The use of air fryer and oven have main different functions, both are healthier to use in different ways as air fryer provides healthier alternative to frying and oven is good in preserving nutrients of the food.
Many people of today’s generation are making themselves involved in cooking practices. Food is part of everyone’s daily life.
As food and cooking matters became the main concepts for everyone, you should also consider the tools and equipment to be used in cooking.
These tools and cooking equipment can influence the way you live, especially how healthy you will become using those cooking tools and equipment. Air fryers and ovens are among the equipment which is mostly used by today’s generation.
But what is healthier between an air fryer and an oven?
Let’s dig deeper into what you think is healthier!
What is an air fryer?
Air fryers use hot air to cook food that would normally be immersed in oil. The cooking chamber of an air fryer radiates heat from a heating element near the food, and a fan circulates hot air.
Unlike a convection oven, the original Philips Airfryer used radiant heat from a heating element just above the food and convection heat from a strong air stream flowing upwards through the open bottom of the food chamber, providing heat from all sides, with a small volume of hot air forced to pass from the heater surface and over the food. The airflow was directed over the bottom of the food by a shaped guide.
What is an oven?
An oven is a tool for exposing materials to a hot environment. Ovens have a hollow chamber and allow for controlled heating of the chamber.
Since antiquity, they have been used to complete a variety of tasks that require controlled heating. Because ovens are used for so many different purposes, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These types differ based on their intended use and how they produce heat.
Ovens are frequently used in the kitchen to heat food to the desired temperature. Ovens are also used in the production of ceramics and pottery; these ovens are also known as kilns.
What are the differences between an air fryer and an oven?
The key differences between the two are their heat source and how they function.
An air fryer is commonly found on the kitchen countertop. You can cook in an air fryer anything that you can cook in an oven but this functions with very little oil and its source of cooking is only heat and an air fan.
On the other hand, the oven uses energy generation sources such as the combustion of fuels like gas or oil, or electricity whereby it is transferred into a product through radiation, conduction, and convection.
There is more distinction between an air fryer and an oven in terms of its usage and accessories. Here’s a comparison table.
| Indicator | Air fryer | Oven |
| As to size | Commonly placed on the kitchen countertop so it might be smaller than the oven | Convection settings are built into full-sized ovens and toaster ovens |
| As to heating | In an air fryer, the heat comes from the top surface | In an oven, the heat comes from both top and bottom surfaces |
| As to fan placement | The fan in an air fryer is located in the top area | The fan in an oven is located at the back of the oven. This fan of an oven may also be found in the center part or the side part |
As to fan size and fan speed | Since the fan of an air fryer is larger than the oven, an air fryer can function and operate faster | The fan of an oven is slightly slower than the air fryer which makes it slower to function and operate |
| As to accessories | There are many accessories found in an air fryer which serve as the reason why it functions faster and quicker than the oven though you are just flipping and tossing the food | Oven takes time to process and operate food since it has only fewer accessories compared to an air fryer |
As you can see in the table above, The size of a countertop allows both the air fryer and oven to produce heat quickly. There is more concentration and the food can cook faster if the heat comes from the bottom surface.
What are the benefits and disadvantages of using an air fryer?
More people are choosing air fryers as a means of cooking equipment because of their benefits like reducing weight, being safe to use, preventing toxic health risks, and also reducing the risk of various diseases.
However, in a contradictory part, air fryers also brought a downside to processing foods. Air fryers might not be healthier sometimes and can create harmful compounds.
Here’s a video to help you understand why you should buy an air fryer:
Here’s a list of benefits of using an air fryer
- Helps in reducing weight– Since an air fryer does not contain more oil in processing foods, it contributes to your weight to reduce it. Oil is one of the common contributors to obesity. As you eat more oily foods, you are prone to having high fats and calories.
- Safer to use– Only air fans are involved in cooking in the air fryer and not so much oil. Here, you can not encounter the threat of spilling and splashing or even accidentally touching the oil. Using an air fryer is safe.
