Martin Lewis issued warning to people about using air fryers instead of ovens to cook food

We live in the age of the air fryer, whether you like it or not.

It all started with that one mate or family member that was boasting about the ease and endless capabilities of their air fryer, but the epidemic has spread across British households.

Almost everyone living in the 21st century has fallen for the air fryer craze, and for good reason.

It's an easy-to-use kitchen appliance that save you a lot of time when you're cooking up a storm, and you can put pretty much anything you want in there for it to come out piping hot.

While users have been warned against using certain foods in the air fryers, it's fair to say that people have been having at it with every food item under the sun.

However, money expert Martin Lewis has now shared a stark warning to people using them instead of ovens.

Air fryer users might want to check twice before turning them on at every given opportunity (Getty Stock Image)

What's the difference between using an air fryer or an oven?

Air fryers are appliances that are put on countertops, and usually cook food quicker than ovens.

To get technical, this is due to its use of rapid superheated air circulation to cook the items, resulting in even cooking and a crispy finish.

In comparison to ovens, which come in electric or gas forms, air fryers are much smaller and therefore have a smaller capacity in comparison to their lighter counterparts.

Ovens take longer to reach the desired temperature, but can be used for roasting, baking, grilling, or even reheating.

Not to mention, a cake won't fit in an air fryer, but it'll likely fit into an oven.

What has Martin Lewis said about air fryers?

The man known as the Money Saving Expert spoke about the oven in an episode of The Martin Lewis podcast, explaining: "A microwave gives you consistent heat whereas an oven is warming up to full temperature and then topping it up so it isn’t running at full power the whole time."

But Lewis soon moved on to the task of cooking 'a full roast dinner', pointing out: "It’s probably cheaper [putting them in the oven] than putting five or six jacket potatoes in a microwave because each additional object you put in a microwave, you need to keep it on longer because a microwave just heats the individual object."

Moving on to the air fryer though, he noted that it is 'far cheaper' to cook a single jacket potato in a device such as a microwave, or your beloved air fryer.

This is because cooking a potato in the oven for an hour and half would cost you a significant amount more.

Lewis advised Brits to keep an eye on how much they're cooking, above all (ITV)

Price breakdown: Air fryer vs Oven

Lewis compared the air fryer and oven directly when it came to costs, saying that it depends on the wattage of an item.

"Work out how many kilowatts or what fraction of a kilowatt it’s using, then multiply that by 34p per hour of use," he explained.

Lewis went on: "The problem with the equation for heating equipment is an oven is going to be about 2,000W. If you had a 1,000W microwave and you put it on for 10 minutes, one KWH for a sixth of an hour, a sixth of 34p is about 6p, shall we say?

"So it’s 6p turning the microwave on for that amount of time. So yes, it’s a very useful equation."

This can also be applied to air fryers, with his website, The Money Edit, noting that air fryers are 'cheaper to use' than ovens.

"An oven costs 21p to use on average and a 800W air fryer costs 13.6p to use," it details.

But again, your air fryer may be more powerful and therefore have a higher wattage, which could cost you more.

They pointed out that 'the biggest factor is the quantity of food you’re cooking'.

I'll leave you with some wise words from Lewis himself, who said: "If you're cooking something small and simple in there, it's probably cheaper in the microwave and similarly the air fryer."