Air Fryer vs. Halogen Oven: A Detailed Comparison

Hi everyone, My name is Manali, and I used to own and run a restaurant. With over 30 years of cooking experience, I thought it was time to share my culinary knowledge with you all. Today, we're not diving into a recipe but rather doing a comparison between an air fryer and a halogen oven.

Air Fryer vs. Halogen Oven: A Detailed Comparison

I've been using a halogen oven for about 2-3 years now and have been quite pleased with it. Recently, I decided to give the Tower air fryer a try. Although it's a bit of an unfair comparison due to the price difference—the halogen oven cost me around £50, while the Tower air fryer was about £100—I wanted to see how they stack up in terms of performance.

Setup and Cooking:

I've marinated some chicken and placed a similar amount in both the air fryer and the halogen oven. I'll be cooking them at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes and then we'll compare the results.

Initial Observations:

• The Tower air fryer has a light, allowing you to see the food cooking, which is a feature I really like.
• The halogen oven doesn’t have a light, but its halogen bulb turns on and off during cooking.

First 15 Minutes:

After 15 minutes at 180 degrees, I took out the chicken to compare. Here are my observations:

• Halogen Oven: The chicken cooked well on the top side, but the heat source from the top means it often cooks more on the top.
• Air Fryer: The chicken appeared to cook more evenly overall.

To ensure a fair comparison, I flipped the chicken pieces and put them back in for another 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

Final Results After 25 Minutes:

Now, the moment of truth! Here’s how the chicken turned out:

• Halogen Oven: The chicken was nicely cooked on the outside with a slight burn patch, which is typical. However, the inside was still slightly pink, indicating it needed a bit more time.
• Air Fryer: The chicken was browner and cooked more evenly. The inside was almost completely cooked, needing just a few more minutes.

Conclusion:

The air fryer cooked the chicken slightly better and quicker than the halogen oven. While the halogen oven needed an additional 10 minutes, the air fryer only needed 5 more minutes. Considering the cooking performance, the air fryer seems worth the extra cost if you’re looking for even cooking and quicker results.