This controversial air fryer secured a spot in my kitchen - here’s why

In my mind, a white air fryer makes a lot of sense. And yet, when Salter launched their impressive VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer in a crisp, white hue, it sparked some debate. Naturally, as a curious chef on the lighter side of the debate, I had to see what the fuss was about in person.

While the colour is what’s started conversations, there’s a lot more behind what’s going on with the Salter VertiCook Ultra. Following the silhouette of many of the best air fryers, it stacks the baskets on top of each other to maximise capacity whilst minimising space on the counter.

I tested this with one of my friends who has historically been adverse to air fryers (one of the very few). She changed her mind about their dominating appearance and actually bought the Salter VertiCook before the tests were over.

Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer Specifications

• Colour: White
• Size: 37x29.3x42.8cm
• Power: 2400W
• Pre-sets: 9
• Capacity: 9 Litres
• Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Unboxing the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer

Salter is generally really good when it comes to sustainable, efficient packaging and the VertiCook is a testament to that. The handles, air fryer plates, and layering grill racks all come neatly stowed in boxes that tessellate around the main body of the air fryer.

This means that the box is relatively compact for what it could be, but it also means you need to make sure that you find all the accessories that you are expecting to have. It’s simple enough and the handles slot into the air fryer easily. Just make sure you use some muscle.

Once that’s up and ready to go, I’d recommend rinsing the different baskets to get rid of any dust that might have settled in transit and then you’re ready to go.

Who would the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer suit?

I’ve focused on the colour of this air fryer, but there are very similar models available in black or with wooden handles, which makes it a great investment for people looking to match their air fryer with their interiors. This is one of the most stylish models that I’ve tested.

The 9-litre capacity on offer with a double-stacked air fryer is also impressive. You only need the space on your counter for a single drawer air fryer and you can get double the capacity. Then, inside, Salter packs grill plates that mean you end up with effectively four layers of air frying capacity, a trick Jamie Oliver taught us a while back.

So, it’s great if you need to save space, maximise on capacity, and you put style high up on your list of priorities.

What is the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer like to use?

The Salter VertiCook is well set up for anyone from a first-time cook to a well-finessed chef. The display, which sits to the side of the air fryer, offers up pre-sets for all the basics: chips, meats, baking, fish, reheating, cooking vegetables and more. You can choose to use the same setting within the basket, or you can split the functions, time, and heat settings on each one.

It’s really easy to adjust the timers and temperatures in each basket, which I made sure to play around with as I was running all the different tests. If you’re interested in diving into the details, you’re about to find out more.

The first and most important test that I run on all air fryers is making chips. With both drawers and the extra grill stacks in place, I could fill the Salter with nearly 750g of chips, which is an exceptional amount of food.

The one thing that I did notice was that the gaps between the grills are quite big, so lots of my smaller chips fell through the gaps and onto the level below, which obviously doesn’t make for great cooking.

The default timer setting for chips in the Salter is ten minutes, which is really fast. I checked them at the ten-minute mark and they definitely needed more time cooking. With another five minutes, they looked perfect and really evenly cooked. Inside, the chips were light and fluffy with just the right crunch at each end. And, while I had to add five minutes to the original ten-minute timer, fifteen minutes is still one of the quickest times that I’ve cooked chips in an air fryer.

On my second test, I was cooking frozen fish fingers. What I really wanted to try was whether I could cook a whole meal of fish fingers and chips in one, so I set up my four tiers of cooking space and stacked twelve fish fingers with four handfuls of chips.

This is the recommended amount for feeding a family of four to five, which is a pretty decent size in my book. I felt like there was space for even another handful of chips or some more fish fingers, but I wanted to do a reasonable amount for a family.

Given the fifteen minutes that it took for my chips to be perfect, I thought the timings would be similar for my fish fingers and chips. Sure enough, at the quarter-hour mark, they looked ready to eat. If you like yours a little crispy, it’s worth air frying them for another two minutes or so, but as with the chips, that’s a really speedy time for an air fryer to get good results.

