Air Fryer Vs Convection Oven: What's Better?

November 11, 2022

With so many options for ovens and ranges available in today’s market, it can be difficult to decide which features are right for your cooking style.
Air Fry settings and convection cooking are both popular features available in today’s market. What is the difference between the two cooking methods though and which is best for your cooking style? Here is everything you need to know.

Convection Cooking and Its Benefits

Convection cooking uses fans to circulate hot air around the oven cavity resulting in a more even cook compared to traditional baking. Because the additional fans in convection ovens circulate hot air more evenly throughout the oven, they cook food more quickly than standard ovens as well.

Air Fry vs. Convection Cooking

Air frying uses a method of convection cooking with higher temperatures and faster air circulation.

The Benefits of Air Fry

Over the past few years, air frying has dramatically grown in popularity. More recently, many ovens include Air Fry as a built-in feature. Having an air fryer built into your oven allows for more cooking space compared to a countertop air fryer.

So, what are the benefits of air frying your food?

• An even cook. Air frying works by using fans to circulate extremely hot air around the food. The circulating air ensures that the food is cooked evenly without having to flip it at all.
• Short cooking times. Air frying food cooks it more quickly than conventional cook methods.
• Crisp finish. This quick cooking method results in a crisp finish like deep frying but without the added grease.

The Best Foods to Cook on Each Setting

Because there are slight differences between convection cooking and air frying, it can be confusing to choose which setting to use for your meal. Some foods like potatoes and vegetables are great with either setting. For other foods, one setting will result in a better flavor than the other. Here are our suggestions.

Foods Ideal for Air Fry

Foods that are best cooked with dry heat are ideal for air frying. Most frozen items that are precooked or foods that are typically deep-fried are great for air frying. Some of our favorite foods to air fry include chicken wings, chicken nuggets, pizza bites, steaks, and tofu.

Convection Oven Foods

Convection cooking is ideal for foods that take a bit longer to cook. Some of our favorite foods to cook in a convection oven are fried chicken, roast, and pizza.

Things You Should Not Use Either For

Any food with a wet batter (like cakes, freshly dipped corn dogs, or custards) does not cook well with air fry or convection settings and is best baked with traditional oven settings.

The Best of Both Worlds

If you find yourself enticed by both of these cooking methods, select ovens and ranges offer both convection cooking and Air Fry settings. Choosing a model that provides you with the option to choose air fry or convection cooking based on your meal is an unmatched benefit.

Shop for Your New Oven or Range at Howard’s

If you are shopping for a new oven or range, stop into a Howard’s appliance location near you to have one of our experts help you find the perfect model to meet your needs. Browse online, give us a call, or visit any of our appliance stores throughout California to get more information.

We are ready to help you choose the right features to match your cooking needs. We carry various combinations, including double-wall ovens, single-wall ovens, ovens with steam features, ovens and ranges with Air Fry, microwaves/oven combos, and more.