The first food I cooked in the Swan Duo Digital Air Fryer was, you've guessed it, fish fingers. I selected the Fish preset and adjusted the temperature from 170ºC to 200ºC, and the time from 30 minutes to 12 minutes. If I was to oven cook fish fingers, they'd be cooked at 220ºC for 15 minutes. I placed two fish fingers into basket B. Can it be repaired independently? If the warranty on your appliance has expired, find out whether any independent appliance repairs services will fix it for you. Research recommended and trusted traders in your area, and they may be able to come out and take a look for you. Also note that although you can cook two different foods at the same time in the Swan Duo, you're slightly limited by what you can cook in the 4-litre baskets; they aren't exactly big. For example, over the Christmas break I cooked an air fryer Christmas cake in a single-basket air fryer; but I'd struggle to fit the 8-inch tin in this dual-drawer air fryer.

In my time with the Swan Duo Digital Air Fryer, I've used it to cook various foods. In fact, it's been used (pretty much) every day to cook fish fingers in one basket, and chips in the other, for my fussy daughter. I cooked chips and fish regularly in the air fryer using the dedicated presets. I also successfully made a toastie – and, not-so-successfully, some pancakes, for which I toggled through the temperature / timer button until I reached the desired settings. I can't say this is my favourite air fryer I've tested. One of the things I value most in an air fryer is how it speeds up the cooking process, so the fact that it took me a long time to cook chips that would crisp up in just 25 minutes was off-putting. I also wasn't so impressed by how it handled handmade chips, although it did a decent job with frozen food and didn't experience the same timing limitations with other foods. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ I've been testing appliances (mainly vacuum cleaners and coffee machines) and smart home products for a number of years, with the air fryer one of the most frequent household goodies I've been trying out at home. I set up the air fryer as any customer would and try out the settings that suit me so I can share my findings with you, our TechRadar readers.

Air fryer FAQs

Mini oven’ types: these models use convection or fan technology to cook food on flat, slide-in trays. As well as roasting, their extra air-frying functions circulate hot air around the food for more efficient crisping. These took up the space of an average-sized microwave. Some may also include rotisserie elements. Setting the temperature and cooking duration myself, rather than using the presets offered by the Swan Duo, I didn't feel I was rewarded for the amount of effort that went it to making air fryer pancakes. The pancakes took what felt like a day to cook, made a mess on flipping, and were flat once cooking time was complete. The price is about right for the quality though, and the Swan Retro Air Fryer is one of the cheapest on the market. Given the sweet exterior and range of fun colours, it's got a lot to offer a kitchen visually, without breaking the bank. About this review, and the reviewer The overall design of the Swan Duo Digital Air Fryer is so-so, and it's bulky. Measuring 32.2 x 44.5 x 36.6cm (h x w x l) and weighing in at 8.96kg, it takes up a fair amount of countertop space, and would prove heavy to move around. As such, it's difficult to store, and is probably best left in one position on the counter.

Millie Fender heads up all things small appliances at Future. There’s nothing she loves more than testing out the latest and greatest cooking gadgets, for indoor and outdoor use, from toasters to air fryers. She reviewed the Swan Retro Air Fryer from her own kitchen, testing it rigorously for a month before writing this review.

How to choose the right air fryer for you?

In addition, the maximum temperature of 200ºC falls short of the 220ºC of some other air fryers I've tested. Again, this could prove limiting for those following a recipe that requires a higher heat. Basket style with heating elements: tall, slim air-fryers feature a main unit with heating elements and fans. These have slide-out baskets or trays that slot into place inside. As they tend to have a smaller cooking area than oven-style fryers, in testing we found even results were more likely if the cooking was paused occasionally to rearrange or toss the food around. Some fryers will cut out automatically when you do this, some will need to be paused if you want accurate timings.

Whether you want to upgrade to a newer model, or your air-fryer has reached the end of its life, knowing how and where to dispose of your appliance is important to avoid creating more e-waste.Other foods I've attempted to make in this air fryer are air fryer pancakes for Pancake Day (rather unsuccessfully) and a tuna melt toastie. Although I should add that my results with the former had nothing to do with the performance of the air fryer and more to do with the foods I was trying to cook and the chef's abilities.