Air fryer is among the most used kitchen appliances today, which can make all the food – rice, dals, veggies, and even meat and chicken gravies, to baking muffins and cakes.
The best part about air frying your food is that it does it all with minimal oil and mess compared to traditional cooking methods, like pan-frying.
However, even though it is versatile and user-friendly, not every food is a good match for the air fryer. According to experts, some foods should be avoided as they end up finishing the nutritional content, something which you may be looking for when air frying. A few of these include:
Leafy greens
Even though vegetables like potatoes and mushrooms can be easily cooked in the machine, not all vegetables are air fryer-friendly. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, or arugula are too lightweight and fly around in the air fryer, cooking unevenly or sometimes even getting burnt.
It is, therefore, better to use heavier greens along with some other food, and coat them thinly with oil to weigh them down on the rack, which will make sure they get cooked properly without destroying their nutritional values.
Popcorns
While it is common to cook popcorn in an air fryer, experts suggest not to do so. Popcorns are packed with fibre and are super filling – helping in boosting metabolism and weight loss.
According to experts, air fryers do not provide consistent heat, which is required for cooking popcorn, and they may either not get popped properly or the kernels may get burnt – thereby making them less edible.
It is better to cook popcorn on a stovetop or in the microwave.
Cheese
Cheese does not have a resistance to high temperatures and may start melting and burning the moment you keep it in the air fryer. Therefore, experts say never add plain cheese on its own to the appliance and always coat it either with flour or breadcrumbs for better taste.
You can also reap the maximum benefits of cheese by stuffing it in bell peppers or chicken.
Wet batters
Wet batters, which have flour in them, are not good for use in an air fryer. Not only do they drip too much, but according to experts, recipes that use wet batters, like beer-battered fish or even pakoras, have the coating trickle down before it even begins to crisp as the protein gets cooked.