I tried Panasonic's newest air fryer to see if the performance lives up to its stylish design

The Panasonic Air Fryer NF-CC600 is an air fryer with an array of presets and an added steam function, which promises to keep food both crispy and moist. Steam functions are becoming more and more common in air fryers, as brands look to pack more functionality in new releases.

At £129.99 it’s not unreasonable on price and after testing it at home using several different foods, I've found it does that job just fine, whilst looking fairly stylish at the same time.

I tested it over the course of a week to see if it was worthy of joining our coveted list of the best air fryers, trying various functions and carrying out the standard Ideal Home air fryer tests to put it through its paces. Here's how I got on.

Panasonic NF-CC600AXC Air Fryer product specs

• Size: H:35.5 x W:26.7 x D:35.7cm
• Weight: 5.4kg
• Max temperature: 200C
• Functions: 11 presets
• Power: 1450W
• Capacity: 6 litres

Who reviewed this air fryer?

Ellen Manning

Ellen Manning is a freelance journalist specialising in food and drink, as well as an award-winning food blogger and there’s nothing she loves more than exploring the world through food and writing about her experiences. Over the years she’s tested many a kitchen gadget, including for Ideal Home, from coffee grinders to air fryers, microwaves and more.

Unboxing the product

The Panasonic Air Fryer NF-CC600 comes in the standard air fryer packaging you’d expect. It’s not entirely sustainable thanks to some plastic within the packaging, but they promise it contains less than 2%.

There’s an early niggle as one of the shiny labels on the gadget turns out to be attached with the kind of adhesive that stays stuck and needs to be scrubbed off, but once it’s removed, the air fryer is a fairly nice looking bit of kit, its rose gold handle a nice touch.

It feels a bit taller than some other air fryers, with a basket that’s not noticeably bigger in terms of surface area but looks a bit deeper.

At the outset it feels fairly basic compared to some of the complicated gadgets out there, but does boast 11 presets to make life easy - including fries, chicken, fish, seafood, steaks, sausages, veggies, potatoes, pizza, cake and toast - along with the option of manually adjusting the temperature and time.

Panasonic says its air fryers provide 360° heating thanks to top and bottom heating and a fan, apparently ensuring uniform cooking with less turning or shaking. This model also uses ‘Gentle Steam Technologies’ that add water from a little tank on top of the machine to prevent food from drying out.

The LED display lights up for easy navigation of the settings and there’s a viewing window as well as a light inside that can be turned on and off so you can keep an eye on your food while it’s cooking.

It comes with instructions and a recipe book - though I’m not sure I need specific guidance for a toastie - which is useful to get you started and as a bit of inspiration.

Cooking

Chicken

The first test is chicken. The chicken breast I’ve got is pretty big so I cut it in half before popping it in the drawer and setting the chicken preset. The digital controls aren’t the most responsive I’ve ever experienced on an air fryer, but soon we’re up and running, without having had to faff with changing the time or temperature.

It’s fairly quiet too, registering 58dB while it’s cooking, which is a fair bit lower than some others on the market.

By the time the cooking’s finished, the chicken’s nicely browned and seems cooked through. A quick check with a temperature probe and one half is definitely done, while the other is just about there and is only a few degrees off.

Easily solved with a few extra minutes. Simple and effective, and the chicken is nicely browned on the outside as well as moist inside - presumably thanks to the gentle steam function.

Homemade chips

Homemade chips are the next test. The standard Ideal Home air fryer test is to cut potatoes into chips and toss them in oil and seasoning before air frying them. We’d usually start with 15 minutes as a standard, but the fries preset on the Panasonic sets them to 20 minutes. So I go with it.

Despite the 360° claims, after watching the process through the viewing window I decide they definitely need a shake to make sure they cook evenly. Like most air fryers, the Panasonic pauses automatically when you open the drawer then restarts when you put it back in, so checking or shaking the food doesn’t affect the timing, which is handy.

At 20 minutes they seem cooked. Soft inside and fairly crispy on the outside. So it ticks the box with this test.

Bacon

Bacon is a great air fryer test. Simple smoked back bacon goes in the drawer and I pop it in at 200C for 10 minutes. Probably a bit long, but the handy light and viewing window means I can keep an eye on it.

It looks done after about five minutes but on closer inspection it’s definitely more cooked on one side than the other, so needs turning over to ensure it’s cooked evenly. Not quite the uniform cooking Panasonic promises.

Once turned, the final product is crispy and well cooked, so overall it’s pretty similar to what you’d have to do with a conventional grill, though not quite as effective as some other air fryers on the market.

Frozen food

Freezer food is one of the go-tos for an air fryer so I try supermarket breaded fish fillets from the freezer section. The instructions say to air fry for 25 minutes at 200C. I used the opportunity to go manual with the Panasonic, which is straightforward.

Despite the claims of uniform cooking, the fillets definitely crisp up more on one side than the other and need turning halfway through. My trusty temperature probe tells me they’re definitely above the 60C that means fish is cooked long before the 25 minutes is up, but I leave them in for the proper time to ensure the right crispiness.

It does a decent job, so for this task it gets my vote. However, the fact it’s only got one drawer means if you’re doing something like fish and chips with different cooking times you can’t do it all at the same time and have to juggle your timings or squeeze everything into the one drawer.

Toast

The Panasonic Air Fryer NF-CC600 has a toast setting so I decide to check it out. Like most households, I’ve got a toaster but I guess if you’ve got limited space and don’t want multiple gadgets, an air fryer with a toast option could be useful.

The bread goes from soft to crisp, but I don’t get the golden brown colour you would with a toaster. It feels a bit like it’s been dehydrated rather than toasted. I’ll stick to the toaster for now I think.

What's it like to clean?

While the plate that sits inside the Panasonic air fryer is dishwasher safe, the basket itself isn’t. So you’ll still be running a sink of soapy water to clean it the old-school way. Not the end of the world, but slightly more work than some other models on the market.

How does it compare to similar models and its predecessors?

In the general landscape of air fryers, the Panasonic is a fairly good looking product with a reasonable price tag and offers as much as some others on the market. Price-point wise, you could compare it to the Ninja MAX Pro, which is also a similar size.

It’s fairly easy to use, and doesn’t over-complicate things. But when it comes to cooking, it’s not necessarily the best out there in terms of evenness and efficiency. Our top-rated air fryer ever for even, quick cooking is the Ninja FlexDrawer, but that's a far bigger, more expensive product.

Should you buy the Panasonic Air Fryer NF-CC600?

When it comes to air fryers, this Panasonic product generally does what it says on the tin. It’s definitely not the most expensive on the market, but is also fairly simple so doesn’t have the wow factor of some of the other gadgets in this area.

It ticks the box, but if you want more bells and whistles, or the option of cooking different things at different times, you’re going to have to invest in one of the more upmarket air fryers that are out there.