If you’re looking for a convenient, energy-efficient and health conscious way to heat up food, you can’t do much better than an air fryer – the innovative kitchen appliance that cooks using hot air.
The handy appliance’s popularity continues to grow around the country as well as in Europe and the US, spawning an industry of air fryer-friendly cookbooks, influencers and social media pages.
You’d be forgiven for assuming that the compact convection oven was capable of heating up any food – but experts have warned that putting the wrong thing in your air fryer can do serious harm to the would-be meal or the appliance itself.
While chips, bacon and other popular air fryer fare are safe bets, the team at lifestyle brand Real Simple have compiled a list of 10 foods you should avoid chucking in that cooking drawer.
Shellfish
The downside of the air fryer cooking method of circulating hot air around the compartment using a fan is that it can affect the texture of foods in a way that’s different from conventional cooking.
This is certainly the case with shellfish – which become strangely rubbery when heated up in the modern appliance, losing that crunchy and soft seafood tang.
Leafy greens
Air fryers might boost health by enabling oil-free cooking but that doesn’t mean it’s geared towards warming up all the traditionally brain-friendly foods.
Vegetables like spinach and broccoli become alternately soggy and rock-hard compared to their stove or microwaved-cooked counterparts.
Cheese
Cheese on toast lovers are best off sticking to the grill. Another snack that falls foul to air fryer’s modern heating method, cheese will be heated up at a different speed to the rest of the dish, experts warn – potentially resulting in a “huge gooey mess”.
Meat on the bone
The odd chicken leg should be fine, but a sizable cut of meat on the bone could push your air fryer to its breaking point. The meat may not be cooked all the way through and no one wants to be left unsure of what’s safe to eat and what’s not.
Sauces and batters
One that will hurt your air fryer more than your taste buds, sauces and batters are all well and good to air fry – until you have to think about cleaning up.
If you don’t manage to do a thorough cleaning job, the remnants of your sauce could fester in the appliance, resulting in an unhygienic and smelly contraption that hardly bears thinking about.
Breaded and battered foods
Another cautionary cleaning tale, battered and breaded foods like fish and chicken can be popular air fryer options – but are liable to disintegrate while being cooked.
This could make for a messy and hard to clean interior, as well as a less than satisfactory cooking experience.
Popcorn
Popcorn fans are advised to pop their kernels in a pan or on the microwave rather than experimenting with air frying – not only because there’s no guarantee that the appliance will get hot enough to achieve the desired effect, but for another, more serious reason too.
Experts warn that tiny kernels can become lodged in the air fryer’s heating system, running the risk of short circuiting and possibly destroying your new pricey mini oven.
Uncooked grains
It’s worth remembering that air frying is best placed to replace conventional frying – not boiling.
While reheating cooked grains like rice and couscous is all well and good, trying to cook their raw counterparts will get you nowhere – and again, could be a pain to extract from hidden spots and crevices.
Well-cooked hamburgers
While you can just about get away with cooking hamburgers in the air fryer, you’re running the risk of overcooking and ruining what could be a rare and juicy chunk of meat.
Popping it in the appliance and closing the drawer means you can’t count on what will come out, so if in doubt you’re probably better choosing the grill.
Baked goods
Baked goods are another example of where reheating works, but cooking from scratch is an entirely unrealistic option.
While specified air fryer baking is surely a burgeoning trend somewhere on the internet, the majority of recipes are not designed to be made in the small appliance. Maybe one day!