With the market flooding with new kitchen gadgets every other day, the kitchen gadgets industry has boomed with products that make our kitchen lives easier and hassle-free. With the focus more on healthy cooking lately, there is one kitchen gadget that has received all the love from around the globe: the popular air fryer.
The air fryer is considered a saviour for all those who want to eat healthy without sacrificing the taste of their meals. This particular reason has made air fryers a favourite among households. Although an air fryer is more expensive than your conventional kitchen equipment, its price is surely worth it with the benefits that it brings to the table.
It is also called an air fryer convection oven at times, but it is popularised simply by the name air fryer. An air fryer is a countertop device that helps you cook food that is crispy and perfectly golden-fried, like those food-chain foods, without the use of tons of oil. Making it an extremely healthy alternative to traditional frying, where the food is completely dipped in oil.
An air fryer works by rapidly circulating hot air throughout its interior. A fan pumps heated air around food in a perforated tray or basket, similar to a convection oven. Because all of the meal's surface regions are exposed to hot air, the food cooks to become crispy on all sides without being soaked in hot oil.
Now that you know what exactly an air fryer is, the following are the tips that will help you get the most out of your device in this beginner's guide:
Preheat The Air Fryer
The same way you would when using an oven, preparing the air fryer by preheating is a great way to start your air fryer recipes. The main purpose of this is that preheating often leads to better results and more even cooking, as the air fryer would already be heated from all sides by the time you put your food in it.
Avoid Overcrowding
The air fryer, despite being a revolutionary gadget, is usually small in size. It means you have to be careful how much food is in it in one go. It is always advisable to avoid overcrowding of food in order to prevent the food from coming out raw and unevenly cooked. To ensure this doesn't happen, add limited food and let the heat circulate better in the air fryer.
Make Sure Your Food Is Dry
This is an essential step that you need to be careful of every time you use an air fryer. It is always recommended to put your foods dry in the air fryer simply because it will lead to crispier outcomes, which many people love. Another issue with putting excessive liquids and foods inside the air fryer while also causing smoke at times. Therefore, always use a paper towel to dry the ingredients before putting them in the air fryer basket to prevent any unwanted results.
Say No To Wet Batters
As mentioned above, the air fryer doesn't do too well when it comes to liquid ingredients, and the batter is one of them. It is highly advised to not put wet batters in an air fryer to avoid any unwanted mess, as an air fryer is not designed to handle ingredients like batter, and putting them in the air fryer will only create a mess for you later on.
Maintain Hygiene
Although this seems like a small step, this one goes far. Always put parchment or butter paper on the air fryer basket when you are cooking. This will ensure proper hygiene while also not letting the air fryer come directly into contact with the food. Apart from that, it also prevents the food from sticking to the basket.