Air fryer vs oven and sluggish cooker

AS the price of dwelling continues to rise, the kitchen is a superb place to make tremendous financial savings.

Appliances similar to air fryers and sluggish cookers have been praised for utilizing much less vitality, however can they actually cut back payments?

Lynsey Hope cooked six meals in several methods to work out which was the most cost effective…

Sausage and chips

My sausages solely took quarter-hour within the air fryer in comparison with 25 minutes within the oven.

The chips browned faster too so not solely was it simpler and faster however it reduce prices by £1.24.

I used to be impressed by the saving as my air fryer is a big family- sized one, with a strong 2,470 wattage.

But it was nonetheless less expensive than cooking in my vary oven.

My oven is outdated with a excessive wattage of over 7,000, so it’s not very cost-efficient.

• Air fryer for 15 minutes = 32p
• Oven for 25 minutes = £1.56
• SAVING = £1.24

Beans on toast

It solely price 1p to brown my toast and one other 1p to zap my beans for 2 minutes within the microwave.

Heating up the beans on the hob took round 5 minutes and value
22p, so this technique wasn’t very cost-efficient.

My gasoline hob has the upper wattage at 2,000 watts, however that additional energy didn’t assist prepare dinner the beans any sooner, and taste-wise there was
no distinction.

• Microwave and toaster for two minutes = 2p
• Hob and toaster for five minutes = 23p
• SAVING: 21p

Spaghetti bolognese

I didn’t count on the sluggish cooker to work out cheaper as a result of it took 4 hours to prepare dinner my bolognese.

But what I didn’t know is that sluggish cookers function at a decrease temperature, making them extra vitality environment friendly.

It was additionally simpler to organize my meal as I used to be in a position to bung all of the substances within the equipment earlier within the day, then by tea time it was
able to eat.

Minimal effort and a small price saving — however each little counts.

• Hob for 1 hour and 10 minutes = 63p
• Slow cooker and hob for 4 hours = 55p
• SAVING = 8p

Roast hen and roast potatoes

You’ll want an air fryer large enough to squeeze a hen in, however when you’ve got one I’d suggest it.

It solely took about 45 minutes within the air fryer, which saved me cash, and it was actually scrumptious to eat too.

Same for the roasties, which had been additionally faster and cheaper to prepare dinner utilizing the air fryer.

Overall, this was a formidable price saving of £3.65 as my oven would have been in use for lots longer to do the identical job.

• Air fryer for 45 minutes = 93p
• Oven for 3 hours and half-hour = £3.58
• SAVING = £3.65

Jacket potato

It was less expensive to blast my potato within the microwave — and faster, taking simply ten minutes.

But I’ve to confess it didn’t style fairly nearly as good because it did after an hour within the oven.

It was completely edible although, so for those who’re attempting to save lots of on vitality payments, it is a good saving.

If you ate a jacket potato twice every week and cooked within the microwave as a substitute of the oven for a yr, you’ll save greater than £184 over a full yr.

• Oven for 1 hour = £1.87
• Microwave for 10 minutes = 10p
• SAVING = £1.77

Pizza

Not everybody could have an air fryer that matches a pizza, however it’s an funding price contemplating.

It solely took seven minutes to prepare dinner a shop-bought pepperoni pizza at a value of simply 6p.

It tasted wonderful too, with a crispy base.

The pizza took longer to prepare dinner within the oven — round 11 minutes — and because the wattage of the oven is way increased, it price 34p.

If you prepare dinner simply two pizzas every week in an air fryer, this can prevent practically £30 a yr.

But forking out for one wouldn’t offset any financial savings that yr.