Would you love to enjoy the taste of fried food without fretting over the harmful effects of using oil in vast quantities for deep frying? Philips Air Fryer HD9252/90 is the ideal answer to your problems.
Who would not like to have crisp pakoras or bajjis during the wet monsoon weather? But the primary cause of worry is the amount of oil you use for deep frying. That can build up cholesterol levels and make deep-fried foods the first to avoid for fitness-conscious people. Would it surprise you if I said you can deep fry your samosas, pakoras, French fries, chicken, etc., using as little oil as possible? Yes. It is possible with the Philips Air Fryer.
Philips is India’s leading air fryer manufacturer, introducing various models over the years. The Digital HD9252/90 is the latest model from the Philips supply line. This model closely resembles the earlier offering, Philips Air Fryer HD9200/90, with the primary difference being that the latest model has digital controls and costs around Rs 2,000 more.
Let us review the latest Philips Air Fryer and understand how it simplifies frying and makes it healthier by consuming as little oil as possible.
Our Verdict
We have used the latest Philips Air Fryer (Digital model) for over a year and have no complaints about its performance. Since we use it almost every other day for our frying activities, our oil consumption has reduced drastically. It is noticeable in our receding waistlines as we have become leaner and fitter without compromising on consuming our favorite fried foods.
However, I must add that regardless of the Philips Air Fryer’s performance, the final product’s taste does not match 100% the taste of foods deep fried in oil. I advise sprinkling small quantities of oil on the surface or applying oil using a brush to come close. But the health benefits of not deep-frying foods in oil outweigh the difference in the taste by a considerable margin.
Besides, the 4L capacity is less for an average Indian household’s requirements. However, you can distribute the work into two loads and fry accordingly. Since the air fryer is a quick performer, you save time. Besides these minor drawbacks, the Philips air fryer is a good investment in the Indian kitchen.
Before we review the Philips Air Fryer, let us discuss its plus and minus points.
Pros | Cons |
Brand value because Philips is the pioneer in air fryers in India. Excellent performance using as little oil as possible, Ideal for deep-frying vegetarian and non-vegetarian food Easy to clean, It comes with preset menus for different kinds of food | The digital controls take time for users to get accustomed to. It becomes difficult to read the options if the stickers on the touchpad get erased. Despite its claims, the fried food’s taste does not 100% match with food fried in oil. The 4L capacity is less, |
The Highlighting Features of the Philips Air Fryer
- Philips is India’s No. 1 air fryer manufacturer.
- The starfish design ensures uniform cooking.
- Five primary functions, including fry, bake, grill, roast, and reheat,
- Fry foods using 90% less oil/fat,
- Patented Rapid Air technology ensures uniform frying without flipping the food,
- Touch screen with seven preset menus,
- Auto shut off function when you remove the basket,
- The extended cord makes it flexible to use in the kitchen.
- Dishwasher safe and easy to clean.
Philips Air Fryer – Digital – The review
Fried foods taste good, but they come with a lot of calories, making them unhealthy for consumption. Consuming fried foods regularly can lead to medical complications like blocked arteries, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. The Philips Air Fryer offers a viable alternative by facilitating the preparation of fried foods using as little oil as possible. This appliance uses an innovative technology, Rapid Air Technology, to fry all kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Philips is among India’s first consumer appliance brands to introduce air fryers. This model under review is the latest air fryer in an impressive list of kitchen appliances manufactured by Philips. This model differs from other Philips air fryer models because it has a digital console for greater convenience. The preceding model is similar except for the digital console and touch panel. Therefore, it costs less than the Philips digital air fryer by nearly Rs 2,000.
The Technology
We have used this machine for nearly one year and can certify that our oil consumption has drastically reduced. Philips claims this appliance allows for cooking tasty food using up to 90% less oil. Though the claims are reasonably accurate, I advise sprinkling or applying oil with a brush over your food to ensure better taste. Since you apply oil to the container base to prevent the food from sticking, the oil application on the top ensures you need not flip the food to get uniform frying results.
