[0 - 1] - Let's take a look.
[2 - 7] Oh my goodness, they look good. (bright music)
[9 - 12] Air fryers are all the rage, and for good reason.
[12 - 14] They're essentially countertop convection ovens,
[14 - 18] and the best ones could crispy food quickly and efficiently.
[18 - 20] - Air fryer technology has changed a lot
[20 - 23] since we first started testing these machines.
[23 - 25] There are all kinds of styles and types now,
[25 - 27] including air fryer toaster ovens.
[27 - 29] - So, which air fryer is right for you?
[29 - 31] Do you want one that's also a toaster oven
[31 - 33] or a traditional air fryer is better?
[33 - 35] Hannah and I are gonna help you decide.
[35 - 38] - First up, Lisa. (bright music)
[41 - 43] - So, let's talk about air fryers.
[43 - 45] When they first came out, I was a huge skeptic.
[45 - 47] I have come to really like these,
[47 - 49] they're fun to use and they're great.
[49 - 51] The words air fryer, a little bit misleading.
[51 - 54] They're not actually frying the food.
[54 - 56] They're not a replacement for a deep fryer.
[56 - 59] They're more like a replacement for your big oven,
[59 - 60] but in a smaller form.
[60 - 63] They use less oil because they don't need to use
[63 - 66] as much as you would put on if you were deep frying,
[66 - 67] you'd have a pot of hot oil.
[67 - 70] There's just a tablespoon or a teaspoon of oil
[70 - 73] on the food, or none at all in some cases.
[73 - 77] And it will crisp up and mimic that crispy,
[77 - 79] delicious taste of fried food.
[79 - 82] However, the air part is that it's a convection oven.
[82 - 85] That means there's fans in there that circulate that hot air
[85 - 88] around the food, which is held in a little basket.
[88 - 91] We recently went back and retested all kinds of air fryers,
[91 - 93] every different design that we could find
[93 - 94] on the marketplace.
[94 - 96] There's a whole bunch of different styles.
[96 - 99] Some look like little ovens with different racks in them.
[99 - 102] Some have a flip top that open up
[102 - 103] and then some are this style,
[103 - 106] which is a drawer style where the food is accessed
[106 - 107] through the drawer in the front.
[107 - 111] The style that has the flip top always felt really scary
[111 - 113] because the heating element is exposed
[113 - 114] when you lift that flip top.
[114 - 116] And when you're in there doing stuff with the food,
[116 - 118] you always felt like it was gonna come back down
[118 - 119] and burn you.
[119 - 121] And if you have your air fryer
[121 - 123] that you want your kids to be able to use,
[123 - 124] you don't wanna go there.
[124 - 127] Those ones with the different shelves in them
[127 - 130] that were made more like little mini ovens were terrible.
[130 - 133] You could not control where things dropped,
[133 - 134] it was a mess,
[134 - 136] the stuff never cooked on the bottom
[136 - 138] even if you rotated the racks.
[138 - 140] Don't bother, the drawer style works the best.
[141 - 144] It's the safest, it's the most easy to access the food,
[144 - 146] keeps you away from the heating element,
[146 - 149] which is inside on the top where your hand will never go.
[149 - 153] And it just kept all the food in a nice area
[153 - 154] where all the heat could get at it.
[154 - 157] There wasn't parts of it that weren't frying well,
[157 - 158] like those two layer ones
[158 - 160] where the bottom rack never got warm.
[160 - 162] So, we tested these when they first came out
[162 - 165] several years ago and our first Gear Heads video
[165 - 167] was about air fryers.
[167 - 169] At that time, our winner was by Phillips.
[169 - 170] And it's a great air fryer
[170 - 172] we still recommend it.
[172 - 173] One of the only problems with the Phillips
[173 - 175] is that it's kind of expensive.
[175 - 177] And we do have a best buy by GoWISE,
[177 - 178] but a few years have passed
[178 - 180] and so many more models have come out.
[180 - 183] So, we went back and looked at everything out there
[183 - 185] and came up with a new winner.
[185 - 186] And that's, this one it's called
[186 - 190] the Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart model.
