How To Choose: Convection Toaster Oven Vs Air Fryer
If youre having trouble choosing which type of air fryer to get, heres how wed decide.
Get the Cuisinart oven if:
- You have room in your kitchen for a larger oven.
- You have a family or larger household, and/or want to be able to cook larger portions of food at once.
- You want to make a variety of foods, such as baked goods, toast, frozen pizzas up to 13 inches, or roast chicken as big as 6 pounds.
- You want the option to adjust the convection fans speed or turn it off completely.
- You dont want to buy extra accessories to get the most out of your appliance.
- You dont mind turning your food to achieve even browning while cooking.
- You like to avoid nonstick coating, which lines the baskets in most pod-shaped air fryers and tends to wear off quickly.
- You want faster cleanup.
Get a pod-shaped air fryer if:
Why Buy An Air Fryer Range
As we said, air fryer ranges are built into your oven. Because of this, a built-in air fryer in your range allows you to not just fry foods. Lets take a deeper look at some of the reasons to invest in an air fryer range below.
- Your air fryer wont take up valuable counter space
- Air fryers integrated into ranges allow you to see and watch the progress of your food
- No, preheat waiting times
- Have multiple features included since its incorporated into a range
Most Popular Covered Issues
When the manufacturer’s warranty on your product expires, service repair costs come out of your pocket. Save with Service Protection Plans.
Refrigerator – Not cooling, leaking water, running too often, icemaker not making iceRange/Oven – Oven not heating, oven not turning on, range burner not igniting, oven temperature not stable, control panel not workingDishwasher – Leaking, not turning on, water not draining, door not latchingWasher – Not spinning, water not draining, leaking water, will not turn onDryer – Clothes will not dry, will not turn on, overheating, drum not turningMicrowave – Will not turn on, control panel not working, not heating
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Samsung Range With Air Fryer
This Samsung gas range with an air fryer not only cooks seamlessly without a preheat time but also elevates any kitchens interior design. The fingerprint-resistant glass allows for a consistently fresh and clean-looking range. Also, make mealtime simple with smart technology to conveniently use your voice to control your ovens temperature and settings via Bixby, Google, or Alexa. Five cooktop burners include two power burners with cast iron edge-to-edge grates to easily slide pots and pans across the surface. This choice is our best gas range with an air fryer that makes mealtimes fun, quick, and easy.
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- Five burners with two power cast iron edge-to-edge grates
Flaws But Not Dealbreakers
Due to the Cuisinart TOB-260N1s large interior, this model took about five minutes longer to cook frozen french fries than some of the smaller air fryers we tested took. That said, its slightly slower cooking time often produced more evenly cooked food that was better tasting. We think thats a trade-off well worth the few extra minutes of your time. And the Cuisinart is still small enough that it can preheat and cook faster than a standard oven.
Since Cuisinart doesnt market the TOB-260N1 as an air fryer, it doesnt come with a cooking chart for commonly air-fried foods. However, we found that in most cases, the same temperatures youd use to cook in a standard oven can also be used in the Cuisinart, whereas smaller, pod-shaped air fryers require you to cook at lower temperatures. We also found that when youre air frying vegetables with lots of moisture, such as eggplant and zucchini, its best to chop them into 1-inch or smaller pieces to prevent them from getting mushy. We have more tips for cooking air-fryer recipes in the Cuisinart below.
The Cuisinarts baking pan may warp slightly when the oven is roasting at high temperatures, but this in no way affects its cooking performance the pan will return to its normal shape when it cools. If you want a better pan, we recommend that you get a Nordic Ware quarter-sheet pan, a smaller version of our favorite baking sheet, which fits perfectly inside the Cuisinart oven.
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Temperature Accuracy And Consistency Test
This is low-key one of the most important functions for any oven, especially if you plan to do some light baking in it. If an oven can’t hold an accurate and consistent temperature, it makes following recipes far more difficult, and you’ll be forever adjusting and hawking your food to make sure it doesn’t burn. I used thermocouples to read the internal temperature of the oven while it baked for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. I was able to get an average temp reading for the duration of the bake, but I also watched the thermometer in real time to see how much fluctuation happened during the cook.
The KitchenAid won this test with an average reading of 350 F on the nose and with very little fluctuation. The Ninja , Cuisinart and Breville also did well, although the Breville started off very hot and then came back down. The two last-place finishers were the Crux, which ran hot and the Calpahlon, which ran cold . Both were also the most inconsistent throughout the bakes.
