10 Helpful Tips And Tricks For Anyone Who Owns An Air Fryer
We all love gorging on fried food even if we feel a twinge of guilt later on. The amount of oil used can be construed as a health hazard, thus making us feel guilty about our eating choices. However, this feeling of guilt disappeared with the last plate of samosas cooked in your brand new Air Fryer. This product not only fries your dishes, making them simply delectable, it also uses nothing but hot air to make your dish just as crispy. These Air Fryers use a fan and a heating mechanism to cook the ingredients you place in the basket. You know you are leading the good life when you can feast on your favourite fried food, without it even being fried. As with every appliance we use in our everyday life, there are certain tips and tricks that can enhance your usage of an air fryer as well. In this blog, we shall talk about ten interesting tips and tricks to make the best use of your smart air fryer.
1. Preheat Your Air Fryer
It is common practice to preheat cooking appliances before you start cooking in them. This improves the efficacy of your air fryer, when it comes to cooking. If an air fryer does not come with a preheat option, you can set it to the desired temperature and let the air fryer run for a few minutes. This will improve the quality of the food prepared as well.
2. A Minimal Amount of Oil Can Be Used
While air fryers make your food crispy and delicious without the use of oil, a minimum amount of oil can improve the crispiness. The hot air released into the chamber does a fine job making your dish as amazing as it would be, had it been fried in oil. However, with a tiny addition of oil in an air fryer, the output will make you happier than you realise. The amount of oil used is barely anything, so it is negligible and you can maintain your diet without feeling guilty!
3. Grease Your Air Fryer Basket
Sometimes, you may decide that your dish does not require oil. However, it is wiser to always grease the basket with a bit of oil first. This ensures that your food does not stick to the base of the basket. This is more essential when it comes to dishes like meat, as they typically tend to stick to the surface of the basket. The hassle of cleaning up your air fryer becomes all the more easier once you have taken a few moments to grease the basket.
4. Never Use Aerosol Spray to Clean Your Air Fryer
While most of us use liquid soap or a bar of soap to wash our appliances after use, some tend to use aerosol spray. It is best to avoid this spray when it comes to cleaning out your air fryer. This spray does not mix well with the materials used to make the air fryer, and it causes the air fryer to chip. In order to avoid a messier situation to clean up, and probably a lot more to fix your fryer, it is just best to clean out your air fryer with either liquid soap or a bar of soap.
5. Do Not Fill the Basket Completely
As with every device, there is an optimal way to cook your food with an air fryer as well. Never overcrowd your basket, as it leaves no room for the hot air to circulate. As you know, an air fryer requires hot air to fry the ingredients and make it crispy. When the basket is overcrowded, there is no space for the air, and as a result, your food is not cooked to it's absolute perfection. It is best to split up the ingredients and cook them in batches. This way, each time your air fryer is used, it is used to its full potential and your food comes out amazing.
6. Shake Your Basket While Cooking
When cooking smaller items like French fries, it is very helpful to shake the basket to ensure it cooks evenly. Even if you take it out for a quick moment to shake the basket, it will resume cooking at the same temperature as soon as you put it back in. This way, each fry is crispy and delicious when it is taken out. While it may seem like a bit of a tedious task, the result alone makes it worth it.
7. Use Oil Half Way through the Preparation
Whatever dish you may be making in an air fryer, it is really helpful to spray oil on it half way through the process. Some dishes, like fatty meat, may not require this. That is not to say that this is not helpful. If you are frying something coated in flour and a part still remains uncooked halfway through the process, spray some oil on that part. This trick ensures the food cooks evenly, and comes out as a treat to see and taste!
8. Use Some Water in the Base to Stop Smoke
Sometimes, when preparing a particular dish, you may notice a bit of white smoke. This is nothing to worry about, it just means you are probably cooking something greasy like bacon. However, if this smoke bothers you, it can be stopped. Just add two table spoons of water to the base of the fryer and that should cease the smoke. Some people even place a piece of bread at the bottom. Bread is used to soak up the grease.
9. Beware of Cooking Light Weight Items in Your Fryer
The most integral part of an air fryer is the fan. This fan is responsible for pushing hot air into the basket, thereby frying the ingredients. If an ingredient that weighs less is put in the basket, it may get sucked up into the fan. This may cause the fan to malfunction. It is simple to make a judgement call and decide what can be cooked in your air fryer and what can not. This moment of thinking may help increase the lifetime of your deep fryer.
10. Every Dish Has a Specific Temperature
While some people may think they can just set their air fryer to the maximum temperature, and let it cook your food faster, this may be an extremely unwise step to take. Some dishes get burnt to a crisp, while others may dry out and become inedible. Make sure you check what temperature each dish needs to be cooked at, and adhere to that. This will result in you gorging on delicious crispy food, much better than an overcooked dish. Take your time, set the right temperature, and just let your air fryer work its magic.
When it comes to making delicious fried dishes, and sticking to a diet, the Robocook Fryo tops the list of best Air Fryers. You can make fried items without any oil, or just a minimal amount of it. There are some tricks of the trade that will increase the longevity of using your air fryer. Through this blog, we have gone through ten such tips and tricks for you to check out the next time you use your air fryer. These tips are sure to make your life easier.
June 1, 2021
John