Kerry Parnell: An air fryer is just one more gadget I don’t need

Despite all the praise they get from what I can tell air fryers are just a load of hot air and one day will be destined for the kitchen graveyard (ie the corner cupboard), writes Kerry Parnell.

I am so late to the air fryer party, it’s just about burnt out.

In the same way I finally gave in and updated my skinny jeans for flares, only to watch in dismay as designers declared skinnies back; at the point where my husband has almost convinced me to get an air fryer, I’m hearing mutterings the fad might be fizzling out.

Rather like investing in a BlackBerry in 2008 – the year Facebook launched its iPhone app – I suspect I’ve missed the boat so comprehensively, I may as well wait for the next one.

So, perhaps I won’t bother and will just continue using that thing called an oven, to cook food. And yes, I realise it needs more oil and takes longer and doesn’t crisp and all the other amazing benefits of cooking in this miraculous mini-gadget with drawers.

When I tell people I don’t have an air fryer they look at me with a mixture of surprise and pity.

I just haven’t seen the need for one, when I’ve got multiple methods of cooking, like pots, pans, an oven and microwave. Shout at me for being a food-fool (and you will), but how do we know air fryers aren’t just a load of hot air?

What’s the big deal about air fryers anyway? Aren’t they just a load of hot air?

Will they last the test of time, or in future be consigned to the kitchen graveyard which is the corner cupboard? They are a morgue of marvellous inventions which promised to make us master chefs, including, but not limited to: a breadmaker (used enthusiastically for several weeks, then never again); sandwich toaster (used enthusiastically for several years until we got fed up with napalming our mouths on molten cheese); Nutribullet (used enthusiastically for several months, until we admitted we don’t like green juice).

Many kitchen innovations do stay the dessert course – hello toasters, electric kettles and fridges – but equally, many gadgets go out of grace.

Who now uses a fondue set, other than a restaurant in the Swiss Alps? Or has a Teasmade? Can you imagine how annoying that must have been to be woken by the sound of water hissing by your head? These were huge in the 1960s and 70s, as were SodaStreams in the 1980s.

Next came the George Foreman Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine in the 1990s, followed by coffee pod machines and last, but not least, the Thermomix. A bit like Voldemort, I hardly dare mention its name, for fear the Dementors (Thermometers?) will devour me.

My point is, most of the gadgets that come and go, do so because we realise the benefit doesn’t outweigh the faff of using them – usually too many fiddly bits to wash up. And if there’s one thing I detest more than endless family-meal-cooking, it’s clearing up afterwards.

Now, if someone can invent a gadget that shops, cooks and cleans, then show me where to sign. In the meantime, I’m off to chop vegies with a knife, roast chicken in an oven, and make coffee from a pot. Old-school (i.e. just old).

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