Just like any other kitchen appliance, an air fryer is not left out in the clean after use process. It is only that the cleaning of an air fryer is much easier. Deep fryers amongst other kitchen electrical appliances require extra effort in cleaning compared to the Air fryer, Why?
Deep Frying makes much mess as you can’t avoid oil splattering in and around the stovetop. Also, there is the need to discard the spent fat after the frying process has been completed. Whereas, air frying requires little or no oil and it works by the circulation of hot air and so mess caused by oil splatter is completely avoided. With no further comparison, you can be sure that the cleaning of an air fryer is a child’s play to that of a deep fryer.
Features of a Quality Air Fryer
In the search for a quality air fryer, the features are the important factors to consider. Depending on what interests you most, air fryers styles and brands differ from one another. There are two styles of air fryers. The Air fryer Oven and the Basket Air Fryer.
The styles have nothing to do with the quality of the air fryer, quality depends on the brand you want to get and what features it has. The basket air fryer styles are designed to look like deep fryers. With this style, you either have a frying basket that you can lift up and out of the air fryer’s cooking compartment, or you have a basket that can be slide out in the front. The air fryer oven is designed to look like a toaster oven but with a powerful fan that aids the circulation of hot air around the oven and the food. To give you an idea, listed below are some of the features people check out before purchasing a style or model of an air fryer.
- Quality and Safety of the Air Fryer, check for defects or any missing part
- Check for models that come with special features or additional accessories like grill rack, skewers, pans etc)
- Ease of clean. Get yourself a model that is easy to clean
- The cooking capacity of the air fryer. How much capacity do you need, large or small?
- Cooking performance of the air fryer
- Drawer/Basket design. How easy it is to remove, insert and clean up.
- Price of the air fryer. Is it pocket-friendly?
- Ease of use, Is it user friendly or not?
Basket Style Fryer Versus Air Fryer Oven
If you are here reading this article because the air fryer feature that is most important to you is the ease of cleaning, then you will be able to find in few sentences away, the air fryer style that suits this need of yours.
The basket style air fryer has a metal bucket that comes out of the fryer’s cooking compartment. This metal bucket can be taken out and soaked in hot water to get rid of the after cooking mess settled in it.
However, an air fryer oven does not have a removable bucket or container, so the cleaning is usually done by wiping the inside of the oven like you would a conventional oven. Some models although having a removable tray to catch up the cooking mess makes cleaning easy.
So if you are considering getting an air fryer that will give you ease of cleaning, then I will suggest a brand of basket air fryer because of the removable insert that comes with it that allows cleaning to be done easily. But if you are sure to be getting a brand of air fryer oven that comes with a drip tray that catches up the mess, then you are good to go.
How to Clean an Air Fryer
The residue from air frying food items, especially frozen foods and the tiny food particles that build up over time from the cooking process in the air fryer drawer and on the heating element might not be noticed until it starts to give out an unpleasant odour or you begin to notice smoke as your food cooks.
You already know that some models are easier to clean than others but notwithstanding in about five steps, you will find out the easy and quick way to clean an air fryer.
Clean after every Use
The best, easy and smart way to clean your air fryer is to clean after every use. Not immediately but after it has been allowed to cool and both the exterior and interior parts of the air fryer are cool. This is done by unplugging it from the electricity source and leaving the door of the air fryer opened. For easy cleaning, never allow the food particles to sit in your air fryer basket or drawer till the next use, it shouldn’t be there till the following day, else, you will have some serious work to do with the cleaning. Clean with warm water for a better result.
If you are air frying food like chicken tenders with a sticky sauce drip or you are making tater tots, you will need to wipe clean the basket and tray almost as soon as you are done cooking, while they are somewhat hot so that the mess can wipe off easily.
Clean the Drawer and/or Food Basket with warm soapy water
Wash with a soft bristle brush. Make sure to avoid washing your air fryer basket and/or drawer with abrasive sponges. Why? Because the baskets and drawers have a non-stick coating that should not flake off, else, you will have them stuck on food placed in them. All you need to do to get rid of the food stuck on them is to soak them in hot soapy water to loosen the food particles and then wipe them clean afterwards.
If the food cooked has a strong smell that you want to get rid of, soak the basket and/or drawer for a longer time, say 40-60 minutes before cleaning. If the odour persists, rub a cut lemon over the basket and/or tray, allow to sit for about 30 minutes, then wash clean.
Be careful cleaning non-stick basket
You don’t want the coating on your basket flaking off, so use only a wooden skewer or toothpick to push out food particles stuck in the basket’s holes.
Clean the Interior of the air fryer
While the basket and drawers are still out, get a damp cloth or a soft scrub brush (some models allows this much) to clean the inside of the air fryer. It is important to check the heating element for debris and grease and then wipe clean on sight. Leave the door of the air fryer opened to allow it to dry completely.
Wipe the Exterior too
Wipe, do not drip an air fryer in water. All you need for the exterior cleaning is a damp cloth or a soft bristle brush. Allow to completely dry before packing for future use.
Pro Tip
Air Fryer accessories are dishwasher safe, so feel free to put your baskets and drawers in a dishwasher for more easy cleaning.
Final Words
The PowerXl 8-in-1 Digital Air Fryer, the Ninja 2-Basket Air Fryer, and the Chefman Turbofly air fryer models are impressive examples of easy to clean air fryers. So when next you are out there checking for models of easy to clean air fryers, we hope that you will be able to make a better decision.
Hope this helped you or do you have more questions to ask? Let us know in the comment section.