This Philips air fryer uses innovative Rapid Air technology, where hot air is circulated inside the container to ensure the foods get fried evenly. This appliance offers multiple cooking functions, like frying, baking, grilling, roasting, and reheating. The Keep Warm function enables you to keep your food warm at the optimum temperature to enhance its taste.
The Design
This machine has an improved design compared to other air fryers. The difference is in the basket design. The Philips air fryer offers a handle allowing you to pull the basket out comfortably, allowing greater convenience in placing and removing food. It also has a unique starfish design pan to ensure evenly fried results without flipping the food. I advise applying oil to the basket’s base to prevent the food from sticking. In addition, spraying oil over your food is also advisable to ensure better results.
The basket capacity is 4.1 liters, which should suffice for a small family. However, the average Indian family’s frying requirements need a basket with more storage capacity. But you can use the machine twice if your frying requirements are higher. Since this air fryer consumes less time, that should not be an issue. However, a larger model is also available with a higher basket capacity.
This machine has an improved design compared to other similar air fryers. The food tray is usually a single sheet held in place with rubber beadings in other air fryers. In contrast, the Philips air fryer offers a pull-out basket design with a handle for convenient operations.
The food tray has small perforations at the bottom to allow hot air to circulate into the basket. Therefore, you must be careful not to cover the tray entirely with your food. That explains why you must not keep parchment or tissue paper beneath the food on your tray.
The Operation Controls
The digital console comprises a touchscreen operation system with seven preset menus, including a) frozen snacks, b) French fries, c) chicken drumsticks, d) fish, e) cake, f) meat chops, and g) mixed vegetables. Besides, it also features a defrost option that should be useful for people with non-vegetarian eating habits. People with vegetarian preferences can fry samosa, bajjis, and pakoras efficiently using substantially less oil to make it a healthy snack.
The preset timings and temperature settings are as below.
S. No. | Preset category | Temperature and Timings |
1 | Frozen snacks | 1800C for 22 minutes |
2 | French fries | 1800C for 23 minutes |
3 | Chicken Drumsticks | 1800C for 24 minutes |
4 | Fish | 1600C for 23 minutes |
5 | Baking cakes | 1800C for 13 minutes |
6 | Roasting food | 2000C for 13 minutes |
7 | Vegetables | 1800C for 20 minutes |
8 | Defrost | 800C for 30 minutes |
However, the best aspect of the Philips air fryer is that the timings and temperature settings are customizable, allowing you to set them according to your requirements.
How to use the Philips air fryer
Using this Philips air fryer is easy. The first step is to decide which preset menu to use. Since it comes with seven preset menus, it becomes easy to select the appropriate option. Accordingly, you can set the temperature levels to suit your preferences. The exciting feature is that you can customize the temperature and timings to suit your requirements. The timing adjustment is the next step following which you must pull out the air fryer basket and place the food inside it after applying oil to the base. Sprinkling oil over the food is advisable to get the best results. Now, you can push the basket into the machine. The clicking sound indicates that the basket is locked. You can switch on the air fryer and wait for your food to get fried.
This machine switches off the frying at the end of the set timer. You can pull out the basket to check the results. This appliance has a safety auto shutoff mechanism when pulling the basket out of its socket.
Machine Cooking Capacity
As discussed earlier, this Philips air fryer has a 4L basket capacity. It brings us to how much food you can cook in this basket. We have tried cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in the air fryer and would love to share our inputs that should benefit users accordingly.
