Ninja AF101 Air Fryer

The dehydrate setting reads like filler on the spec sheet and is not. It runs the fan at a low temperature for hours, which handles fruit and jerky properly instead of as a novelty.

Four quarts is small, and small was the design goal, not a compromise. It heats fast, slides into cupboards and onto counters that will not take a larger fryer, and costs little enough to be an easy first purchase for anyone unsure they will use one at all.

Basket and crisper plate are both ceramic-coated and both go in the dishwasher. The plate lifts food off the base so air circulates underneath, and that circulation separates air frying from baking in a small oven.

Capacity and noise are the two limitations. Beyond two portions you cook in batches, so a fifteen-minute dinner becomes a thirty-minute one. A small chamber needs high air velocity to crisp anything, so the fan is loud for the size; in an open-plan kitchen this is among the more intrusive machines here.

Controls are a dial and buttons instead of a touch panel, which survives a kitchen better where hands are wet or greasy.

The basket handle sits close to the body and gets warm. There is no window either, so checking progress means pulling the basket out and dropping the temperature. Neither is unusual at this size or price.