Eli5 what’s the difference between convection cooking in an oven and an air fryer?

Question

Aren’t both methods just moving around hot air with a fan ?

In: 10

Answer 1

The difference is in how the heat is transferred to food.

In a traditional oven, the air in contact with the food cools very quickly. This happens because the heat is transferred to the food and also because the surface of the food contains traces of water. Water keeps the temperature at 100 C° until it evaporates completely.

In a air fryer, the fan replaces the cool air with hot air. It also replaces wet air with dry air. This makes the surface of the food crispy like in a fryer