The heating method of the oven is mainly to increase the temperature in the furnace through the heat radiation of the upper and lower heating pipes (the hot air function refers to the fan to assist the circulation of hot air). The heating method of the air fryer is high-intensity hot air convection, using high-temperature hot air as a carrier to conduct heat to the food, and its heating speed and uniformity are better than heat radiation.
When cooking high-fat foods, an air fryer can reduce the fat content of the food a lot compared to the oven. Compared with frying, it does not require oil as a carrier of heat conduction for food, but can also achieve the effect of golden skin and juicy inside, and it takes less time to cook.
The rapid high temperature heating method of the air fryer can shorten the cooking time while ensuring the crispy outside and tender inside. The double-layer bottom of the air fryer prevents the food from meeting the oozing grease during the cooking process, so there is no secondary heating. The excess fat is taken away, and it is healthier.
Following examples are the food I made with ovens and air fryers, I will explain and compare along the way.
If you are frying ingredients that are rich in fat
For example, if you are frying chicken wings, pork belly, chicken legs, and semi-finished ingredients, they will not only have a golden and crisp taste but also can be oil-free.
This crispy chicken drumstick, fried in an air fryer at about 180 degrees for 20 minutes, achieving an ultra crispy skin and the failure rate is extremely low.
Crispy Roasted Chicken Drumsticks Fried by Westinghouse Air fryer
If you change it to an oven, you need to add at least 10 minutes to the same temperature. The finished product is beautiful, but the skin will not be that crispy:
Air frying not only does not use oil, but also takes a shorter time to obtain a "crispy" effect.
I made popcorn chicken + chicken nuggets + chicken fillets in an air fryer
Popcorn chicken Chicken Nuggets made with Dongling Air Fryer
This is the excess oil that’s been forced out from the ingredients during air frying.
Let’s compare a group of chicken wings, the crispy chicken wings without breadcrumbs and egg wash coating as an example:
This is the oil fried chicken wings:
Oil fried chicken wings
This is the chicken wings baked in the oven:
This is the chicken wings I made with an air fryer:
Chicken wings made in air fryer
You can see the difference by looking at their shape. The oil-fried version has the most grease, the oven version has the most grilled taste, and the air-fried version has the crispiest skin.
In fact, chicken wings are the most forgiving ingredients. They have high fat content and even flesh and bones, so they won’t taste too bad no matter how you make them.
But if you choose food that does not contain much fat
Some ingredients need to be properly oiled in order to enjoy the fact that the air fryer is more fuel-efficient than the original frying and faster than the oven。
For example, this oil-free air-fried small yellow croaker:
Because there is really no use of oil, although the finished product is crispy, it is "crunchy" rather than "crispy". If you can accept the difference, there won’t be any problem.
Let’s look at fried peanuts. I use an air fryer, which is completely oil-free:
The finished product looks like this:
My personal feeling is that the air fryer temperature is more uniform and better than the oven. But there is less oil aroma, the compromise method is to mix a little oil before air frying the peanuts, the finished product will be closer to oil frying:
If you choose oil-free, high-starch, and moisture-rich ingredients
Then the air fryer takes the thrown with no doubt.
I used an air-fryer to cook almond slices roast pumpkin with a few drops of olive oil and a little black pepper and salt. The finished product has a meaty taste~
If this is baked in an oven, there may be two results:
• Cut into thin slices, the whole becomes crispy, similar to this kind of roasted dried fruit I made:
• Cut thick slices, the whole becomes softer first, and then the surface loses part of the moisture due to the continuous high temperature and becomes dry and crisp.
Both of these results are not as fast as air frying and the finished product won't be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I have tried this pumpkin recipe many times, and only the air-fried one has a steak flavour:
Isn’t it the highest praise for vegetables to taste meaty~
Another example is roasted sweet potatoes:
I personally think that the air fryer roasted sweet potatoes is better than the oven. Because the air frying has good air-tightness, high pressure and high temperature, so the sweet potatoes are cooked more evenly, and the skin and meat are separated more thoroughly:
As for egg tarts and French fries, the taste of air frying is similar to that of the finished product cook by the oven:
Air fried egg tarts
With the same temperature, duration and ingredients, the air fryer is faster, but will be more browned.
If you want to bake (including Western desserts, Chinese desserts):
Then buy an oven.
To sum up
• Taste of finished product: original frying＞oven ≥ air fryer
• Time consumption: air fryer ≥ original frying ＞ oven
• Convenience: air fryer＞oven＞original frying
• Health level: air fryer > oven > original frying
• Ease of cleaning: air fryer > oven > oil
frying
Air fried prawns
So which one you choose depends on what you pursue~
• Pursue fried everything: choose the original oil fry
• Pursue health and speed: choose an air fryer
• Pursue cooking diversification: choose an oven
• Pursuit of hygiene and easy cleaning: buy a dishwasher
Personally, I have never set up a deep fryer since I bought an air fryer because in addition to the above advantages, an air fryer can also do these:
• Baked food reheat(softer than microwave, and faster)
• The re-crispness of damp food (simple recovery to the crispy taste)
• Deep-fried food reheat(faster than the oven, crisper than the microwave)
• Pre-processing of ingredients (fry the moisture out in advance to facilitate the next operation)
This is the tofu that I just made ten minutes ago. Fresh tofu slices, air-fried at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, turned over once when 10 minutes in. The tofu looks like fried, but it is completely oil-free.
Cranberry Dried Apricot Biscuits Made in coocaa Air Fryer
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