Those with a more intimate Christmas planned this year are turning to the air fryer to cook those all-important festive recipes.
When you can cook everything from a turkey crown to pigs in blankets, stuffing and all the vegetables in one, it’s easy to see why many turn to this appliance.
It’s well-known that air fryers are more efficient and cost much less to run. But with all that use over Christmas, it’s vital to keep it clean to ensure food tastes its best and the air fryer stays in tip-top working condition.
Nancy Emery, Cleaning expert at Tap Warehouse, said: “If you’re cooking multiple dishes on the same day like you would at Christmas then you want to clean your air fryer properly in between recipes. This is because the fat, juices or crumbs that naturally occur during the cooking process can impair the flavour of the dishes you cook after.
“But also if left in the tray while you cook another dish, they will burn, harden and become really difficult to remove.”
Nancy Emery noted that it’s best to use liners in air fryers as this will make the clean-up a much easier process.
However, for those who don’t have them, the expert has shared a “foolproof” step-by-step guide on how to clean them.
The first step is to turn off the appliance and leave it to cool if it has just been used.
Next, fill the sink with hot soapy water. Express.co.uk found the cheapest dish soap on the market retails for 55p at Morrisons.
Remove the basket and pop the tray and any other air fryer accessories in the sink to soak.
Wipe around the basket with a kitchen towel to remove any loose food, dirt and grease.
Wash in warm soapy water. Nancy recommends using a traditional washing-up pad that has a soft sponge and scourer side as using too much force could scratch the surface of the fryer. Do the same with the tray and any other accessories.
Then wipe over the air fryer components with a clean soft cloth. Afterwards, get a clean microfibre or soft cloth and soak it in warm water to wipe around the inside of the air fryer where the basket sits.
You can even wipe around the heating element as long as it is completely cool before doing so.
For those opening up a new air fryer on Christmas, there’s a simple hack to get rid of that new, plastic smell before you use it.
The expert instructed: “Take a normal oven-safe dish and fill it with white vinegar and lemon juice, then place the bowl inside the basket and run it on a high heat – around 220 degrees – for 10 minutes and that should do the trick.”
