Ever since the air fryer has skyrocketed in popularity, it seems like you can do just about anything in it. From breaded chicken to pork chops and even meatballs. But what shouldn’t we do in an air fryer?
In principle, not all foods cook well in the fryer. Some will get too soggy, too messy, or just cook unevenly. So, before we experiment with another air fryer creation, we’ll make sure to keep in mind these foods that will never cook in the air fryer.
Foods with moist batter
This means that it is messy and the dough does not solidify. We won’t get that crunch when fried in traditional oil. Instead of dipping food into a wet batter, like chicken, we’ll make a healthier layer of breadcrumbs. We will dip the chicken in eggs and coat it with breadcrumbs before placing it inside the fryer.
Air fryers are much healthier versions of our favorite crunchy foods. In addition to using less oil, different batters can also be used.
green leafy vegetables
Leafy green vegetables like cabbage and spinach are not the best for crisping up in the air fryer. Unlike cooking with oil, air frying cooks unevenly and will cause foods that are lighter to burn faster and become soggy.
For a healthy vegetarian snack, we’ll try making some vegetable chips mixed with black pepper and salt.
Popcorn
If we’re looking to make popcorn for movie night, we’re better off popping it in a pot, microwave, or classic popcorn maker, not the air fryer.
The air fryer does not get hot enough to pop the beans. And in the case of doing so, we can compromise the interior of the air fryer.
A whole chicken
If you want to roast a whole chicken, it’s best to do it in the oven rather than trying to cook it in a deep fryer. Uneven temperatures will not cook the chicken thoroughly and will cause parts of the chicken to dry out. Also, the fryer is smaller than the chicken, so you won’t be grilling everything at once.
So while we can get away with air-frying just about anything, we may prefer to skip these particular foods next time.
