Quick Review: The Philips Air Fryer XXL is an Absolute Dreamboat

Quick Review: The Philips Air Fryer XXL is an Absolute Dreamboat
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

If you’ve ever dreamed of lounging on a couch and being hand-fed delicious grapes by a handsome man, you should take a look at the Philips Air Fryer XXL. It’s not quite the same thing, but it’ll satisfy you in (almost) the same way.

Whether you’re looking for an appliance that’ll take the stress out of cooking or just something to make your life a bit easier, a solid air fryer is the way to go. While the Philips Air Fryer XXL is at the premium end of the price bracket, the investment is worth it for a reliable and effortless cooking tool.

What is it?

The Philips Air Fryer XXL is a premium air fryer with a massive (XXL) load capacity. Basically, it operates as a portable oven with the capability to cook anything you like. All you need to do is set a temperature and a time and the air fryer does the rest.

You’ll end up with crispy, oil-free food cooked faster and more easily than other appliances.

At retail, it costs around $599 but you can find it closer to the $573 mark on Amazon. As far as pricing goes, it’s in the upper tier for air fryers, mostly because of its large size, ‘smart sensing’ and ‘fat removal’ technology. Basically, it can cook healthier food than its rivals.

What’s good about it?

philips air fryer xxl review
Image: Lifehacker Australia

The Philips Air Fryer XXL is the easiest kitchen appliance you’ll ever use.

Even if you have no experience cooking, you’ll be able to pick it up with a simple flick through the instruction manual. When you get down to it, it basically amounts to: put food in the machine, select temperature, select time and off it goes. With the push of three buttons, you’ll be cooking food in no time.

While you will need to ‘supervise’ the machine in case of an emergency, you can mostly go about your day while your food cooks in the background. Prep time is quite short and you can usually get away with just dumping your food in the air fryer basket and waiting for the machine to do its magic.

From a health perspective, it also uses a lot less oil than frying does and you can also make food crispier and tastier. It’s a win-win in my books.

If you’re used to cooking with a frying pan or an oven, it can be hard to break old habits. This isn’t like cooking in either of those appliances and you’ll need to learn brand new ways of cooking. For younger people it’s likely to be a quick and easy process, but older cooks may struggle with stepping away from the controls.

What’s not so good about it?

philips air fryer xxl review
Image: Lifehacker Australia

While the Philips XXL air fryer is great for set-and-forget cooking this does come with a caveat, particularly if you’re using the add-on insert.

Food cooking on the insert is closer to the air fryer’s heating element, meaning it’ll usually end up browner than food on the bottom of the basket. The first few times you use the air fryer, you may make this mistake and end up with unevenly cooked food.

Because all this action takes place in a closed box with no window, you also don’t have oversight of what you’re cooking. You can open the drawer to check, but this lets out heat. Instead, you’ll need to trust the cooking process and let the magic box do its thing.

You’ll also need to undergo trial and error to learn how to cook with it.

Sometimes, the air fryer will cook food too much (like the above meat patties) while other times, you’ll need to stick in for a second go. Recipes online will produce weird-to-wild results (I ended up cooking ‘doughnut holes’ that turned into hard biscuits) and you’ll need to figure out what works as you go. There’s an art to using an air fryer that’ll be a mystery for newcomers, even if the machine is mostly idiot-proof.

Cleaning

Cleaning is another negative when it comes to the air fryer. You need to clean the device after every use and this involves cleaning the metal insert (if used), the lower grill, the inner pan, the fat reducer (which gets very messy) and the outer pan. There are multiple intricate pieces involved, and you’ll need to use a soft sponge to make sure you don’t scratch anything. It’s slow and painful.

While the cooking and preparation time for using the Philips Air Fryer XXL is significantly less than traditional appliances, the cleaning time is nearly doubled. If you’re not a big cleaner, this is an important factor to consider.

Should you buy it?

After using an air fryer for the past week, I’m definitely a convert. The Philips Air Fryer XXL is so easy to use, it makes cooking a breeze. Importantly, you can cook while you take a nanna nap, watch a movie or complete other tasks. For anyone who values productivity (or just hates spending time on dinner), it’s a godsend.

The larger size of the XXL model is another attractive feature. You can fit whole chickens in this air fryer and roast up a very tasty dinner with zero effort. That said, you may not need the size and there are other air fryers you should consider if you’re a first-timer.

$573 is also a lot to pay for a kitchen appliance if you’re not sure whether air fryers are for you or not.

air fryer chip recipe philips air fryer xxl
Chips, lovely chips. (Image: Lifehacker Australia)

Outside of the device’s fat removal technology (which didn’t feel remarkable) and its ‘smart sensing technology’ (which didn’t impact the cooking process), the Philips Air Fryer XXL functions as any other air fryer would. It’s a great little machine, but it’s definitely at a premium price.

Consider shopping around before you invest.

If you are looking to invest in the best air fryers on offer, the Philips Air Fryer XXL should definitely be on your list. It’s a fantastic device and one that just may save your cooking life.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


Leave a Reply