- Can prevent the appearance of toxic risks especially acrylamide formation– You can create a healthy lifestyle by using an air fryer since it does not have so much oil that can cause cancers and other diseases
- Reduce the risk of having diseases– If you eat with less oil in foods, you can avoid heart failure, kidney-prone diseases, liver illness, and other types of diseases that affect your body as a whole. As you consume deep-fried food with so much oil on it, it will harm your health.
Now that you know the benefits of using an air fryer, not all appliances contribute good things sometimes there are some disadvantages to using it.
Here’s a list of disadvantages of using an air fryer
- Some functions might not be healthier at all– Though there are healthier benefits an air fryer has, it may also be unhealthy for you. As you limit having oily foods in your daily lives, it will also significantly affect your health. The act of only using an air fryer rather than any is not enough for you to be healthier at all. A proper healthy lifestyle is also a must to achieve a healthy life.
- Create harmful compounds– There are some potentially harmful compounds that an air fryer has. Air fryers can also cause cancer as those created compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines are present especially when cooking meat in high heat.
What are the advantages and drawbacks of using an oven?
Using an oven provides a good impact on our health but somehow also brings disadvantages as you use it in cooking. Using an oven is not perfect so as long as it is beneficial, it also affects your choice.
Here’s a list of benefits of using an oven
- Not harmful to your health– Others said that using an oven is harmful to your health. However, there are no toxic chemicals or even electromagnetic radiation released by ovens. The majority of individuals believe that the energy transmission from ovens, particularly microwave ovens, can have negative effects on health. Ovens themselves do not pose a health danger but rather, it is the cooking methods that use them that do.
- Safer to use– As the oven produces energy to cook food, it is unlikely that any poisonous or dangerous chemicals will leak out during the heat transfer process.
- Functions are limited– Unlike an air fryer, using an oven limits other processes of cooking. With using only an oven you cannot steam, sauté, and especially fry
- Not the best for fat– Oven baking might not be the healthiest choice if you’re seeking the finest cooking technique to help you lose weight. Grilling enables meats to drain extra fat and oils during cooking which is seen frequently as the healthiest option.
Can an air fryer replace an oven?
When it comes to capacity, the air fryer cannot replace an oven.
The Air Fryer allows you to add an air fryer or convection bake to your kitchen and is conveniently sized to prepare single batches of a variety of foods. The countertop Air Fryer offers the best of both worlds. A countertop-friendly footprint with the same features as a full-sized oven or air fryer.
Whether you prepare a few or large plates frequently, your kitchen needs a full-fledged oven.
What does an air fryer do that oven doesn’t?
Instead of using any other elements, air fryers use rapid air technology to create heat.
This helps it to generate heat much faster than an oven. This small size helps to disperse heat more evenly and crispy foods without hotspots.
Traditional stoves work by generating heat from an element even with gas or electricity. The heat is slowly dispersed throughout the oven over time. In a convection oven, this time is accelerated using a fan similar to an air fryer.
Should I buy an air fryer or an oven?
If you eat a lot of frozen foods or regularly prepare finger foods for those who like them at home, the Air Fryer is a handy tool.
There are a few things you can do with an air fryer, but not many. The hot air fryer has a positive effect on many people in the following ways:
- Space saving
- Easy cooking during busy times
- Less effort when cooking
- Beneficial to health
- Provides convenience
This is the part that the air fryer is worth investing in. Despite some drawbacks, many insist on buying it instead of the oven.
Final words
- When it comes to being healthier, both tools and equipment – air fryer and oven are about the same.
- Both methods of air frying and baking work by exposing food to higher temperatures.
- As the air fryer circulates hot air around the food, the oven also directs heat to the food from at least one or more directions.
- Oil is not necessary to be used in air frying. Since the air fryer is a device that is heated to a temperature high enough to crispy the food without having additional oil. Not all ovens, even convection ovens have achieved this kind of crispness.
- These foods are as healthy as they are baked, except that they add little or no oil to the foods cooked in the air fryer. The nutrition from these air fryers and ovens remains the same and only the methodology changes.