Why you should never cook these six things in an air fryer

What should you not cook in an air fryer?

Here are six things you should avoid cooking in your air fryer.

1. Cheese

Melted gooey cheese might make the perfect comfort food, but it shouldn’t be cooked in an air fryer. The cheese melts quite quickly, so if you place it under really high heat in your air fryer, you’ll probably end up with burnt cheese.

2. Sauces and liquids

Air fryers are made for frying solid food, not liquid sauces. The pressure from the air can cause the liquids to spray around in your basket, leading to all sorts of damage to your appliance. If you want to cook with sauce, use your oven or stovetop.

While some people suggest adding water to the basket and turning it on for a few minutes to clean it, it’s not recommended. Here are some other ways toclean your air fryer.

3. Battered foods

Similar to the above point, trying to cook wet batter in an air fryer won’t work and will, in fact, make a mess. If you are craving battered food, cook it in the frying pan.

4. Fresh greens

Yes, you can cook veggies in your air fryer as long as they are heavy enough to stay in the basket once the machine has turned on. So that leaves out things like lettuce, spinach and kale.

You might be able to make kale chips if enough oil is used, but it’s probably best to avoid the air fryer. Other vegetables like broccoli and beans can also dry out if cooked in an air fryer. If you want to cook broccolini, this is the best way to do it.

5. Roast chicken

If your air fryer is big enough to cook a roast chicken, that doesn’t mean you should. The top of your roast will likely burn while leaving other parts undercooked. And nobody wants to eat unevenly cooked chicken.

6. Popcorn

Although air frying popcorn sounds like a healthy snack, it’s unlikely your appliance can do the job. Not to mention, it’s possible the kernels will fly around and become lodged in your air fryer, causing big problems later on.

Tips for air frying

Best air fryer

Finding the best air fryer to invest in can be tricky. With so much on the market right now, you want to ensure you’re putting your hard-earned money into something worthwhile.

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