I felt like I was flying through my tests with two drawers, so I actually ran multiple versions of my Mediterranean vegetable roast. This meant that I cooked onions, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, olives, and sweet potatoes in the Salter VertiCook Ultra.

Each time, they browned beautifully on top and at the crispy edges, with tender middles. Given that the Salter’s reputation is now as a speedy air fryer, I had it running for twelve minutes with the vegetables, which seemed to be the perfect timeframe.

As with the fish fingers and chips, I found that some of the smaller vegetables fell through the grates and even some slices of onion fell even further into the air fryer base, but these still cooked well and reasonably thoroughly.

I like to run a reheat test, which works on a lower and slower cooking principle. It's really helpful for monitoring the temperature range of an air fryer and you won't be surprised to read that the Salter VertiCook Ultra nailed it.

My day-old pizza was given a new lease of life. The base crisped up, the crusts were moist and fluffy, and, most importantly, the tomato sauce didn't dry out. It was a true delight.

I can’t resist ending testing on a sweet note, especially since so many air fryers have baking and proving modes. I made my classic cookie dough recipe and treated the air fryer like my normal oven. I gave it eight minutes at 170°C and that was perfect.

The cookies were a little drier than in my big oven (not a surprise given that there’s more airflow in the air fryer), but they were still fantastic. The plate was gobbled up in seconds and the cookies were still delicious.

Cleaning the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer

One of the biggest grievances raised against a white air fryer is that it will be hard to keep clean. My testament to the Salter VertiCook Ultra is that it looked almost as good as new after a full day of testing. A lot of grease, oil, and foodie bits had been flying around, but the Salter didn’t look any different to the other air fryers that I tested.

The baskets inside were all really easy to clean. They can go in the dishwasher if you want them to, but the ceramic non-stick is so effective that grease and grime slide off. They were ready to go back into the air fryer with a minimal amount of effort on my part.

How does the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer compare?

Since the Ninja DoubleStack, there has been an explosion of air fryers that stack one basket on top of the other. I found that the Salter was actually more consistent in how it cooked across each drawer in comparison to the Ninja and it’s a lot cheaper, which makes it a great air fryer in my book.

You can upgrade to the Salter VertiCook View, which has clear viewing windows. Essentially, the rest of the air fryer is the same, but if you want to check on how your food is cooking, you can peer in through one of these windows. I like it as a curious cook myself, but it’s also really helpful if you’re not feeling confident in your timings.

Alternatively, Cosori makes a bigger air fryer in the same style and it's called the TurboTower 10.8L Air Fryer. This has 10.8 litres of capacity and the drawer layout is slightly different. The base drawer is deep, with space for a rack to create two levels. Whereas the top drawer is slim, perfect for quickly air frying smaller portions. I quite like this style for versatility and different speeds, so if you’re planning on being adventurous, the Cosori might be a better facilitator. However, the non-stick isn’t ceramic, like the Salter’s, and it certainly can’t boast the same white, sleek aesthetic.

Should you buy the Salter VertiCook Ultra Air Fryer?

As a stylish, non-toxic air fryer, this ticks a lot of boxes. It’s speedy, easy to use, and effortless to clean. I was impressed at the sheer capacity and how remarkably white this stayed during tests, so it’s actually really hard to fault.

How we test

At woman&home, we have a series of standardised tests that we put all our air fryers through. They have to make the perfect chips, delicious fish fingers, tender roasted vegetables, and melt-in-the-mouth cookies. I look for speed, consistency, and capacity. But that’s not it.

Each air fryer needs to look good, be easy to clean, and offer value for money too. I make comparisons and comment on all these values throughout each review so that you know exactly what you’re getting. If you reach the end of a review and you still have questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always happy to talk about each air fryer as well as how we test air fryers, too.