I'll let you in on a little secret: air fryers are just tiny ovens. They use a heating element and an in-built fan to circulate hot air around your food as it cooks, resulting in a faster cooking time and crispier finish. And while it's incredibly well-documented that I love air fryers (I've been reviewing them for 5+ years), that's in no small part down to the fact that I was working with a crusty gas range that was installed in my house before I was born. So when I renovated my kitchen earlier this year and got the chance to buy an oven of my own, it only felt right that I opted for a modern option — complete with an air fryer setting.
Releasing an oven with an air fryer setting feels like a big of a strange move. It's like releasing a new coffee maker and saying "our latest espresso machine has a fancy new espresso setting!" Really, this reflects the fact that we've started to think of air frying as something entirely separate to regular old oven cooking. It's faster, more convenient, and easier to clean.