[190 - 192] It has a lot of the same characteristics that,
[192 - 193] that Phillips did.
[193 - 196] And it has a few things that we like even more about it.
[196 - 198] It is that drawer style, which really love.
[198 - 202] It has a nice, fairly compact overall profile.
[202 - 204] Some of these air fryers are humongous.
[204 - 205] This is not bad.
[205 - 207] It's kind of moderate size air fryer
[207 - 211] and at the same time has a huge capacity.
[211 - 216] This drawer is 10 by 10 inches and about four inches deep.
[217 - 219] This can hold so much food
[219 - 222] where most countertop little air fryers
[222 - 223] could not hold very much.
[223 - 226] It was always good for like one or two portions.
[226 - 229] This can hold portions for four people.
[229 - 233] We were even able to put a whole four pound chicken in here and roasted.
[233 - 236] You're not sacrificing that compact profile,
[236 - 239] which is a huge factor that put this one over the top.
[239 - 242] The other thing we really love is that the interior
[242 - 244] is lined with nonstick.
[244 - 247] Now, it doesn't get hot enough to make that dangerous,
[247 - 249] but it makes it so easy to clean.
[249 - 251] It's just a quick little wash and you're done.
[251 - 254] It preheat, so, unlike some air fryers
[254 - 255] that are out on the market,
[255 - 257] but only preheats for two minutes.
[257 - 260] And that just made the performance so much better.
[260 - 263] Everything we cooked in this, whether it was
[263 - 268] French fries or vegetables or meat or fish,
[268 - 271] anything you put in here really cooked beautifully.
[271 - 272] It got nice and warm within two minutes
[272 - 275] and then it automatically switches over to cooking.
[275 - 277] It reminds you to flip the food halfway,
[277 - 280] which is important with a lot of air fryer recipes.
[280 - 283] And when you pull the drawer out to do something,
[283 - 286] it pauses the timer and all the settings are there
[286 - 288] when you put that drawer back in and it resumed,
[288 - 291] you don't have to hit a start button again.
[291 - 293] So much more convenient than some other models out there.
[293 - 297] It does a few more things than your average air fryer.
[297 - 299] It can also roast, it can bake,
[299 - 302] it can reheat, it can broil.
[302 - 303] And I was curious
[303 - 306] about whether it can also be used as a toaster
[306 - 308] and I have to tell you the answer is yes,
[308 - 312] I made this lovely piece of toast, right in this thing,
[312 - 315] using the broiler, and it just took a couple minutes.
[315 - 317] I also made something else
[317 - 320] which is kind of on the other end of the spectrum.
[320 - 323] I made a cheesecake in this fryer last night.
[323 - 325] Now, I've made a bunch of cheesecake
[325 - 329] and our recipe is fantastic for classic cheesecake,
[329 - 331] New York style.
[331 - 333] What it takes about 12 hours.
[333 - 336] This was about an hour and of course it's smaller,
[336 - 339] but maybe that's a good thing 'cause it's so delicious.
[339 - 344] I have some nice, healthy and gorgeous Brussels sprouts.
[345 - 348] And these are just real simple cut in half
[348 - 351] and toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
[351 - 352] They cook fairly quickly
[352 - 355] and you can get beautiful roasted Brussels sprouts.
[355 - 362] I'm gonna set this to cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (bright music)
[366 - 367] Here we go, it's done.
[370 - 372] Look how brown they are, they're gorgeous.
[372 - 375] Because the food is spread out
[375 - 377] you get this gorgeous, uniform browning,
[377 - 379] everything cooks very evenly
[379 - 381] and really gets nice and crispy.
[381 - 386] You can just hear the crispy little pieces on the edge,
[387 - 389] which is what I love.
[389 - 393] So, we made healthy roasted Brussels sprouts.
[393 - 394] Now, let's try protein.
[394 - 397] I've got chicken wings and they're already sizzling
[397 - 399] because that basket is hot,
[399 - 404] because preheating just starts at right up.
[404 - 406] I'm gonna put them on a single layer
[406 - 409] and that will make sure every single piece is...
[409 - 411] I can easily do a couple pounds in here,
[411 - 413] but I'm doing one pound.
