The air fryer craze is currently on the top and it’s not going out of trend soon. It’s fast, easy to use, and delivers the perfect crispy fried food with a moist and chewy center.
But how much do we know about this handy appliance?
Not so much I guess. Because a few days ago, I was browsing through Quora and saw many air fryer-related questions asked by its users.
I have tried to answer a few of them but I am sure that does not cover all the air fryer curiosities. So I thought, why don’t we create an article with all the popular air fryer queries?
Because here in Homesguide, we created reviews of some of the most admired air fryers. Not to brag but at this point, we have known a great deal about this handy tool.
Now, here it is, we have crafted this 10 Things To Know About Your Air Fryer article with the 10 most asked air fryer-related questions. After reading this, we are sure, you won’t have any other questions left.
So without any further delay, let’s read this 10 Things To Know About Your Air Fryer guide and find out some interesting facts about your favorite appliance.
Is It Worth Getting An Air Fryer?
The biggest reason behind the air fryer craze is that an air fryer allows you to make crispy fried food with little to no oil required.
And apart from making the crunchiest meals, there are many benefits to owning and cooking with an air fryer. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Offers Healthy Food
First of all, using less oil makes food healthier and cheaper. So if you are currently on diet this could be a great option to eat less caloric food without sacrificing the taste.
Easy to Use
Next, using this appliance is super useful. In most cases, you don’t have to even touch your hefty oven. The appliance is compact so requires less space on the countertop and you can make any delicious meals with minimal effort.
Just place the food inside the air fryer, and relax. The air fryer will take care of everything and soon you will end up enjoying a delectable meal.
Faster than Oven
After that, an air fryer is faster than your kitchen oven. The reason is that air fryers are small appliances compared to your oven. Therefore, the food inside an air fryer gets direct heat and can reach a higher temperature quickly.
Highly Versatile
Most air fryers come with amazing features and functionalities. Like you can roast, broil, dehydrate, or even bake with your air fryer. And some dual-basket air fryers allow you to cook two different meals simultaneously for efficiency too. No wonder this saves so much time and effort.
Easy to Clean
Cleaning dishes is one of the most annoying tasks. But when it comes to an air fryer, the cleaning tasks are super minimal. You only need to clean the nonstick basket drawer. And most of them are dishwasher safe. Plus, as the appliance is compact maintaining tasks will be super easy too.
So long story short, if you love fast and delicious meals with the minimal effort possible then you should invest in an air fryer.
What Does An Air Fryer Really Do?
Simply put, an air fryer makes crispy fried food similar to a deep fryer. However, in a deep fryer, food is cooked by submerged in oil. On the other hand, an air fryer uses convection heat to cook food.
An air fryer has a heating element on top of the fryer basket and a fan. The heating element heats the air inside the fryer and the fan circulates that hot air on the food. As a result, the exterior of the food becomes crispy with tasty results.
The fryer basket or tray is usually perforated and it allows hot air to flow around food without restriction. This convection cooking method requires little oil or no oil at all but can still achieve crisp, golden-brown results.
How To Use An Air Fryer?
Using an air fryer to cook food is super easy. But if you are a beginner you may need some instruction to get the perfect result.
So let’s walk you through everything you need to know to get started with an air fryer.
Preheat the Air Fryer
Yes, you need to preheat your air fryer just like your oven. But don’t worry, preheating the air fryer takes only a little time, two to three minutes at best.
Some air fryers allow you to bypass the preheating, but we won’t recommend that. Because preheating the air fryer helps you cook food faster and more evenly.
Add Your Food
Adding the food may sound simple, but you need to be careful with this process. The air fryer cooks food with convection heat, therefore you need to make sure the fryer basket is not overcrowded with food. Otherwise, it may leave you with unevenly cooked food with some soggy and some crispy parts.
Always, place the food on the perforated frying plate, and evenly distribute them in a single layer.
Choose the Right Temperature
Choosing the right temperature is a vital step for cooking with an air fryer. This is why most air fryer now these days comes with preset temperature settings for air frying. However, you can also customize the preset temperature as per your need.
Note that, a general rule for determining the temperature is to lower the temperature by 25 degrees from the temperature that you would use if cooking in an oven.
But don’t worry about it too much as most air fryer comes with a booklet where it recommends temperatures for different foods, or you can follow recipes from trusted sources.
Flip or Shake Halfway Through Cooking
For even cooking results, you need to flip or shake the food ingredients halfway through cooking time. For small ingredients like french fries or tater tots, take out the fryer basket and give it a good shake.
And for meat recipes like burgers or chicken breasts, you need to flip them to get that nice golden brown finish and even cooking result.
Check the Food Before Finish Time
The most common beginner’s mistake is overcooking food. But you can avoid this by checking the food before its finishes time. Like 5 minutes before the finish time. And if you see the food is done as per your choice, you can turn off the machine and enjoy.
And it’s completely fine to pull out the basket for a peek. You can do this at any time during the cooking process. No need to shut off the air fryer, as most air fryers pause the cooking process when the basket is out.
What Are The Best Foods To Cook In An Air Fryer?
The air fryer offers a healthier cooking option compared to deep frying. And the good news is that by using an air fryer you can cook almost everything from meat, fish, or veggies.
Plus, it is perfect for making store-bought frozen snacks like French fries, chicken wings, and pizza rolls. So the possibilities are unlimited. Because there are thousands of air fryer recipes online, that you can try with your air fryer. And the whole cooking process is so easy that even the kids can do it.
That being said, let’s see some of the most popular recipes that work best with an air fryer.
