Operating kitchen appliances can be daunting for the inexperienced due to the complex controls and an inevitable learning curve to get to the right heat and timer settings, especially for myself where I am admittedly a newbie cook.
However, in a short span of less than one year, I have gone from having zero experience using an air fryer to falling in love with my air fryer with its fast and fuss-free handling. The air fryer now lives permanently on my kitchen countertop with its heavy daily usage!
If you are still unsure about the best air fryer for you, check out our 10 best air fryer reviews and find out more about the different air fryer model options available for you.
10 Common Air Fryer Mistakes
With my added interest in air fryers, let us debunk 10 myths about an air fryer in maximising the potential of this small but mighty kitchen appliance.
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1. Your food gets fried in an air fryer
An air fryer makes use of high-temperature rapid heat circulation to cook the food, while the actual deep frying process requires the use of hot oil to saturate the food. In fact, an air fryer works just like an oven with the hot air element, hence an air fryer bakes your food instead of frying it.
However, the food that you cook in an air fryer will get a crispy outer layer that you will otherwise get out of a deep fryer.
2. You get healthier food with an air fryer
Since an air fryer is often compared to a deep fryer, hence the food you cook with an air fryer uses lesser oil and appears seemingly “healthier” as a result. That said, it is best to bear in mind the actual use of base ingredients, as air-frying processed food will not make the food more wholesome or nutritious.
Getting healthier food from an air fryer does not equate to healthy eating, as air-fried food will not match up to roasted, grilled, baked, or even steamed food in terms of healthy eating.
3. You do not need to use oil
If you are air-frying meat that already comes with natural oil and fats, like pork belly, then you can avoid adding more oil. For other food that you wish to explore air frying, perhaps broccoli or home-made potato chips, then it will be best to apply a thin coat of oil on the food for better taste results and in achieving the crispy golden brown outer layer while retaining moisture in food.
You should only apply the oil directly on the food and avoid having oil in the air fryer basket.
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4. You need a longer cooking time with an air fryer
Frozen chicken nuggets will cook in approximately 15 minutes when you use an air fryer, but it will take up to 25 minutes of cooking time in a conventional oven.
Standard air fryers are categorised under small kitchen appliances and they come with smaller basket capacities. If you are cooking for a large family of more than 4 pax, then you may find it more challenging to cook with an air fryer, as you may have to split the food and cook them in additional batches.
Nevertheless, we are seeing more options with air fryers in XXL sizes that have up to 8 L food baskets available in the market that is ideal for larger family sizes. Air fryers today have also been upgraded to an air fryer oven form, where they can hold a good amount of food up to 27 L volume.
5. You have to preheat your air fryer
Larger volume ovens typically require a preheating time of up to 15 minutes. However, a compactly sized air fryer will easily take about 1 to 3 minutes to heat up, allowing you to skip the preheating step entirely.
You can even drop your frozen food in the basket to cook conveniently from the get-go, without the hassle of defrosting.
6. You can replace an oven with an air fryer
It will be a challenge to fit a full-sized chicken in a compact air fryer basket. For the sake of roasted chicken, you might want to reconsider replacing an oven with an air fryer entirely. An oven will help greatly in multi-tasking since they often come with a two-tiered cooking space, whereas an air fryer will require multiple batches of cooking.
You should avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket, so as to allow the food to be evenly cooked with well-ventilated hot air circulation. For smaller kitchen setups, you can consider having a multi-use air fryer that does it all – roasting, baking, grilling, and even steaming in the newer air fryer models, like the one from Tefal.
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7. You cannot use aluminum foil in an air fryer
We know that aluminum foils are a big no-no in a microwave, due to the risk of sparks and a potential fire. Aluminum foils are acceptable for use in an air fryer when used in a safe condition under these 3 key pointers – avoid covering the fan or heating element with aluminum foil, keep acidic food away from aluminum as it causes nasty chemical reactions, weigh down the foil so that it does not fly around turning it into a fire hazard.
Using aluminum foil reduces time and effort for a clean-up, loosely wrapping the food in aluminum foil boosts flavour as it locks in any food juices, and it creates a sling to help with taking out the food that requires extra care.
8. You will have a hard time cleaning the air fryer
Cleaning an air fryer is easy as it requires nothing more than your regular dishwashing detergent.
While some air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe, the non-stick element in an air fryer basket should be handled with added care, by avoiding the use of dishwasher and sponges that will scratch the non-stick surface.
9. You need many accompanying air fryer accessories
Unlike electric pressure cookers and multi-cookers, accessories are not so much of an essential in air fryers. The only thing that you may want to have is some form of air fryer liners in food grade quality, or a reusable silicone tray to reduce cleaning up any mess and spills.
You can skip the metal bracket entirely and opt to use aluminum foil to lift the food up and get it closer to the heating element instead.
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10. You can cook any food in an air fryer
You will be able to find tons of air fryer recipes out there that help you figure out the best way to cook your desired food in an air fryer. Nevertheless, you cannot cook everything with an air fryer.
There is a list of food items that experts recommend not to put in an air fryer, which includes toasts, hard-boiled or half-boiled eggs, broccoli, beef patty, salmon, bacon, moist cheese, pasta, popcorn, wet battered foods, and more.
You will still be able to cook the food items that are deemed “unsuitable” for an air fryer. However, it would require greater effort on your part to search for relevant recipes and to keep a closer eye on them in the middle of cooking.