The first time I saw it, I was halfway through scrubbing an air fryer basket that looked like a crime scene. Chicken juices baked into the corners, crumbs fused to the nonstick, that faint smell of old oil that never really leaves. On the counter next to me, a friend casually unpacked a sleek, square appliance and said, “You can throw that thing away now.”
He tapped the touchscreen, slid in a tray of vegetables and salmon, and walked away as if he’d just pressed play on Netflix. No thermometer checks. No switching pans. No juggling oven and stove.
Fifteen minutes later, dinner looked like it came out of a restaurant kitchen.
I started to suspect we were saying goodbye to the air fryer era.
Why everyone is quietly falling out of love with the air fryer
There was a moment when the air fryer felt like the superhero of our kitchens. Fries without guilt, crisp chicken without smoke, frozen snacks ready before the movie credits finished. Then, reality moved in. Bulky on the counter, loud in the evening, small basket that turns family meals into multiple rounds.
Slowly, the gap between promise and daily life opened.
People began parking their air fryers on top of the fridge. Hiding them in cupboards. Only pulling them out for “quick snacks” instead of real meals. That first rush of excitement faded, and another, more annoying truth took its place: the air fryer is great at one thing, but everyday cooking is never just one thing.
Talk to anyone who cooks for more than one person and the same story pops up. You start with good intentions: veggies, protein, something crunchy on the side. You open the air fryer basket and it’s like trying to Tetris an entire dinner into a shoebox. So you cook in batches. One batch gets cold while the other cooks. Timing becomes a mess.
A colleague told me she tried doing a whole Sunday meal in her air fryer. Veggies, chicken thighs, even dessert. She ended up with an hour and a half of juggling trays, undercooked spots, and one sad, soggy apple crumble. The device was on non-stop, the kitchen was hot, and she still had to scrub burnt bits out of the corners. That was the day she stopped calling it a “game changer.”
The new wave of kitchen gadgets is landing right on that frustration point. Brands have understood something simple: modern cooks want one appliance that doesn’t just fry, but roasts, bakes, grills, steams, slow-cooks, reheats, dehydrates, and even proofs dough. The kind of tool that replaces three or four old devices, not just adds another cube to the countertop chaos.
This is how the 9-in-1 multicooker/oven hybrid has quietly stepped into the spotlight. It looks a bit like a compact oven, behaves like a mini professional kitchen, and speaks directly to our real-life cooking routines. Less single-function hype, more flexible everyday reality. *You stop adapting your meals to the machine, and the machine adapts to your meals.*
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Meet the 9-in-1: the appliance that actually cooks the way you live
The principle is simple: one compact unit, nine ways to cook. Most of these new-generation gadgets combine air frying, roasting, baking, grilling, steaming, sautéing, slow cooking, dehydrating, and reheating. You switch modes with a touch, not by dragging other appliances out of cupboards.
Picture this on a weekday night. You throw chicken and veggies on a tray, hit “roast.” While that’s running, you prepare a small batch of granola for tomorrow’s breakfast. As soon as dinner comes out, the same machine goes to “dehydrate” mode. No oven preheating, no pan rotation, no guessing if the heat is too high.
It’s not only about multiplying functions. It’s about shrinking the whole dance of cooking into a single, predictable rhythm.
Take Laura, a young mother of two who swore by her air fryer during lockdown. She recently switched to one of these 9-in-1 ovens with a front glass door and stackable trays. The first week, she tested it like a skeptic.
On Monday, she roasted a whole chicken with potatoes on the bottom rack and carrots on the middle. On Tuesday, she used the steam + bake mode to reheat leftover pizza without turning it into cardboard. On Wednesday, she slow-cooked a beef stew during the day, then switched to sauté mode to reduce the sauce right before serving.
By Friday, she was dehydrating orange slices for a weekend brunch. The air fryer, once the star of the countertop, had quietly migrated to the garage shelf.
What really changes the game is the internal design. Instead of a closed basket with limited airflow, these multipurpose ovens often use larger, flat trays with better heat circulation and more space. That space means full meals instead of snack portions. The glass door means you can actually see what’s going on without yanking the drawer out and killing the heat.
The nine modes also hit a psychological point. You no longer think “What can I air fry?” You think “What do I feel like eating?” Then you choose the mode that matches: crispy fries, yes, but also soft cinnamon rolls, crusty vegetables, crusted fish, juicy roast, gentle steam. Let’s be honest: nobody really does this every single day with traditional ovens and pans. With a 9-in-1, a lot of that ambition suddenly becomes realistic.
