Air fryers are quickly becoming a must-have kitchen appliance. And why wouldn’t they be? They’re quick, easy to use and create some of the most delicious snacks that are both crunchy and healthy.
If you’ve just gotten your first air fryer – or are still choosing an air fryer – you’re probably super excited to get cracking and start creating your favourite crispy treats. But, before you start cooking up a storm with your new air fryer, be sure to take a look at these tips and tricks. They’ll definitely help make your air fryer cooking experience that much better.
- Give the basket a light spray of cooking oil
Yes, we know you’re probably getting an air fryer because you want to reduce your intake of oily, fried foods. However, giving the air fryer basket a light coating of olive oil or other cooking oil won’t cause any issues for you.
In fact, giving it a light greasing will make your life easier as it’ll prevent foods from sticking to the basket during cooking, making the cleaning process more manageable. It can also help give the cooked foods an ultra-crispy texture.
- Don’t cram too much food into the basket
This might seem like a no brainer, but trust us, there are people out there who will try to load up their air fryer basket with as much food as possible. Unfortunately, all this will do is leave you with soggy food.
It’s best to cook your food in batches, or you could look at getting a larger air fryer. This will guarantee you crunchy, delicious goodies to eat.
- Preheat your air fryer
Like an oven, preheating your air fryer is an excellent idea to ensure your food is evenly cooked. However, it’s not a definite that missing this step will leave you with soggy food – it’s something you’ll just have to test out yourself.
Even if your fryer does not offer a preheat option, you can simply run it for three or so minutes before cooking and voila, you have a preheated air fryer!
- Shake things up while you cook
Whether you’re cooking something in an oven, pan or air fryer, you’ll always need to rotate the food you’re preparing to make sure everything is evenly cooked.
So when it comes to smaller food items like fries, giving things a shake while cooking will shift things around and ensure your fries come out nice and crispy. Obviously, if you’re cooking larger items such as steaks or chicken pieces, you’ll simply need to grab a kitchen tong and flip it over.
- Invest in air fryer accessories
No matter what size air fryer you have, you’ll always find some or other funky accessory that will bring a new element to your cooking technique.
For larger air fryers, such as 16L sizes and up, you can get accessories such as baking pans which will allow you to make so many more amazing things in your air fryer.
- Avoid non-stick sprays
If you want to keep your air fryer in tip-top condition, stay away from non-stick aerosol sprays as they contain chemicals that can cause the interior coating of the air fryer to chip or flake off. This is why you should only use things like olive or vegetable oil to lightly grease the air fryer.
