Imagine being able to eat fried food, without having to fry it in a ton of oil. Having an air fryer made this possible for people that can’t steer clear from their fried cravings. An air fryer is the best appliance to have if you want to stay away from all the fat around fried food but wants a similar texture and taste.
There are however some do’s and don’ts that will make your time using an air fryer much easier.
The Do’s
Use Your Air Fryer To Reheat Food
If you have an air fryer, then you need to stop using your microwave to reheat food and leftovers and start to use your air fryer instead. This will ensure that your food retains its flavor and, unlike microwaves, will not make your food soggy or lose its texture. Unlike reheating your food on the stove, an air fryer will take very little time to have your food ready.
Shake Basket to Move Food
Sometimes, an air fryer needs a bit of help to ensure that everything is browned evenly. By simply shaking the basket around a bit, you will ensure that your food is evenly cooked. This way every bite is as good as the last.
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Keep an Eye on Food
Frying food using an air fryer is less dangerous than frying using oil; however, that does not mean you should leave your air fryer without any supervision for long when it is in use. Keeping an eye on food will ensure that it is not overcooked and you can easily take action if you see smoke coming out due to too many fats burning.
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Stick to Food That is Not Coated with Batter
Avoid food coated with batter at all costs. You can instead use the air fryer with food that is breaded. This will make the cooking process easier and a lot less messy. It will also save you loads of time trying to clean up after you are done frying the food.
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Use it to Roast or Bake
Air fryers are not just made to fry food. You can use them to bake or roast different types of food too. This depends on what type of air fryer you have and respective capacity. For example, if you want to roast a whole chicken, then you may want to consider getting a larger one.
Appliance experts at https://appliancereviewer.co.uk/best-air-fryers/ advise consumers to not rush on making any decision and take all the time they need to research which size, brand, and features they would want. You’ll be well to know that there are variants that can roast a whole chicken and some that you may have to cut the chicken down into smaller pieces.
One great option if you want to be roasting large pieces of meat, would be a model that has a rotisserie feature.
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Use Inserts When Needed
If you decide to bake a cake in your air fryer (yes, it is possible), it is better to have inserts on hand so that it is baked perfectly. Inserts come in different kits or individually depending on what kind of air fryer you have. You can even find an insert to use when you want to cook hard-boiled eggs using your air fryer.
The Don’ts
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Don’t Overcrowd
Sometimes, impatience gets the best of us and we think that overcrowding food to cook a larger amount will cut down cooking time, however, this can be quite detrimental. Instead of making more food in less time, overcrowding will make all your food unevenly browned, if at all. You may also be risking the efficiency of your air fryer in the future since overcrowding will mess with the flow of the air inside the air fryer.
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Don’t Use Non Stick Aerosol Spray
No one wants their food to get stuck in their air fryer cooking basket; to avoid this from occurring you can use a small amount of oil. Do not use a non-stick aerosol spray because it can damage the non-stick coating on your air fryer basket and inserts. If you have no other option than an aerosol spray, you can spray the food itself before getting it anywhere near the air fryer basket.
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Foods Requiring Liquid to Cook is a No
While an air fryer can be used for other cooking processes such as baking and roasting, unfortunately, you cannot use it to cook grains or pasta since they require a large amount of liquid to be heated until boiling.
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Don’t Clean in a Dishwasher
It is important to clean your air fryer after using it. To protect your air fryer inserts’ non-stick layer, you cannot use a dishwasher to wash them. You also need to clean the air fryer itself by hand, since it can get damaged if you use a dishwasher to clean it thoroughly.
Being aware of these do’s and don’ts you will be able to properly use your air fryer. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different foods and to look for different recipes online for air fryers but remember that not all air fryers are going to be able to cook everything, so choose carefully.
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Interesting related article: “Boosting your game in the kitchen.”