Frozen Food
Store-bought frozen food like chicken wings, nuggets, tater tots, french fries, potato wedges, or pizza rolls turns out exceptionally great when you cook them with an air fryer. And as you don’t need to add oil to the frozen foods, it contains fewer calories. No need to hold yourself, when you are on a diet.
Meat
Burger, chicken breast, pork chops, lamb chops, and even steaks are some of the most popular dishes to make in an air fryer. Some large-capacity air fryers also allow you to make whole roasts in an air fryer. And undoubtedly all these recipes taste delicious.
Vegetables
Not everyone is a fan of veggies. But if you want to live a healthy life, there’s no way you can avoid them. Thanks to the air fryer, you can now make them tasty.
Winter or summer squash, root vegetables, broccoli or cauliflower florets, eggplant, asparagus, corn, and Brussels sprouts turn out fantastic in the air fryer.
Now that you know about some of the best food to cook in an air fryer. Let’s see what you shouldn’t cook in an air fryer.
- Wet battered foods
- Delicate leafy greens
- Popcorn
- Fried food with wet batter
- Rice and grains
- Cheese
- Fish
Is Air-Fried Food Healthy?
To be honest, the health benefits of air-fried food depend on what other cooking methods you are comparing it to.
Like, when compared to deep frying, air-fried food is a healthier option as it cuts down fat up to 70% to 80%. And this results in less inflammation, potentially decreasing the risk of chronic disease down the line. Therefore, it’s a good alternative to deep frying.
Apart from deep frying, the health benefits of air frying are quite similar to other cooking methods like grilling, steaming, and cooking in an oven.
Besides, the health benefits of air fryers also depend on the type of food too. If you are only consuming french fry with your air fryer, certainly it won’t be good for your body.
Therefore, when you cook with your air fryer, try to make more nutritious recipes with veggies, eggs, or meat.
Can You Cook Frozen Food In An Air Fryer?
Air-Fryers are perfect for cooking frozen foods. In fact, you don’t even need to defrost them. You can simply season frozen food like chicken or french fries and cook it in the fryer without any need to thaw it. You can also use store-bought frozen snacks like chicken wings or nuggets. Certainly, all of them will turn out absolutely delicious.
How To Clean An Air Fryer?
Cleaning an air fryer is super easy compared to any other cooking appliance. Most air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. But we wouldn’t recommend dishwashing as it can harm the nonstick coating of the basket.
So if you are not busy and want to keep the nonstick coating intact for a long time try to clean it manually. But don’t worry, manual cleaning requires only a little bit of effort.
Follow the next steps to clean your air fryer properly.
To hand wash the fryer basket first wipe off all the food residue with a paper towel. Once you are done, take a soft soapy sponge and clean the basket thoroughly. Be sure not to miss any spots.
Use a soft soapy brush to clean the perforated fryer plate.
Rinse off the fryer basket and plate under running water and dry it off with a dish towel.
For the air fryer interior, wipe it thoroughly with a damp cloth, including the heating element. If there’s too much food residue build-up, you can take little dish soap on the cloth. Then dry it completely with a dish towel.
Safety Measure:
Be sure to unplug the appliance before cleaning.
Make sure the appliance is completely cool, before starting the cleaning process.
Dry off the whole appliance (interior, fryer basket) completely before use.
Is An Air Fryer A Convection Oven?
An air fryer is a smaller version of a convection oven with a fancy name. Because, just like a convection oven, air fryers cook food with a convection cooking method. The resulting food comes out with a crispier outside and juicier inside.
But the main difference between them comes down to size. As the air fryers are smaller, they heat up to a more intense heat more quickly.
Therefore, food cooks faster in an air fryer and comes with a crispier finish compared to a convection oven. But you have to flip or shake the food halfway through cooking with an air fryer. And you have to cook in batches if you’re cooking for a crowd.
Can You Put Foil In An Air Fryer?
Although aluminum foil isn’t the most ideal cooking sheet to use in the air fryer, it is actually OK to use it. However, you have to maintain some safety protocols while using foil paper inside your air fryer.
First off, do not use it on top of the perforated fryer plate or basket. The perforated fryer plate or basket has optimal air flow in order to cook the food. But if you shut the holes, it’s very likely that you won’t get even cooking results. So aluminum foil should only go in the basket.
Next, acidic foods like tomatoes, peppers, or citrus can react with aluminum, so avoid using foil when air frying them. Marinades that contain vinegar or lemon juice also fall into this category.
Lastly, never preheat your air fryer with a foil-lined basket. Because, the foil paper could blow onto the heating element, overheat, and potentially start a fire.
Therefore, if you want to line your air fryer basket, the best option is to use a bare basket or one covered in perforated parchment paper is the best option.
What is the Best Air Fryer?
Here are our top picks of the best air fryers for every kind of kitchen with the best price deals possible.
- Ninja AF161 Max Xl Air Fryer – Best Overall Small Air Fryer
- Ninja DZ201 Foodi 2-Basket Air Fryer – Best Double Basket Air Fryer
- Instant Vortex Plus XL 8 Quart Air Fryer – Best Design Double Basket Air Fryer
- Instant Vortex 9-Quart Air Fryer – Best Large Air Fryer
- Cosori 6.8-Quart Air Fryer Dual Blaze – Best Air Fryer With Voice Command
- COSORI Air Fryer 4 Qt – Most Compact Air Fryer
- Ninja AF101 Air Fryer – Best Air Fryer Under 100 Bucks
Bottom Line
Undoubtedly, air fryers are handy kitchen appliances for enjoying delicious meals with minimal effort. It takes less space on the countertop and when not in use you can easily put it in the cupboard.
In this article, we tried to set out the most common air fries quires for you. If you found the answer you were looking for, then it was not our wasted effort.
If you still have any other air fryer questions, you can also contact us here.
