Anko 3.2L Air Fryer

A Reliable Budget-Friendly Cooking Companion – Embarking on my air fryer journey approximately two years ago, the Anko 3.2L model has proven to be a reliable and budget-friendly addition to my kitchen. This appliance competently stands its ground against pricier counterparts, offering efficiency and user-friendly features. Since its purchase, the Anko 3.2L Air Fryer has become a staple in my… Read more ·  1

kitchen, used several times a week. Its consistent performance matches that of more expensive air fryers, providing quick cooking times and a straightforward cleaning process.

Addressing any concerns, I've encountered no issues with basket separation, and the Anko has proven to be a reliable kitchen companion. Its sturdy build and consistent performance have pleasantly surprised me, and I remain very satisfied with the food it produces.

In conclusion, the Anko 3.2L Air Fryer is a reliable companion in any kitchen. For those seeking an affordable yet effective air fryer that excels in cooking items like chips, potatoes, nuggets, and tenders, this model is highly recommended. Its user-friendly design and easy cleaning process make it a standout choice for individuals who value both efficiency and budget-friendliness.

Best air fryer ever – I use it nearly everyday to grill meat and chicken. Good product and no smoke at all. Been using it for nearly 5 years. I feel like I want a new one now but the one I have still working good. :) Show details ·  1

Very surprised – My daughter brang this home the other day as we wait for new stove and wow iam very surprised at how fast and crispy the food is. We only had it for few days now I will update if something happens but atm I love it!!!! Show details ·  1

Cheap imitation of the market leader that unfortunately doesn't do the job properly – SUMMARY PROS - Attempted imitation of the market leading (Philips) air fryer design but fails to preform - One of the cheapest air fryers on the market and readily available - Compact, lightweight design - Safety cut-off switch operates when cooking bucket is removed - Relatively quiet operation - easy to read, adjust and review digital control… Read more

panel - easy to remove, handle and clean the cooking buckets - the cooking bucket when correctly inserted into the air fryer firmly locks in place. This prevents it from accidentally falling out when moving the appliance - Perfect for heating frozen potato fries and hash browns, chicken schnitzels and crumbed tenders, Chiko rolls, meat pies, frozen crumbed fish pieces etc

CONS

- surprisingly poor hot air circulation (doesn't reach bottom) resulting in very uneven cooking which necessitates the need to turn over all the items half way through cooking. So very inconvenient. This is regardless of amount being cooked. - hence its not recommended to put more than a single layer of food into the bucket as it just wont cook properly. - Inferior ultra-thin non-stick coating comes off very easily with just minor scrubbing. Hence great care must be exercised when cleaning. - digital control panel is prone to failure - Cooking raw meats such as steaks, chicken, sausages, pork and roasts is NOT recommended as they cause problematic splatter to circulate, settle, collect and bake solid all around the air fryer. Your air fryer will quickly become inefficient and unusable and will also become a haven for cockroaches (applies to all air fryers).

Now for the detailed review and comparison with market leader

This Kmart/Anko air fryer is one of the cheapest air fryers you can buy but unfortunately it doesn't perform where it counts. Even though on the surface it appears to be an attempt to somewhat copy, it's just no comparison to the market leading Philips air fryers as several key design elements are simply missing. So don't expect to pay $59 and get the same quality and results as a $145 to $200 air fryer They are chalk and cheese. Totally different in all respects - build, quality and design!

Unlike other reviewers here I have both a Kmart/Anko and a Philips air fryer so am best qualified to give a thorough and most informative, unbiased review and explaining all the pros and cons. So here we go....

Firstly let me say that you should clean all air fryers immediately after every use. Otherwise you risk permanently baking on grease, oil and cooking splatter and hence creating a wonderful haven for cockroaches! Also its just plain unhealthy not to clean them every time! Hence both ease of cleaning and durability becomes a very important consideration in any air fryer.

The Philips air fryers are a market leading innovative design that cook well, clean easily, are reasonably durable and are certainly built to last. You can use them over and over again provided you clean them regularly.

In contrast this cheap $59 Kmart/Anko air fryer cooks very unevenly. The non-stick coating although it cleans easily, lacks any durability and the digital control panel is subject to premature failure due the hot and greasy environment to which it is subject.

The Philips air fryers have a metal cooking basket with stainless steel mesh at the bottom, sitting sealed within an outer metal basket to contain both the heat, the excess oil and the splatter. This clever design allows for optimum hot air circulation for even cooking. It also allows you to lift out the inner cooking basket by the handle and conveniently tip out your cooked food. Then clean it immediately whilst the oil is hot and easy to wash off. You can even use a non-scratch plastic scourer on them if you must due to the fact that both baskets have a durable, high quality Teflon style non-stick coating. As a result Philips air fryers heat very evenly without the necessity to turn everything and are quick and easy to clean.

