Swan Duo 13-in-1 air fryer review

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How easy is the Swan Duo 13-in-1 air fryer to use?

We had no issues getting to grips with the controls, and the fan – which starts up as soon as you switch it on – has the usual whirr. The manual is straightforward and features a comprehensive chart for cooking different ingredients.

There's also a handy 'key' on the top of the air fryer with icons and words, so you can easily identify each preset without looking at the manual. To use each drawer in isolation, select either 'A' or 'B' (depending on which drawer you're using) and set the time and temperature for each – both can run at the same time, regardless of which function you select.

You can also press the 'A+B' button in the centre if you want to synchronise the controls across both drawers, so both finish cooking at the same time. This has to be done manually (unlike other air fryers that have auto sync functions), but is simple to set up.

The body of the air fryer doesn't get hot during cooking, but we did find the drawers a bit stiff and clunky. At times we also had difficulty slotting them back in, as you have to push them quite firmly.

When a programme has finished, the air fryer beeps a few times at a good volume. Both drawers are dishwasher-safe and easy to clean, too.

Cooking results

Air frying with the Swan Duo was a mixed bag. Our chips (cooked on the fries setting at 200C for 18 minutes) were generally uneven and less flavourful than we'd hoped, but had a good seal and crisp coating.

Aubergine slices were similar, with some brown spots but again, uneven. For these, we used the vegetables function and cooked at 150C for 15 minutes, as the manual suggests. It's likely that the basket needed more than one shake during cooking to achieve consistency.

When cooking both chicken breasts and salmon fillets – using the chicken and fish presets respectively – both were well browned but a bit dry.

We set the air fryer to run manually at 200C for 10 minutes when air-frying halloumi, and this had a pleasant stretchy texture and an even colour.

How sustainable is the Swan Duo 13-in-1 air fryer?

The Swan Duo comes in a mix of recyclable and non-recyclable packaging, and has a guarantee of two years. Spare parts are also available to purchase on the Swan website, should you need to replace anything once outside the warranty.

To measure the air fryer's energy efficiency, we conducted a short test by running it on a manual setting (200C) for 10 minutes, using a standard variable tariff of 31.8p/kWh. It cost 2.8p for one drawer and 4.9p for two, which is about average compared to other models we've tested.

Conclusion

If you're cooking for a crowd or live in a medium-to-large household, the Swan Duo is a solid choice of air fryer. It's eco credentials are decent though could be improved with a few adjustments, such as the packaging.

It's good looking with decent user-friendly credentials in terms of set-up, though elements of it – such as the drawers – do feel a bit clunky. We would also have liked to have seen more consistency with the cooking results.

You have to manually sync the drawers, too, so technology-wise it's less sophisticated than other models we've tested – but the compromise is it's more affordable. It's also impressively versatile, making this a staple gadget for family mealtimes.

Swan Duo 13-in-1 air fryer specifications

Food capacity: 8L (4L per basket)
Wattage: 1500W for one drawer, 1700W for other drawer
Dimensions: 36.4 x 40.5 x 32.2cm
Guarantee: 2 years
Presets: 13

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If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

All costs-to-run calculations were done against the variable tariff at the time of testing (31.8p/kWh), which may have since changed – read more on the current energy price guarantee rates.