There are plenty of foods I love to make from scratch, knowing that the effort is worth it. Sometimes, when it comes to chips, I can't always be asked to make them. I don't always start with actual potatoes that I cut into uniform batons, soak in cold water, parboil, blot dry, and cook. Instead, I typically reach for a bag of chips from the freezer - conveniently prepped and ready to go.

Depending on my mood or what I'm serving the chips with, I might bake or air fry them. However, I've never pitted one method against the other, tasting them side by side to see which one delivers the best results, so that's what I decided to do.

For this taste test, I used Aldi's Homestyle Straight Cut Chips, which Express.co.uk voted as better than the brand leader of frozen chips, McCain.

I added the same amount of chips to the oven and air fryer and turned them over, and shook them halfway through the cooking process. Here's how it went.

Cooking time: 22 minutes

Rating: 7/10

The technique here was to simply follow the package directions for oven-baking. It instructed that I preheat the oven to 200C Fan, arrange the chips in a single layer on a baking tray, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

After nine minutes, I took the chips out of the oven than tuner them around to let them cook on the other side before retuning back.

I checked the chips at 18 minutes and cooked them for another four minutes to get them crispier.

Despite tuning over the chips halfway through, they ended up a little unevenly cooked - some got crunchy and more browned than others. But overall, they had a lightly crisped exterior and pleasantly fluffy interior. This was a pretty average method that requires no special cooking equipment or technique.

Cooking time: 18 minutes

Rating: 10/10

The instructions on the packet did not indicate how long to cook the chips in the air fryer, only that they are "fantastic" when cooked in this appliance.

For this method, I didn't preheat the air fryer. I just added them straight into the basket and put them on to cook at 165C.

Just like with the oven method, I checked in on the chips at around the nine-minute mark and gave them a shake. I cooked them for a further nine minutes before they were ready.

The chips came out evenly cooked and to perfection. They were far crispier than in the oven yet remained light and fluffy inside, almost a baked potato-like interior.

The air fryer was the quickest method that also delivered the best results, and the cleanup isn't too bad with it.