Ninja SP101UK
1165 ratings
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Price: £179.00
Brand: Ninja
Description: Foodi SP101UK 8-in-1 Flip Air Fryer Mini Oven - Silver. Ninja SP101UK - shop the best deal online on appliances4.me
Category: Deep Fryers
Merchant: Hughes Direct
Product ID: NIN-SP101UK
Delivery time: 2
Delivery cost: 0
MPN: SP101UK
EAN: 0622356240390
Author: Sandra B.
Rating: 5
Review: Love this little oven and use it daily. Fantastic range of uses from grill to air fry to bake, roast and many others. I would recommend using an oven thermometer where temp is critical such as baking as I have found it is not always up to temperature when the timer indicates that it is. Air fry facility great. I can’t really fault it regarding efficiency. Cleaning however does tend to be a bit of a problem. Once fat splashes are baked on they are pretty much there for good. Abrasive products are not to be used. I find a clean with a soft cloth and detergents whilst still warm after use to be as effective as anything but not always convenient to clean the oven after use.
Author: ExxWhyZee
Rating: 3
Review: This is review is written by a buyer who purchased the item. QUICK REVIEW PROS - Middling functionality - some food item cook okay others not. - Large centrally placed convection fan to aid heat distribution. - Settings are easy and intuitive to use. - Manual adjustment of temperature (outside of pre-programmed temperature). - Reasonable volume (29L). - Numerous accessories supplied inclusively. CONS - Food is not always cooked evenly. - The 90 second preheat function does not bring the oven to full temperature. - Cleaning can potentially be problematic if dealing with oily stains. - No continuous ‘light on’ function - light switch has to be turned on manually. - Cable is short at 85cm (< 1 metre). - Wattage is 2400W to run with associated electric cost. - Electronic settings could potentially malfunction making the oven redundant. - Unable to manually adjust: (i) heating elements on/off function or (ii) fan on/off function or (iii) fan speed; these are all pre-set depending on the function selected. - Longevity remains to be established. - Price = relatively expensive compared to basic countertop ovens. - Contacting Ninja UK customer service via email resulted in a non-response (twice) and thus noteworthy should the oven breakdown within the warranty period. Sadly, the notable flaws, limit my overall endorsement, in my opinion, more style over substance. ==================================== DETAILED & IN-DEPTH REVIEW: Previously, I have owned a basic style countertop oven (Klarstein 60L) that was okay for the short time it worked (!), thus, I have previous experience for comparison. Also, I am not some Ninja fan girl (!), this is my first Ninja product; I will assess it based on its merits or lack thereof. Points to note, in no particular order, include: (1) COOKING FUNCTIONALITY: Only had the oven a short time, however, I made the effort to bake a few different items to gauge its functionality, my experience is as follows: HOMEMADE BREAD ROLLS: Used the bake function. Buns over-browned on top too early (e.g. 9 min mark) so I had to cover them with foil. However, the end result was evenly cooked buns that cooked in 17-18 mins. Subsequently, I tried a lower temperature but this resulted in uneven cooking, i.e. patches of cooked adjacent to undercooked areas. Notably, I never had this issue with my Klarstein countertop oven. HOMEMADE GARIBALDI BISCUITS: Used the bake function. I made sure the oven reached temperature before placing the biscuits in the oven, mainly because biscuits bake in a short period of time and are temperature sensitive. I used an oven thermometer and waited until the oven reached the required temperature, in this case, 180oC took approx. 6 mins. The biscuits baked fine and in the time stated in the recipe. I did not need to make any adjustments. CAKE: Not attempted yet, but in light of my bread roll experience, I fully expect to have to cover the cake with foil whilst baking due to likely over-browning on top. This was also an issue I had with my Klarstein, and experience taught me to use a deep cake tin (PME aluminium 3” deep cake tin bought on Amazon), so it is easier to place the foil on top without any fear of the foil sticking to the top of the cake and ruining the aesthetics (!). Also, one will need to be careful with cake as it can be delicate, I am finding the fan can dry items out (e.g. bread rolls) when they over-brown too quickly on the surface but are still undercooked in the middle. I expect baking a cake will require some trial and error with adjustments to the temperature and cooking time. I hope these tips help. HOMEMADE BAKED POTATO FRIES: Used the bake function (not airfry). I did not parboil as I cut them very thinly. Gave the fries a shake and toss midway. Resulted in crispy edges but slightly undercooked middle area. It seems that even thinly cut fries need partially steaming before baking. HOMEMADE BAKED CHUNKY CHIPS: Used the GRILL (not bake) function. First steamed the chips until nearly cooked, I did not boil them as I did not want them absorbing too much water. Placed the chips on a baking tray on 2nd to top rack (sprinkled a little oil/seasoning) and used the GRILL function to brown the surface. They needed to be turned over to brown evenly. The result was blotchy browning, much like when cheese melts with brown blotches on the surface rather than an even sheet of browning. To my surprise