Martin Lewis warns about big problem with people using air fryers instead of ovens to cook food

Martin Lewis is back to impart his wisdom and advise us on our use of kitchen appliances, but it's not great news for air fryer advocates.

The Money Saving Expert has spoken out about the trend, which has taken the world by storm since the lockdown where many bought air fryers to cook and bake some new recipes.

We all had a lot more time back then.

But now, I'm sure that if you do own one, you still use it while cooking as they are said to be quciker, healthier and more cost-efficient than using an oven.

Win-win, really.

However, finance guru Martin Lewis has bestowed some of his knowledge upon us and our worlds might be about to be turned upside down.

Speaking on an episode of The Martin Lewis podcast, he speaks about the difference between a regular oven and the smaller alternative.

ITV

Lewis revealed that an air fryer isn't always the most cost-efficient way to cook your meals.

"A microwave, I believe, 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," he explained.

The 51-year-old stated: “If you were doing a full roast dinner and you were cooking many of them, that is where it's probably cheaper 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."

But it's not all doom and gloom air fryer fans, as the expert also revealed that cooking something such as a jacket potato for 10 minutes in the microwave is cheaper than cooking it in a huge oven for an hour and a half.

For those of you who love a bit of maths and want to work out exactly how to know if using one or the other is cheaper, there is an equation.

Getty Stock Photo

Lewis further explains: “General equation is, find the wattage of an item, then work out how many kilowatts or what fraction of a kilowatt it's using, then multiply that by 34p per hour of use.”

"The problem with the equation for heating equipment is an oven is going to be about 2,000W," Lewis explains.

"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."

'Which?' a consumer group, also found that the traditional method of an oven is better to cook large quantities.

But with smaller amounts with appliances like air fryers, they state: "We’ve found these products cost less to cook certain foods than conventional ovens."

So there you have it, no need to chuck your air fryer away, just stick to using it for small amounts!

Topics: Money, UK News, Martin Lewis, Food And Drink, Cost of Living

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

@joshnair10