Air fryer: The 5 best tips & tricks

Is it all just hot air? Of course, that’s the point: an air fryer lets us prepare all kinds of delicious dishes in no time at all. The hot air technology is much healthier than the oil bath of classic deep fat fryers, requires less work and saves money – for a start, you don’t have to keep buying new oil. It’s no wonder these appliances are becoming increasingly popular and have found a regular place in many kitchens.

But what many people don’t realise is that with a few clever tricks, you can get a lot more performance and functionality out of these appliances. We present the 5 best tips and tricks for your hot air fryer.

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A little preparation pays off

One of the great advantages of air fryers is, of course, the quick preparation of food with very little effort. However, some preparation works wonders. Before cooking, you should cut all food into similar sized pieces, where possible. This ensures that meat or vegetable are cooked at the same time and remain nice and juicy. This also gives (handmade) fries an even crispiness.

Extra tip: Halfway through the cooking time, shake the frying basket briefly to loosen any food stuck together. This ensures that all sides are evenly crispy.

Maximum crispiness comes with a spray bottle

To get the perfect deep-fryer flavour, use an oil spray bottle. You can coat food such as chips, fish fingers, calamari or spring rolls with a thin layer of oil in no time at all. These delicacies then go into the air fryer as usual, where they crisp up and acquire flavour.

Without this extra help, air fryers sometimes can’t keep up with their oil-filled sister models in terms of flavour. Because only a small amount of oil is sprayed onto the food, it’s still a comparatively healthy way to create the perfect crunchiness.

Tip: Always use oils with a high smoke point, such as sunflower oil or rapeseed oil, and not cold-pressed oils.

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Your hot air fryer is more flexible than you think

If you own an air fryer, you don’t need to start the oven to bake bread rolls – it’s quicker and more energy-efficient in a compact air fryer. Without the need for time-consuming preheating, simply place bread rolls or croissants in the air fryer and enjoy perfect results just a few minutes later. This works perfectly at temperatures of 160°C-180°C.

An air fryer can also prepare eggs perfectly, and you don’t even have to pierce them. However, the cooking time (7-10 minutes) is slightly longer than in boiling water – but this also depends on the size of the eggs and whether they have just come out of the fridge.

Other great recipe ideas for the hot air fryer include

• Baked apple rings (sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar)
• Stuffed peppers or courgettes
• Pumpkin or kohlrabi fries
• Brownies
• Falafel or simply roasted chickpeas
• All kinds of patties (make sure you use baking paper, see next tip)

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Using baking paper correctly

If you use baking paper in the air fryer, you have to accept that hot air can no longer flow unhindered around the food. However, this is no problem for some dishes – and opens up many culinary possibilities.

Sticky, creamy or very soft foods such as doughnuts, meatballs, muffins or small cakes can also be prepared perfectly in the air fryer on baking paper. Cleaning the air fryer is often easier as well.

Tip: When preparing dishes, cut a few holes in the baking paper so that the air inside can circulate well without food sticking to the basket.

You should pay attention to the following when using baking paper:

• Baking paper should not come into contact with the heating element inside (it’s a fire hazard). Always cut the paper to size.
• The more baking paper you use, the more the air circulation will be impeded and food may become less crispy.
• Do not add the baking paper before preheating.

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Less is more

…At least where the frying basket is concerned. If you fill the air fryer to the max, you can forget about crispy food. Cooking evenly is also less likely if you overload the appliance. Always leave space inside so that the air can circulate as freely as possible and make sure that food does not collapse into a compact lump.

This is why it’s worth buying a slightly larger model – like an air fryer oven – when purchasing a hot air fryer. Dishes will be ready faster and arrive crispy on the plate.

This article was first published on our sibling title PCWelt and has been translated to appear here.