As air-fryers are becoming more and more popular in people’s kitchens, there are some essential tips and tricks that every user of these appliances should know. Many people use their air-fryers in very limited ways, not knowing that there are a whole lot of things that can be done with them! So, here are some tips and tricks you should know if you’re an air-fryer user.
Preheat
Preheat your air-fryer before placing your item inside it. Set the air-fryer to the appropriate temperature and preheat it for some time. This prevents food from being undercooked.
Grease the air-fryer basket
To make sure that no food sticks to the inside of your air-fryer, grease it with safflower or soya bean oil. These oils are ideal for air-fryers as the inside of the air-fryer can reach high temperatures.
Avoid non stick aerosol cooking spray
A lot of market-bought cooking sprays contain additives that can cause harm to or damage the air-fryer’s inner nonstick coating. You can ditch them and use a spray can with your oil inside.
Add water to the basket for cooking fatty foods
Fatty foods (like bacon, burgers, meatballs, etc.) can cause smoking inside the air-fryer since the fat from it can collect in the basket and heat up. To prevent this from happening, you can add water to the basket before cooking. This doesn’t let smoke form. You can also use the leftover dripping to make gravies and sauces!
Keep moving the items in the basket
For even cooking of all your food, be it protein or veggies, make sure that you’re flipping them continually. For meat or fish, flip them on both sides so that they are evenly cooked and browned. For vegetables, keep moving them in the basket to assure even browning.
Don’t overcrowd the basket
The basket has little space inside it, so make sure you’re not crowding the inside of the air-fryer. Put the items inside the fryer in parts. Overcrowding the basket will result in uneven cooking of the food. The food won’t brown evenly, or even be cooked properly.
Use foil for easy cleaning
Place your messy food items on a foil sheet or a sheet of parchment paper instead of directly placing them in the tray. This way, your air-fryer will be easier to clean, not get too messy, and you won’t have to wash the tray every time you want to place a new item in it.
Give it some space
The air-fryer needs ample space to generate hot air circulation inside it. So, make sure to leave at least 5 inches of space on all sides of the air-fryer so that it can get proper airflow.
Don’t use a dishwasher to clean it
Avoid a dishwasher while cleaning your air-fryer as they can damage its parts. Let it cool down for a while and gently clean the basket and drawer simply with soap and water. If there’s smoke coming out of your air-fryer while using it, it indicates that there’s grease build-up inside it that needs to be cleaned.
Baking
Many people think that air-fryers can only be used for frying. That is a common misunderstanding. Air-fryers can also be used as a convection oven for baking. You can bake your protein or a delicious dessert in your air-fryer if you wish!
Keep these tips in handy while cooking your next meal in an air-fryer! Did you know any of these tricks?
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