Air fryers provide many conveniences when preparing meals, but not everyone knows there are certain 'taboo' foods for air fryers, or that using them incorrectly can be harmful to your health.

Foods you should avoid putting in the air fryer:

Soft foods

Unless the soft food is frozen or pre-fried, you should avoid putting soft foods into the air fryer. Clearly, putting soft foods into the air fryer will create a messy situation inside, and the food will not crisp up as you might expect. If you want to make soft foods crispier, you can dip them in flour, egg, or breadcrumbs.

Fresh vegetables

Leafy greens like spinach may not cook evenly when hot air passes through at high temperatures. When choosing vegetables for the air fryer, try to pick heavier green vegetables, such as broccoli or zucchini. Kale can also be cooked in the air fryer if it is covered with enough oil and weight. Additionally, you can use frozen greens as they retain more moisture.

Frying whole pieces

Clearly, the first problem with frying whole pieces is whether the amount of food fits in the air fryer. But even if the piece of meat fits in the fryer, frying whole pieces is only suitable for traditional frying methods. The reason is that an air fryer cannot cook your meat evenly.

The meat near the heating element will burn easily, while the part farther away may not be fully cooked. The main reason for this is air fryer overload. Since air needs space to circulate, the best cooking method for the air fryer is to cut the food into smaller pieces. If you're frying chicken, make sure the breast side is down, with the skin on top, as the air fryer heats from top to bottom.

Cheese

Because the air fryer doesn't actually 'fry' food, if you try to fry cheese without a crust, it will melt and create a messy mixture in your air fryer. You should only 'fry' frozen mozzarella sticks, as other types of cheese should not be cooked in an air fryer, including grilled cheese (grilled cheese can easily burn in the air fryer due to the high pressure from the hot air stream). It's best to use traditional cooking methods for these types of food.

Raw grains

Grains like rice and pasta may become crispy after being placed in the air fryer, but these foods need to be cooked before going into the air fryer. The air fryer cooks food by drying it out, so if you try to cook a dish that requires water in the air fryer, it won't taste good. Even if your air fryer has a compartment to add water, it won't get hot enough to boil the water and cook your grains properly.