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21st December 2023
10:32am GMT
You've either got one or you've heard about how everyone's got one - either way, it's difficult to avoid air fryer chat nowadays.
Hailed as the best thing since sliced bread, air fryer owners would have you believe that purchasing the device is the best decision they've made in the last five years.
It's easy to see why in fairness. You can pretty much cook anything in them, it's a much healthier alternative to frying things in oil, and they can be more energy-efficient than an oven.
But some people reckon they've found a cheaper alternative to the air fryer, which still has all the health benefits: halogen ovens.
A halogen oven is basically a big glass bowl with a lid containing halogen bulbs and a fan. When switched on, infrared radiation beams from the bulbs create heat, which is circulated around the oven by the fan.
You can often pick up a halogen oven for less than an air fryer, the Irish Mirror reports, with 17-litre models going for as little as £34.98 on Amazon and less than £30 at B&Q (prices correct at the time of writing).
Just like an air fryer, the halogen oven is cheaper to run than an oven when cooking some everyday items. Research from Which? found that when cooking chips, a halogen oven cost 5p less than a traditional oven, while an air fryer was 16p cheaper to run.
For a jacket potato, the halogen oven (25p) was again 5p cheaper when compared to a normal oven (30p). Both were once again trumped by the air fryer, which used just 11p's worth of energy to cook a jacket potato.
Perhaps the main benefit of the halogen oven though is that, because it's made from glass, you can see how your food is coming along whilst it's cooking.
Reviewing the Daewood 17-litre model on Amazon, one person wrote: "I've had this for just under a week and honestly don't know how I got by without it.
"Heats faster and cooks more efficiently (and cheaply) than my oven, I've cooked several meals for a family of three including lasagne, roast potatoes, chicken etc, everything has come out perfect except the pizza where the base was soft but I think a decent pizza tray will fix that. "
Another user said: "There is nothing to dislike. Easy to use. Quick, very cost effective. The glass bowl is easy to keep clean. Also makes great toast."
A third reviewer added: "I have had this halogen cooker for nearly a month now and I am pleased to say that it is proving to be very efficient and you can cook such a wide range of items.
"It is particularly useful when you only want small quantities of several items, I managed to fit beef burgers, garlic bread and oven chips into the cleverly thought out baskets and shelves provided."
So, before you buy that air fryer, maybe consider the halogen oven. Your wallet could thank you.
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