Air fryers have become increasingly popular recently. Its special processing technology and its speed are deeply loved by everyone. If you own an air fryer, or are planning to buy one, you should know something about its operation. Although its operation is relatively simple, improper operation will also cause you to fail to bake the food how you want, and it will require repeated research and testing on how to put the food into the air fryer to get the best taste.This will take you a lot of time. Why not spend a little time to have a comprehensive understanding so that you can be more comfortable when using it?
In this article, we introduce you to the working distance of the air fryer in detail, the precautions when using it and how to clean it, and take you to understand the air fryer in an all-round way.
Some people stubbornly believe that an air fryer is just like an oven or has the same effect as frying in a pot. Actually not, but this is its characteristic. It uses the principle of hot air circulation to make the food crispy on the outside and crispy on the inside, thereby achieving the deep-frying effect, but you can use less oil or even no oil.
Although it has only one function, you can put almost anything in it for heating or baking. For example, for toast, you can use it as a bread machine, or for leftovers, you can use it as a microwave, or if you put frozen food directly in it, you can use it as an oven. When you need to heat some unprocessed food, such as raw chicken, fish, etc, you only need to add about two tablespoons of oil, or brush the oil evenly on the surface of the food, but if you need to heat some quick-frozen food, such as fried chicken French fries or pizza, you don’t need to refuel. That’s what’s special about it, it can use the fat in the food itself to make it crispy.
Things to note when using an air fryer
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Food needs to be spread evenly
The internal space of an air fryer is generally very limited. Although there will be hot air all around and internal circulation, overcrowding will cause some food to not be heated well, or even heated until it is fully cooked. So laying it flat can allow food to be heated well. It is also necessary to heat in batches. Don’t worry, the air fryer usually heats up very quickly, and heating in batches will not take you too much time.
Preheat time
In fact, I do not preheat the air fryer when I use it daily, because I think the air fryer is a tool that allows me to bake at any time. If I need to prepare it in advance, it loses its speed. However, some air fryer manufacturers clearly indicate that they can be preheated. After research, I found that preheating can indeed make the food bake faster when heating the food.
Food needs to be turned over or shaken when heating
This is easy to understand. When heating, the bottom of the food cannot be baked well, so you need to take the food out and turn it over halfway and continue baking. Or when making French fries, you need to shake the basket so that the French fries will be heated more evenly.
It is best not to spray oil with a spray bottle
This may seem like you can spray the oil on the food more evenly and in smaller amounts, but if you do it for a long time, it will damage the coating on the inner wall. If you need to add additional oil, we recommend that you brush the oil directly on the surface of the food evenly, which will also allow the food to be baked well.
Check the status of your food at any time
In fact, sometimes the time in the standard reference recipe is not completely reliable. The pull-out design of the air fryer allows you to take out the basket at any time to check the condition of the food. So if you are not sure about the time, you can watch the baking situation of the food a few times and then adapt accordingly.
Do not pour food directly into the basket
There is an additional filter inside the air fryer that allows excess grease to be filtered out when food is placed on it. Therefore, when using an air fryer, do not tilt the basket directly to pour out the food. This can easily cause the hot oil in the ground to leak and burn you.
How to clean an air fryer
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Some people may use it once without clearing it before using it again, which may cause damage to the air fryer. You can just wipe off the spilled grease. If it is not cleaned during production, the oil stains or food residue on the inner wall will be difficult to clean. If it is not cleaned for a long time and is repeatedly heated at high temperatures, it will be burned or some carcinogens will be produced. Therefore, after use, if there are no obvious stains, you can just wipe it. Some air fryers can be placed directly in the dishwasher for cleaning, while others require familiarity and reference to the manual.
As one of the most popular appliances in the kitchen in recent years, the air fryer brings us much convenience. A detailed understanding of its operation methods and precautions can help you make delicious food faster, and correct operation and cleaning can better extend its service life.