[414 - 416] And now, it's just cooking.
[416 - 419] This recipe is called lemon pepper chicken wings.
[419 - 422] And it was just developed for our upcoming cookbook
[422 - 424] called "Healthy Air Fryer."
[424 - 428] And we have another cookbook right here,
[428 - 430] called "Air Fryer Perfection,"
[430 - 432] which has lots of really good recipes in it
[432 - 433] for all kinds of good things.
[433 - 435] So, totally worth picking up.
[435 - 438] If you're wondering what else you can do in an air fryer.
[438 - 443] We're done, let's see, these look amazing.
[444 - 448] Oh my God. (bright music)
[455 - 457] So, the really amazing thing
[457 - 460] is these gorgeous crispy golden chicken wings
[460 - 463] with no added fat, just salt and pepper,
[463 - 465] and then toss with some parsley and lemon zest
[465 - 467] and serve with some lemon
[467 - 470] is probably the healthiest chicken wing you'll ever have.
[470 - 472] So, now, you see me make chicken wings,
[472 - 474] you see me make Brussels sprouts.
[474 - 475] I made a cheesecake.
[475 - 477] You saw me make a piece of toast in this air fryer,
[477 - 479] but you can do a lot of other things as well.
[479 - 481] You can roast garlic,
[481 - 482] you can make crispy shallots,
[482 - 484] toast spices and nuts,
[484 - 486] you can make croutons.
[486 - 487] So many things that you can do
[487 - 489] in this little bitty oven right here.
[489 - 490] So, now, Hannah is gonna show us
[490 - 492] another style of air fryer,
[492 - 496] which is the air fryer-toaster oven. (bright music)
[498 - 499] - Air fryers have been all the rage,
[499 - 502] as you probably know these past few years.
[502 - 505] And as you might have also noticed air frying capabilities
[505 - 507] have popped up in all different kinds of machines.
[507 - 509] And one of them is toaster ovens.
[509 - 512] Toaster oven air fryers have become a major thing.
[512 - 513] And what they really do
[513 - 516] is just integrate air fryer technology.
[516 - 517] This is a convection toaster oven
[517 - 519] that comes with an air fryer basket.
[519 - 520] Air frying in general
[520 - 522] is a little bit of a marketing term,
[522 - 523] but you know what, we really like them.
[523 - 526] They turn out really delicious crispy food.
[526 - 529] Here's our winner, the Breville Smart Oven Air.
[529 - 531] If they really hit the nail on the head,
[531 - 533] it's a great toaster oven.
[533 - 534] You can make toast,
[534 - 536] you can fit your whole artisanal slice in here.
[536 - 537] It can broil,
[537 - 538] it can act like a second smaller oven on holidays,
[538 - 542] in addition to airframe,
[542 - 545] which makes it a really great addition to your kitchen.
[546 - 549] If you were looking for a toaster oven as well,
[549 - 551] because look at the size of this thing, it's big.
[551 - 554] I had to stand in front of my table so I could see over it.
[554 - 557] It's bigger and it's also more expensive,
[557 - 558] but if you really want an air fry
[558 - 560] and you also need a toaster oven,
[560 - 563] it combines both of those two things spectacularly.
[563 - 566] We loved it's digital interface over here.
[566 - 569] Really easy to navigate, really clear to use,
[569 - 571] easy to tell what the machine is doing at any given time.
[572 - 574] We also love that it has multiple racks.
[574 - 575] It's like a real oven,
[575 - 577] you can have multiple layers in there at once,
[577 - 579] which can be a really efficient usage of space.
[579 - 581] One downside of this machine is the price.
[581 - 582] It is expensive.
[582 - 584] So, we chose a second place model
[584 - 587] that is a little less expensive from Oster.
[587 - 589] It doesn't quite cook as evenly.
[589 - 590] It doesn't boil as well.
[590 - 591] And it was a little harder to clean,
[591 - 593] but it does a reasonably good job
[593 - 595] of combining air fryer technology and a toaster oven.
[595 - 597] So, it's a great less expensive option.
[597 - 600] All right, so, the first thing we looked at and testing was
[600 - 601] does this work as a toaster oven?