Chicken fry | The air fryer basket can hold up to 800 gms of chicken. So grilling an entire chicken is not possible. I advise distributing the chicken pieces in batches of 500 gms to ensure optimum performance. You must use the chicken drumstick preset option to grill your chicken. |
Fish fry | Fish is usually frozen. Hence, defrosting the fish before frying it is inevitable. Though the preset temperature is around 1600C, we advise you to increase the temperature to 2000C for the last few minutes for better searing. |
French fries | French fries come out beautifully using as little oil as possible. The basket can comfortably hold half a kilo of French fries. The ideal preset timing is 22 minutes. But you can reduce it accordingly if your frying load is less than 500 gms. |
Vegetables | You can comfortably fry up to 500 gms of different vegetables. The presser timing function is on the higher side, resulting in overcooking of the vegetables. I suggest reducing the time to around 12 to 15 minutes. You can adjust the timings and temperature accordingly to prevent the vegetables from getting burnt. |
Frozen food | We tried making frozen samosas. While the tray can comfortably hold up to 500 gms, we suggest leaving sufficient gaps between the samosas for better air circulation. Accordingly, you can adjust the preset timings and temperature. |
Baking cakes | Though the Philips manual says this machine can bake cakes well, my experience was different. We ran the machine according to the preset temperature and timings. The top portion became brown, but the cake was undercooked inside. We had to reduce the temperature drastically and run the machine for an extended duration. I suggest not following the preset temperature and timing settings for baking. You can reduce the temperature to around 1500C and extend the duration to around 25 to 30 minutes. |
Why use the Philips air fryer?
Philips claims this machine consumes 67% less power and takes 48% less time. My experience shows that the claims are approximately correct. This machine consumes less power than an induction stove and uses less time to fry your food than traditional deep frying.
This machine uses 1400-watt power. Hence, running the machine for 20 minutes at 1800C will consume around half a unit of power. Though power consumption is high, it is considerably lower than induction stoves and convection ovens.
Foods you can try out using the Philips air fryer.
We tested the machine for preparing various snacks and are happy with the results.
- Soya chunks – I suggest boiling the soya chunks for around five minutes before marinating them with corn flour, salt, pepper, oregano, and chili powder. This simple recipe is excellent for fitness-conscious people, especially gym-goers because soya chunks offer higher protein levels than other vegetarian food.
- Fried vegetables – We tried making recipes like Gobi 65, onion pakoras, and fried vegetables. Besides, you can also deep fry French fries, chili cheese, potato, and other items with negligible oil. However, I advise sprinkling oil on pakoras, paneer, etc., to ensure better frying.
- Non-vegetarian food – Though Philips claims you need not flip the food, my experience says that flipping the food midway through the process ensures uniform frying. It is better to apply oil using a silicone brush over the chicken and meat pieces to prevent them from getting burnt.
Quality of the output
Philips claims that the output’s quality matches that of traditionally fried foods. However, it is false because foods conventionally fried in oil taste much better. The Philips air fryer performance comes close but does not match 100%. But you can apply oil to samosas, pakoras, and chicken chunks before switching on the machine. The results are encouraging.
Ease of cleaning
Cleaning the Philips air fryer is easy. The food tray and basket have a nonstick coating. Since the cooking temperatures do not exceed 2000C, you need not worry about toxic fumes or the breaking down of the nonstick layer.
You can use soap and water to clean the food tray and basket. Use a soft cloth to rub the tray clean. Using abrasive cleaning material can damage the nonstick layer. The machine’s exterior looks glossy. Hence, it is prone to fingerprints and scratches. I suggest using a microfiber cloth to rub the exteriors gently.
The best aspect is that the food tray and the basket are dishwasher safe. But using the dishwasher to clean these items can damage the nonstick coating.
Any noticeable flaws
Flipping the food is essential to ensure uniform frying. Though Philips claims otherwise, flipping ensures a better output. However, the machine does not have a buzzer system to indicate it is time to flip. You must watch the timings and flip the food midway through the process.
The food baskets and trays can become hot. Though it is strictly not a flaw, I advise users to exercise caution.
The preset menus are good but effective only when you fill the basket to its capacity. If the food quantity is less than the maximum holding capacity, you must reduce the temperature and timings accordingly. It is essential to ensure against the food getting overcooked or burnt. With experience, you will understand the perfect temperature and timing setup.
Conclusion
All machines have flaws. Despite the drawbacks, the Philips Air fryer is an excellent cooking aid because it allows preparing fried food using minimal oil. Thus, you can balance your calorie requirements accordingly and remain fit, hale, and healthy. I recommend every Indian kitchen to have a Philips air fryer and reduce oil consumption. This air fryer can reduce overhead and improve your overall health, with oil becoming expensive.