AirHood 2 Portable Kitchen Air Cleaner Launch

A few years ago, I was developing a recipe from my apartment kitchen while my husband participated in a virtual interview from the bedroom. I threw some onions, dried chiles, fresh chiles, garlic, and oil onto a cookie sheet and popped the whole thing under the broiler. Within minutes, the sheet was engulfed in flames, the fire alarm was blaring, and I was sobbing into a kitchen towel. Suffice it to say, I’ve never recovered from nearly burning down our building (and ruining my husband’s interview). 

Several years and a full cross-country move later, I’m still testing and developing recipes from a home kitchen with poor ventilation. While I haven’t started a grease fire in our current place, I have set off the smoke detector more often than I care to admit. It’s an anxiety-producing, fear-inducing, headache-forming issue that has quite literally kept me up at night. That is, until I was sent the AirHood 2 in the mail. This portable “kitchen air cleaner” — essentially, a small countertop hood — siphons the smoke and unpleasant odors I don’t want in my home and releases filtered air in return. In essence, it has completely changed the way I cook.    

AirHood 2 Portable Kitchen Air Cleaner

When Food & Wine editors tested the first iteration of the AirHood last year, they similarly found it to be a “game-changing solution” to the problem of overly sensitive smoke detectors. I received the just-launched second version, which accomplishes the same task, but with some exciting updates. The designers reduced the noise level of the fan, made the housing material more heat resistant, replaced the toggle on top with a touch panel, added a timer, and built in a turbo mode for the smokiest sears.

I tested my AirHood 2 by doing something I’ve never been able to do before: cook a steak without setting off my fire alarm. I turned my stove up to the highest heat possible, set the hood to “turbo,” and waited for the detector’s ear-splitting screech to rip through the air. It never came. Silence, it turns out, is the sound of confidence in the kitchen.   

At less than 13 inches tall, the AirHood 2 packs a lot of power into a small frame. Inside hides a stainless steel mesh filter and an optional charcoal filter, designed to capture grease and smoke particles, respectively. Although you can plug the hood into an outlet like I did, you can also purchase the brand’s rechargeable battery if there aren’t any plugs nearby. (Note: As before, the wireless version is “recommended for use with induction and electric stoves” to avoid exposing the battery to an open flame.) And while I can’t confirm that my kitchen air was actually cleaner after using my AirHood, I can confirm that no alarm sounded and no smoke billowed out from the stove to spread throughout my house. If nothing else, the freedom to cook what I want, how I want is worth every penny. 

Available in night black and cadmium orange, the AirHood 2 is the sleek answer to sensitive smoke detectors and poorly ventilated kitchens. It’s one of the best tools I’ve gotten my hands on in a while, and I can’t recommend it enough. 

At the time of publishing, the price was $187.