'Ninja's Crispi airfryer transformed my everyday meals and now it's £40 off for Black Friday' - The Mirror

The Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer has made cooking 10 times easier, says shopping writer Eve Rowlands - and it's currently on sale for £194.99 down from £234.96

Black Friday is set to land on November 28 this year, but it seems most shops are launching their sales way earlier to help shoppers with their Christmas gifts ahead of time. One brand joining in the early reductions is home appliance brand Ninja, which has recently reduced the price of the airfryer that completely transformed my meal times.

Now, it's been about two years since I jumped on board the air-fryer bandwagon after seeing everyone I know using these handy little devices to whip up their meals in no time - and with minimal clean-up required. While I'm a big foodie, I'm the first to admit that I don't find cooking particularly enjoyable or therapeutic, as some people do.

In my eyes, the quicker the prep and cooking time, the better. So when I had the chance to upgrade my relatively basic and compact Philips Airfryer to one of the latest Ninja Kitchen models, well, I couldn't resist. And it's currently on offer for £194.99, reduced from £234.96

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Way more powerful than my old model but smaller in stature, it took my fancy as it also looked more aesthetically pleasing. The Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer Flex Set - Cyber Space launched earlier this year and is incredibly easy to use.

The gadget consists of a large CleanCrisp thermal-shock-resistant glass container (inside which the food is cooked) that can hold 3.8L and two smaller ones measuring 1.4L. One handy feature is that they are dishwasher safe, which is a godsend.

Also included is the key ingredient, the lightweight 1700-watt PowerPod (ie what cooks the food) as well as Non-Stick Crisper plates and storage lids. Now, the design of this air fryer immediately caught my eye - it wasn't bulky and didn't take up too much space on my relatively lacking countertop.

Additionally, being made of glass, I can watch my food cook in real time. It's also small enough to be conveniently portable and ideal for dinner parties, but also for holidays away. Of course, many devices are technically portable if a plug is available, but what I mean by this is that the food can be cooked and transported in the same container without needing to transfer it from oven to tupperware. This is because the gadget comes with its own lids.

This Ninja Kitchen air fryer appears to be one of the few fully glass air fryers available on the market. One of the few similar styles we've found is Argos Cookworks Halogen KHC-617D 15L Air Fryer, costing £40.

However, for those not keen on that aesthetic and prefer an oven-door-style design, the Lakeland Slimline Air Fryer Black is currently priced at £69.99, down from £89.99. It boasts seven preset cooking programmes and a clear-view cooking window, allowing you to keep an eye on your food.

The Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 has only four different functions, all of which can be performed in the glass base: air frying, roasting, re crisping, and keeping food warm (once cooked). My most used has naturally been air frying, but the roasting is brilliant for sweet potato fries. With only four buttons on the device, it's incredibly fool-proof and doesn't require a temperature gauge as the heat is already set, taking away the 'is it warm enough to cook?' worry.

While this means I can't really control the heat, it has streamlined the process completely with just the four functions and two arrow buttons to adjust how long I want to cook the food inside for. The actual cooking of the food also takes significantly less time than my previous air fryer, which is a bonus for me. I'm still experimenting with recipes, but it can hold more than our old device and has added a bit of fun to cooking (mainly because it doesn't take forever) and I can watch it crisp up.

I also enjoy that I can pop vegetables on the bottom and fish on top (resting on the crisper tray) and it'll cook perfectly in about 15-20 minutes, which is ideal when you're pressed for time. or just don't fancy slaving away in the kitchen, like me. With only two of us in the house, I've not used it for cooking for a larger crowd, but the device claims to be able to accommodate a 1.2KG chicken and veggies for up to six people, which is always handy.

However, some people in the brand's reviews have mentioned they've not been quite as successful cooking entire meals in the gadget for 4-6 people, so bear that in mind. One person commented: "The only thing that could have been better for us as a family of 4, is making the capacity slightly larger to cook a larger batch."

The roasting mode is incredibly useful as it reportedly uses less energy than turning the oven on, thus saving on my bills. I've mostly used it for cooking one of my favourite complex carbs, sweet potato fries, and am always amazed at how much quicker it is - around 20-25 minutes, depending on how much is put in there, of course. If loads are stuffed in, it'll require longer and a bit of moving about.

The keep warm function does exactly what it promises, proving handy when unexpected delays occur, causing meals to be eaten later than planned. It also cleans up a treat, which is something I detested about my old air fryer.

It had the typical detachable sieve-like tray as well as the base, both of which required cleaning and it just took too much unnecessary time - especially as it couldn't go in the dishwasher. But with the Ninja CRISPi consisting of one glass base, it's one less thing to clean. Plus, it's dishwasher-friendly friendly which is a game-changer.

Something I'd seen people on social media cooking was quick bites, like an omelette - although personally, I don't think this quite works. After giving it a go for lunch one day, while it was super crispy and tasty on the top, it took over 15 minutes to cook (whereas I'd do it in about seven with my frying pan) and was a bit soggy on the bottom. Although that has been the machine's only downfall in my eyes.

The other drawback others have mentioned is that, it is 'quite pricey'. The various versions of the Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer are reduced for Black Friday, the Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer Flex Set (complete with three containers) is now £194.99 down from £234.96, the Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer family set is now £169.99 from £184.99, it comes with interchangeable 1.4L and 3.8L containers as well as an extra 3.8L container. Alternatively, the Ninja CRISPi 4-in-1 Portable Small Glass Air Fryer is £149.99.