Price: £139
Dimensions & weight: 347 x 291 x 300mm; 4kg
Capacity: 4L
Warranty: 2 years
Dishwasher safe: yes
Better known as a cutlery manufacturer, German brand Zwilling enters the increasingly buoyant air fryer market with an energy-efficient product that is perfectly sized for smaller households, while boasting some super user-friendly features.
Testing the ZWILLING Air Fryer
Fish and chips is a Friday night staple that hits all the right buttons after a long week and it’s a time for a family treat. But could the ZWILLING stand up to its promise of a quick, tasty meal while reducing fat content with this indulgent fakeaway?
We scored the ZWILLNG Air Fryer on how easy it was to use, the cooking results, its value for money and the tech specs.
How to use the ZWILLING Air Fryer
Arriving in ZWILLING’s distinctive red branded box, the Air Fryer comes with full instructions as well as a recipe book, which is helpful when you’re new to this style of cooking and unsure about its parameters.
Setting up simply involved plugging in when the digital display lit up revealing five pre-set options for cooking chicken, chips, fish, pizza, prawns and cake; a power button, a program select button plus options to digitally set the temperature and the time.
It’s Friday and opting for a quick and easy traditional fish supper seemed like a fine way to put the ZWILLING to the test. I placed two shop-brought battered fish slices plus a happy handful of thick oven-cook chips onto the basket and set the timer to 20 minutes at 200 degrees.
The digital display makes it very easy to track its progress and at 10 minutes a quick flip of the fish and a shake of the chips ensured that both sides were cooked and browned to perfection.
This machine is whisper quiet and it contentedly purrs its way through the cooking process. However, for convenience, four sharp, unmissable beeps alert you to when it’s finished.
Taste test
Fish and chips is a Friday night favourite but it can be a disappointment when cooked in a traditional oven as chips can often emerge slightly under-done, while battered fish can be a little soggy after cooking in its own fat. It was a delight, then, to find the fish perfectly crispy but still flaky and tender inside while the reduced fat content was noticeably in both texture and flavour. The chips were everything you could desire: crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, cooked thoroughly and piping hot. The fish and the chips cooked well alongside each other with both emerging beautifully browned. Pass the ketchup!
How energy efficient is the Zwilling air fryer?
ZWILLING’s Air Fryer runs at 1.4kWh (kilowatts of energy per hour). To put this in context, this sits at the most efficient end as most air fryers use between 1.4kWh - 1.7kWh and average around 17p per day, compared to the average energy output for an oven, which is between 2.0 and 2.2kWh.
OUR VERDICT: Should you buy it?
Super-intuitive to use with its adjustable digital settings, the ZWILLING is a seamless and user-friendly option that also ticks all the right boxes for saving money on energy costs with its low kWh credentials. It’s sleek and looks wonderfully discreet due to its compact size. With just 4L capacity it’s perfect for a two-person household, however, it could prove tricky if cooking for larger numbers as it would require using the oven to keep food warm while cooking in batches.
It cooks well and evenly and it’s easy to clean. While the ZWILLING is at the top end of the price range for an air fryer it will save money over time in energy costs and comes with a two-year warranty for peace of mind.
Still looking? Check out some of our other tried-and-tested air fryers!
