Goodbye to the air fryer as a new all-in-one kitchen device introduces nine cooking methods that go far beyond basic frying

The air fryer sat there on the counter like a retired superhero—still shiny, still capable, but strangely quiet. For years it had been the star of rushed weeknight dinners and experimental “healthy” snacks. Crisp sweet potato fries, crunchy chickpeas, reheated pizza that somehow tasted better than the first time. But that was before the box arrived. A heavy, cube-shaped promise of something new, something bigger, something that didn’t just fry…but practically reimagined what a kitchen could do.

The Day the Air Fryer Lost Its Crown

It started with a sound: the careful slice of packing tape, the rustle of cardboard, the soft sigh of molded paper trays being lifted out. Inside was a device that looked like it had been designed in a quiet room where people take cooking very, very seriously. Smooth, minimal lines. A single, gently curved door. A panel that lit up like a tiny control center when I brushed a finger across it.

The box called it an all-in-one cooking system. Nine methods, it promised. Roast, bake, air fry, steam, slow cook, pressure cook, sauté, dehydrate, and even sous vide. Nine verbs that hinted at a quieter kitchen, a clearer countertop, and fewer guilt-ridden gadgets collecting dust behind the cereal boxes.

The air fryer watched from the corner, squat and unapologetically plastic. It had always been a specialist—a sprinter, not a marathoner. Perfect for fries and wings and anything that benefited from high heat and hope. But here, on the first night with the new device humming softly on the counter, that specialization suddenly felt a little…limiting.

The new machine didn’t roar to life like the air fryer. It exhaled. There was a soft whir, a thread of steam, a barely audible shift of mechanisms inside. It felt less like pushing a button on a kitchen appliance and more like starting a quiet partnership. I didn’t know it yet, but this wasn’t just about convenience. It was about listening to what food actually wanted instead of forcing everything into the same blast of hot air.

From Sizzle to Symphony: Nine Ways to Cook in One Box

You notice it first in the way your evening feels different. Instead of bouncing between stove, oven, and air fryer like a short-order cook on a time crunch, you stand at the counter and…choose. Not just “what” you’re going to make, but “how” you’re going to treat it.

1. Air Frying Without Being Just an Air Fryer

Let’s get this out of the way: yes, it air fries—and does it beautifully. The basket still welcomes wedges of potatoes, battered cauliflower, and little pockets of frozen hope masquerading as store-bought snacks. Hot air circulates, skins blister, edges brown. The crunch is there, the sizzle, the golden color that made the air fryer famous in the first place.

But that’s not where the story ends anymore. It’s where it begins. Because after the last batch of fries comes out, you don’t push the machine aside or unplug it to clear space. You stay. You ask what’s next.

2. Steaming: The Silent Rebellion Against Dry Food

Steam is the opposite of drama. No loud sizzling, no popping oil, no scorched burnt bits clinging to a pan. Just gentle, invisible heat carrying moisture like a gift straight into your food. The first time you steam in an all-in-one device like this, there’s a small moment of disbelief. Is that really it? A cup of water, a tray of vegetables, a sealed chamber, and ten minutes later—broccoli that still glows green, carrots that taste like carrots and not like the oven they were baked in.

Fish turns into silk in this environment. Delicate fillets that would have broken apart in a sizzling pan emerge whole, fragrant, and impossibly tender. Dumplings puff up, rice becomes clouds instead of clumps, and leftovers lose that sad, dried-out resignation and come back to life. Steaming here isn’t a side feature; it’s a whisper that says, “Maybe not everything needs to be crispy to be good.”

3. Slow Cook and Pressure Cook: Time, Bent Either Way

The air fryer never cared about time beyond whether something took eight minutes or twelve. But this new device bends time to its will. On one hand, there’s slow cooking: beans tumbling in a pot of stock, onions melting down to sweetness, chunks of beef surrendering to tenderness over the course of a day. You can set it in the morning, walk away, live your whole life, and return to a house that smells like someone has been tending a pot with devotion for hours.

On the other hand, there’s pressure cooking, which feels almost like cheating. The same stew that used to be an all-day affair comes together in less than an hour. Lentils break down into velvety soups. Whole grains soften and bloom faster than you thought possible. That bag of dried chickpeas you forgot to soak? They still stand a chance.

In the old kitchen, this would have meant yet another appliance—a slow cooker here, a pressure cooker there, cords tangling, cabinets crowded. Now it is one sealed chamber, two choices: surrender to time, or demand more from it.

4. Sear, Sauté, and Bake: The Golden Trio

Lift the lid or open the door, switch modes, and something familiar returns: direct heat, a little oil, the hiss of onions meeting a hot surface. Sauté mode turns the bottom of the pot into a pan, letting you build flavor where it matters. Brown your meat for a stew before you slow cook it. Toast spices before adding liquid. Caramelize garlic and shallots, letting their scent unwrap slowly through the kitchen.

Then there is baking—actual baking, not “air fried and we’re calling it baked.” You slide in a small pan of brownies, or an apple crumble in a cast-iron dish. Heat wraps around, even and steady. Muffins rise. Loaves form crusts rather than dry edges. You start to realize: this is not just an alternative to the oven. It’s a personal, concentrated version of one that doesn’t require you to heat the whole house to make four cookies.

5. Dehydrate and Sous Vide: The Quiet Arts

These are the modes that feel almost like hobbies more than necessities. Dehydration is slow, unhurried magic: apple slices transform into chewy rings, tomato halves shrink into intense little flavor bombs, herbs dry into crisp leaves that crumble at a touch. Banana chips appear where bananas once were. You think of camping trips, snack jars, little glass containers lined up with color and texture.

