The air Fryer promises to revolutionise life in the kitchen, bringing us naturally to healthier and less fat foods and preparations. And if it is true that with this appliance you can cook, heat, dry and thaw different foods, similarly it is important to remember that not everything that we normally fry can be cooked in the air fryer with the same result.

Let’s see what to cook with the air fryer: thanks to the tips and advice of Ariete experts, we will discover all the cooking methods and foods that give their best in an air fryrer.

Cooking with air fryer: all cooking methods

The air fryer uses a hot air cooking system that allows you to cook food evenly and crisply. The heat is evenly distributed inside the appliance, thanks to the presence of a fan.

Thanks to its peculiar functioning, the air Fryer allows to obtain a result similar to frying, but without using oil, butter or other fat during cooking.

Here are the main cooking methods that can be used with the air fryer:

• Baking: this is the most common cooking method. The food is simply placed in the air fryer and cooked at the desired temperature for as long as necessary.
• Grilling: This method is ideal for preparing meat, fish and vegetables. The grill allows you to obtain a crisp and tasty crust.
• Steaming: This method is ideal for the preparation of vegetables and other delicate foods. The steam keeps the nutritional properties of the food unchanged.
• Low temperature cooking: this method is ideal for the preparation of meat, fish and vegetables.

In general, it is possible to cook with the hot air fryer a wide variety of foods, from the first, to the side dishes, to the second courses of meat and fish, from desserts to bread, and always with an excellent result.

For this reason, many of the modern air fryers such as those of the Ariete stable have different preset programs, designed precisely for cooking different foods. Selecting the right program, it is no longer necessary to manually set temperature and timer, because the appliance will finish cooking at the right time in complete autonomy, and in a completely uniform way.

What to cook with the air fryer

Thanks to its many functions, the air fryer can be used to cook a wide range of foods, both salty and sweet, and easily make our favorite recipes to engulf the palate of the whole family.

Here are some examples of foods that you can cook with the air fryer:

• Meat: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, sausages, burgers, steaks, etc.
• Fish: salmon, tuna, sea bass, cod, etc.
• Vegetables: potatoes, zucchini, carrots, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
• Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
• Fruits: apples, pears, bananas, pineapples, etc.
• Sweets: cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.

Here are some examples of recipes that can be prepared with the air fryer:

• French fries: French fries are a classic of frying. With the air fryer you can prepare crispy and tasty fried potatoes, without using oil.
• Chicken wings: chicken wings are another typical dish of frying. With the air fryer you can prepare crisp and succulent chicken wings, without using oil.
• Cutlets: Cutlets are a simple and versatile dish. With the air fryer you can prepare crisp and tasty cutlets, without using oil.
• Grilled vegetables: grilled vegetables are a healthy and light dish. With the air fryer you can prepare crisp and tasty grilled vegetables, without using oil.
• Cakes: with the air fryer you can also prepare cakes, such as biscuits, muffins and cakes.

The key word is variety, together with healthier but no less tasty cooking methods.

What you can’t put in the air fryer

But what you can not cook in the air fryer? Usually the use of hot air cooking is not indicated for foods with more delicate textures, as may be soft cheeses some egg foods.

The same can be said of foods in batter. If the hot oil in contact with the liquid batter creates a tasty crust, with the air fryer the batter would tend to detach from the food we are cooking and settle on the bottom of the basket of the air Fryer.

Better then opt for a more dry breading, using breadcrumbs, corn flour or potato flakes. Similarly, better to cook previously frozen vegetables, so that they do not dehydrate excessively with steaming.

Finally, other foods not suitable for cooking in air fryers are raw cereals (such as rice, wheat or corn) and roast . In the first case the cereals should first be properly boiled for a few minutes, while for an optimal cooking of the meat we should insert a few small pieces at a time in the basket to ensure a shorter and uniform cooking.