Ultrean Air Fryer Review
Pros: Inexpensive, easy to clean, good cooking performance
Cons: Fry basket can stick, medicore temperature accuracy
Manufacturer: Ultrean
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Ultrean Air Fryer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  |  | ||
| Price | $96 List $64.99 at Amazon | $120 List $94.95 at Amazon | $90 List $89.70 at Amazon | $120 List $99.95 at Amazon | $82 List $81.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Inexpensive, easy to clean, good cooking performance | Fantastic cooking performance, easy to clean, easy to use, great temperature accuracy, multiple cooking functions | Even cooking, accurate temperature, good crunch, non-stick, sleek, controls are straightforward | Great cooking performance, user friendly, excellent temperature accuracy | Simple design, great price, always-on mode for longer cooking, easy to clean, non-stick, cooks juicy chicken, solid temperature accuracy |
| Cons | Fry basket can stick, medicore temperature accuracy | Cost | Touchscreen occasionally doesn't register touch, one level in basket, limited one-hour timer | Not the easiest to clean, cost | Small basket, large footprint for such a small basket, lacks functions |
| Bottom Line | An effective and inexpensive model that offers decent cooking performance and good temperature accuracy | Exceptional frying performance and an easy to clean design makes this one of the best options on the market | Evenly cooks food, offers straightforward controls, and provides easy cleaning - all at a great price | This high performing, four quart model offers some of the most consistent quality | This simplistic model is easy to clean, but it trades price for performance, as it is not very intuitive and the small basket is limiting |
| Rating Categories | Ultrean Air Fryer | Instant Vortex Plus | Beautiful by Drew B... | Ninja Air Fryer | Amazon Basics Compact |
| Cooking Performance (35%) | |||||
| User Friendliness (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Cleaning (20%) | |||||
| Temperature Accuracy (20%) | |||||
| Specs | Ultrean Air Fryer | Instant Vortex Plus | Beautiful by Drew B... | Ninja Air Fryer | Amazon Basics Compact |
| Outside Dimensions | 13.2" x 11.3" x 12.4" | 11.5" x 13.3" x 12.8" | 6.1" x 10.4" x 7.4" | 13.6" x 11" x 13.3" | 15.5" x 11" x 12.5" |
| Capacity | 4.2 qt | 6 qt | 6 qt | 4 qt | 3.2 qt |
| Accessories | None | None | None | Multi-layer rack for dehydrating | Cooking tray |
| Power Consumption | 1500 watt | 1700 watt | 1700 watt | 1550 watt | 1400 watt |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Cooking Performance
While not the absolute best performer in our cooking tests, the Ultrean 4.2qt seated itself firmly in the lead group. The best dish this fryer prepared was onion rings, which came out with a near-perfect crisp and very even cooking. Doughnuts, chicken breast, and tater tots all came out well cooked and tasty, but with some minor inconsistencies in both texture and evenness.
Like most air fryers, the Ultrean struggled a bit in getting a good crisp on the outside of sweet potato fries. Most models have similar issues, which is why we use sweet potato fries in our testing. However, there are a select few models we've tested that made delectable sweet potato fries, and this was not one of them.
User Friendliness
The interface is simple and sleek. However, cycling through time and temperature settings takes a lot of scrolling, and the digital display is rather small. The most significant ease of use aspect of any air fryer is how easy it is to remove and replace the fry basket. Since many recipes require that you shake the basket a few times during the cooking process, being able to do so easily and without fuss is essential. The 4.2qt's fry basket has a handle that doesn't get hot during cooking, which means no need for potholders. However, we found that the basket stuck a bit when sliding it in and out of the device. Additionally, we found that the bottom of the fry basket tends to fall out when trying to dump food out of it. However, these are relatively minor annoyances and, in our opinion, far from deal-breakers.
Ease of Cleaning
The basket and rack of the 4.2qt are dishwasher safe, but we felt that more significant messes required some hand scrubbing. In general, We found this hand scrubbing to be easy, though the fry basket did seem to hang on to grease just a bit more stubbornly than the baskets of some other models.
Temperature Accuracy
The 4.2qt proved to be relatively temperature accurate in our tests, generally staying within 10˚of the set temperature. When set to lower temperatures it would occasionally run up to 20˚ hot, with that discrepancy quickly shrinking at higher temperatures. While potentially not accurate for particularly temperature-sensitive recipes, we think the vast majority of people will be more than pleased with this level of accuracy.
Value
The 4.2qt's list price approaches those of some of the top-performing models on the market, so at that point, you may want to consider investing a bit more in an upgrade.
Conclusion
The Ultrean performed well in nearly all of our tests, often performing as well as some of the higher-end models. However, the list price compares to that of some of the higher scores models in our review, which offer even better performance.
— Michelle Powell and Max Mutter
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