[601 - 602] Let's start there.
[602 - 604] And one thing we loved about the Breville
[604 - 608] is it has different rack levels inside here,
[608 - 609] and it's clearly marked on the door.
[609 - 611] So, right now I'm on the bake and roast level.
[611 - 613] I'm gonna move it up to four,
[613 - 615] which is the toast and bigger one.
[615 - 617] There are, if you look inside here,
[617 - 618] I'm gonna take the rack out.
[618 - 619] It's just like an oven.
[619 - 621] And there are heating elements in the top and the bottom.
[621 - 623] There's a fan over here
[623 - 625] for that convection air fryer experience.
[625 - 630] So, I'm moving this up to the fourth level.
[630 - 632] It has different levels for different applications.
[632 - 635] So, your food is cooked really perfectly.
[635 - 639] I got some larger bread also to illustrate the point that
[639 - 641] I love this about toaster ovens.
[641 - 642] You can use artisanal slices.
[642 - 644] We have long toasters which we love too,
[644 - 647] but the regular smaller toasters can be a little too short
[647 - 650] for these a modern artisanal loaves.
[650 - 650] I'm gonna toast it,
[650 - 651] I'm gonna show you how to do that.
[651 - 654] It's already on toast and it's selected as medium.
[654 - 656] There's a gradient over here and light and dark.
[656 - 657] So, I am gonna go with like a medium.
[657 - 659] I love my toast, like, golden brown,
[659 - 661] just on the darker side of golden brown.
[661 - 663] So, that's what I've set here.
[663 - 665] I love that you can really personalize your settings,
[666 - 667] and then I just hit start.
[667 - 669] There are multiple dials and buttons on here,
[669 - 671] but this was really easy to use.
[671 - 673] And we found again and again, whatever the appliance is,
[673 - 674] that is so important.
[674 - 676] If something is confusing,
[676 - 677] you're just not gonna use it
[677 - 679] or it will cause you like a little bit of friction
[679 - 681] in your everyday routine.
[681 - 683] I have a kettle that I feel that way about.
[683 - 686] So, this one really just reduces the friction
[686 - 688] and it toasted evenly.
[688 - 689] One thing, some of the toasters
[689 - 691] like toasted only the top and not the bottom
[691 - 696] or like their light was really actually pretty dark
[696 - 699] or their dark was like totally blonde pale white toast.
[699 - 703] So, we wanted something that was really calibrated to,
[703 - 705] we also want it to be able to accommodate like really dark,
[705 - 707] crumpets, high moisture breads, things like that.
[707 - 710] We want it to be able to toast those kinds of things
[710 - 713] as well, not just come out and have to enter.
[713 - 716] Go through three cycles to get some color on there.
[716 - 717] All right, check this out.
[717 - 718] 13 seconds here, ooh look, it did it.
[718 - 720] The light turns on right when it's almost done
[720 - 722] so you can see in there and see
[722 - 724] what you think of the doneness level.
[724 - 727] I love that, you pay more for this machine,
[727 - 729] but it was luxurious.
[729 - 730] Look at this toast,
[732 - 735] beautiful, perfectly golden brown, which I absolutely love.
[735 - 737] So, check off this box
[738 - 740] it works great as a toaster, which is important,
[740 - 742] but let's move on to other things.
[742 - 744] Air frying, it's not crispy as deep frying,
[744 - 745] but it's still pretty awesome.
[745 - 749] And we found this machine to do a fantastic job
[749 - 750] of air frying.
[750 - 753] We tested like nine toaster oven air fryers.
[753 - 755] We only like two of them.
[755 - 757] So, not everybody is integrating this technology well,
[757 - 759] for some reason, toasters are hard to make.
[759 - 761] People have a hard time making toasters.
[761 - 763] Anyways, I'm gonna show you the air fire function.
[763 - 765] Here we go, 418 minutes,
[765 - 767] I'm gonna turn them over halfway through.
[767 - 771] And I scroll down select air fryer, let's start.
[771 - 772] So ,this is preheating.
[772 - 773] This is another difference.