This Kmart/Anko air fryer whilst appearing to be a cheap copy-cat design of the Philips air fryer, just doesn't match up in the performance stakes due to several key design omissions. Yes you have the inner and outer metal basket design though without the wire mesh bottom that maximizes air flow and without the turbo air moulding in the base of the outer basket that spins and directs the hot air back up through the wire mesh bottom of the cooking basket. Instead the Anko has drilled holes into the metal bottom of the cooking basket and a relatively flat base in the outer basket that does nothing to direct the air back up into the cooking basket. Whilst this makes cleaning somewhat easier, it fails dismally with hot air flow distribution resulting in very uneven cooking. So much so that the top of a chicken schnitzel is cooked perfectly after 13 mins whilst the bottom remains soggy, It makes no difference whether the schnitzels and placed flat on the bottom or leaning up onto the side. Hence it fails in the most important criteria. Of course you can rectify this by turning over the schnitzels and cooking the soggy bottom for a further 5 mins. However this takes more time and electricity and is just is not necessary when using a Philips air fryer because they do the job properly in the first place!

It doesn't help that the Kmart/Anko air fryer has a cheap, thin coat of black non-stick paint sprayed on the metal basket. As you would expect this painted surface can rub off very easily with minor scrubbing so you must exercise great care when cleaning using only sponges and dish brushes. Using a plastic or metal scourer to remove baked on grease and oil will remove the non-stick coating very quickly. For a heavy duty clean its better to soak the cooking bucket for an hour or so in hot, soapy water or even overnight or alternatively just spray with oven cleaner. Note that caustic oven cleaners are harsh and hence may also eat away the non-stick coating. Hence consider the Kmart/Anko Air fryer a limited use "throw away" appliance if you are going to be using it for cooking meats rather than just heating frozen foods, and especially if you are not going to religiously clean it thoroughly after every use.

Another negative is the digital control panel. As any electrician will tell you - Digital displays, circuit boards, high heat and moisture are just not a good combination! The longer you expose these to heat the quicker they will fail. The Philips air fryer uses robust and durable dial controls that are unaffected by heat and moisture.

CONCLUSION What I strongly suggest is limiting use of the Kmart/Anko air fryer to heating frozen foods such as fries, potato gems, crumbed fish pieces, chicken schnitzels, Chiko rolls etc. i.e. stuff that just requires heating up for no longer than 15mins and does not splatter or cause any greasy mess inside the air fryer. Its certainly good for that as long as you turn over the food to cook the bottom side for another 5 mins or so and then thoroughly wash the residual oil away after every use. If you read some of the positive reviews here you will see this is the ideal purpose for which air fryers are being used. So stay well away from steaks, sausages, pork or anything that requires cooking and/or causes splatter as such. In fact I would suggest this for all air fryers. Contrary to what they suggest in their marketing, air fryers are not a substitute for grilling in or on a stove or cooking/ baking in an oven unless you want to throw your air fryer away in a hurry!

Rusty handles – I bought this airfryer a little over 1 year and the handles are completely rusty. I've tried to clean, but nothing works. Of course it's over the warranty and I can't find the receipt. Very dengerous. Show details

Best buy in years with a well-earned 5-Star plus rating – Had I been sucked in by the negative CHOICE review by their supposed "experts" who saw fit to provide a deprecatory, low 64% "Expert Rating" for the ANKO 3.2 litre Air Fryer, I would never have touched this product. But it didn't end there - CHOICE went on to label this as a "cult appliance" which performed poorly. Well, in the first instance,… Read more

CHOICE charge for their reviews. And the fact is, I'd rather rely on say 10 real-life, owner user experiences than take at face value, a single incentive-driven review. And precisely why I am not a subscriber. But In fairness to CHOICE, I also tend to prefer known brands as in Philips, Tefal, Breville, Sunbeam, etc, and that is precisely where I started when I went shopping for an air fryer. And this is what I found:

Disappointingly, most of the known brands were overstated, overrated and overpriced. I read review after review, and went from shop to shop to explore the brands and models I was contemplating on buying. In conclusion of my travels, I conceded that build quality of the ANKO 3.2 litre Air Fryer was on a par with that of the so-called reputable brand names. But it didn't end there - I also scrutinized consumer feedback. I found that some big-name brands had an appalling track record of pathetic, non-existent after sales service. With consumers being ignored or treated with outright contempt by these giants of the industry. I can vouch for that due to my exact, same negative experiences. So not surprising, consumers often had to wait for months for parts or repairs while being fobbed off - often without resolve. That scenario was a big factor when it came down to my personal and final choice. And that in itself is telling - if the well known brands were so good, why the disproportionate number of failures and complaints?

With the ANKO 3.2 litre Air Fryer placed alongside the supposedly "premium" brand names without price or brand disclosure, one would be hard pressed to ascertain which was a budget unit and which was premium. My viability investigation placed it in the same if not better build quality category than that of well known brand names. Over and above, it would appear that ANKO is a progressive company that is consistently improving its products - I have the new version with controls strategically placed on the side. It is well made, and most of all, does a superb job of its intended use - air frying. It's a fantastic value-for-money product that exceeded all our expectations. In short, it cooks beautifully. My partner is a gourmet cook and she cannot believe the efficiency of the ANKO 3.2 litre Air Fryer - that we use our in our kitchen - not a lab. It's one of our best buys in years and without a doubt, it gets a well-earned 5-star plus rating.

Does everything we need – Well priced efficient unit that we have bought an aftermarket extra stainless steel tray to increase cooking space. Superb value for money and does everything we need. Easy to use.  Show details