What is The Difference Between a Deep Fryer and an Air Fryer

Deep fryers and air fryers are two of the popular cooking appliances currently. If you are looking for something to fry your food with ease, you may get confused between an air fryer and a deep fryer. That is because both of the appliances are similar in terms of frying food. They can assure a crunchy or crispy outcome every time. But what is the difference between a deep fryer and an air fryer? Keep reading the article to know.

The main difference between the air fryer and the deep fryer is the first one will require only a few drops of oil while you will need to submerge the food in liters of oil while cooking in the deep fryer. Air fryers use a wholly different mechanism to prepare the food compared to the deep fryer. We will discuss the main differences between the air fryer and deep fryer below.

The Difference Between a Deep Fryer and an Air Fryer

Apart from the usage of oil, there are also some other differences between a deep fryer and an air fryer. Below, we will briefly discuss the differences between the deep fryer and air fryer.

Mechanism

The mechanism of an air fryer and the deep fryer is completely different. The air fryer cooks the food in a closed compartment. It equips a heating element along with a fan which mainly does the part of cooking. The heating element produces heat while the fan passes the hot air through the food from a different angle. So, we can say that the hot air in the air fryer completes the cooking. Some air fryers may also use infrared along with the heating element.

A deep fryer typically includes a big open compartment where you will include the oil for cooking. Inside the machine, there are heating elements that can produce heat for heating the oil. The oil becomes very hot within a few minutes and you can submerge your food in the hot oil to fry them. You need the oil and a lot of it for cooking while the air fryer doesn’t require that much oil for cooking.

Healthiness

It is no wonder that the air fryer is considered a healthier option compared to the deep fryer. The main reason behind this is you don’t need to use a lot of oil. You simply need to coat the ingredients with oils to get the same result as deep frying. The mechanism of the air fryer uses hot air to quickly prepare the food without the oil. This makes the air fryer very healthy as you don’t need to submerge the food in a compartment full of oils.

When you use a deep fryer, a lot of the oils got into your food which also means the food will get more fat and calories. The calories and fat included in the food from the oil will be completely unhealthy. Regularly eating deep-fried food can be very unhealthy. It will increase your risk of getting obsessed and get exposed to various heart-related diseases. Regular consumption of deep-fried food can even cause cancer.

Cooking Capacity

Typically, the air fryer allows you to cook less amount of food at once because of its designed and enclosed cooking compartment. Moreover, you need to cook foods in a single layer most of the time to assure proper cooking and crispness. Stacking food inside the machine or adding multiple layers of ingredient may leads to inconsistent and undercooking of some parts. That means the cooking capacity is less for air fryers compared to the deep fryer.

In terms of cooking capacity, the deep fryer is a winner. Typically, the deep fryer arrives with a bigger compartment, and you can add a lot of food at once in it. Literally, you can feel the deep fryer with food and cook different types of food at once. You will not get the same benefits from the deep fryer. You will require buying a huge and costly model of air fryer if you want to cook a lot of food at once.

Taste

The air fryer can assure you good taste in some intent. However, they are not going to be as much tasty as the deep fryers. That is because the deep fryers typically don’t use many oils and hence some of the foods that don’t include moist comes out dry. Although both of the devices can serve you similar crispiness, the taste will be a bit different. If your top priority is taste, we will definitely recommend you the deep fryer.

Cooking Versatility

The air fryer typically allows you to cook different types of foods. Usually, you can fry, roast, or BBQ different ingredients starting from meats, veggies, to fruits. Some of the air fryers also arrives with options like dehydrating, chips making, and some other options. That means you can do much more than just frying food in an air fryer.

The deep fryer is not that much versatile compared to the air fryer’s capability to cook food in different ways. In most cases, you can only deep fry the foods in the machine, as its name recommends.

Maintenance

When it comes to maintenance, the air fryer will definitely be a winner. Air fryers don’t require much oil and that’s why there is not much cleaning work. As there will be not much grease, you will even don’t require cleaning after every preparation. However, things can be different for the deep fryer. Sometimes there will be more cleaning work for the deep fryer. However, most of the time, you will find the cleaning easy.

For both the air fryer and deep fryer it is recommended to clean the device regularly to get the best out of the device.

Conclusion

The deep fryer and air fryers both are excellent appliances and they can be a great addition to your kitchen. However, if you are aware of health and diet, go for an air fryer. It will serve you in the best interest of oil-free and healthy low-calorie foods.