AIRFRYER TIPS AND TRICKS

While there are a lot of recipes that we cook using the airfryer, it is not an essential in the kitchen and it is not essential to have one to make these meals.

You can use your oven instead and get the same results — timings may just have to be adjusted slightly. If you’re using the oven, you usually add on roughly 20–30°C to the airfryer temperature given. And for the oven, it’s generally an extra 10 to 15 minutes on top of the cooking times given for the airfryer.

We are asked so many questions every week about the airfryer. So here are a few of our top tips.

1 Always pull your airfryer out from the wall, especially if there is a socket behind it. They blow hot air out of the vents at the back and can melt plugs or sockets if pushed up flush against them.

2 You do not need to place a protector underneath the airfryer; it will not damage your counter space.

3 Don’t add large volumes of water to your basket(s) and turn on the airfryer. We’ve seen this method used to clean the airfryer baskets, but it can damage the fan and electrics from all the heavy steam splashing and sloshing, and that will potentially void any warranty.

4 If you’re cooking something that is quite greasy (like streaky bacon, sausages or even chicken wings), place a slice of bread under the baskets to collect any excess oil and save time on clean-up.

5 You can use tinfoil (or foil trays) inside your baskets. This won’t cause a problem like it would with a microwave, and it’s very handy when you are cooking dishes that have a lot of sauce or if you are baking with the airfryer.

6 Don’t overfill the baskets. There is a tendency to fill them up — and even the pictures on the box when you buy the airfryer will show the baskets jam packed. But if you overfill the baskets the food will take longer to cook — and the food doesn’t cook as evenly. We make chips, for example, in two batches.