Before you jump on the bandwagon, learn which items you can’t cook in the air fryer.
Nowadays, you can air fry nearly anything. Why would you not want to? There’s a good reason why everyone seems to have one of these kitchen gadgets, and why one individual utilized their air fryer every day for two weeks to discover a whole new way of eating. Air fryers may mimic the effects of deep-frying by using strong hot air and a small amount of oil. You don’t have to save crispy snacks for evenings out and state fairs with this healthier option. But given that so many things may be prepared in an air fryer using simple tools like foil or parchment paper, you might be wondering: what we can’t cook in the air fryer? Because not all meals are suited for the kitchen gadget, we investigated this often-asked question. Before you start cooking with our recommended air fryers of 2022, make sure you know how to clean your air fryer and how to prevent frequent air fryer blunders.
01. Cheese
Who wouldn’t want to prepare some fried cheese right away? Unfortunately, since your air fryer isn’t cooking your food, we can’t cook in the air fryer because the cheese you put inside will just melt into a puddle and make a mess you don’t want to clean up. Unless you scrounge the freezer section for some frozen mozzarella sticks, your air fryer will not produce any fried cheese.
It also applies to grilled cheese, which will most likely burn due to the hot air’s massive pressure. For this traditional comfort dinner, stick to the stovetop.
02. Fresh grains
Grains like rice and pasta crisp well in an air fryer, but they must first be cooked on the stovetop. Because air fryers are designed to dry cook food, attempting to prepare anything that requires immersion in water throughout the cooking process will fail. Even if your air fryer has a water reservoir, you can’t cook in the air fryer because the fan will never get hot enough to boil the water and finish cooking your grains.
03. Battered foods
Do not use wet batter in the air fryer. It’ll make a sloppy mess, and the wet batter won’t solidify as it does when bathed in oil, so the dish won’t have that crispy crust. Coat your dish with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs to add a little crispiness and make it perfectly brown every time.
However, you can cook in the air fryer. If a battered dish is pre-fried and frozen, it is safe to use in an air fryer.
03. Fresh greens
You can’t cook in the air fryer because the machine utilizes high-speed air, leafy plants like spinach may cook unevenly. It’s quite simple to burn meals that don’t mention. Pick veggies with some mass, such as broccoli and zucchini, to cook in the air fryer. If you cover the kale in enough oil to make the leaves droop, you could also have luck making kale chips. In the end, experts agree that since they retain more moisture from the ice, frozen vegetables are best for air fryers. This is simply one of those unexpected food facts.
04. Whole Roasts
The main concern when we cook in the air fryer to prepare a full roast is whether or not the roast will fit completely within the air fryer’s basket. Regardless of whether the meat does fit, it’s recommended to use the standard oven. The roast won’t cook in an equal manner, and by the time the portion that is furthest from the fire is safe to eat, the one that is closest to it will probably be burned.
Everything boils down to congestion. Because hot air needs space to circulate, it’s best to cook the roast in smaller pieces. Since air fryers heat from the top, while preparing a chicken, be careful to position the breast face down with the skin facing up.
05. Popcorn
Before microwaving popcorn and boxed, ready-made popcorn bags, people had to add kernels and oil to a saucepan to make homemade popcorn. Although an air fryer chamber seems to be comparable to an enclosed pot, an air fryer normally does not become hot enough to pop popcorn. The temperature of an air fryer is normally between 350 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit, while popcorn requires a temperature of between 400 and 460 degrees Fahrenheit to pop, so it seems it’s not a good idea to cook in the air fryer the popcorn.
06. Hamburgers
Maybe you like to cook in the air fryer a mouthwatering hamburger, but air fryers aren’t exactly made for grilling red meat, particularly if you want your burgers medium-rare. Though an air fryer cooks the middle of beef to medium-rare in a very short period, the exterior of the burger does not brown as rapidly. If you want your meat to be juicy and red, an air fryer will not provide the char that balances it out. However, if you prefer your burgers cooked to perfection, an air fryer should suffice.
07. Toast
With all of its uniformly distributed hot air, an air fryer should toast a slice of bread quite effectively. You may have heard of air fryer kitchen hacks praising the device’s capacity to toast bread. However, the strong air pressure will cause the bread to move around and scatter crumbs all over the basket. It is critical to understand that an air fryer is not a toaster oven. When you want a crispy slice of bread, stick to toasters and toaster ovens.
