Comparisons

Air frying against the alternatives, and against itself: oven, microwave, your oven\u2019s air-fry mode, and the choice between one basket and two. Each one reaches a conclusion only where the sourced facts support one.

• Air fryer versus oven

  Faster and cheaper to run for small quantities; no advantage at all for a full tray, and worse at several things.

• Single basket or dual zone?

  Two drawers buy you independence, not capacity. Whether that is worth the worktop depends on whether your problem is quantity or variety.

• Basket or oven style?

  A drawer crisps harder and holds less. An oven-style cavity holds more, sees the food, and asks you to think about shelves.

• Air fryer or microwave?

  They heat food by unrelated mechanisms and are bad at opposite things. This is not a choice between two appliances so much as a rule for which to reach for.

• Your oven's air-fry mode versus a real air fryer

  It narrows the gap and does not close it, and the reason is the size of the cavity rather than anything the manufacturer did wrong.