air fryeroil-free fryer, air fryer,… In recent months you have not heard of anything else and it is most likely that, by now, you are an expert when it comes to handling this small convection oven house that is giving us so much joy.
Their versatility -they allow you to cook practically any food- and the fact that they significantly reduce the overall calorie intake These are two of its great advantages, but it is true that we cannot introduce anything inside it.
So if you want prolong the life of your air fryer, that if you know how to use it is going to become an essential appliance in your day to day life, take note of the recommendations that we are going to give you below. Although many of them are pure intuition.
Zero tolerance for liquids
With this we are not saying that you cannot marinate your meat or fish, which is actually something we highly recommend because the results are wonderful. What we mean is that you cannot introduce these foods without having drained them well before placing them in the basket of your air fryer. In other words, there should never be moisture inside your appliance.
What you have to avoid at all costs is introduce a liquid directly. That is, you cannot make soups, creams or beans, or prepare any stew that has broth. You also can’t work with very wet foods or that need a lot of water to cook.
If you do any of these things, you will make two mistakes. On the one hand, you will be excessively dirtying your air fryer and, on the other, you will be buying a lot of ballots to end up damaging your appliance. In addition, you must always keep in mind that the idea is that the food is cooked for the shortest possible time and an excess of water would do is that, in addition to taking much longer to cook, it will end up drying out.
And, of course, it goes without saying that you can, and should, spray a little oil without any problem about any food you want to cook. In this case, your thing is to use a spray to spray oil.
Melted cheese? Yes, but not in any way
Who doesn’t enjoy any recipe twice as much when two fingers of grated cheese are added to it? What happens is that for make some cheese fingersor any other batter/breading you want to cook in the air fryer, you’re going to have to always make sure the flour or breadcrumbs are very well adhered to the product per se. If not, rest assured that you are going to spend a good time thoroughly cleaning the inside of the device.
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And that’s not the worst, in case the air manages to lift part of that flour, breadcrumbs or panko, we could have a problem if those bits end up sticking to the heating element. So now you know, try thoroughly press the batter on the food before you start cooking it if you don’t want to get a scare.
Silver foil, yes or no?
Although it is quite common to find biscuit recipes or toasted nuts in which aluminum foil is used, our mission is to recommend that you try to avoid its use. Whether you are looking for cover the base of your fryerto prevent it from getting dirty and full of fat, as if what you want is to cover a cake on top (so that the surface does not brown too much), you should not use silver paper.
In the first case you will cause air not to circulate in the correct way, which will also cause the food to not cook properly. In the second, it is likely that at some point the aluminum foil will come into contact with the resistance, and you know that it is best that there is never anything near it. It is much more recommended that you use perforated baking paper, which you can find in many places right now. Of course, make sure it is the size of the basket of your fryer.
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In case you use the aluminum foil, you must make sure that it stays well hooked, or by the food itself, or by the container in which the food is found (cake pan, for example). But it is best to avoid unnecessary risks.
Accessories not compatible with the air fryer
Although it may seem obvious, there are accessories that, far from making your life easier, can lead to a serious problem with your appliance. And we are not saying this because of the material with which they have been manufactured, since you will be able to use without problem all those of metal, glass, crystal, silicone, clay or aluminumbut by the way we work with them.
In other words, the important thing is not that the material is not compatible, but that the let’s move or drag roughly when it is inside the air fryer. Why? Very simple, because this can cause the non-stick layer to be scratched and, consequently, stop fulfilling its function.
We hope that from now on you can continue to take advantage, in complete safety, of this appliance that is not only used to make French fries and chicken wings. and remember this Golden Rule for when you have doubts about what can or cannot be put inside. You can place anything inside your air fryer that you usually put in a conventional oven. It’s that simple, don’t complicate your life!
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