What To Look Forward To
Were conducting a new round of testing to expand our coverage of pod-shaped air fryers. In addition to new models, were also testing a wider range of sizes, and special features like dual baskets and smart app connectivity. Were trying out larger air fryers, like the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket Air Fryer and the Ninja Foodi DZ201 Dual Basket Air Fryer, and more models from popular brands, including the Dash Deluxe Electric Air Fryer, the Ultrean Air Fryer AF01, and the new Cosori Air Fryer. While well be looking at more versatile and accessible features this time around, our foundational criteria for a great air fryer remain the same: an intuitive user experience, even cooking, and consistent temperatures.
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How Does The Ge Digital Air Fry 8
This stainless steel toaster oven can also air fry.
Made of brushed stainless steel with curved corners, this is one good-looking appliance. On the front, it has a large handle, a small LCD screen, a pair of dials, and a button. Its sleek and simple to use.
Unlike most toaster ovens, its square-shaped rather than rectangular, and although its taller than similar products weve tested, its still short enough to fit under a standard cabinet. The backside of the handle and the edge of the crumb tray have a matte gray plastic finish that doesnt detract much from the overall appearance.
With the GE you get an oven rack, baking pan, baking rack, and crumb tray.
Best Ge Cafe Wall Oven Cts90fp2ms1
The 30 French door single wall oven is one of the best ovens in the industry. Both doors simultaneously open together when you try to open one. But besides the door type, the CTS90FP2MS1 has other impressive features. Top amongst these is the True European Convection technology and the Wi-Fi Connect
GE no longer manufactures the CT9070SHSS and replaced it with this model. Our next best selection with Cafe, the CTS70DP2NS1, is a more affordable option but comes with the traditional door type instead of the French door.
The Cafe CTS70DP2NS1 is equipped with a smart system that automatically adjusts cooking times and temperature for the perfect cooking results. It also has a brilliant full-color display, instead of the regular knobs, which adds style to your kitchen. It has the Air Fry feature, and also has some cooking modes that do not require preheat time. The Cafe CTS70DP2NS1 is available in the 30-inch and 27-inch models.
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Best Combination Wall Oven Ge Pt7800shss
The 30-inch microwave and oven towers high above other GE combination ovens thanks to some superior features. It consists of an upper microwave and a lower thermal oven.
Some of its top features include the 8-pass broil element for edge-to-edge even browning, and a built-in sensor in the microwave that automatically adjusts cooking time.
The PT7800SHSS also has a 16 turntable in the microwave oven that rotates food and ensures even cooking.
Our Top 4 Air Fryer Ranges
Until recently, air frying food meant you needed an entirely new appliance. But at East Coast Appliance, we provide you with feature-heavy ranges that have the capability to give you air-fried food. The following recommendations come from our friends at BrandSource. Availability of products is not guaranteed.
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Best Standard Wall Oven Ge Jts5000snss
The JTS5000SNSS is an impressive oven with a favorable price point. It uses convection technology and has the Wi-Fi Connect feature with voice assistant It has the steam clean self-clean option, and the heavy-duty racks.
As a plus, the JTS5000SNSS is easy to control with its hidden backlit display. Hidden because the backlight shuts off when not in use and only reveals just the clock time. This model also has other impressive GE wall oven features like the closed-door broiling feature, 8-pass broil element, and the 10-pass bake element.
Lg Gas Range With Air Fryer
Our LG gas range with an air fryer choice gives you LGs famous InstaView Window feature. Simply knock twice on the glass of your range to check on your delicious meal. On top of that, connect this air fryer oven range to the ThinQ app to control your range remotely. You can also receive tips and alerts through the ThinQ app to stay up to date on your oven with an air fryer. Lastly, use the fastest oven-cleaning feature available by giving your range a spotless 10-minute clean.
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- Five cooktop burners
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What About Using A Full
For the record, you can get similar air-fried results when cooking food in a full-size oven with convection. But because a full-size oven is so much larger than a toaster oven or an air fryer, it takes much longer to preheat and can take longer to cook food. The Cuisinart TOB-260N1 toaster oven preheats almost immediately, making it the better choice if speed is part of what appeals to you about an air fryer.
What Is Air Frying Anyway And How Does It Work
Despite what it sounds like, air frying doesnt actually fry your food. Instead, air fryers are mini convection ovens that use fans to rapidly circulate hot air, cooking food faster and more evenly than a standard oven does.
Convection has been around for more than a century. The first commercially sold convection ovens were developed by the W. L. Maxson Corporation in the 1940s as a way to reheat frozen food for airplanes. And they worked much the same as todays air fryers and convection toaster ovens do: As the fan circulates hot air around the food, it crisps the outside in a way that mimics deep frying. But your tastebuds will tell you that air-fried food isnt anything like traditionally deep-fried food in flavor and texture.
