Stop Making This Common Mistake Cooking With Your Air Fryer

Air fryers can accomplish a surprising variety of cooking tasks when used correctly — and creatively. Everything from making healthier fries and reheating pizza to roasting veggies and meats is possible. You can even air-fry green beans for a healthy, crispy snack. Designed to heat up fast, air fryers, as the name suggests, use hot air to cook food rapidly. This is similar to dunking food in hot oil to cook it, and both air fryers and frying oil are generally within the temperature range of 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For the technique to work, a high temperature must be maintained, and the food must be exposed from all sides. Just as overcrowding in oil can lead to underwhelming results, so can overcrowding the air fryer.

To get the most out of your air fryer, ensure that the food in the basket has enough space for the hot air to circulate around each piece. In addition to uneven cooking, an oversized batch can stop the air fryer from reaching the required temperature, leaving you with soggy textures. Regularly overcrowding an air fryer may even overstrain the appliance's internal components, reducing its life. Because of the limited space in an air fryer, it is more suited to certain dishes than others. While it is versatile, it's important to choose wisely when deciding whether to use an air fryer or not.

Air frying is similar to baking, roasting, and even stir-frying in the sense that there needs to be air circulation around the food for it to cook and the flavors to concentrate. One could even compare an air fryer to a small convection oven since they work on a similar principle. However, while you can fit a nice wide tray in the oven, most air fryers are limited to a relatively compact basket.

For food to crisp and get the right texture, it needs to lose moisture. Overcrowding results in too much food simultaneously releasing moisture. Because the air fryer is airtight, it doesn't allow the evaporated moisture to escape. Thus, instead of getting air-fried, your food gets steamed, and that's really not what you want. You may end up cooking your food for longer than needed, which could result in some bits drying out or getting burnt, while others remain undercooked.

Shaking the basket halfway through the cooking process can help remedy some of the effects of overcrowding — but not all. You'll still need to be careful with how much you cook at once. For food like chicken nuggets and fries that are difficult to put in a single layer or space out, a good shake can ensure even cooking. Just remember not to shake too often because every time you take the air fryer basket out, it loses heat.

Most of the time, air fryers work best for foods that are cooked and served in batches. For example, an air fryer is perfect for making garlic bread. You can make a few pieces at a time, serve them hot, and put the next batch in so that it's ready by the time people want seconds. On the other hand, even though reheating pizza in the air fryer can bring the pie back to life, you'll only be able to do a slice or two at a time. This may work when only one person is eating but certainly not for a group.

If batch cooking isn't working for you or the batches are too small, you may want to look into a larger-capacity air fryer. There are high-capacity air fryers with dual baskets that can handle batch cooking for large groups or even hold enough food for an entire meal. Ultimately, the air fryer is great for relatively small quantities of food. Its smaller heating compartment makes it more efficient than an oven. Still, if you're making larger quantities of food, an oven may be more efficient.