Who has the luxury of waiting for an oven to preheat these days? With busy lives, getting a hot meal ready every night requires some savvy shortcuts. Enter the air fryer—our culinary hero. This compact countertop gadget can whip up an entire meal to crispy perfection in no time. Plus, oven-style air fryers offer more than just frying capabilities, which is why I was eager to try out the Midea Flexify Air Fryer Oven.
The Midea Flexify combines everything we appreciate about air fryers into one streamlined unit. With 10 functions, it makes cooking a whole chicken as straightforward as frying your favorite frozen snacks. It might even replace several single-purpose appliances like your slow cooker, dehydrator, toaster oven, and pizza cooker, freeing up space in your kitchen cabinets. The Flexify stands out with its French doors and spacious 26.4-quart capacity. I tested various functions of this air fryer oven to see if it could be your go-to solution for meal preparation.
The Midea Flexify was (mostly) ready to use out of the box
Upon unboxing, I found the Flexify securely packed with sturdy styrofoam to prevent shifting. The parts were easy to unpack, with no tape or fasteners to deal with. My initial impression was positive, noting the sturdiness of all trays and accessories. I was particularly pleased to find a baking sheet that fits perfectly into the grooves—perfect for baking cookies!
While the owner’s manual isn’t very detailed, it recommends hand-washing the parts before use. After washing and drying everything, I performed the initial burn-off cycle. Although I had never done this with previous air fryers, it appears to be a standard recommendation according to the manual. For the Flexify, you simply select the bake setting and let it run at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. I noticed a faint burning smell, but it didn’t trigger any smoke alarms or cause discomfort.
After that, the Midea Flexify French Door Air Fryer Oven was ready to use. No assembly or complicated steps were required, except for washing and the quick burn cycle. Once you slide the baking sheet and rack into the grooves inside the oven, it’s good to go.
The size comes with pros and cons
With a 26.4-quart capacity, the Midea Flexify can accommodate a 12-inch pizza, whole chicken, or 14 chicken wings. As a fan of crispy pizza, I was eager to try my favorite Trader Joe’s frozen pizza in the oven. The roughly 9-inch pizza fit easily on the rack. I also roasted a whole chicken with a tray of potatoes and carrots underneath, with space to spare.
However, the size could pose a challenge in smaller kitchens. Although designed to be compact, the air fryer oven occupies a significant amount of counter space. The French doors require clearance to open fully, meaning you can’t tuck the oven into a corner or against a wall. I had to adjust its position slightly to avoid the door hitting the wall. The cord is relatively short for safety reasons, so you’ll need to place it near an outlet.
The appliance includes a baking sheet, oven rack, and air fryer basket, all reasonably sized. The downside of the air fryer basket is that it’s not wide enough to fit into the slots by itself, so you need to use it with the oven rack. With only one air fryer basket included, it’s difficult to fry a large quantity without overcrowding. I would appreciate a wider basket design and an additional basket for more air-frying capacity.
It replaces many individual appliances
The Flexify offers 10 cooking functions: air fry, roast, bake, broil, toast, pizza, reheat, slow cook, dehydrate, and warm. The pizza setting automatically selects the temperature and time based on the pizza size. Both frozen pizzas I tested came out crispy and delicious. For even browning, I suggest rotating the pizza 180 degrees halfway through cooking.
Using the air fry setting, I cooked tater tots, steak fries, and a frozen chicken patty. They all turned out browned and crispy. I quickly learned to keep an eye on the time or set a secondary timer if you want to flip your food halfway through cooking. My old air fryer would signal this halfway point, but the Flexify lacks such a reminder. Consequently, my fries and chicken were darker on one side, even with the convection function.
I also experimented with other modes, including the toast setting, which browned bread evenly and quickly. I dried apple slices using the dehydrate mode, resulting in delicious dried apples with minimal effort. The warm setting kept my tater tots crispy while I finished cooking the rest of the meal on the stovetop. However, I had mixed results with the bake mode for frozen cookie dough; the cookies didn’t spread well and turned out crumbly. Finally, the roast mode took longer than expected to cook a whole chicken, and grease from the chicken triggered my smoke detector. In the future, I might prefer using my oven for roasting whole chickens.
The Flexify is easy to use, but keep your manual
I’m a fan of aesthetically pleasing appliances, and the Flexify delivers in that regard. The digital screen adds a touch of elegance, making it a great choice if you enjoy the latest gadgets. The digital display is easy to read, clearly showing the selected temperature and cooking time. With clearly labeled buttons and a straightforward control knob, using the Flexify is simple.
While the controls are user-friendly, you might want to hold onto the manual initially, as the steps to choose the ideal setting for your food aren’t always intuitive. For instance, the pizza setting requires selecting the Function button, turning the knob to Pizza, and then using the Confirm button and Select knob to switch pizza sizes. You can then manually adjust the temperature and time settings using the Temp/Time button.
Generally, the process involves choosing the desired mode, adjusting the temperature or cooking time with the Temp/Time button, and pressing Start. After the preheat period (for applicable functions), you press Start again to initiate cooking.
Final thoughts on the Midea Flexify
The Midea Flexify Air Fryer Oven scores high marks for its stylish appearance and French-style doors, which provide ample access to the interior. Additionally, the doors don’t trap crumbs like the flip-down door of my previous air fryer. I appreciate the digital display, and the buttons are robust and easy to use once you master the settings. It’s worth noting that the buttons and outer surfaces become warm during cooking—not hot enough to burn, but noticeably warm.
This air fryer oven lives up to its promise of quick cooking, saving time in the kitchen. The roasted potatoes and carrots were my favorite, closely followed by the frozen pizzas. The air fryer basket impressed me with its sturdiness and non-stick quality, making clean-up a breeze. As we all know, easy cleaning is crucial for a convenient air frying experience. While dishwasher-safe accessories would be a plus, all racks cleaned well except for the baking sheet, which retained some darker spots from the chicken and veggies.
Overall, the Flexify is a versatile appliance that can replace several other gadgets. While I’ll still keep my slow cooker and use my oven for baking cookies, I’m excited to explore more cooking modes and recipes with the Flexify. Not only does it look great on my counter, but it’s also easy to use and significantly reduces cooking time.
