WE are lovin’ chips for the oven, as sales rise 22 per cent in two years – thanks in large part to the popularity of air fryers.
But which ones will go crispy and a lovely golden brown?
Mum-of-two Natasha Harding is an expert.
The 49-year-old, who has FOUR air fryers in her kitchen, said: “I’ve always hated oven chips and found them limp and tasteless.
“But in an air fryer they are crispy and full of flavour.
“And I’ve perfected my technique so that they’re served in ten minutes.”
Here, she puts seven varieties of chips to the air fryer test and marks them out of five.
250cal, 8.2g fat, 0.5g sugar, 0.52g salt
THE big-name brand cooked nicely and the chips were very flavoursome.
But they had the longest list of ingredients, including turmeric and paprika extract, as well as modified starch.
They are more than double the price of some of the supermarket own brands.
And I’m not sure they are worth the extra money considering there are so many cheaper options that taste very similar.
Rating: 3/5
178cal, 3.7g fat, 0.4g sugar, 0.05g salt
I HAD high expectations for this bumper bag of fries from my local Morrisons.
The price is great and they have a high potato content of 97 per cent.
Unfortunately, the taste just didn’t do it for me.
They were insipid with a rubbery consistency, so I ended up adding much more ketchup than usual.
Younger kids may prefer these if they like their food on the bland side.
Rating: 3/5
212cal, 7.0g fat, 0.5g sugar, 0.44g salt
I WAS pretty disappointed with the Waitrose offering as the Essential range is usually great.
They needed an extra two minutes in the air fryer, bringing their cooking time to 12 minutes.
That’s despite the fact the individual chips were smaller in length than the others.
Once ready, they were like undercooked spuds – still a bit soggy on the inside.
Rating: 2/5
184cal, 3.9g fat, 0.5g sugar, 0.19g salt
A BARGAIN price and super quick to cook, they were ready to tuck in to in just eight minutes.
These fries were thinner than the others and particularly crunchy, which my son loved.
They’re not oily, which might be down to the slightly lower fat content.
They taste good and I can imagine snacking on them.
Rating: 4/5
238cal, 6.9g fat, 0.5g sugar, 0.71g salt
A BIGGER bag than the best-known brand, and at less than half the cost, you are getting a lot of fries for your cash.
These would keep my chip-loving family going for, oh, at least two days.
They are perfectly crunchy and tasted divine.
Definitely the most similar to McCain.
My hands-down winner.
Rating: 5/5
215cal, 5.8g fat, 0.5g sugar, 0.13g salt
YOU could easily feed a larger family with this big bag.
The fries cooked nicely, but they did look a bit wrinkled once they were done.
These contain far fewer ingredients than some of the other options, only listing potato, sunflower oil and dextrose.
I added some extra salt to pep them up a little bit, which did the job.
I would buy them again.
Rating: 4/5
194cal, 6.1g fat, 0.3g sugar, 0.55g salt
THE potato content of these is pretty low at just 84 per cent.
There are a lot of additional extras, such as raising agents, thickener and potato starch.
However, the end result is a plate of super crunchy fries that are delicious with ketchup.
They will go down a treat for an easy weekday dinner.
Rating: 4/5
ITV were forced to change their schedule after Luke Littler blitzed the World Series of Darts finals.
The teenage sensation won his second major championship of the year with a brilliant display in Amsterdam.
He swatted aside home favourite Michael van Gerwen before beating Michael Smith in the final to get his hands on the trophy.
Each semi-final and the final was best of 21 legs, so ITV prepared by scheduling the broadcast to finish at 10pm.
But such was Littler‘s display he had things wrapped up before 9:30pm, with ITV forced to show an episode of River Monsters to fill the vacant spot.
The darts was meant to be followed by Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, which remained in its 10pm slot.
Littler was unstoppable in Amsterdam and he thrashed Van Gerwen 11-4 in the semi-final after winning nine consecutive legs.
Next Michael Smith beat a resurgent Peter Wright 11-6 in the other semi-final, but he proved no match for The Nuke.
Littler, 17, dished out the same treatment in the final by not giving Smith a sniff.
He almost repeated the trick of winning nine legs in a row but Bully Boy pulled off Big Fish to delay the inevitable.
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Littler then polished off his 11th leg in style to win the World Series of Darts – his second major trophy after Premier League Darts.
He said of his victory: “I’m just happy to win. It’s been a long day of course.
“Waking up early, didn’t like that one. I managed to get over the line against Chris (Dobey). I relaxed tonight and I played very well.”
On the fans chanting his name, he added: “It tells me there’s only one Luke Littler!
“This time last year I was on the Development Tour. I won a few events and my name was getting mentioned. But at the Worlds, that’s when everyone knew who I was.
“The trophies I’ve won, the finals I’ve lost this year, I’m just building on it and I’m winning more.
“It will take some beating this weekend. It’s a busy schedule with the winter to come. I’m ready for it.”
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LENNON Gallagher made a splash at London Fashion Week while looking incredibly similar to his famous father.
The singer and model, 24, turned heads with his uncanny resemblance to Liam during his heyday in the 90s.
Lennon stepped out sporting shaggy, bleach-blond hair which was a stark contrast to his dad’s trademark dark locks.
However, his strong resemblance to Liam comes through in his distinctive facial features.
The pair both share thick dark eyebrows and blue piercing eyes.
Lennon attended the JW Anderson show with his mum Patsy Kensit.
His laid back, somewhat disheveled look featured a hoodie with an orange floral pattern, paired with green trousers.
Lennon’s long, shaggy hair and iconic Gallagher bone structure made him look like the spitting image of Liam, even if his style strayed from his dad’s iconic parkas and dark shades.
His cool carefree attitude also seemed to echo his father’s rock star persona.
Lennon is Liam’s oldest child and the only kid he shares with actress Patsy Kensit.
The boy was named after The Beatles singer John Lennon.
He has taken after his namesake and is currently the guitarist and singer for punk band Automotion.
Lennon has also appeared on catwalks for a number of famous fashion houses.
He was the face of Burberry’s 2024 Spring/Summer campaign, and has modelled for Saint Laurent, Kenzo and Ami Paris.
Lennon previously opened up on kick-starting his modelling career and told L’Officiel: “At 16 I was walking down the streets of Brick Lane wearing an army jacket and was stopped by a scouter from an agency.
“When I got home I told my mum what had happened to me and she gave me some contacts and before long I signed a contract with Models 1 who I still work with.”
He added: “Both of my parents are passionate about fashion, and I was certainly influenced by their style.”
