Air Fryer Versus Halogen Oven: The Differences

When it comes to cooking in the kitchen, there have been numerous “fryer” type appliances manufactured over the years to make your meal prep, cooking time, and meal enjoyment, tastier, more efficient, and healthier.

However, with so many appliances available and with so many names representing these devices, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them.

With home cooking becoming more common in households that are looking to cut back on food-related expenses, such as restaurant dining, more families are considering purchasing one of the numerous small counter-top kitchen appliances available on the market. Although these appliances do not completely replace your traditional oven, they can certainly come close, which is one of the main reasons these have become so popular.

The two most commonly bought counter-top kitchen appliances, beyond that of a microwave, are air fryers and halogen ovens. When you take a look at these two appliances side-by-side, you may ask:

What’s the difference between an air fryer and a halogen oven? After all, they look remarkably similar in outer shell design, size, and shape. The main difference is simply that the air fryer uses a coil and convection methods while the halogen oven uses a light bulb and infrared energy.

In this article, we will explain the differences between these two low-fat fryers and in which areas one might trump the other.

Part 1: What’s The Difference Between An Air Fryer’s And A Halogen Oven’s Methods?

While the heat source for both the air fryer and the halogen oven is hot air, the similarity in cooking method stops there as an air fryer looks to create fried-foods and the halogen oven is more for those who like roasted foods.

Let’s take a look at how these two cooking methods differ.

Air Fryers

Regardless of what brand of air fryer you purchase, all of them work in the same manner. Each one uses a coil, similar to the ones found in your traditional oven, and a fan. The coil heats up to your desired temperature and the fan circulates the hot air around the chamber.

What occurs is a transfer of heat between the warm and cool molecules of your food, thus evenly distributing the heat throughout your meal.

To ensure that your meal gets cooked all the way through and across all surfaces, the fan moves the hot air in a circular manner. Since the basket that your food sits in, is perforated, the bottom of your food gets hit with heat as well. The smaller the air fryer, the more intensified the heat, resulting in crispier food and quicker cook times.

Halogen Ovens

The cooking method for halogen ovens involves the use of a lightbulb, infrared energy, and radiation for heat transfer. According to Live Science, infrared light is a radiant every that cannot be seen by the naked eye but can definitely be felt in the form of heat.

It is a type of electromagnetic radiation that has a wide range of frequencies, including the commonly known types of gamma-rays, x-rays, visible light, radio waves, and microwaves. When the halogen oven lightbulb is lit up, it emits infrared heat which is what cooks your food.

The radiation heat cooks your food by directly heating up the air molecules along its path, without any heat loss, making it incredibly efficient at cooking quickly.

Part 2: The Key Differences

An air fryer uses the process of convection cooking, which simply utilizes a fan and exhaust system, which takes hot air and circulates it across the food and then vents it back out. An integrated fan is what circulates the hot air across the food evenly, which is why it takes less time than standard cooking (which has no exhaust system or internal fan) and ensures that your food stays moist on the inside while browning on the outside.

A halogen oven uses infrared radiation, which when transferred through the air, causes the water molecules and organic compounds (starch, sugar, protein) within your food to vibrate. An integrated fan then circulates the hot air evenly across your food, causing it to brown and crisp up.

The key difference, halogen ovens use radiation energy to directly heat up everything in its path while air fryers use convection which heats food from a moving heat source.

How Does the Inner Assembly Differ Between These Two Appliances?

With an air fryer, the only removable piece of the unit is the metal cooking rack that you place your food directly onto.

In some models, you may also be able to remove the basket in which the metal rack sits within. The coil sits near the top of the device and the fan at the bottom underneath the placement of the metal rack.

To use, you simply allow the device to pre-heat to the desired temperature, you place your food directly onto the metal rack, and you close the entire basket. During the cooking process, the fan circulates the hot air, which is being heated up by the coil, and it fries your food for you.

On the other hand, a halogen oven comes with technology that isn’t nearly as advanced as it uses a simple lightbulb to get the cooking done.

A halogen oven comes with a removable lid, a heating chamber that consists of a halogen lamp (lightbulb), a halogen ring (has halogen gas in it), low and high metal cooking racks, and a clear, glass bowl. Unlike the air fryer, you are able to see into the halogen oven as the glass bowl, which serves as an excellent heat conductor, is translucent.

