Last Updated on May 19, 2023 by River Tree Farms
Air fryer ovens come in two main types: digital control and manual control types. The Cuisinart Air Fryer has both digital and manual versions.
You would face a dilemma in deciding whether to go for a digital air fryer. Or should you opt for a manual air fryer instead? The Cuisinart air fryer digital vs. manual debate is a never-ending one.
A manual is an excellent option for you who need something simple and easy to use. The Cuisinart Air Fryer Digital has many more settings. It allows you to choose from various foods and cooking times.
In this article, we will clear all your doubts and give you the details of both air fryers. So you can make the right decision for your family!
Why Buy a Cuisinart air fryer: Pros and Cons
Why should you buy any air fryers from Cuisinart company in the first place? Well, Cuisinart makes the best of kitchen appliances. And their air fryer line is no different. Here are some pros and cons of buying an air fryer from Cuisinart:
PROS:
- Large Capacity: It has a large capacity of 18 quarts compared to other air fryers. You can have a 12-inch pizza and 3 pounds of chicken wings.
- Versatility: It is a multi-functional air fryer with various presets. From broiling, baking, air frying, defrosting, roasting, bagel, grilling, and pizza. The wide temperature range greatly supports its versatility.
- It is easy to use: The control panels are easy to use, and it has an adjustable 60-minute timer thermostat.
- Safety features: Built-in auto shut-off senses when the air fryer is about to overheat. So it automatically shuts off.
- No preheating: It saves your time. No preheating is needed, as it achieves high temperatures fast.
- Accessories: The air fryer comes with essential accessories. These will help you cook almost anything you want in the air fryer. The accessories include an oven light, oven rack, baking pan, and air fryer rack/basket.
- Sturdy and durable: It is made of heavy-duty stainless steel. The build is strong and not prone to rust, thus durable.
- It is easy to clean: The air fryer has a non-stick interior coating, making it easy to clean.
CONS:
- Heavyweight and big: It is a bit heavy, especially lifting it around from its counter space.
- Noisy: The fan makes moderate noise.
What is the difference between a Cuisinart air fryer digital vs. manual?
- Controls
The Cuisinart air fryer digital has a digital control panel. It consists of an LCD screen (clock, timer, temperature, and cooking functions). It also has six buttons and a selector dial.
The Cuisinart air fryer manual has a manual control panel consisting of 4 knobs. These are for the toast-shade selector, cooking timer, preset, preset functions, and temperature. There is an interior light button too.
- Preset Functions
The Cuisinart air fryer digital has ten cooking functions. Air fry, dual cook, bake, broil, pizza, reheat, roast, toast, bagel, and warm. It also comes with extra cooking functions for
- Slow Cook,
- Braise,
- Defrost frozen foods, and
- Dehydrate.
The Cuisinart air fryer manual has7 cooking functions. Air fry, roast, broil, warm, convectional bake, convectional broil, and bake.
- Temperature
The Cuisinart air fryer digital has a temperature range of 80-450 Fahrenheit. It also has a customizable timer for each preset function. So, it can have a wider range of cooking functions.
The Cuisinart air fryer manual has an adjustable thermostat. The temperature range is 250-450 Fahrenheit. It doesn’t feature low temperatures and thus omits some low-temperature cooking functions.
- Dimensions
The Cuisinart air fryer Digital is slightly bigger, with a length of 17.00 by width and 21.73 by height of 15.76.
The Cuisinart air fryer manual has a dimension of 15.5 lengths by 16.00 weight by 14 height.
- Weight
Despite the larger Cuisinart air fryer Digital, it weighs less than the manual. The digital weighs 20.3 pounds, while the manual weighs 21 pounds.
Common Similarities of Cuisinart air fryer digital vs. manual
- Material
Both Cuisinart air fryers, digital and manual, are sturdy stainless steel. The interiors, like the air fryer baskets and grills, are non-stick. All the removable parts are dishwasher-safe.
- Accessories
The Cuisinart air fryer digital and manual have essential accessories. An Oven rack, Baking pan, Air fryer basket, and Crumb tray. These make cooking using the air fryer easier and a lot more convenient.
- Capacity
They are both large capacities of 18 quarts. That is considered a significant size in an air fryer. It can hold 12-inch pizza, 3 pounds of chicken wings, a 4-pound whole chicken, and six slices of bread.
