THE AIR-FRYER THAT BECAME A TOAST MACHINE

The air-fryer that turned into a toast machine can still be worth keeping, ifit genuinely makes mornings easier. The multi-cooker that only ever cooks rice may still be doing importantwork.

- ‘TDG NETWORK NEW DELHI

A crowded countertop of “miracle” appliances, with the air-fryer quietly doing what it does most often: making toast.

ora few years now, the Free home kitchen has looked less like a place to boil potatoes and more like a showroom. Boxes promise “set-and-forget” meals, oil-free fried food and café-style drinks at home. Countertops groan under air-fryers, multi-cookers, blenders, choppers and grillers.

And then, quietly, reality sets in.

Most people can name at least one appliance that has slipped from “game changer” to “background extra”. The air-fryer that mostly reheats last night's fries. The blender that faithfully whirs only for milkshakes in summer. The slow cooker pulled out once, admired, and then carefully pushed to the back of a cupboard because no-

body quite trusts leaving it onall day.

The pattern is familiar. A phase of enthusiasm— sometimes triggered by a health scare, sometimes by a cooking show, sometimes by a sale—ends with a single question: what is easy enough todo ona tired weekday evening? It turns out that ease is notjust about how fast a machine cooks, but how much mental energyand cleaning it demands.