Princess 182020 – Analysis and opinion

Air fryers are taking the storm because they allow you to healthier cooking, as they use almost no oil, and they are also faster and more efficient than ovens.which means you spend less time and money on your preparations.

At 10Best we have already reviewed several oil-free fryers: from the current Cecotec catalog to the Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2 in 1, an advanced and large capacity model. Today we cook with the Princess 182020, an airfryer that should be successful in the mid-range.. Set the table, we take care of the cooking.

Datasheet Princess 182020

This is an air dryer with digital panel, powerful and good value for money.. Its characteristics make it an ideal device for the whole family and for users who love to cook and are looking for a device that combines precision and ease of use.

Design

The first thing that catches our eye when we take the Princess 182020 out of its box is this the parsimony of his proposalIt comes with a fryer, a rack for two-tier cooking, and manuals. Perfect for getting started without spending on extras you don’t know if you’ll use.

Are you sure you want to make the most of it and experiment with pizzas, pastries and more? Then you might be interested in the version with kit of 10 accessories, which also includes silicone muffin cups, a baking pan, a pizza plate, a rack and a trivet.

However, one must always you have the middle wayBuy it as it is, and if you see you can get by and are going to cook a lot with it, buy the accessories separately.

Its design is conventional, with a slightly curved barrel shape and matte black finish which, although it is easy on the eye, you will need to keep a damp cloth handy at all times.It’s easy to get grease stains from your preps or just your fingers.

From the outside we like the good thermal insulation it offersso that you can touch the device while it is working without fear of burning yourself. Of course, as it is opaque, you will not be able to see the evolution of your preparations unless you open the basket.

On the front, you will find 3 key elements in its operation:

• AT intuitive control panel with touch buttons thanks to the screen-printed patterns, which can be easily used even with wet hands.
• AT backlit LCD display with blue background where the temperature, time and program can be displayed. In our experience, the visibility is not the best due to the size of the numbers and the fact that they are blue and the background is black.
• The handle, sturdy, comfortable and a good sizeso that you can pull it to remove the basket.

The basket is made up of two separable parts: an inner part covered with a non-stick material – probably teflon or similar – and the outer part, which makes it easy to wash separately.

Its capacity is 3.2 litersenough to prepare 800 grams of frieswhich, according to the manufacturer, is 5 servings of this side dish. If you want it to prepare a main dish, its capacity is 2 – 3 servings.

The handle and area around the control panel and button panel have a matte metallic gray finish that gives it an elegant look.

Overall, it’s an air dryer with a good finish that feels quality and stands up to heavy use.. Although you have to pull hard on the handle to remove the basket, the screen viewing experience can be improved, and can even be uncomfortable for people who cannot see well, like my parents.

Manipulate

One of the strengths of this Princess 182020 is its maneuverability, offering a convenient balance between accuracy and ease of use.

The most classic and basic air dryers have two dials, one for time and one for temperature, which you adjust by eye. Models with connectivity use an app so you can adjust both settings digitally. Want the best of both worlds? You got it with this fryer.

This model allows you to regulate the temperature from 80ºC to 200ºC from 5 to 5 and the time, minute by minute, in an extremely intuitive wayby simply pressing the clock or thermometer icon and adjusting it with the + or – keys.

If you want to play with temperatures and times, this is the one for you. the best option for manual operation. But if you are not quite sure what your preparation needs, you can always opt for the 7 preset programs for typical dishes such as potatoes, chicken legs, meat in general, bacon, prawns, vegetables, pies or fish in general.

There is an eighth program: preheating.. This feature heats up for 5 minutes at 80 degrees and is intended both to keep the air fryer hot when you start cooking (at least that’s what the manual explains), but I found it to be more useful to keep food warm when ready.

From here, simply press START to start the fryer, or cancel the programmed setting with CANCEL.

