Our honesty policy
What these numbers are, where they came from, and what we do not know.
Most cooking sites present their numbers as though someone measured them. Usually nobody did. This page says plainly what ours are and are not, because readers can tell the difference.
Where the cooking times come from
We have not cooked every food on this site. The times are compiled from manufacturer guidance and standard cooking references, cross-checked for consistency. They are a well-informed starting point, not a measurement taken in our kitchen.
That is why every page tells you to start checking early, and why the safe internal temperature — not the clock — is what we tell you to trust.
What is actually sourced
Safe internal temperatures are. They come from United States Department of Agriculture guidance, and in the Japanese section from Japan's own standard, which is 中心温度75℃ rather than the USDA's 74°C. Those are the numbers on this site we would defend hardest, and the only ones we would call authoritative.
Things we refuse to invent
There is no microwave-to-air-fryer temperature formula. A microwave has no temperature — it heats by wattage. Nearly every competing calculator publishes a tidy equation for this conversion. Those numbers are made up. Our microwave converter estimates by food type and says so on the page.
We do not recommend products we have not used. Affiliate links on this site go to Amazon search results for a category, never to a specific model described as "the best". We have not tested air fryers. Saying otherwise would earn more and be false.
Where we are uncertain, and say so
- The 25°F / 20% conversion rule is a widely used convention, not a measured physical constant. It works well in practice. It is not a law.
- Some foods were added because they are common questions, not because we measured their search demand. Their times are held to the same standard, but they were chosen on judgement.
- The Japanese section has not been reviewed by a native speaker. It was drafted with care and checked by a second language model, which found and fixed nine errors including a broken formula. That is a proofread, not a guarantee.
How this pays for itself
Display advertising and affiliate commission. Neither changes a number. No manufacturer has paid for placement in any chart here, and none has been offered the chance.
Corrections
If a time here does not work in your machine, that is useful information and we want it. Tell us the food, your model, and what happened via the contact page. Times get revised when readers report them wrong.