[773 - 774] Traditional air fryers,
[774 - 776] either they don't preheat
[776 - 778] or they take like one to three minutes.
[778 - 779] It's super fast.
[779 - 780] This will need to preheat.
[780 - 782] It's not gonna take a long time,
[782 - 784] but it is a slight difference.
[784 - 786] So, right in here, this is the rack three.
[786 - 787] It says it clearly on the door.
[787 - 790] I have my tray right here with my chicken wings
[790 - 791] that I was gonna do.
[791 - 794] As you can see, the tray is perforated here.
[794 - 795] It's like mesh, it's like a strainer,
[795 - 797] and that is to increase that airflow.
[797 - 799] You really want the air all the way around these things
[799 - 802] so you can get that really nice crispy exterior.
[802 - 805] Most air fryers, even like traditional drawer style ones,
[805 - 807] their basket is perforated for the same reason.
[807 - 809] All right, so, it's halfway through cooking
[809 - 810] and I'm gonna flip these right now.
[810 - 813] If you'll watch it's pausing while I'm doing this.
[813 - 815] So, it doesn't eat out of the total cook time
[815 - 818] which is awesome. (bright music)
[821 - 825] All right, so, we just finished up air frying our wings.
[825 - 826] Let me show you these.
[826 - 829] They look gorgeous. Wow.
[831 - 832] Check that out.
[832 - 834] They look so good.
[834 - 836] I can already tell they're gonna be nice and crispy.
[836 - 838] I have some Frank's with melted butter back there
[838 - 840] that I'm gonna toss them in.
[841 - 843] there is chicken grease all over this thing.
[843 - 846] And so, that really is one pro
[846 - 848] of a regular traditional air fryer.
[848 - 850] They have baskets that are coated in nonstick.
[850 - 852] This means they're super easy to clean.
[852 - 854] This is stainless steel.
[854 - 855] It's not coated in nonstick.
[855 - 857] It is harder to clean, you know,
[857 - 859] things get stuck within the little wires.
[859 - 861] It's durable, but compared to an air fryer,
[861 - 864] they're certainly easier to clean both the tray
[864 - 866] and then now you have to deal with the inside of here.
[866 - 868] So, it is something to consider.
[868 - 871] All right, so, I've got some Frank's and melted butter here.
[871 - 876] I'm gonna put the wings right in here. Beautiful.
[876 - 879] All right, I have these all tossed in the sauce.
[879 - 881] Look how good they look.
[881 - 885] Oh, it smells absolutely delicious, chicken wing facial.
[885 - 888] I had so much fun playing around with this machine.
[888 - 889] It has so many features on it.
[889 - 891] It's like buying a smaller second oven
[891 - 896] and it really does bake, roast, broil, air fry,
[896 - 897] really, really well.
[897 - 898] But you know, like I said,
[898 - 900] we tested a ton of models and not all of them did.
[900 - 902] So, you really have to pay attention
[902 - 905] to which brand you're buying for an air fryer toaster oven.
[905 - 908] If you're looking for an air fryer and a toaster oven,
[908 - 910] the Breville Smart Oven Air,
[910 - 914] toaster oven air fryer really is the best of both worlds.
[914 - 915] It crushes it at air frying,
[915 - 917] It crushes it at being a toaster oven.
[917 - 918] It has more features,
[918 - 920] but it is bigger and more expensive.
[920 - 922] If you want an air fryer and a toaster oven,
[922 - 924] combining them in one machine, it's perfect.
[924 - 926] The Breville Smart Oven really does it well,
[926 - 927] and we highly recommend it.
[927 - 929] However, if you're mostly interested in air frying,
[929 - 931] we recommend just getting an air fryer.
[931 - 934] Our winner is more compact, also super easy to clean.
[934 - 936] It just has that one nonstick basket.
[936 - 938] It costs less.
[938 - 939] And it's great at air frying.
[939 - 941] - So, for more information
[941 - 942] about the products we talked about today,
[942 - 944] check out the links below.
[944 - 946] - Make sure to ask us your air fryer questions
[946 - 947] in the comments, like this video
[947 - 951] and hit that subscribe button. (bright music)