T-Fal Actifry Review
Lee loves french fries. A friend of his bought him the T-Fal Actifry for his birthday. Apparently, the actifry machine was shown on the Dr. Oz Show because it’s a much healthier way to prepare french fries. The actifry allows you to make crispy fries without deep frying them in oil. In fact this machine makes crispy fries with just a 1/2 teaspoon of oil.
I love new technology so I was ready to help Lee get started on using is new toy. The machine is super easy to0 use. After opening the box, the basket where the fries go has to be washed and dried. After we dried it, we placed the pot back into the base of the machine and then added the fries. It holds 2 pounds of fries. We seasoned the fries with paprika, salt and pepper. After adding a half of teaspoon of oil, we were ready to close the lid and start the machine.
We set the time to 28 minutes and pressed the ON button. The machine started up. Just as the directions explained there would be a weird smell. This smell goes away in a few minutes and it doesn’t return on future uses. The machine has a grey paddle inside which is continuously rotating in the pot and keeping the fries from sticking to the nonstick surface of the pot. It isn’t especially noisy, but it does sound like a hairdryer on low or less than that. It’s a fan or air blowing sound.
After the 30 minutes are up, the machine beeps and you have to turn it off. This is the only design flaw we found in the machine. When it beeps, it should turn off. After the beep, you click the button on the front which opens the top and you release the handle on the pot. The handled allowed us to pour the french fries out on a plate very easily.
The french fries come out beautifully and crispy. Our french fry expert, Lee thought the fries were incredible! Crispy, crunchy on the outside and much better than oven made fries. Our friends were over and they loved them too. In fact they went online to order the machine and we were all shocked to see that the machine cost almost $300.00. That’s a bit high for a french fry machine.
The instruction booklet gives ideas for making stir fry and some other tasty recipes as well. Lee decided to do onion rings in the machine. He quickly discovered that onion rings get destroyed by the paddle inside the machine. They came out crispy and crunchy like the fries, but they were in pieces.
Cleanup was a breeze. Usually that’s the downfall with many devices – the cleanup is horrible. The actifry basket shaped pan just needed a quick wash and dry. I was impressed that it cleaned up so easily.
I asked Lee if he thought the machine was worth $300.00. He said absolutely. Now that’s a lot coming from a man who usually doesn’t love all my gadgets and keeps an eye on his wallet. Do I think it’s worth $300…..I don’t love french fries as much as Lee, but I think people who love french fries would really love this machine.
Good: Crispy fries without deep frying, cleans easily
Bad: Expensive, the machine doesn’t shut off unless you shut it off
Disclaimer: I am not in anyway associated with Actifry. The machine was a gift for Lee and the friend who gave it to him is not associated in any way with Actifry. The friend paid full price for the machine because his friend knows how much Lee likes french fries and wants him to be healthy.
Hugs,
marlene
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
July 8th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
We are absolutely hysterical that you are writing about this.Glad Lee is enjoying it. Love you guys xxx