- Features
Both air fryers have interior lighting. As well as a safety feature-auto shut-off. This prevents the overheating of the appliance. Therefore your food will never burn or overcook in these air fryers. They also both have an adjustable timer of 1 hour/60 minutes.
- Power
They have the same power of 1800 watts, powerful enough to cook your food in the air fryer using superheated air.
- Warranty
They have the same warranty of 3 years, such a long time to receive free repair from the manufacturer.
Cuisinart air fryer digital vs. manual: Quick Comparison Table
The Cuisinart Toaster Oven-60 and Cuisinart toa-65 digital air fryer are both excellent. Choosing between them can be hard from time to time. Specially when many features are similar in both of these ovens. For example, they both have:
- Advantages over conventional oven
- Nonstick coating on cooking baskets
- Limited 3-year warranty
- Preprogrammed settings for various types of food
- Capacity to roast a 4-pound chicken
| Air fryer model | Cuisinart toa-65 digital air fryer | Cuisinart toa-60 (manual) |
|---|---|---|
| Air fryer types | Digital air fryer ovens | Manual/analog air fryers |
| Control types | LCD screen Function dial Buttons | Manual dials/Knobs Button |
| Preset Functions | 10 (Air Fry, Bake, Broil, Pizza, Roast, Toast, Bagel, Reheat, Warm, Dual Cook) | 7 (Air Fry, Convection Bake, Broil, Convection Broil & Bake, Warm, Toast) |
| Added functions | Slow Cooker feature, Braise, Defrost, Dehydrate, Proofing | Not Specified |
| Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Coating | Non-stick | Non-stick |
| Heating Elements | n/a | 6 |
| Temperature range | 80-450°F | Warm to 450°F |
| Accessories | Oven Rack, Stainless Steel Basket, Baking Pan/Drip tray, Cooking instructions guide | Air fryer basket, Baking Pan/Drip Tray, and Oven Rack |
| Cooking Chamber Capacity | 18 Quart | 18 Quart |
| Auto shut-off | Yes | Yes |
| Interior lighting | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions | 17.0 by 21.73 by 15.76 inches | 15.5 by 16.00 by 14.00 inches |
| Weight | 20.3 Pounds | 21 pounds |
| Wattage | 1800 watts | 1800 watts |
| Surface installation | Countertop | Countertop |
Which Cuisinart air fryer is best: Verdict on digital vs manual?
I will say that these air fryers are great units with many similarities. They are both sturdy, easy to use, clean, high power, and versatile enough to cook various dishes.
However, which Cuisinart air fryer stands out, digital or manual? A digital gadget is always an improvement of the manual version itself. So without being biased, Cuisinart air fryer digital is best due to the following reasons:
- It has an easy-to-use digital LCD
- Its low-temperature settings allow the slow-cooking feature
- It has more preset cooking functions
- It weighs less than the manual
- It has a broader temperature range
- Suitable for even very low-temperature cooking
The Control Panel on Cuisinart toa-65 digital Air Fryer
The Cuisinart TOA-65 digital air fryer features a user-friendly control panel. We know that it includes several buttons and a blue backlit program dial. It also has an LCD digital display. It shows:
- the cooking functions,
- temperature,
- cooking and countdown timer,
- toast shade and slices,
- clock time,
- fan speed,
- and frozen settings.
The blue backlit dial is used to rotate to scroll through options on the LCD screen. Users have to press the center of the dial to confirm selections.
The control panel has six buttons, which are:
- “Frozen” button: Select this button when cooking or reheating frozen food. During using the Toast, Crumpets, Pizza, and certain Air Fry preset functions. The frozen icon will display on the LCD screen.
- “Super Convention” button: This button increases fan speed. It is used to set Bake, Grill, Roast, Proof, Slow, or Reheat settings. The Pizza setting is already preset with this. As well as Dehydrate and all Air Fry functions. When the icon is not showing, the normal convection fan speed is set.
- “Interior Light” button: Press the light button to have a clear view of the cooking progress. The light will turn off automatically after 20 seconds.
- “Air Fry” function button: Takes you directly to the Air Fry setting and Air Fry presets. Press again to toggle between other function menus.
- “Dual Cook” button: Use to program a two-stage cooking operation automatically.