To use the device, you simply place your food onto a bowl, plate, or cooking dish of your choice and then place that onto either the low or high metal cooking rack. The cooking rack can be removed from the unit and placed back in or you can leave it within the unit and simply place your food on top of your rack of choice by removing the lid of the oven.

The difference in assembly here is that the circular halogen lamp and ring requires no pre-heating and will heat up extremely fast upon receiving power. Once turned on, the halogen lamp will pump out high-density infrared light and the fan within the unit will circulate the heated air, so it gets evenly distributed across your food.

The major thing to remember with a halogen oven is that it will get very hot to touch because of the infrared light and radiation heat transfer.

Does the Difference in the Lid Matter?

Although whether a lid is removable or not seems like a minor issue, it can truly make a difference in whether you purchase the unit or not. For those who like the idea of a removable lid, may want to go with the halogen oven, but if you do, be very careful as there are two issues with it.

The halogen oven’s lid is going to get extremely hot. Hot enough that it can burn your hands or anything else that touches it.

You will need a place to set down the lid while you are stirring your food and it cannot be a wood or counter-top surface. If placed on wood, the wood will warp and if placed on a counter-top, it could cause some major blemishes. You will need special cloths for extremely hot dishes if you are going to go with the halogen oven.

With this said, the fact that an air fryer doesn’t have a removable lid but does have a slide-out basket makes it a clear winner in this category. Not only does the slide-out basket come with cool-to-touch surfaces for easy and safe handling but it doesn’t take up additional counter space when used.

Are Halogen Ovens Bigger Than Air Fryers?

When it comes to the size of the two appliances, the halogen oven wins outright. In terms of the sheer volume of food that a halogen oven can take on, it is much larger than your typical air fryer. Halogen ovens can generally take on anywhere between six to eighteen liters which is perfect for cooking large portions of food.

The detriment here is that the base of the halogen oven is going to be close to forty-one centimeters and the lid close to thirty-one centimeters.

However, if you have a small one-bedroom apartment or studio space, the air fryer is going to take the win as it will fit into even the smallest of kitchens. Most air fryers are going to range from one liter to seven liters of space.

Are Halogen Ovens And Air Fryers Operated Differently?

In terms of the controls, both types of models will come with digital and analog formats. Those who prefer to purchase a model with a digital control or touchscreen will find that the price will be more expensive. This is because the digital controls are considered a luxury and are not absolutely necessary to make the device work.

In most cases though, you will find that air fryers and halogen ovens will come with a lot of pre-set cook options. In this category, there isn’t a clear advantage or disadvantage to either model and is more of a personal preference for the individual making the purchase.

What Is the Difference in the Time it Takes to Cook Food?

When it comes to how fast you can cook your food, a halogen oven is going to win out in this category as it can cook a higher volume of food at a quicker time duration because of the cooking method used. However, when cooking the same volume of food, the time difference is going to be negligible.

Are Air Fryers Healthier Than Halogen Ovens?

This completely depends on how you are choosing to measure the health of your meals. If you are planning on only making your fried-food favorites, then an air fryer is going to be the better option for you as it will allow you to cut out both calories and excess fat from your food items.

If you are planning on cooking large meals that consist of healthier alternatives (non-fried-foods), then the halogen oven is going to win out.

The only issue with the halogen oven is that it is more likely to have higher concentrations of fat, especially if you use oil, as your food will not be able to drip during the cooking process.

Is There a Difference in Clean Up Time?

When it comes to cleaning up, both are relatively quick and painless. With an airy fryer, you simply unplug the unit from the power source, let it cool down, and then wipe down the outside of the unit. For the basket or tray, remove the component and place it in your dishwasher or clean it out by hand.

For the halogen oven, it’s just as simple. Unplug the unit from the power source and remove the racks and glass bowl from the unit and place in your dishwasher. You can also wash these by hand if you so wish.

If you have a halogen oven that has a built-in wash function, you allow the unit to get cold, then fill it up with warm water (third of the way of the glass bowl), drop the racks into the bottom of the unit, throw in a splash of soap and set it to do a wash cycle.

If you do decide to wash the bowl by hand or want to remove it to place in your dishwasher, be very careful as it gets very slippery when wet and can be easily dropped as it is heavy.