Sous vide, meanwhile, is the monk of cooking methods. You choose a temperature, seal your food in a bag, submerge it, and walk away. There’s something deeply reassuring about knowing that your salmon or steak will never overcook, never toughen, never betray you. It will just sit there, lazily reaching the exact perfect doneness, holding that perfection until you’re ready. A quick sear afterward in sauté mode, and you’ve served something that feels restaurant-level without any of the performative stress.

Why One Box Feels Better Than Five

At first glance, nine cooking methods in one device sounds like a brag from an overachieving gadget invented to impress, not to serve. But something else happens once it enters your kitchen: your space begins to breathe. The old parade of single-use appliances—rice cooker, air fryer, dehydrator, steamer—suddenly feels excessive. Metal and plastic that once seemed essential now look, frankly, a bit needy.

You clear one section of the counter. Then a cabinet. A forgotten corner of the pantry. In their place, there’s just this one quiet box, doing its work, accumulating your trust. You begin to cook differently, too. Instead of asking, “What can I fry?” you’re asking, “What does this ingredient want to become?” Does the pumpkin want roasting? Does the chicken want a slow braise or a fast pressure cook? Does the basil want to be dried for later, or whirred fresh into something immediate?

Convenience shifts from being about speed alone to being about choice, control, and respect for food. The all-in-one doesn’t just save time; it saves second guesses, dirty dishes, and that restless hopping between appliances that used to define busy nights.

How It Stacks Up: Old vs New on Your Counter

It helps to see it laid out plainly—the way this new device quietly replaces a whole cast of characters. Yes, the air fryer did its job. So did the slow cooker, the steamer, the rice cooker. But together, they ate away at your space and attention.

Kitchen Need	Old Solution	All-in-One Device
Crispy snacks & fries	Dedicated air fryer	Air fry mode
Tender stews & braises	Slow cooker	Slow cook mode
Fast one-pot meals	Pressure cooker	Pressure cook mode
Rice, grains, veggies	Rice cooker & steamer	Steam & pre-set cycles
Baking small batches	Oven (or toaster oven)	Bake mode
Pan searing & sautéing	Stovetop & pans	Sauté/sear mode
Drying fruits & herbs	Dehydrator	Dehydrate mode
Precise doneness meats	Immersion sous vide device	Sous vide mode

Cooking as a Conversation, Not a Shortcut

The air fryer thrived on the promise of shortcuts. Healthier “fried” food. Faster dinners. Less oil, less mess, less guilt. It offered the dream that you could keep eating exactly the way you wanted and simply apply different technology to make it better.

This new all-in-one device offers something more nuanced. It doesn’t just make things faster; it nudges you toward thinking like a cook, not just a reheater. You start to feel the difference between a carrot roasted hot until the edges char and a carrot steamed just until tender. You learn which cuts of meat blossom under slow cooking and which sing when seared and then finished sous vide.

Instead of pushing every ingredient through the same tunnel of blasting air, you’re invited into a conversation with temperature, moisture, and time. You notice that leftover rice can come back to life with a blend of steam and gentle heat, not just a dry reheat that makes each grain brittle. You learn that bread can be revived with moisture, that vegetables can be sweet without sugar, that beans can be creamy without cream.

In this way, the all-in-one device becomes less of a gadget and more of a small, reliable teacher. It doesn’t shout. It just keeps showing you what’s possible when food is treated with respect instead of urgency alone.

Goodbye, Air Fryer. Hello, Kitchen That Finally Makes Sense.

One evening, weeks after the new arrival, you realize you haven’t touched the air fryer in days. Then weeks. Its cord stays coiled. Its drawer stays empty. When you finally lift it up to store it away—or to pass it on to someone else—it feels oddly light, like it’s already lost some of its former weight in your life.

You’re not saying goodbye to crispy fries or crunch. You’re saying goodbye to the idea that one single type of cooking can solve everything. In its place is a quieter, calmer kitchen anchored by a single device that offers nine ways to say “yes” to dinner instead of one.

The air fryer had its era, and it did its job well. But the future of home cooking isn’t just about making things faster or crispier. It’s about giving you choices, freeing your space, and letting your food be more than a one-note crunch. It’s about a pot that can be a pan, an oven, a steamer, a time machine. It’s about a kitchen that finally feels like it’s working with you, not crowding you.

So you clear a spot. You plug in the new device. You pick up a bag of vegetables, a handful of spices, maybe a piece of fish or a block of tofu. And instead of asking, “Can I air fry this?” you ask something bigger, more generous, and infinitely more interesting:

“What do I want this to become tonight?”

FAQ

Is an all-in-one cooking device really better than a standalone air fryer?

It depends on how you cook. If you only ever make crispy snacks, a basic air fryer might be enough. But if you want to steam, slow cook, pressure cook, bake, sauté, dehydrate, and more, an all-in-one device replaces multiple appliances while still offering excellent air frying.

Will my food still get as crispy as in a regular air fryer?

Most modern all-in-one devices use similar high-speed hot air technology, so you can achieve the same level of crunch on fries, wings, and vegetables. The main difference is versatility—you get crispiness plus many other textures and techniques.

Is it complicated to use so many cooking modes?

The learning curve is usually short. Many models include pre-set programs, clear buttons, and visual guides. Once you understand the basic idea of time, temperature, and moisture, switching between modes becomes intuitive.

Can an all-in-one device really replace my oven and stovetop?

For large holiday feasts and baking multiple trays at once, you’ll still appreciate a full oven. But for everyday cooking—single meals, small batches, quick sides—an all-in-one can handle a surprising amount and may reduce how often you reach for the oven or extra pans.

Does it actually save space in a small kitchen?

Yes. By combining several appliances into one footprint, you can clear your counters and cabinets of multiple gadgets. One device that roasts, steams, bakes, air fries, and slow cooks generally occupies less space than owning all those tools separately.