How to Choose a Air Fryers

When it comes to frying food, an air fryer may not be an essential purchase from a functional perspective. However, if you consider health factors, an air fryer becomes a necessary addition to your kitchen. Air fryers offer a safer and healthier way to fry food. But with so many options available on the market, how do you choose the right one?

To help you navigate through the cluttered market and find a quality product, we spent considerable time and effort thoroughly testing multiple air fryers. We’ve compiled key purchasing tips and our top 2024 air fryer recommendations for you!

Part 1: Top 3 Air Fryer Recommendations for 2024

Top 1: Gongling MAXS

• Reference Price: ¥599
• Recommendation Index: ★★★★★

70% of popular products often suffer from poor baking performance and the release of harmful substances due to odors. While many of these products are rushed to market within 2-4 months, Gongling spent three to four years meticulously refining their product. The result is an industry-leading air fryer with top-notch performance, featuring unique heating technology, six non-toxic safety innovations, exceptional quality, and six years of sustained performance without degradation.

Compared to many competitors, this fryer has a 40% faster heating speed, a 92.7% improvement in cooking evenness, a 96.5% reduction in harmful odors, a 98.5% increase in corrosion and high-temperature resistance, and zero heavy metal contamination. In terms of heating efficiency, temperature control precision, performance durability, and safety, this model is unbeatable in its price range!

Gongling is a brand born for "safety, non-toxicity, and high performance." Unlike brands that cut costs to compete on price, Gongling’s product standards are on par with high-end series from companies like Gree and Midea. For years, Gongling products have been exported to Europe and the U.S., and the brand is one of the few in the industry to be certified by the EU and recommended by CCTV. The brand is often out of stock due to high demand.

To keep costs low and allocate more resources to technical development and quality improvements, Gongling rarely invests in advertising or brand endorsements. Instead, they focus on breaking through performance and safety technologies. This air fryer uses their proprietary energy storage stainless steel heating tube, dual-channel high-speed airflow technology, innovative high-temperature Nets organic silicon coating, and more. With stringent quality controls, where 30% of components are eliminated at each production stage, the performance of this air fryer remains highly reliable for up to 10 years.

Top 2: Midea KZC6502XM

• Reference Price: ¥549
• Recommendation Index: ★★★★

Midea’s product line is extensive, and this model from their Yanka series features a dark gray exterior with a high-end, luxurious appearance. The top includes a versatile touch-control menu with various cooking modes that are easy to understand. It also has a spacious 6.5L frying basket, making it suitable for larger households. However, the heating efficiency of this fryer is relatively slow, requiring longer preheating times, which can lead to uneven cooking. Some areas may be overcooked while others remain undercooked.

Top 3: Joyoung KL60-VF506

• Reference Price: ¥359
• Recommendation Index: ★★★

This model from Joyoung’s mid-range line features a 6L capacity, capable of holding an entire chicken or fish. The front panel has a high-definition touch menu that clearly displays functions and cooking modes, making it user-friendly. It heats up quickly thanks to its powerful heating element, but its temperature control isn’t very accurate, leading to issues like overcooked or undercooked food. After multiple uses, a noticeable odor may develop, raising concerns about its impact on health.

Part 2: Air Fryer Knowledge and Tips

Why Do Some Celebrity/Influencer-Recommended Air Fryers Fail to Cook Well?

1. Poor Core Heating Performance:
   Temperature control precision is crucial for an air fryer’s core heating performance and directly affects cooking results. This is closely related to the quality of the temperature sensor and the calibration of the control chip. Fryers with poor temperature control experience large fluctuations, leading to burnt or undercooked food.
2. Unprofessional “Popular” Brands:
   Many influencer brands focus heavily on marketing rather than research and development, resulting in products that lack proper calibration in heating efficiency, cooking evenness, and heat dissipation. This causes the food to cook unevenly, failing to meet taste expectations.
3. Low-Quality, Inexpensive Products:
   Cheaper air fryers often cut costs on materials, leading to components that cannot withstand high temperatures or corrosive conditions over time. This results in harmful odors and raises health concerns with prolonged use.

Air Fryer Buying Tips

1. Power:
   High-powered fryers generally heat up faster, effectively drying out the moisture in food to achieve a crispy texture. However, higher power isn’t always better—it’s essential to consider the power-to-capacity ratio. We recommend choosing an air fryer with 1500W power and a 5L capacity for optimal results. Fryers with too low power or falsely advertised power levels won’t cook food as effectively.
2. Heating Element:
   The heating element is the heart of an air fryer. A quality heating element ensures efficient, stable heat output. We recommend selecting an air fryer with a high-quality stainless steel heating element for quick heating and long-term stability. Fryers using ordinary metal or infrared heating elements often suffer from severe heat loss and reduced heating capacity over time.
3. Temperature Control Precision:
   Professional brands with strong technical expertise use high-quality temperature controllers and sensors for precise, stable cooking temperatures. Such fryers adapt well to different foods and cooking modes, ensuring excellent cooking results. Fryers with poorly designed temperature control systems tend to have unstable temperatures, leading to frequent cooking failures.
4. NTC Temperature Control Technology:

