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T-Fal FZ7002 Actifry review: Even superb fries don't make this a good deal
Stir, fry on automatic
As air fryers go, the Actifry's size is pretty average, which means it's quite large. The appliance won't take up as much counter space as a toaster oven, but it has a bigger footprint than most coffee makers and four-slice toasters. Thankfully its profile is low enough to slide easily under kitchen cabinets.
Physically the fryer consists of two sections. A main circular unit that's squat and bulbous. Inside, under the flip-open lid, is its cooking pan and mixing paddle.The pan has a handle that flips down and out of the way while you cook.
At the center of the pan is the cone-shaped paddle. The device clamps down onto the pan and locks into place, holding them together. In this position, the hollow part of the paddle's cone rests on a rotating spindle. The spindle enters through a hole below the pan. You can pull the pan out of the fryer simply by flipping its handle up and lifting upwards.
The Actifry's second section is a flat control panel. It sits on a rounded bump that extends a few inches from the back of the fryer. The panel is refreshingly simple, with just two buttons: an "on/off switch" and a "timer setting button." In between them is a small LCD screen. Aside from two fat buttons on the front to open the lid, these are the Actifry's only controls.
A latch inside the lid detaches it from the Actifry's hinge. The lid, pan and paddle are all dishwasher safe. Compared to other big air fryers like the $300 Philips Airfryer XXL, I found the Actifry's parts a cinch to hand wash as well.
So simple it's scary
This Actifry model has the most elemental controls I've seen on an air fryer. Other air fryers such as the Philips Airfryer Avance, Krupps Fry Delight, Black and Decker Purify and DeLonghi Multifry all let you control two things -- power and temperature. Not so with the Actifry. You can turn it on or off. That's about it. The air fryer's internal heat level is out of your hands.
It certainly makes cooking with the Actifry dead simple, at least in theory. First, secure the pan and paddle stirrer in place. Next put your food in, close the lid and start it up. Within a few seconds, the paddle begins to rotate slowly. As with the DeLonghi Multifry, the digital timer and cooking functions aren't connected. So, when the timer counts down to zero the air fryer doesn't not turn off. You have to remember to do that yourself.
The Actifry can air-fry up to 2.2 pounds of frozen french fries at a time.
Performance and taste
The Actifry may not be a monster of an air fryer like the Philips Airfryer XXL (1.4kg capacity) but it still has lots of room. The fryer's 1kg pan can accommodate up to 2.2-pound batches of fries, meatballs, nuggets and other frozen items.
My 23.3-ounce test sample of frozen crinkle-cut french fries (no oil) took 30 minutes to cook in the Actifry. Its roughly the quantity that fits on a standard baking sheet. That's longer than the Philips Airfryer XXL (23 minutes), Philips Avance (18 minutes), Simple Chef (24 minutes), Philips Via (23 minutes) and Krups Fry Delight (27 minutes).
The Actifry made the best tasting frozen French fries we've had from an air fryer.
That said the T-Fal's fries were consistently the best we've tasted from any air fryer, coming out superbly crispy, with a creamy, light inner texture.This was true even with fries of different sizes. Hand-cut fries were just as tasty when cooked in the Actifry. They were also uniformly golden brown and delicious. For best results I had to pour 1 tablespoon of oil directly into the Actifry's pan. Tossing the fries with oil in a bowl first left too much oil behind.
Chicken wings the Actifry cooked were fine but their skin wasn't crispy enough.
Chicken wings, while fine, are not the Actifry's forte. The skin of wings I cooked (without oil) was not that crisp. Rendered fat from the chicken collected in pan. The fryer slowly dredged the wings through this grease thanks to the mixing paddle. The resulting skin was oily, not crackly or crisp.
Tragedy struck when I tried to whip up some risotto in the Actifry. My test recipe calls for 2 cups of chicken broth mixed in with mushrooms, rice, onions and other aromatics. Somehow the mixing paddle wasn't connected properly to the pan. In turn the paddle didn't form a watertight seal.
Risotto the Actifry managed to create was bad, but edible.
Cooking liquid then leaked from the pan into the hot plate below. The leak continued to spill out of the fryer and onto the counter. A second risotto attempt was less eventful but the results were disappointing. The rice was cooked unevenly and the texture was mushy. Still, the risotto was edible. That wasn't the case when I tried to make the dish in the DeLonghi MultiFry.
Great fries are not enough
There's no question that the $200 T-Fal Actifry FZ7002 is an interesting air fryer option. It cooks french fries, both frozen and fresh, extremely well. For diehard pommes frites fans, that's reason enough to splurge on this pricey machine. For ordinary shoppers though, giving up precious counter space for a mainly one-trick appliance is a nonstarter.
If the Actifry cost less, then perhaps it would be an option. Or if the fryer could handle sauces and other wet ingredients without the risk of a huge mess. Then the Actifry would be worth it to many people. As it stands though, you're better off getting your fried food fix from the more affordable $70 Simple Chef Air Fryer.
Are you curious about all the other air fryers we tested out? Check out our air fryer roundup here.
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