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Other Features And Accessories To Note
Most of these ovens come standard with a baking tray, wire racks and mesh air fry basket. The air fry basket is meant to allow the circulating hot air to hit food at all angles and save you from having to turn it. These are great for fries and certain veggies, but beware that fatty foods, including chicken wings, will drip through as they cook and it ain’t pretty. I always use parchment paper when cooking things of that sort.
All but two of the ovens I tested — the Crux and the Calphalon — have an internal light, which is nice when you need it but not necessary by any means.
Every oven on this list has a digital interface with dials, buttons or both to control it, although some were much better than others. The Breville’s was the most complex, a result of all its many functions and cooking presets, while the Cuisinart interface was the only one I truly did not like. It drove me batty, in fact.
| Breville BOV900BSSUSC |
What Is Air Fry Is It Different Than Convection
Home cooks everywhere are starting to learn about the benefits of cooking with Air Fry to the extent that many shoppers are looking for the feature inside their next wall oven or range. Nowadays, itâs a regular add-on several major appliance brands offer alongside other oven upgrades, including convection.
Some buyers argue the new feature and convection are nearly identical, but in fact, each setting is designed to work in a specific way, meaning one isnât always a substitute for the other. So, whatâs the difference between convection and air frying? Read on to find the answers, plus a look at some of the ways top brands are using this latest technology.
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Why You Should Use A Convection Oven
Convection heating is definitely a worthy consideration to have in the kitchen. Overall, convection produces better heat distribution, which encourages even browning without having to give bakes rotations throughout the cooking process. Whatâs more, the advanced thermal cooking of convection means quicker cook times, which can protect long roasts from over-drying.
The process involves a fan that circulates heat and requires ventilation to prevent humidity build-up.
Its Super Easy To Clean
While cleaning an oven is never anyones idea of fun, the removable rack system and pull out-crumb tray make it easy to access the inside parts, which inevitably get dripped on and splattered.
You can put the rack, basket and pans in the dishwasher, but I prefer hand-washing with soapy water. The crumb tray needs to be washed by hand.
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When To Use Convection
Before diving into the many ways you can apply convection baking into your cooking routine, letâs address one important consideration: adjusting recipes for convection. Because convection cooks faster and with more heat dispersion, recipes need to be converted to avoid burning.
How do you convert cooking times for a convection oven?
With that in mind, these baking conditions are great for:
â Proteins
â Baked entrées
â Multi-rack baking
Thereâs even more to discover about this innovative oven feature, which we detail in our guide to convection baking.
Shop Air Fryer Ranges At East Coast
There is a reason we are dubbed The Discount King for unbeatable deals, shop ranges online at East Coast Appliance. Our friendly associates are always happy to help you find the best air fryer range for you, whether you or use our online chat feature. Better yet, stop by one of our showrooms to see why we are the best appliance store in Virginia. Visit us today!
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Smart Features Arent Well
This smart oven connects to Wi-Fi for remote control with a smartphone as well as for easy access to recipes within the app. But I had an extremely difficult time getting connected and finally had to call for help. Once we figured it out and I started using the app, I was able to turn the oven light on and off and see the status of the oven as well as program a cooking mode. But once I chose the mode, temperature and set a timer, I still had to hit the actual start button on the oven to enable remote start. This seems counterintuitive.
Most smart appliances require Wi-Fi connection and I appreciate that product updates and new features can be pushed as over-the-air updates through the app, but I dont think the current state of the smart features adds very much, making me wonder whether the oven needs the connectivity.
Ge Digital Air Fryer Oven Cooking Functions
Cooking Modes And Temperature Range
This incredible GE digital air fryer toaster oven has up to 8 cooking methods: toasting, roasting, air frying, baking, broiling, convection, preheating, and proof.
If you are used to other air fryers, the heating process works the same for this one. It will go from the bottom to the top, so the temperature is highest at the base. It is also applied for all other modes. The temperatures range from 180-450 degrees F, depending on your needs.
What Is The Outcome Of Each Mode?
When you want to cook your food with reheating, baking, or broiling, the process will go for preheating first, calling for a lot more effort. To make it easier for you, lets start the preheating stage, then reset the timer later so that you will not be confused about the countdown preheating time.
For another setting, such as convection, if you want to roast a big chunk of chicken, it will take you a total of nearly 40 minutes under 350 degrees F. Then, a mouth-watering chicken with crispy golden brown skin is ready to serve.
Baking a croissant is also a piece of cake with this buddy. You will start at baking mode and hold it for 20-25 minutes.
Air frying can fry your chicken wings and potatoes quickly and is also a healthier alternative for other traditional ways. Take potatoes, for example you will need at least 20 minutes to complete a crispy potato batch. But with this oven, you can have the same crunchiness within 9-10 minutes.
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