they actually turned out good (my first time trying this method). HOMEMADE PIZZA: Used the pizza function. The top of the pizza overcooked and underside was undercooked, ended up with crispy top and soft, undercooked bottom! Overall, awful result. The problem is that the pre-set temperature is too low; pizza bakes best at very high temperatures and on a pre-heated baking stone/steel that conducts and retains heat like a battery to transfer to the pizza. Fortunately, I have a G3 Ferrari pizza maker (highly recommended, if you make homemade pizza regularly, one of my all-time best buys on Amazon, it has lasted me years). I do not intend to use the Ninja pizza function ever again. HOMEMADE BAKED POTATO BHAJI (PAKORA): Used the bake function. Placed bhaji (potato coated with batter) in clusters on baking paper over a ‘pizza mesh/screen’ for better air circulation. The top cooked nicely with crispy edges but the underside was undercooked (raw bits); therefore, I had to turn them over to be cooked properly. After turning them over, the end result was okay, evenly cooked bhajis with crispy edges. The trick is not to use too much batter and just lightly coat the veg (that is pre-steamed in the case of potatoes). I have not tested all the different functions, but I hope this gives you some indication of the functionality. (2) HEATING ELEMENTS: The heating elements seem to be of the coil variety. There are 3 positioned at the top and 2 positioned at the bottom (perforated grill surrounding bottom 2 elements). See PHOTOS. In my previous Klarstein oven the heating elements would glow orange when the oven was in use, as part of its functionality – this is not the case with the Ninja. Also, the manual gives you NO indication as to when the heating elements should glow orange. In my opinion, the failure to provide this basic information is a significant omission, as one could easily think they have potentially received a faulty product (!). The only information the manual provides is: “Why do the heating elements appear to be turning on and off? This is normal. The oven is designed to control temperature precisely for every function by adjusting the heating elements’ power levels”. Hence, I decided to just put the oven on for 30 secs, and test which heating elements glow orange, with each of the different function settings, these are my results: Grill – TOP heating elements ONLY Airfry – None Whole Roast – None Bake – None Pizza – None Toast – BOTTOM heating elements ONLY Bagel – BOTTOM heating elements ONLY Reheat – BOTH top and bottom heating elements Dehydrate – None Obviously, this was only a 30 second test and the possibility exists that it may take some functions longer to heat up and glow orange, so I suggest you run your own test (!), I did not have the time, patients, inclination or money to waste, in doing a longer test. To determine the actual answer, I contacted Ninja UK via the website support page, after a non-response to 2 emails to Ninja customer support (a number of weeks later this is still the case), I rang Ninja UK to ask them when the heating elements should glow orange and was given the following information: Roast - both Whole roast - both Grill - top Reheat - both Toast - both Air fry/Bake/Pizza/Dehydrate – none NB: This information was received after the customer service representative left the phone to retrieve this information. Initially I was told the grill function should have both the top and bottom elements glowing and then he changed his mind after I pointed out that only the top elements glowed when I tested the oven and that this made logical sense. In all honesty, I must admit, I was not convinced of the competency of the customer service representative. Nonetheless, it seems that the heating elements only glow orange with certain functions and this is not made clear in the manual. (3) CONVECTION FAN: The large centrally placed convection fan is a feature that separates this countertop oven from other basic countertop ovens [See PHOTOS]. Other, basic models tend to have a much smaller fan situated on the side(s). It is worth noting that when the fan is in use it will make a noise as part of its functionality, nonetheless, the noise level is not unbearably loud. Also, please be aware that the fan: (a) activation and (b) speed, depends upon the function selected in the settings (as stated in the ‘Quick Start Guide’). For example, roast/air fry activates maximum speed; alternatively, pizza/bake will activate low fan speed. Apart from the pre-selected fan speeds for the different functions, there is NO way to adjust the fan speed manually to your own requirements, should you wish to do so; the same goes for switching the fan on/off. (4) WATTAGE: The sticker at the back of the oven states the wattage is 2000 - 2400W. Obviously, given the current energy prices, this could be a point for consideration. As a comparison, a more basic 30L countertop oven can be lower e.g. 1500W (and cost half the price to purchase). My previous 60L countertop oven was 2000W and this oven seems to run at a similar cost despite being half the size. (5) PREHEAT FUNCTION: There is a 90 second preheat function, but this is misleading as the manual states that it does not actually come to full required temperature within the 90 seconds, rather, it continues to heat up thereafter. The Manual actually states: “Why is my unit not fully preheated when the preheat cycle is completed? During preheating, the unit will not reach the intended cook temperature, b