But isn’t there a STOP button to stop the operation? Yes, it’s the START button itself. However, it does not turn off immediately: it takes about 20 seconds to turn off, which may make you think that the device is not responding. If you want to interrupt the process, just pull the handle to open the basket.

The experience is so intuitive and simple that you hardly need to read the manual.Although it can be improved by silkscreening the START button with START/ STOP and with the possibility of setting a clock on its digital display, so that we can program its operation so that our food is ready when we return home.

Food

Don’t let the name fool you: a deep fryer does not fry food – to be understood as such, according to the RAE by cooking it in a fat such as oil -. In reality cook them like in the oventhat is to say with very hot and moving air. And it has its good side and its less good side.

For starters, by avoiding oil, we reduce the calories we take in, which has the consequence that is a healthier way to cook. But this beautiful uniform and crispy browning of the nuggets or croquettes is only obtained by immersing them in oil, so that certain dishes “lose”.

Nevertheless, the oilless fryer is not entirely true.Fatty foods, such as salmon or chicken wings with their respective skins, are cooked to perfection in their own juices. Others, such as croquettes, potatoes or vegetables in general, will require the addition of a little oil. You can paint them, add a few drops or spray them on.

In summary, the deep fryer is a kind of miniature oven, which gives you an idea of ​​how much oil you can add to it. anything you can prepare: meat, fish, pizzas, pastries, vegetables…

One of the reasons why this small device is so popular nowadays is that between the fact that it is less powerful than an oven and that its dimensions are smaller, the result is the following, with an airfryer you cook faster and spend less money.

Having clarified these points, it’s time to put on the apron. If you’ve never used an air fryer beforeI recommend that you start with one of these dishes that already has a pre-established program, which will help you cook at the right time and at the right power. The ultimate goal is to get food that is crispy or golden on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Fries

We started with potato chips, which have their own program (180ºC and 20 minutes). Keep in mind that the programs are only a guide, because filling the basket to the maximum is not the same as filling it halfway, in the latter case it takes a little less time.

Take advantage of the preheating time to peel and cut the potatoes. For three people as garnish, we didn’t even fill half the basket. Once they have been added, add a few drops of oil and stir well so that the oil spreads.

As the fryer is opaque, there is no other way to see how the preparation is progressing. but by opening the basket, which is recommended by the manufacturer in order to stir the contents and ensure that the “frying” is as even as possible.

In about 15 minutes the potatoes are ready. They acquired an attractive golden color with more tanned areas and are surprisingly crispybecause they do not absorb the oil as in conventional frying. They’re a bit drier than fries, but if you eat them right away, they’re delicious.

Chicken wings

Our next dish is chicken wings, another preparation that also has a preset program. In this case, thanks to the fat from the skin of the chicken, we won’t need to add a drop of oil..

Here it is it is important that you place them extendedso that the skin is golden and does not give the impression of being cooked.

In this direction, you can use the grill to place 2 floors.. It is also important that you take care to turn them over so that they are cooked evenly on all sides.

They are ready in about half an hour. We were pleasantly surprised by the result of this dish: on the outside, the wings look golden, but inside they are very juicy, even juicy. surpassing classic frying. This is due to the power of the deep fryer, which is able to brown quickly without drying out the food.

Unlike other basic models whose power is around 1000W, the Princess 182020 hits 1,500W and it shows.It takes less time to cook and brown food, which makes it particularly useful for meat, fish and vegetables.

Croquettes

This fryer does not give good results with croquettes, a classic frying. In our case, we cooked 4 units fresh from the freezer, which We brush them with olive oil so that the outer layer is as golden as possible..

If you are a cook you already know that in these cases you have to cook them in very hot oil so that the temperature does not drop and after a while reduce the temperature so that they are cooked in the oven. inside. With this in mind and bearing in mind that there is no specific program, we preheat them and test them by eye. with the maximum temperature (200 C) programming 5 minutes.

