Yesterday I got an epiphany, I realized that I have been using my air fryer more frequently than my microwave oven. Calling that an epiphany might be an overkill.
Anyways, back the point, I started thinking about giving away our microwave oven to someone who might need it more than us (my son who is moving out next month) and instead start using the air fryer, before making a decision I wanted to do some research.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
Can air fryers replace microwave ovens? As it turns out, they can’t really replace the microwave oven and its functions. The air fryer can replace a regular oven or a convection oven but not the microwave. Some of their functions may be similar but the air fryer can’t duplicate the convenience and speed offered by the microwave oven. Another thing to note is that the air fryer should not be used to heat liquids. With that said, If you don’t care about heating liquids or spending more time reheating your food, then the air fryer is a viable option.
How Does An Air Fryer And A Microwave Oven Work
These machines are built using different principles. Therefore, they can offer different results. The air fryer can give food a crispy exterior without using oil and a microwave oven can reheat food in a matter of minutes. Both have their benefits. Here’s how they work.
An air fryer has a heating coil and a fan installed. The heating coil is usually on the bottom of the air fryer while the fan is on the top. This may vary depending on the model. When the coil reaches high temperatures, the air around it is heated up.
With the help of the fan, the super hot air is circulated around the air fryer, cooking everything inside.
The air fryer is capable of doing this without any oil and still achieve a crispy exterior. That’s the cause of something called “The Maillard Reaction” – a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars.
While the air fryer isn’t as quick as the microwave oven, it is faster than a conventional oven. The microwave oven uses an entirely different method to heat food. Instead of using hot air to heat the food, instead, it exposes the food to electromagnetic radiation.
This causes tiny particles in the food to vibrate and create heat. This does not heat the container holding the food, only the food. If it did, you wouldn’t be able to remove your plate from the microwave oven without burning your fingers. The microwave is a quick and simple helper, however, it does not fry food without oil as the air fryer does.
As you can see, these machines have been given different tasks. Having one doesn’t mean you won’t need the functions offered by the other machine, depending on what you intend to do.
What Can A Microwave Do That An Air Fryer Can’t
Yes, there are a bunch of similarities between these two, yet they are not similar products. As I said before, you might be able to get by with only an air fryer depending on what you intend to do.
What is it that a microwave does that an air fryer can’t?
- Microwaves work much faster than air fryers
- Most models can cook more food than an air fryer because of their spacious design
- They can heat up liquids efficiently and safely.
That doesn’t look like an unbearable amount of functions to give up by picking an air fryer. The benefits of using an air fryer are very appealing to some of us.
- They cut calorie intake from fried foods by up to 80% by using less oil.
- You will be able to enjoy fried foods without using any oil. With the microwave oven, that isn’t possible.
- Cooking and even reheating french fries, chicken nuggets and chips is easy (and they actually taste good) in an air fryer.
Is there any way to combine both of these machines? Yes, there are microwave ovens with air frying options. This way, you can get rid of several of your kitchen appliances and replace them with one.
Having used the Farberware Gourmet in our summer house, I can tell you that it’s a very convenient appliance that will simplify a bunch of different cooking-related processes. I definitely recommend it and I was quite pleased with the price on the listing on Amazon – considering how many functions and features it provided.
I give the Farberware a thumbs up.
Multi-purpose appliances like this one can offer more than any single machine will be able to do. Therefore, the price may be a bit higher than a single microwave oven or air fryer.
Can You Fry Food In A Microwave
The million dollar question still stands. Alright, it might be worth slightly less. The answer to this question is no, it is not recommended to use a regular microwave oven to deep fry food.
The microwave oven will heat up the oil but it will not pass the boiling point needed for oil to fry food. Cooking food in oil at lower temperatures is basically only sauteing it.
However, if you’re the owner of a convection oven or a Samsung Microwave Oven with the Slim Fry feature, you can fry food in your microwave.
The Slim Fry feature of Samsung’s microwave ovens will produce an incredibly tasty crisp while using next to no oil. They are still a bit pricy in my opinion, we’ll see what happens with the price tag as the year goes on.
Here’s a video showing the Slim Fry feature on Samsung’s microwave ovens.
Is an Air Fryer Safer Than a Microwave Oven?
As I mentioned before, an air fryer doesn’t use infrared radiation or microwave radiation to cook food, instead, they are more like your traditional convection oven – circulating hot air around the food to dry it out, giving it a crisp surface.
The fact that the air fryer is capable of reducing the users intake of transfats by a signifcant amount is great and it comes with many health benefits in the long-run. However, air fryers do come with more health benefits, these benefits aren’t highlighted as often as they should.
They reduce the formation of acrylamide: Acrylamide is a potentially harmful compound linked to the development of cancer and can be found in foods that are rich in certain carbohydrates – when they are exposed to high temperatures.
Potatoes, for example, are rich in carbohydrates and are considered to be a source for acrylamide. When frying french fries in a deep fryer, you’re exposing potato sticks to extreme temperatures, this may increase the formation of the harmful compound.
Studies have shown: As a result of the air fryer’s quickness and dry heat, the formation of acrylamide can be reduced by 90%.
What about microwave ovens?
Studies have shown that the acrylamide content of carbohydrate-rich foods increased when cooked in a microwave oven. Levels of acrylamide varied depending on how long the foods were in the microwave oven and what power the appliance was set to.
Keep in mind that scientists haven’t spent enough time studying the air fryer and the impact its methods have on food. While the studies that have been conducted so far seem promising, we may not know if other compounds are formed. Fried food, even if air fried, should still be consumed in moderation.
It’s all about balance.
Other health benefits that air fryers provide include the following:
- Aid in weight loss: Air fryers cut fat content by up to 70%, and because every gram of fat equals 9 calories, they can reduce a person’s daily caloric intake by a substantial amount. This may assist in weight loss.
- Retains nutrients effectively: All methods of cooking deplete foods of their nutrients to some extent. That’s just the way it is. With that said, it has been shown that air fryers are quite good at retaining a good portion of the nutrients when cooking.
- Doesn’t overcook food: The air fryer comes with pre-programmed cooking cycles suitable for different types of food, such as chicken, fish, potatoes, and more. Using these presets prevents food from being overcooked and burned as the air fryer automatically shuts off when it’s done.
Related Questions
Does an air fryer emit radiation? No, an air fryer does not emit radiation like a microwave oven. It uses an entirely different principle to cook food.
Do air fryers use microwaves? No, air fryers do not use microwaves to heat food. They circulate super hot air from within the air fryer to cook food. The air is produced by a heating coil, not microwaves.
What is a smart microwave? Smart microwaves are the microwave ovens of our generation, I guess. Just like our phones, they have become smarter and more versatile than before. Smart microwaves can connect to your network and be accessed through it. They can read barcodes which give them instructions, such as how to cook certain food.