Grace Forell - What You Shouldn't Put in an Air Fryer
Consumer journalist, Grace Forell from Which? joined us in studio to talk us through some of the things that you shouldn't put in your air fryer!
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1. Broccoli
This vegetable in particular isn't great because it's so easy to get wrong. When done in the air fryer, it tends to dry out. This makes it chewy and releases more of the compound that makes it bitter. Roasting or steaming are better ways to get crunchy, crispy broccoli florets
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2. Pasta
You can't use an air fryer to cook raw pasta, since you need to put it in boiling water, and although cooking pasta sauces isn't impossible, but it's not very safe due to the liquids and sauces needed for the cooking process.
The hot air that circulates around the food can cause it to splatter which can be not only dangerous but also very messy. However, it is safe to cook pasta for the ‘baking’ part of a pasta-bake.
You can use an air fryer to reheat pasta and sauce that's already been cooked but the microwave is a more efficient way to do this
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3. Popcorn
No, don't try this one at home. Popcorn won’t cook well in an air fryer as most models won’t reach the required temperature to pop the kernels.
Popcorn kernels can also become lodged within the air fryer’s heating element, which may cause the appliance to short creating a fire hazard. Stick with the microwave or the hob for popcorn if you're settling down for a good movie night!
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4. Wet Batter
Recipes that use a wet batter will become messy if cooked in an air fryer. Hot oil is usually required to set the batter, and without it, it's likely to drip everywhere.
Aside from that, there's also a risk that the puddle of batter will burn the base of your air fryer basket.
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5. Rice
In the same way as pasta, raw rice needs to be boiled to cook, and while there's no harm in adding a few drops of water to your air fryer basket, they aren't suitable for boiling food.
It's recommended that rice is cooked on a hob first before adding it to the air fryer later for a few minutes if required. Better still, rice cookers produce excellent fluffy rice.
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What surprising foods can you cook in an air fryer?
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Hard Boiled Eggs!
You might be surprised to learn that you actually can hard or soft boil an egg in an air fryer!
To do this successfully, follow these easy steps:
- Add the eggs to the fryer basket and cook 15 minutes on 130 degrees for hard-boiled eggs, or 10 minutes for soft boiled.
- Remove the eggs, plunge them into an ice bath
- Peel when cool enough to handle
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Pizza
The bigger ones you can get from the supermarket won't generally fit in the air fryer, however the personal size pizzas are perfectly fine.
If you wanted to get a bit more adventurous, you could make your own following these easy steps:
- Put your base in first and cook that for around 3 minutes. This will help to give you a crispy bottom without overcooking the toppings
- Leaving the base in the air fryer basket, assemble the rest of the pizza directly in the air fryer so you don't have to mess around getting it in and out.
- Cook for another 7 or 8 minutes after that depending on what your toppings are
