Air Fryers are the 'hottest' new kitchen gadgets that can cook family meals in under 15 minutes and save money on electricity bills - This week I put the Dual Basket air fryer from Lakeland to the test

Air Fryers have become one of the most sought-after kitchen gadgets for quick and easy at-home cooking, with many brands flying off the shelves within hours of being released. The newest venture of cooking style originally started as a healthier way to fry food but it's now become a daily staple in many households, mine included.

The gadgets have upgraded from the original 'single basket jobs' and the gadgets now come with multiple frying draws and a variety of cooking settings. At BirminghamLive we've reviewed some popular brands, like the 'game-changing' ActiFry Genius XL and the Ninja that cooks everything from s'mores, victoria sponge cake and even a full roast dinner.

The Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone Air Fryer is popular with bigger families and individuals who want to bulk cook but it comes at a starting price of £269.99. In all honesty, the price is something that has put me off buying an air fryer in the past that was until I was given a similar Lakeland air fryer to review, that's on offer for £139.99.

READ MORE: READ MORE: Shoppers rush to buy Ninja air-fryer cooker which is "complete game changer"

As well as price factors like counter worktop space (which is a luxury in our rented flat in and amongst the coffee machine and microwave) and the type of food have deterred me from adding the gadget to our kitchen. I also naively thought all air fryer food was 'nugget style' breaded chicken or 'fakeaways' which is not something that I'd make at home.

After trying out a handful of meals and snacks in the Lakeland Air Fryer I don't think we'll ever use our oven again, and I've cut down on the time I would normally spend standing over the hob. It's got me doubting why I was so hesitant to buy one before.

After a quick and easy set-up, which consists of washing the air fryer draws and inner draw liners, I got straight to using the air fryer. First up was breakfast what better time to try something a little different to my usual smoothie or breakfast bar.

A bacon bagel took less than 15 minutes to cook and the process was a lot less messy than grilling bacon under the grill. Cooking raw meat from scratch I made sure to pick the right meat setting on the touch-screen 'options bar' and cook for 10 minutes at 180 C (we like it crispy).

At the same time, I made use of the second, and smaller, basket to toast up the bagel, this for me is a game changer. We are a fully gluten-free household because of an allergy and like anyone who's tried gluten-free food before, it's not always the best.

The bread can typically be really dry, but using the air fryer on the gluten-free bagel gave it back the crunch and crispiness on the bread pre-setting.

The air fryer comes with a range of recommendations at the back of the instruction booklet, one of which is Teriyaki salmon. There's no better way to test out a gadget than cook the food the brand suggests tastes best in it, so in and amongst the chips and fritter recipe we went for something a little more healthy.

Salmon is a relatively quick and easy thing to cook in an oven or pan fry, in the air fryer it took a total of 10 minutes and came out super crispy on top. Because there was quite a bit of marinade on the salmon I place down some tinfoil to stop it from burning on the bottom of the air fryer - but you could also use air fryer sheets.

Tin foil can be used but Lakeland suggests that cooks should be aware not for it to blow into the heating element that sits on top, so it is recommended to use it on food that weighs it down.

The side of broccoli however was not the best choice, I had it on air fry for 15 minutes (which is a lot longer than it would take to steam on the hob) and it still was not cooked. I have seen reviews of roasted vegetables done in an air fryer before but it's safe to say it didn't work out, and I'll stick to the hob for those next time.

The salmon was one of the best we've had in a long time, and it had a very similar result to that of pan frying but with no added oil. Even though the broccoli was a fail I'd cook the salmon again. A 10/10 from us.

To go with the salmon and broccoli meal I went with the first side option that came to mind - home chips. It may not be the most usual side option for Teriyaki salmon but I couldn't miss out on the one food everyone seems to rave about in an air fryer and now I completely understand why.

The longest part of this was prepping the potato ready to be fried but it's no different to what you would do if you were popping them in the oven or deep fryer. All in all the chips took 30 minutes to cook on the pre-set 'french fry' setting. It's so easy to use, you don't have to worry about setting the right temperature or time as pressing the fry icon does it all for you.

Even though the Lakeland recipe says you can use a tiny bit of all I didn't put a drop and they still came out looking like restaurant-style chips, something my boyfriend has cooked twice since (I think it's going to be a common occurrence).

No doubt the biggest pro of the air fryer is the convenience of cooking and how simple it has become to prep food. For me one of the noticeable changes is the lack of washing up I'm left with afterwards, no burnt baking trays or oven dishes just two really easy-to-clean draws.

I also really like how the air fryer keeps in all the cooking smells, it's something I noticed almost straight away. Even when cooking the salmon and chips if someone were to walk into the kitchen you wouldn't know. From these two factors alone I'd score the gadget a good seven out of 10.

My only con with the air fryer so far is the size, I didn't quite realise how big it would be. It does tuck into our worktop quite neatly but you have to keep it at least 15 cm away from the wall when cooking, and this is when it becomes noticeably 'too big'. Of course, this will be different for everyone depending on the size of their kitchen.

Here's where you can buy the Lakeland Dual Basket Air Fryer, on offer for £139.99.

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