Air fryer vs microwaves and other cooking methods

If you’ve spent any time on social media, you’ll have noticed that air fryers are everywhere. Their claim to fame is the fact that they effectively cook foods without using much oil. This is largely true, but other devices such as convection ovens and microwaves can also cook food using a minimal amount of oil. That begs the question, how different is cooking with air fryers compared to conventional cooking methods, and is it worth the investment?

How does an air fryer work?

An over simplified explanation is that air fryers are basically ovens with powerful fans. A traditional oven heats the air. A fan speeds up the process allowing more and hotter air to come in contact with the food as compared to an oven. Basically, an oven is slower and cooler, and an air fryer is faster and hotter.

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It’s for this reason that an oven tends to bake food – cook it slowly over a period of time – while an air fryer can fry foods – cook them quickly at high heat. That said, an air fryer can’t reach the same temperature as when deep frying, so it’s not a complete replacement for that style of cooking.

Microwave vs air fryer

A microwave oven uses electromagnetic waves to cook food. It uses high power EM waves to excite the molecules of the food to vibrate, leading to heat build-up and thus, cook food. Microwaves are fast and oil free, but they heat food in particular patterns. On top of that, they can only heat up or cook foods that are high in water, fat, or sugar content.

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Dry areas of the food might not cook. There are also safety issues with attempting to, say, boil water or use metal vessels. Air fryers do, however, struggle when cooking food with a high moisture content. A microwave is better for heating food, an air fryer is better for cooking.

Convection oven vs air fryer

As mentioned earlier, an air fryer works by blowing hot air onto the food and circulating that hot air in the cooking compartment. This is very similar to how a convection oven works wherein a fan blows heated air around the interior of the oven and the food. The major difference between the two is that a convection oven simply does not get as hot as an air fryer.

For low temperature cooking, the convection oven or even a regular oven is generally better, but an air fryer is useful when you want to cook food at a higher temperature.

Deep frying vs air frying

Deep frying foods in hot oil is the go-to method for frying most foods. It uses a lot of oil and there’s always a risk of injury from all that hot oil splashing around. An air fryer is much safer in this regard as firstly, the food is cooked in a closed environment, and secondly, little to no oil is needed.

Generally speaking, most foods will cook just as well in an air fry as they would when deep fried in oil. However, since a deep fryer can hit much higher temperatures, a deep fryer is preferred when much higher temperatures and a crispier crust are needed. The advantage with air frying of course is that since no oil is used, it’s a lot healthier than a deep fryer.

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Air fryers are indeed a healthier choice for cooking foods, but only in situations where you’d normally use a lot of oil. The function of an air fryer can also be fairly easily replicated with a regular convection oven or deep frying in oil. If you’re considering getting yourself an air fryer, it’s best you first think about the kinds of food you intend to cook, and confirm that it can cook better in an air fryer.