Fried foods have become people’s first choice in the present time. They are very crispy and delicious, making resisting them almost impossible. But along with the taste, we are also becoming very health-conscious and are looking for ways to make our diet even healthier. The two best ways that have been highlighted are air-frying and deep-frying. But what is the best way to fry our food? What is an air fryer vs. a deep fry?

We now understand that you may have many questions. Be patient and read the article for clarity on air fryers vs. deep fryers.

General Overview of Air Fryer vs Deep Fryer:

To understand the differences between air frying and deep frying, we must at least know the basics of both ways of cooking. The air fryers and deep fryers use hot air to cook the food. But the way they use it is completely different from one another. 

What Is Deep-Frying?

In deep-frying, we engulf the food in hot oil. We should set the temperature of the hot oil to between 350°F and 375°F, or 180°C and 190°C.

The hot oil cooks the food faster and gives us crispy dishes to enjoy. Although the exterior will turn crispy and have a golden-brown color, the interior of the food will remain soft. It will be tender and damp.

What Is Air-Frying?

Compared to deep frying, air frying is a new method of cooking food with the help of hot air. When we place our food into an air fryer, it encompasses it with hot air.

This hot air will make the exterior of our food crispier, just like in deep frying. But air fryers do not need hot oil to produce hot air, so it is considered a much healthier method to prepare fried foods.

Biggest Difference Between Air-Frying and Deep-Frying

The most necessary difference between air frying and deep frying is how much oil we use to prepare crispy food. When we use deep-frying methods, we will need a lot of oil to engulf our food with hot oil to make it crispy. However, in air frying, we require very little or no oil at all.

Is There a Need for Separate Appliances for Air-Frying or Deep-Frying?

We can air fry our food with the help of an air fryer or an oven. But for deep frying, we will need an appliance specially designed for this purpose.

Air Fryer vs Deep Fryer

We all need to keep the following factors in mind while deciding which method is more suitable for us:

Which Method Saves More Time?

The basic time we will need to deep-fry anything completely depends on the dish we prepare. After heating the oil, we will need only three to five minutes to cook our dish. We will get the crispy, golden brown exterior of our dish.

We need a minimum of 10 to 20 minutes to cook our food in an air fryer. But the various dishes might have different cooking times as well. We must always read the instructions and take action accordingly.

The deep fryer can prepare our food quickly, but the effort we will require is a lot more than that required in an air fryer. It will require more preparation time and attention during the cooking process. For most deep fryer recipes, you need to dip the food into a wet batter. We also must keep an eye on the deep fryer occasionally to avoid any burning or splashes of food around.

But when we use an air fryer, we need to keep the food in the air fryer. Now, we will select the perfect temperature, and our work is done here. We do not need to do the rest of the work, and our crispy food will be ready after a few minutes.

Which Method Is a Better and Healthier Choice?

Air-frying always has a heads-up compared to deep-frying regarding healthier options. In air frying, we will require no to very little oil, like around one to two spoons, which will encourage caramelization.

But when deep frying, we will need five to six cups of oil to submerge our food. This might now prove to be very healthy for our food.

Which Method Provides Food with a Better Taste?

Some of us may like the taste of air-fried food, while others may like the taste of deep-fried foods.

But we will get a traditional taste from deep-frying our food. It is best for wet or thick batters, as the wet batter might not be set correctly in the air fryer jar. It might drip through the air fryer jar before setting.

But if we want food with dry exteriors, then an air fryer will be our best pick. We can still get a crispy, caramelized dish for ourselves.

Which Method is Costlier?

When we look at the price factor, air fryers are much more expensive than deep fryers. However, they will reduce the usage of oil to a considerable level and reduce the expenses on the purchase of oil, which can offset the price difference. Also, an air fryer provides various features like air frying, roasting, broiling, baking, and many more.

Which Method Is a Safer Option?

When we cook food, if we use a deep fryer, we may get hurt due to the splashing of the hot oil. So, we need to be careful while using a deep fryer. On the other hand, air fryers are safe from this risk. We only use very little oil in an air fryer; they even have some amazing safety features. 

FAQs

Can an Air Fryer perform all the functions of a Deep Fryer?

We can easily cook most of the deep-frying dishes in an air fryer without much difficulty. However, some dishes still require proper engulfing in oil, so they cannot be prepared in an air fryer. However, the air fryer will prepare food with similar taste and texture and perform other attractive functions such as roasting, baking, etc.

Does air-frying also prepare delicious foods, just like deep-frying?

We can get a similar taste and texture of food by preparing it in an air fryer instead of deep-frying. We will get a crispy exterior with a moist interior for the food. But there will be a little difference in the taste due to the reduced level of oil used. Still, it is a healthier option with a similar taste to deep-frying.

Which Method Is Best Overall?

To decide which method will suit us best, we must also know our cooking needs. If we do not want to lose the traditional taste of our food, we must deep fry our dishes. But if we want something more comfortable and versatile, along with other attractive cooking features like baking, roasting, etc., we should use an air fryer. Check out the list of 7 Best Air Fryers with Dehydrators.

We can prepare a wide range of dishes in an air fryer, from salmon or steak filets to French fries. We will get more flexibility with an air fryer than a deep fryer.