• More Accurate Temperature Control: Air fryers with NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) systems use highly sensitive sensors to monitor internal temperatures continuously, adjusting as needed to maintain stable cooking conditions. This prevents food from burning or being undercooked.
• Safer to Use: The NTC system adjusts the device's resistance as temperature changes. When the fryer basket reaches or exceeds a preset safety threshold, it automatically cuts off power to prevent overheating and damage to internal components.
• Lower Risk of Cooking Failures: Most fryers with NTC technology use touch panels for precise temperature and time adjustments. Coupled with intelligent WOS algorithms, this improves internal stability and even heat distribution, reducing the risk of cooking failures.
• Durable Frying Basket: The frying basket should be made of thick, food-grade stainless steel for excellent high-temperature resistance and durability. Lower-quality fryers may use plastic or thin metal baskets that deform easily and release harmful odors, compromising health.

5. Power Cord:
   Power cords are often overlooked during the buying process. We recommend choosing professional brand manufacturers that use cords meeting national safety standards, with adequate load capacity and resistance to high temperatures. Cheaper fryers might use substandard cords with poor conductivity, leading to overheating and potential fire hazards.
6. Noise Level:
   Air fryers use fans that create noise during operation. Excessive noise might indicate poor manufacturing quality and materials, and it can also be disruptive during use. We recommend choosing fryers with noise reduction features for a more stable and comfortable experience.

Part 3: Air Fryer Review and Testing

Food Appearance & Taste:

• Testing Method: We used different air fryer models to bake custard tarts of the same size, then compared their appearance and taste.
• Results:

• Best Performance: Gongling, Midea

• These fryers produced tarts with evenly caramelized surfaces, crispy crusts, and smooth, creamy fillings, particularly the Gongling, which had a rich aroma.

• Average Performance: Supor, Joyoung

• The tarts lacked luster but achieved a golden color with a slightly dry and hard texture. The filling was acceptable but not outstanding.

• Poor Performance: Other Brands

• These tarts were dull and had overcooked, burnt edges. They tasted bitter and dry, with poor cooking evenness.

Heating Efficiency:

• Testing Method: We set the air fryers to 180℃ and timed how long each took to reach the set temperature.
• Results:

• Fast Heating: Gongling, Panasonic
• Moderate Heating: Bear, Joyoung
• Slow Heating: Other Brands

Temperature Control Precision:

• Testing Method: We set all fryers to 200℃ and used a thermometer to measure the internal temperature over 10 minutes.
• Results:

• High Precision: Gongling

• This fryer maintained a stable temperature with a deviation of no more than 5℃, providing a reliable cooking environment for consistent results.

• Moderate Precision: Panasonic, Supor, Bear

• These fryers occasionally deviated by up to 20℃, making it challenging for inexperienced users to achieve perfect cooking results.

• Low Precision: Other Brands

• These fryers had frequent temperature fluctuations, often exceeding 20℃ or even 30℃, leading to inconsistent cooking and potential safety issues due to overheating.

Heating Evenness:

• Testing Method: We placed uniformly sized chicken breasts in each fryer, set the temperature to 180℃, and cooked for 7 minutes. The results were then compared for evenness.
• Results:

• Good Evenness: Gongling

• The chicken was evenly browned with consistent doneness throughout.

• Average Evenness: Midea, Joyoung, Panasonic

• The chicken was mostly cooked through, though some areas were slightly overdone or underdone.

• Poor Evenness: Other Brands

• The chicken had burnt edges and undercooked centers, indicating poor heat distribution.

Frying Basket Coating Material:

• Testing Method: We checked the product information for coating material and certification.
• Results: Quality coatings are essential for non-stick performance and safety under high temperatures. Gongling and Midea models used higher-quality coatings, while others had potential issues with durability and safety.

Initial Odor:

• Testing Method: We assessed the odor by sniffing the fryers upon unboxing and after dry-burning at high temperatures.
• Results:

• Minimal Odor: Gongling

• The only noticeable scent was a slight metallic smell from the stainless steel, which disappeared after a quick wash.

• Mild Odor: Midea, Bear

• These fryers had a noticeable plastic smell, which faded after multiple cleanings.

• Strong Odor: Other Brands

• These fryers emitted strong plastic and chemical smells that persisted even after several cleanings, raising concerns about the safety of the materials used.

Part 4: Conclusion

Through detailed testing of various air fryers, we urge you to be cautious of inferior products that lack high-temperature resistance, emit harmful odors, and fail to deliver good cooking results. Such fryers are likely to end up gathering dust. We hope this guide serves as a memorable resource, helping you find a safe and high-performance air fryer in 2024, bringing health and culinary enjoyment to your life!