Tefal Actifry or Air fryer – my thoughts
I often see people asking whether people recommend spending a bit extra on the Tefal Actifry or if a basic air fryer is just as good. After trying both I thought I would share my thoughts with you. Of course, you may have tried both and feel differently!
What is the difference between an ActiFry and an air fryer?
A Tefal ActiFry is a type of air fryer, but it works differently from many of the basket-style air fryers that have become popular in recent years.
The most noticeable difference is the cooking area. A traditional ActiFry has a wide cooking pan with a paddle that slowly moves the food around while it cooks. Most modern air fryers instead have one or more baskets and rely on rapidly circulating hot air to cook the food, with you occasionally shaking or turning it yourself.
This makes an ActiFry particularly handy for foods that benefit from being moved around during cooking. Chips are probably the obvious example, but I’ve also used mine for burritos.
A basket air fryer tends to be more versatile for foods that you don’t want continually stirred. Depending on the model, that might include chicken, baked potatoes, sausages, cakes and plenty of other foods.
Neither is automatically “better”. They’re slightly different ways of using circulating hot air to cook food, and which suits you best depends largely on what you cook.
What is an ActiFry?
An ActiFry is Tefal’s particular style of air fryer. If you’ve only recently become interested in air fryers, you might not have come across one because the basket-style machines you see everywhere now have become much more dominant.
ActiFry machines were around long before the current air fryer craze, though. In fact, many of us were cooking chips in an ActiFry years before owning an “air fryer” became quite the kitchen obsession it is now.
Rather than putting food into the deep basket you might associate with an air fryer, an ActiFry traditionally uses a wide pan. Hot air circulates around the food while a rotating paddle moves it around the pan.
This means you don’t usually need to keep opening it and shaking a basket when you’re making things such as chips because the machine is already moving them for you.
And yes, an ActiFry is an air fryer. ActiFry is essentially Tefal’s particular design and brand of air fryer rather than a completely separate method of cooking.
ActiFry vs air fryer at a glance
| Tefal ActiFry | Basket air fryer | |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking method | Circulating hot air | Circulating hot air |
| Cooking area | Wide pan | Basket/drawer |
| Moves food automatically | Usually, using a paddle | Usually no |
| Good for chips | Yes | Yes |
| Need to shake chips? | Usually not | Often recommended |
| Good for delicate food | Paddle can be a disadvantage | Usually easier |
| Choice of models | More limited | Huge choice available |
| Dual-zone options | Not the traditional design | Widely available |
| Best for | Foods that benefit from stirring | General everyday air frying |
ActiFry vs modern air fryers
When ActiFry machines first became popular, the choice of alternatives was nothing like it is today. Modern air fryers now come in all sorts of designs, including compact single-basket models, huge drawers and dual-zone air fryers that let you cook two different foods at once.
That makes the comparison slightly different today.
An ActiFry’s automatic paddle is still a clever feature, particularly for chips and foods you want continually moved around. On the other hand, modern basket air fryers can be much more flexible.
The lack of a paddle means you can cook foods without worrying about them being broken up as they’re moved around. Dual-drawer models also make it much easier to cook two foods using different temperatures or cooking times.
If you already own an ActiFry and it does everything you need, however, I certainly wouldn’t rush out and replace it just because basket air fryers are fashionable. There is quite a lot of clever marketing around air fryers for what is ultimately a small oven blowing very hot air around your dinner!
Do I prefer a basic Air Fryer or Tefal Actifry?
I have used both and have found the Tefal Actifry to be far better than a basic air fryer for chips. Whilst it still works, the air fryer involved lots of shaking the food around to ensure relatively even cooking.
The Actifry does this for you, and as it is continuous, there is definitely no danger of a raw chip hiding in the bottom. This means there’s less for you to do.
I would, however, say that if money is an issue then you will get a lot of use from a basic air fryer and it will help you to make healthy chips.
If you are likely to use your gadget for other things then an air fryer would be much better as it has a bigger basket and is easier to choose the temperature to cook at.
If you do have the extra money though and generally will only use it for chips, it will be well spent on the Actifry.
Can you use ActiFry recipes in an air fryer?
In many cases, you can adapt an ActiFry recipe for a basket air fryer, but you may need to change the cooking method slightly.
The biggest difference is that the ActiFry paddle moves the food automatically. If you’re cooking something such as chips in a basket air fryer, you’ll probably want to shake the basket several times instead.
Cooking times can vary too. Air fryers aren’t all identical, and the size and power of the machine, the amount of food you’re cooking and even the size you’ve cut your ingredients can affect how quickly something cooks.
I always treat air fryer cooking times as a starting point rather than assuming my dinner will self-destruct if it stays in for another 47 seconds!
Check the food as it cooks and adjust the timing for your particular machine.
My Actifry
I have the Tefal Actifry Genius XL 1.7kg. I had previously owned two different older models but both were bought around 5+ years ago and had lasted well with lots of use.
The Tefal Actifry genius models have some preset functions to cook certain items and you can also use them manually and change the temperature and cooking time yourself.
I love the glass lid so you can see how your food is doing and the whole thing feels as sturdy and robust as the previous models we had.
If you do accidentally drop and break it then you can order parts separately online too.
Some of the parts are dishwasher-safe. The cover, latch, paddle, cooking pan and removable filter can all be popped in the dishwasher to clean, saving you even more time.
Cooking in the Actifry or Air Fryer
If you think of what you usually cook in the oven then most of these things can be cooked in an air fryer or the Actifry instead. The Actifry app has some great ideas too for some delicious dinner inspiration.
If you are struggling with what to make with certain ingredients you can search the app using the ingredients too which I think is pretty cool.
Now I have so many more things to try and the Actifry will get used for even more than I do now.
If you have a basic air fryer, some of these recipes may be suitable for that but a lot will depend on the style of the cooking basket used. Silicone liners are perfect for this.
Some have holes which obviously don’t suit some recipes which have spices!
Do you have any favourite recipes you have cooked using hot air technology with these kinds of appliances? Do let me know your favourites so I can get experimenting!
Please note that I have purchased this with my own money and all opinions are my own.
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