In the modern age of cooking, a variety of kitchen brands are designing the latest appliances that are perfect for making healthy food, especially when it’s free from oil. The two most common appliances include food dehydrator vs. air fryer. While both of them are perfect for cooking healthier food, there are some differences that we will mention in this article!
Food Dehydrator vs Air Fryer
Air Fryer
An air fryer is one amazing device that’s suitable for making cooking easier and fun. These are the kitchen appliances that help cook delicious food which tastes and looks like fried food. This is because the air fryer is designed to use hot air and minimal to zero oil for cooking the food. The air frying method helps keep the food moist from within while creating a crunchy and crispy texture on the outside. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that these air fryers look like convection ovens.
The air fryer is integrated with the heating element placed on the device’s top, which ensures the food is evenly cooked. In addition to the heating element, it also has a fan that’s responsible for circulating hot air around and under the food, resulting in fully cooked food. When it comes down to using an air fryer, the food is placed in the fryer-like basket that helps penetrate air and oil dropping on the tray. The combination of a heating element and hot air circulation results in a crispy texture without using much oil.
An air fryer is an extremely versatile kitchen appliance that can be used for preparing various recipes and doesn’t disturb your budget, either. To begin with, the air fryer is perfect for making crunchy and delicious French fries, and many people use it to prepare yummy vegetables to create a crunchy texture. For instance, you can make mushrooms, carrots, beans, broccoli, eggplants, okra, and chickpeas in the air fryer to bring out the flavor and crispy texture.
The best thing about the air fryer is that it perfectly heats the leftover pizza without making it hard. In fact, it’s a perfect way of cooking onion rings if you have to use liquid batter but make sure that you freeze onion rings for ten minutes before cooking them in the air fryer. When it comes down to uses, an air fryer is also suitable for cooking frozen food that needs deep-frying, such as mozzarella sticks, frozen wings, and tartar tots to ensure the food is cooked evenly.
An air fryer is a perfect choice for people who need to cook healthy food quickly because it only takes a few minutes to evenly cook the food. Even more, air fryers are energy-efficiency devices as it doesn’t consume too much electricity. While it’s suitable for frying food items, it can also be used to grill, bake, stir fry, steam, and roast your food. Not to forget, it can cook incredibly delicious fried chicken, a whole turkey, and sausages, depending on the size of your air fryer.
On top of everything, an air fryer minimizes the consumption of oil for cooking food, resulting in healthier food. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that you can cook food in an air fryer without oil and achieve a perfectly crunchy flavor. All in all, this kitchen appliance is convenient to use and is usually compact, making it suitable for smaller kitchens. However, make sure that you only purchase an air fryer if you have to cook food for fewer people.
Food Dehydrator
The food dehydrator is a perfect choice for people who want to dry food to preserve them for a longer time, especially at a lower temperature. The food dehydrators are perfect for removing moisture from the food, which makes the food more shelf-stable, resulting in storage for an extended period of time. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that food dehydrators can be used for yielding better flavor – the fruits will achieve a sweet flavor while herbs will have a stronger flavor.
Food dehydrators are a great kitchen appliance for drying different food items, such as vegetables, fruits, and meat. Having said that, it’s a convenient way of preparing healthy yet delicious snacks at your home. The best thing about the snacks made in a food dehydrator is that they will be healthier because there won’t be any additives, artificial colors, and flavors. The best thing about using a food dehydrator is that you can customize the flavor of food by adding salt, sugar, and oil.
These kitchen appliances are designed to blow warm air on the food that helps remove fluid from the fruits and vegetables, and this method has been around for centuries where people would utilize sunlight for drying up the food. However, a food dehydrator is a tech machine that makes the experience convenient and helps keep bacteria at bay while improving the shelf life of food by eliminating moisture from the food.
The food dehydrator is best for preserving the food items because it helps preserve the nutrients and vitamins of the food. For dehydrating the food, it is cut into smaller pieces or slices, which are then arranged on the shelves without them touching each other. Moreover, the built-in fan circulates low-temperature air on the food. However, keep in mind that you will be able to customize the flavor, depending on the food items.
For the most part, the food dehydrator is designed in a rectangular shape, but there are some round options as well. In addition, they are integrated with pull-out and stacked shelves. The food dehydrators with stacked shelves are designed with a small fan that helps circulate air in the upward direction. On the other hand, if the appliance has pull0out shelves, the fan is added on the back of your appliance, and these are suggested for experienced people because it provides better temperature control.
For delicate food items, such as herbs, you can set the temperature 95-degrees Fahrenheit while veggies can be dehydrated at 125-degree. On top of everything, it is suitable for making fruit bars and granola bars and is a perfect way of heating cookies, bakery, and pizza without compromising on the crispiness. Not to forget, it’s perfect for making molds and potpourri!