Once the time has elapsed, open the oven and discover that the outside of the croquettes is a little less white, with some parts a little browned. Stir them around a bit and put them back in the water. After 5 minutes, the croquettes have an appetizing color and the outside of the croquettes is a little less white. seems to be done.

We open one to check and find that are cooked inside and outalthough one of them broke, probably due to overheating.

Although the flavor is good and, thanks to the power used, the inside is cooked and juicy, the texture is not as good and crispy. than when fried in the traditional way. However, the caloric intake will be significantly reduced, since they have not been soaked in oil.

Maintenance

During our weeks with Princess 182020, he became one of the most used appliances in our kitchen. We started with the basics but tried our hand at other dishes as well. Of course, after using it, we had to clean it up so it was ready for the next time. We have good news and bad news here.

Let’s start with the good news. Cleaning the interior and exterior is quick and easy.So you won’t spend a lot of time preparing it. On the outside, just wipe it down with a damp cloth to leave it shiny as if it just came out of the box, and since it has no corners, dirt doesn’t collect there.

That said, with that glossy black finish, you will need to clean it often because fingerprints will mark it. In that regard, a matte finish would have made it more resistant to handling.

What we liked the least was that no part of this air dryer is dishwasher safe.The airfryer isn’t dishwasher safe, so you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, like you would clean a frying pan: with hot water, a soft sponge and a bit of Dishwashing liquid.

After cooking, unplug the fryer, wait for it to cool and remove the basket. Then press the button to release the liner inside the basket so you can clean it better. To tell the truth, Its cleaning is not very different from that of a frying pan and does not require more time..

Not only because of the form factor, but also because the mesh area and the exterior are coated with a layer of non-stick material that requires thorough cleaning. to avoid scratches, so that food does not stick to it, thus compromising the proper functioning of the fryer.

Prices and conclusions

There are so many air fryers on the market and with such a wide range of prices (from under $50 to over $200) that you may find it difficult to choose a model that meets your needs without them. oversizing and, therefore, overpaying. However, we believe that this Princess 182020 will be a master buy for most people due to its good value for money..

The price is not only attractive: it is also an oil-free fryer from the brand medium in size, powerful and easy to useThe device will be a good choice for a standard family who needs this device for all kinds of preparations.

Moreover, it is neither as basic as the models with roulette, nor “complicated” to use with an application, so it will be Everyone, from the youngster to your grandmother, will be able to use it without any problem. or “wasting” time reading its instruction booklet.

Your The power is a plus that you will appreciate in preparations other than classic frying.such as meat, fish, seafood or vegetables, leaving food lightly grilled on the outside and juicy on the inside.

There’s little reason to complain a fryer that goes to what worksThe display could be a little better (this can be a problem if you have a vision defect) and you have to wash it entirely by hand. It’s no more tedious than washing a frying pan, but if you have a dishwasher, it’s a shame you can’t use it.

The comparison with similar models only reinforces its candidate for the best value for the average user.

The most similar air fryer is the Philips Essential Airfryer. (see price), the original airfryer model, slightly less powerful but slightly bigger. In practice, however, the most important thing is that the Philips model is dishwasher safe. However, you will have to spend a lot more money.

In its price range, the biggest rival is the Cecofry Full InoxBlack 5500. (see price), which share the same design, the same handling, the same temperature range and even the fact that you have to wash it by hand. However, the Cecotec model stands out for its larger 5 liter basket, which you will appreciate if you have more people in the house.

Precisely if you are looking a similar model but larger and more powerfulyou can get one of the most popular models of the moment, the Cosori (see price). With 1700W and a 5.5 liter capacity basket, it will do the job for the whole family. If you know you’ll be using it often, it’s probably worth the price.

Although touch panels with LCD screens offer intuitive and precise operation for everyone, you may prefer something more modern and the convenience of the remote control.. Here the Xiaomi model (see price), otherwise very similar in terms of power and capacity, but with a dishwasher-safe basket.

Advantages and disadvantages

Comparison with other air fryers

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