- “Start/Stop” button: Use to start and stop cooking. The indicator will illuminate when cooking.
Is the Cuisinart air fryer toaster oven worth it?
Now that you know which one to choose, you may wonder, is this toaster oven with air fryer function worth it? The answer is yes! This air fryer is million times worth it than many expensive models. The reason why the Cuisinart air fryer toaster oven is worth it includes the:
- Its versatility: It is just one kitchen appliance that takes the role of many other gadgets.
- Food capacity: You can cook larger items and bigger portions of food in it.
- User Friendliness: It is straightforward to use with already preset cooking functions
- It is convenient as it cooks your food quickly compared to other traditional cooking methods.
- It has preset for almost every category of food.
- Safety features: Like the auto shut-off that prevents overheating of your appliance
- Its durable, sturdy nature: Made of stainless steel, which is robust and prone to rust. It is easy to clean as it is steel, and the interiors are non-stick coatings.
- Healthiest cooking: It cooks using superheated air instead of traditional deep-frying methods. Makes your fat consumption up to 80% less.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Cuisinart Toa-65 and 60?
The difference between Cuisinart Toa-65 and 60 is that-
- Cuisinart Toa-65 is a Digital AirFryertoaster oven. And Cuisinart Toa-60 is a manual air fryer toaster oven.
- The interface of the Cuisinart Toa-65 has a digital LCD control panel. While Toa-60 has a manual control panel.
- The Cuisinart Toa-65 has ten cooking functions, while Toa-60 has seven cooking functions.
- Cuisinart Toa-65 has a temperature range of 80-450F. And Toa-60 has a temperature range of 250F to 450F.
Can you use parchment paper in the Cuisinart air fryer?
Yes, you can use parchment paper in your Cuisinart air fryer. What is the use of parchment paper in an air fryer?
- It makes clean-up a breeze–The perforated parchment enhances the flow of air. At the same time avoid oils, grease, and even residuals in your air fryer. It makes cleaning easier.
- It protects your oven– Some oils and sticky substances would be hard to remove from the air fryer. The parchment will work as a protective unit from oily and sticky substances. It prevents messy reheats.
- Handwashing and dishwasher-safe- Parchment papers are made of human-safe silicon.
What should you avoid when using parchment paper in an air fryer?
Please do not put the parchment paper on during the preheating process, as it will fly inside the air fryer, getting caught in the heating elements. Put the parchment paper with ingredients inside the air fryer as you are ready to start the cooking process.
Can you grill in a Cuisinart air fryer?
Yes, you can grill in the Cuisinart air fryer easily and quickly. It has a double-sided grill and griddle plate, making grilling in your air fryer easy. You can perfectly sear your steaks and vegetables.
Is the Cuisinart air fryer easy to clean?
Yes, the Cuisinart air fryer is very easy to clean as it is pure stainless steel. The air fryer baskets, pans, and cooking accessories have non-stick coatings. That makes the fryer easier to clean. You can also clean efficiently as all the removable parts are dishwasher safe.
The crumb tray and interior can be wiped down with a damp cloth. The accessories such as the baking tray and rack should be removed and washed.
Clean the air fryer after each use to prevent any buildup of food debris or oil. This ensures it remains in good condition and hygienic.
Can You Use Aluminum Foil In Cuisinart Air Fryer?
Yes, you can use aluminum foil in Cuisinart Airfryer. You have to safely and correctly place it on the air fryer basket. So how do you put your aluminum foil on the air fryer basket?
Make sure you do not cover the sides of the basket but just the surface where you will place your food. The aluminum foil will catch fire if it comes into contact with the heating element of your air fryer.
On a positive note, the aluminum foil will keep your air fryer clean and free from oils and sticky residuals.
Can You Put A Plate In A Cuisinart Air Fryer?
Yes, depending on the heat resistance of the plate. The plate must withstand the very high heat reached in an air fryer of about 4000 F.
Conclusion
Are you still on the fence about which is better? The Cuisinart Air Fryer Digital or Manual? On Cuisinart air fryer digital vs. manual, both options have pros and cons.
The manual one is a good option for those looking for a low-cost way to get started in air frying. The digital version can be used for any food or recipe, not just fried foods like chicken wings or french fries.
So remember the information from the article and decide wisely.