I was annoyed by the term for a long time, and refused to get one over it.
But having used one for a bit now, it is kinda its own thing. The key difference between them and a standard convection oven is the small volume of the air fryer, which allows the volume to heat up faster and for the air to be cycled more quickly. That does make them seem more like a middle ground between an oven and a fryer.
The key difference is the speed at which the air circulates. The faster moving air transfers heat more efficiently. I have 2 full size ovens that can also air-fry.
It’s nothing like an actual fryer though, which cooks by immersing in hot oil.
An air-fryer is a middle ground between a regular convection oven and an impingement oven.
I used to just use a range, a decent toaster oven and a microwave for most stuff. Heating up a regular oven is such a huge waste of power for a meal for 3-4 people.
When Instant Pot made a countertop oven with an “air fryer” feature, I bought one. When I wore that one out, I bought another.
An oven with a circulation fan is a convection oven. When I worked in a pro kitchen, our Blodgetts blew a hell of a lot harder than any air fryer, but no one would actually say they’re frying the food.
Yeah, but for residential purposes a regular convection overnight and an air fryer are very different categories of products, and if you put oil on something in an air fryer you get similar enough results to an actual fryer that I’m comfortable with the term now.
All 3 products use convection for quickly heating the outer layers of food, but the difference in the rate of the circulation between my Ninja and my oven isn’t even close. The air fryer will actually throw light food around, whereas the convection over just lightly circulates. The end result is the air fryer (especially when oil is added to the food) ends up cooking more like a fryer than a standard convection oven.
I was annoyed by the term for a long time, and refused to get one over it.
But having used one for a bit now, it is kinda its own thing. The key difference between them and a standard convection oven is the small volume of the air fryer, which allows the volume to heat up faster and for the air to be cycled more quickly. That does make them seem more like a middle ground between an oven and a fryer.
The key difference is the speed at which the air circulates. The faster moving air transfers heat more efficiently. I have 2 full size ovens that can also air-fry.
It’s nothing like an actual fryer though, which cooks by immersing in hot oil.
An air-fryer is a middle ground between a regular convection oven and an impingement oven.
I used to just use a range, a decent toaster oven and a microwave for most stuff. Heating up a regular oven is such a huge waste of power for a meal for 3-4 people.
When Instant Pot made a countertop oven with an “air fryer” feature, I bought one. When I wore that one out, I bought another.
An oven with a circulation fan is a convection oven. When I worked in a pro kitchen, our Blodgetts blew a hell of a lot harder than any air fryer, but no one would actually say they’re frying the food.
To each their own on what they consider things.
Yeah, but for residential purposes a regular convection overnight and an air fryer are very different categories of products, and if you put oil on something in an air fryer you get similar enough results to an actual fryer that I’m comfortable with the term now.
All 3 products use convection for quickly heating the outer layers of food, but the difference in the rate of the circulation between my Ninja and my oven isn’t even close. The air fryer will actually throw light food around, whereas the convection over just lightly circulates. The end result is the air fryer (especially when oil is added to the food) ends up cooking more like a fryer than a standard convection oven.