T-Fal Actifry

[Mia]

Do you have T-Fal Actifry?

Your opinions please.

Thanks.

[VeeVee]

I got one for Christmas and I LOVE it!
I use it for french fries, chicken/pork , vegetables like zucchini and garlic, or when I make a stir fry I just put all the frozen veggies in the actifry

[Mia]

I got one for Christmas and I LOVE it!
I use it for french fries, chicken/pork , vegetables like zucchini and garlic, or when I make a stir fry I just put all the frozen veggies in the actifry

Does it do real french fries? I mean, does it really fry or just "bake but in a crusty way" (e.g., we can do that in the oven when we put that on "broil")? And does it cook meat thoroughly (well-done)? Because vegetables are easy to cook but meat (chicken, beef, pork...) is different, it requires much time.

I don't quite understand how T-Fal works. Well, I know, it has a big fan and the system is as if you turn on a huge hair dryer under closed atmosphere. But how practical is that? Because there are ovens which work with the help of fans and less expensive than T-Fal (and "fry" on "broil" function). So I want to understand if it's really worth spending around $200 on that. Though T-Fal spins while fries but how effective is that?

Thank you.

[VeeVee]

The fries are amazing..they are not like real fried potatoes of course, but they are crispy on the outside and soft inside - nothing like oven fries on broil IMO.
For meat, it cooks it amazing! So juice and tender. I cook chicken thighs in there for 35 minutes and then I add bbq sauce and cook for another 5 and they are so delicious! Its basically like a convection oven kinda.
If you youtube ActiFry recipes there are tons of videos that show how it cooks different things.
IMO its worth it, I use it about 3-4 times a week and it saves me $ bc the oven takes up way to much electricity.

[Jina]

I have one and use it mainly for french fries and they are amazing. They are crispy, not greasy and ready in about 25mins. I just buy a big bag of frozen french fries from Costco.
I also do roast potatoes, wedges, spring rolls, roast carrots, roast parsnips.
Saves me a lot of time. Roast beef in the crock pot and fries/wedges in the Actifry and I'm done

[Chantel]

I bought one and took it back. Basically, if you want to cook something breaded, the breading has to already be on a frozen product or it has to not be wet. You can't make your own hand-battered corn dogs in this thing. tempura batter also went out.

I'm sure there is a lot you can do with it besides fries, but most of that stuff I can do in an appliance I already have with about the same amount of grease. If I want deep-fried stuff, I can't really recreate that in any way at all in this machine.

If I were you I'd give it a try but get it somewhere that has a good return policy.

[Bubbelinchen]

for breaded stuff like chicken nuggets>>> forget it IMO.mine always turn out damaged and soggy, not sure what i'm doing wrong.
i like it for potatoe cubes,onions,ham....everything in there and short before finish egg....a great breakfast and you not have to watch and stir
i like fries in there, but homemade fries are AMAZING in there, these are the best..... you have to cut them in fries and wash them so the starch comes off.... i do it about 1 hour before i make my fries and let them after that air dry so no water is on it....put in actifry 1 spoon olive oil and turn it on..... best fries i've ate!!!

i own 2 actifrys since they came out.... we love the fries so much that 1 wasn't enough for us so i have to make 2 batches at the time.

totally forgot: PUMPKIN SEED roasting in there, with some oil and sea salt...... DELICIOUS GOOD!!!

[Mia]

Thank you very much for all the recommendations. Good that it saves time and the food comes delicious. I was thinking of using mostly for fries but homemade. Though we have a big bag from Costco, we make that in the oven.

Good, that it can be used for stir fry and meat as well. But I'm still worried if meat comes well-done. Maybe when I buy, I'll try that by myself. And yes, it's a good idea to buy from somewhere where I can return that.

[kazm-l]

I have one as well. Love it.
Homemade fries are great - much better than doing them in the oven.
I've cooked fish in mine, tofu, roasted chickpeas, stir- fried veg and used it to crunch up the skin of my jacket potatoes(without the paddle!) when i've cooked them in the microwave.
It's quite versatile.


Oh and i bought mine from Costco ages ago because they have a great return policy and also because at the time it came with a free mandoline...

[Mia]

Yes, I am also thinking of buying from Costco, cheaper and more reliable in terms of return policy.

I have a mandoline, also got free... from shop dot ca.

[web3]

I have one we use quite often. Made homemade fries tonight. I will never buy frozen french fries again, no more added fat and preservatives and 10lbs of potatoes are cheap!
Used our fry cutter and cut 3 potatoes, rinsed, pat dry, 1tbs of oil and 25 min = done and very good. Not that "baked" taste. It really is amazing how it works.
We have also done wings and they turned out great. They were breaded and some of the breading fell off from the turning but overall better than the oven.
However frozen onion rings didn't do so well. Too flimsy and kind of clumped up.
But hubby can have his french fries and I can eat them more often knowing they are healthier, we are both happy!

[luckbealady]

I know you are thinking of buying at Costco - but I also suggest Canadian Tire. We PM'd Walmart shelf price at Canadian Tire (check with your stores PM policy - at the first one they wanted us to bring in a print out of the price - at the second one we went to they said that's silly - what they do is contact the store to verify that it's in stock and what the price is). You not only get the lower price, but you get back 10% of the lower price in CT money (we bought ours a couple of years ago and we got back about $20 in CT money). They most likely won't PM Costco, but just a suggestion.

We like ours. Usually cook frozen french fries - do NOT recommend for onion rings, they turned out soggy. In the summer we still buy our fries from the local chip wagon. I've heard it's good for cooking frozen meatballs.
What I really like is cooking chicken in it - sliced chicken breast, lightly covered in cornstarch, and then a sauce is added part way through. I've made chicken tikka marsala, lemon chicken, sweet and sour chicken, and orange chicken - and they all turned out great (although the machine was a bit messy after)!

[endi2000]

I haven't used ours for things with sauces or breading because I just didn't want to clean it up - but really interesting comment about 'without the paddle' - maybe I have to think outside of the box. We have been eating with very little oil for many years - so this was a nice way of changing up the potatoes. I don't buy frozen ff - so have been making them from fresh. Nice thought on the carrots and parsnip - going to have to try that.

[Mia]

Thank you!

Can you tell me which one do you have? Is the Gourmet one (2.2 pounds) too small for a family of 4?

http://www.amazon.ca/T-fal-FZ700250-...ywords=actifry

[Mia]

Thank you very much! I appreciate all the recommendations.