How to really use a 9-in-1 so it replaces your air fryer for good
The first tip is almost counterintuitive: stop treating it like a fancy air fryer and start treating it like a mini-kitchen. Begin by planning one full meal per week where everything comes from this single gadget. For example, roast salmon on the top tray, vegetables in the middle, and a small tray of chickpeas to crisp up at the bottom. One cooking cycle, three textures.
Use the pre-programmed modes as a starting point, not a prison. Try the “bake” mode with lower temperature for banana bread, then use “grill” at the end for a golden top. If your appliance has steam, test it on day-old bread. You’ll never go back to sad, dry slices.
Little by little, your old oven and your air fryer become the backup singers.
One big mistake many people make with these devices is expecting them to magically fix years of rushed cooking habits. They still cram the tray, use random settings, and then complain the food is uneven. The machine is versatile, but it’s not a mind-reader.
Give food space. If you want crisp, use one layer, not three. If you want tenderness, use the steam or slow-cook mode instead of blasting everything on max heat. And don’t fall into the trap of only repeating three recipes because the first ones worked. That’s the easiest way to turn a powerful gadget into an expensive toast warmer.
There’s a quiet pleasure in exploring one new function each weekend, without pressure, without perfection.
“Once I realised my 9-in-1 could steam, roast and brown in one go, I stopped chasing the ‘perfect’ kitchen. Suddenly, I just cooked more, with less stress,” confessed Marc, a 39-year-old who used to order delivery four nights a week.
- Test one new mode per week: don’t rush, just build comfort over time.
- Rotate trays halfway for perfectly even cooking when fully loaded.
- Use steam mode for reheating: lasagna, rice, bread, everything tastes fresher.
- Reserve air-fry mode for things that truly need crunch: fries, nuggets, crispy tofu.
- Keep a tiny notebook or notes app with times and settings that worked for your favorite dishes.
A new way of cooking at home, without becoming a chef
The arrival of these 9-in-1 devices doesn’t just mark the end of the air fryer’s reign. It quietly rewrites the way we imagine everyday cooking. One appliance that grills skewers on Friday, slow-cooks a comforting stew on Sunday, dehydrates fruit on Monday, and bakes a simple cake on Wednesday. No need for six different machines or a giant kitchen.
We’ve all been there, that moment when dinner feels like yet another task at the end of a long day. This kind of tool doesn’t remove the effort completely, but it reduces the friction. You stop negotiating with yourself about whether you have “the energy to cook.” You hit one button, you peek through the glass, and you get on with your evening.
Some people will hold on to their air fryers out of habit or nostalgia. Others will gift them away the day they realise their new gadget can roast a chicken, steam vegetables, reheat leftovers without drying them, and crisp fries better than before. The frontier between weekday cooking and “special” cooking starts to blur.
The real question is no longer “Do I really need another appliance?” but “Which one actually follows me through my real, messy, modern life?” For many, the answer is quietly shifting toward that single device capable of nine roles at once, sitting there on the counter, ready to turn a tired evening into something that smells like home.
| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| 9 cooking modes in one | Air fry, roast, bake, grill, steam, sauté, slow cook, dehydrate, reheat | Replaces multiple appliances and simplifies daily cooking |
| Larger, open trays | More space and better visibility than a closed air fryer basket | Easier full meals, fewer batches, less frustration |
| Flexible everyday use | From quick weeknight dinners to slow weekend cooking | Helps cook more at home without feeling overwhelmed |
FAQ:
- Is a 9-in-1 really better than a classic air fryer?For single snacks, an air fryer is fine. For full meals and varied recipes, the 9-in-1 usually wins thanks to its space and extra modes.
- Does it consume more electricity?Most models are efficient because they heat faster and more precisely than a big oven, especially for small to medium meals.
- Can it replace my oven completely?For many households, yes for everyday cooking. For huge batches or big family gatherings, a full-size oven can still be handy.
- Is it complicated to use all nine modes?The first week feels new, then you quickly settle on 4–5 favourite modes, and the rest become fun options to explore.
- What should I cook first to test it?Try a simple sheet-pan style meal: chicken or tofu, mixed vegetables, and potatoes. Use roast or bake mode, then finish with grill or air-fry for a golden finish.
Originally posted 2026-03-12 23:51:02.