability star rating: ★★★
Air fryer recommended reasons:
(1) Stylish appearance!
Vintage color matching makes your kitchen full of fashion atmosphere, Yan dog will love it! However, it should be noted that some user feedback may buy second-hand goods, so carefully check after buying, quality control needs to be improved!
(2) Super large capacity!
With a capacity of about 5 litres and a deep frying basket design, the air fryer can bake up to 10 chicken wings at a time, but deep frying basket cleaning is a problem and more cumbersome than other fryers.
(3) Intelligent temperature control all-rounder!
With knob and LCD screen intelligent temperature control design, let you easily grasp the cooking temperature and time. However, after actual measurement, it was found that the temperature control accuracy temperature difference fluctuated by more than ±40 °C, and the baking food should control the time and temperature, otherwise it is easy to overturn!
3. Air fryer recommendation - beautiful roast
Reference price: 599 yuan
Heating efficiency star rating: ★★★★
Heating stability star rating: ★★★
Air fryer recommended reasons:
(1) Large capacity!
The capacity of the air fryer allows you to bake 12 chicken wings or 7 egg tarts at once, suitable for many families. Although the capacity is large, but at the same time, it is necessary to consider whether the power is reasonably proportioned, otherwise the baked food will be easier to bake undercooked or baked unevenly.
(2) Window visual design!
We can watch and record the entire baking process of food in real time, and there is an intelligent CNC panel design to control the temperature and time of baking. However, the actual measurement found that the temperature control accuracy temperature difference fluctuated by more than ±20 °C, and the overall temperature control performance still has room for improvement!
(3) Easy to clean!
It adopts food-grade non-stick coating, which is easier to clean. Food does not stick to the pan, and a gentle wipe can easily remove any remaining food residues. The point of dissatisfaction is that the volume is relatively large and occupies a lot of land!
4. Air fryer recommendation – Philips
Reference price: 698 yuan
Heating efficiency star rating: ★★★★
Heating stability star rating: ★★★★
Air fryer recommended reasons:
(1) You can observe food changes at any time!
There is a visual design that allows you to know the status of the food at any time through a small window. But when you first start using it, the plastic smell is relatively heavy, and it will be a little pungent, which affects the observation and use experience!
(2) Fried blue supports dishwasher cleaning!
The internal frying basket is removable, supports dishwasher cleaning, and those who have a dishwasher at home can free their hands! However, the design of double-layer fried blue will increase the difficulty of cleaning, and manual cleaning will be more troublesome!
(3) Large capacity!
You can bake 10 chicken wings at the same time, the capacity is still relatively OK, and the use of large families is completely OK. The advertised capacity is 5.6L, but the actual capacity is only 3.9 liters, which is much smaller than the advertised, and the ratio of capacity is unreasonable, and the food is easy to burn!
5. Air fryer recommendation - Mijia
Reference price: 369 yuan
Heating efficiency star rating: ★★★★
Heating stability star rating: ★★★
(1) Capacity upgraded to 4L!
This fryer has a capacity of 3.5L to 4L, not only does it increase the viewing window, but the frying basket is also equipped with a two-level grill! But the details are generally made, the body splicing gap is relatively large, and more effort needs to be put into the details!
(2) Easy operation, more convenient presets!
Using knob operation, the fryer supports interconnection with the APP, and can be preset by operating on the mobile phone. Although the accuracy of temperature and time may not be as high as that of touch type, it is more friendly to friends who need online operation!
(3) The heating speed is relatively fast!
The air fryer adopts a light-wave heating tube, which has fast heating efficiency, but long-term use may lead to performance degradation. The temperature control accuracy is also not very good, and the food is easily burned.
The above is the detailed data of this issue of air fryer evaluation and the comparative analysis between different product models, I hope to help you in the process of selecting and buying air fryers, but also hope that you can have a more detailed understanding of air fryers in combination with this evaluation report, and avoid many pits and minefields on the market! Be able to choose the air fryer product that suits you and your family!