IT began as a slow, creeping spread with a few early adopters here and there waxing lyrical about a swanky kitchen gadget. Then came the devout converts who swapped zany recipes and swore blind that they couldn’t imagine life without this revolutionary culinary device.
The cult of the air fryer has taken hold by stealth. I can’t remember the last time I scrolled through social media without seeing people comparing makes and models, swooning over cut-price deals or waxing lyrical about how much cheaper it is to run than a conventional oven.
Granted, the latter point is arguably the biggest reason why air fryers have become hugely popular. With soaring energy prices and the rising cost of living it makes sense that many of us want to make our pennies stretch as far as possible.
That I do get. What I don’t understand is how the air fryer has simultaneously become both a money-saving hack and a brag-worthy status symbol. It feels like everyone is worshipping at the altar of this souped-up convection oven. All hail our new machine overlords.
One wonders if future historians might view this era with the same fascination as we do the ancient Egyptians and their love of cats?
That said, cats were all the rage in Egypt for more than 3000 years. I can’t see the air fryer enjoying that kind of longevity. Chances are it won't be long until it goes the way of other formerly must-have mod-con appliances.
Don’t believe me? Cast your mind back to that 1960s and 1970s bedside staple: the Teasmade. Or to when wowing dinner party guests with a fondue set was considered the height of sophistication.
I have memories of a similar buzz of excitement about the SodaStream in the 1980s. A great idea on paper but one that never quite lived up to the hype, no matter how much you tried to convince yourself otherwise.
I can recall folks raving about the George Foreman Grill circa the 1990s, which was just the ticket if you wanted to squeeze all the fun – I mean fat – out of a perfectly decent juicy steak.
Spiralizers, meanwhile, were in vogue through the mid-2010s when health-conscious bods ditched stodgy pasta in favour of courgette ribbons and vegetable noodles. What a palaver that was.
I’ve yet to visit a car boot sale and not see one of these once hallowed contraptions sitting forlornly on a table next to a pile of ancient Jackie annuals, threadbare teddy bears and chipped mugs with faded “World’s Best Lover” or “Keep Calm” motifs.
Breadmakers are another gizmo in this vein. They enjoyed a fleeting resurgence in recent times when everyone went into make-do-and-mend/apocalyptic chic mode during lockdown, but I fear most are now, once again, languishing at the back of cupboards gathering dust.
As for air fryers? Yep, I am the proud owner of one. What? I didn’t say I was immune to a bit of bandwagon jumping myself. Having mastered the art of cooking fluffy roast potatoes in mine, I feel I have officially hit peak 2022.
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