Part 1 - Which air fryer is right for YOU?
Classic single basket air fryer
These are, by far, the most common type of air fryer currently available. There are plenty of brands to choose from, and they can be bought in a wide variety of sizes at a wide variety of price points.
Single drawer air fryers can be very handy for many different lifestyles, and they're usually not too bulky either. Which is great if you're short on space, or don't want to clutter up your kitchen sides.
These are typically one of the most cost effective options available.
Two drawer air fryer
These are very popular models. As they can cook multiple things at different temperatures... at the same time! Something that your oven actually can't do.
I've personally owned a dual drawer for well over a year now, and have yet to find a bad thing about it.
These machines often come with Match and Sync settings, which allow you to match the settings in both drawers, or sync both drawers so they'll finish at the same time. Even if they are set at different timings.
The only potential restriction here is size. if you want to cook something larger, you might not be able to do it without thinking of a workaround. (Cutting food smaller etc.)
Air fryer with rotating blade
Mostly used for cooking chips (or similar), these air fryers allow for a more 'hands off' approach.
Although fairly limiting in their uses, they can prove to be very useful for certain people. Especially for those who are just too busy for a more 'hands on' approach to cooking.
They often don't have many settings, and are quite basic machines. Although there are potential workarounds.
When I owned one, I used to remove the rotating blade, and line the basket with foil when I wanted to cook other things. This allowed a little more flexibility. (You just need to make sure the foil is weighed down at all times, so it doesn't touch the heating element.)
However, you can now get versions of these machines with 2 compartments. Meaning you can rotate foods in the bottom, while cooking foods you don't want to rotate on the top.
Air fryer oven
These are typically a much larger type of air fryer. They have shelves rather than a basket or drawer, and allow for more traditional oven style cooking.
Due to their size, they have a much larger cooking space. Meaning the typical air fryer limitations don't necessarily apply here. (i.e. You can probably cook a whole pizza without having to cut it in half.)
They also usually have a glass door, which makes keeping an eye on your food during cooking a lot easier.
Air fryer ovens are great if you don't/can't have a traditional oven. But they do take up quite a lot of worktop space, and can be a little more tricky to clean compared to standard air fryers.
Double stack air fryer
Relatively new to the air fryer world, the double stack is a 2 drawer air fryer that has one drawer stacked on top of the other.
A great space saving concept, which is ideal for those that need a bigger air fryer, but don't have the work surface for it.
As they are stacked, the fans are usually positioned at the back of the drawers, rather than above them. Meaning that the drawers aren't solid all the way round, they have holes at the back.
Depending on what it is you're cooking, that could be a slight negative. But everyone is different, and you might find it's space saving quality aligns perfectly with what you're looking for.
Flex drawer air fryer
Also a fairly new type of air fryer, these machines have the ability to switch between 1 larger drawer and 2 smaller drawers. Literally giving you the best of both air fryer worlds.
This allows the option of a single, much larger cooking drawer - ideal for things like pizzas and traybakes. But also the ability to still have 2 drawers, giving you that coveted feature to air fry two different things at different temperatures.
Perfect if you just can't decide whether capacity or multiple cooking temperatures is best for you.
There is one caveat to be aware of though. The drawer is BIG. You will need to check if it fits in your kitchen sink, or you have an easy way to wash it before buying.
Multi cooker
You can buy machines that have multiple functions. i.e. they air fry, slow cook, and pressure cook etc. These are a great option if you don't have a lot of space, or a big enough budget to buy individual machines for each use.
It's worth considering if the price tag is worth it though. Especially if you already own a machine that performs one of those tasks.
If however, you don't, this can work out to be a very cost effective and space saving choice. So long as you plan to utilise it to it's fullest potential.
