Thanks for the responses. Since I wrote my post, I have found a recommendation for a fryer. I subscibe to Cooks magazine and have all of the back issues except the charter edition..of course that is the one that tested the fryers! But, in a later issue it made reference to the winner. That was the DeLonghi Roto-Fryer D20. The charter issue was prior to 1993 so there is probably another DeLongi model that might work as well if not better. I have checked it out on epinions.com and the DeLonghi as been rated almost a 5 star by quite a few people. So....I guess I am going to try and find one online as cheap as possible. When I finally get one, I am going to try frying some canned biscuits just to see how they might work. Properly fried, biscuits really are heart stopping if they are not drenched in grease or uncooked in the middle. I think there is a fine line in the temperature of the oil, etc. I will let you know. In the meantime, if anyone comes across more info, please pass it on. Thanks! Oh, here's something funny. I called my next-door-neighbor to see if by chance they had deep fryer. They just threw 2 in the trash 3 days before....grrr..... Typical timing on my part!

I bought the Farberware 6 qt air fryer oven online from Walmart on Black Friday. So I've only had it a couple of weeks now. But so far I LOVE it! ! ! It's the perfect size for cooking for just me, and I feel sure it would be just as good for cooking for 2. Maybe more, depending on food being cooked and appetites of those who will eat the food being cooked. ;^) The manual that comes with it is woefully inadequate (in my opinion) as far as cooking instructions, times, temps, etc. There is a learning curve, which I am still working on. But the window in the door helps a lot, as you can watch what's going on inside and make adjustments when needed. So far I've "fried" wings, brats, turkey burgers, and sweet potato fries. I've toasted numerous bagels. I've also cooked a couple of 'Meal Simple' stuffed salmon meals that our HEB store features. For those of you not familiar with it, the "Meal Simple" is a refrigerated meal for one. I usually get one that has stuffed salmon with broccoli, or fingerling potatoes and green beans. They are in a foil baking dish, & require 20 to 22 min. (if I remember right) in a 400 degree preheated oven. The first one I did in the air fryer was a bit overcooked because I didn't stay there and watch it. The second one, I watched. It was perfectly done in about 15 minutes. And without preheating! My 'regular' oven takes a good 20 min to ring it up to 400 degrees. I hate using it for one small item like this. So I'm really excited about using the air fryer, just imagine how much electricity is being saved! I am seriously considering making up some meals of this sort of my own cooking to freeze to have on hand for days I don't feel like cooking. I am quite sure that this is going to be an "essential" in my kitchen! Rusty

I have a Tovala countertop oven that convection bakes, broils, steams and reheats. Since it is just the two of us, I use it a lot, even though I also have a Samsung oven with the two oven capacity so I could use the smaller oven. This thread has been an eye-opener. I love the way baked veggies taste and frozen potatoes cook in the Tovala. It never occurred to me that this is what the "air frying" hoopla is describing. Off to learn more, thanks!

I think the difference is supposed to be speed, as in air frier is supposed to be a high speed convection oven, which, as Dcarch referred to, is also fast to heat up because of the small space. I have a cheap one which has a bunch of configurations which are what really sets it apart, like a cage that tumbles, but being what it is, it also cooks very unevenly, especially compared to my big, very expensive and technologically superior wall oven. I like the air fryer for fast little things, like sunchoke chips, that aren't worth turning on and waiting to heat the big oven for if I'm not cooking anything else. I haven't used the air-fryer to its full abilities, but haven't yet made anything that couldn’t be made in the oven. It's also supposed to dehydrate, which the oven doesn't do well, because it was designed to retain moisture, but I haven't tried that yet. Anything that can be coated in oil and baked to sizzling can be done in a good convection oven. To get more of a fry style, use a wire grid rather than putting the items directly on the pan, though I make kale chips right on parchment paper, on the pan, crowded, in the oven, and they come out all airy and crisp. French fries, being so dense, are pickier. And that's the nub. IIRC, the air frier was invented, more or less, as a way of making fries in tiny European apartments that only had one or two burner dominoes for stoves, and if any oven at all, a small microvave, possibly with convection. The air frier, possibly set on another surface than the actual kitchen, took the space and mess of making ”chips” out of the way of the rest of the meal prep. So, you'll have to experiment with your oven and the things you want to make, and see how it works for you. and go to a demo, or a friend's house, and see if you like the air fryer results. :)