Five foods you should never put in your air fryer - but Brits still ignore it

There are five foods that you should absolutely never cook in your air fryer, no matter how tempting the idea might be, experts have warned, and it's for good reason

Those who have air fryers normally absolutely swear by the countertop appliances - hailing it a cheaper and better way of cooking their food than conventional ovens. Air fryers have catapulted in popularity in recent years, but there are some common mistakes a lot of people make when using them, cooking experts have warned.

Whether you are a recent convert to air frying, or you're a die-hard fan who has been telling everyone about the benefits for years, you should make sure that you absolutely never cook any of these five foods in your appliance, and instead opt for the traditional oven whenever it comes time to make a recipe that includes them.

As reported in the Huffington Post, the first food you should be swerving if you're desperate to use your air fryer is wet batter. This is an absolute no-no in the countertop appliance because it just doesn't have the ability to get any batter properly crispy, this isn't a deep fryer after all. In reality, you will be left with a difficult, probably quite sticky mess if you try and cook foods covered in a wet batter in your air fryer, so it is best to give it a miss.

Next, the experts warn that you should avoid trying to cook bacon in your air fryer. "Bacon is a fatty food, and when it is cooked in an air fryer, the fat can drip down and cause smoke or splatter. This can make the bacon difficult to cook evenly, and it can also produce a lot of smoke and odors," said cooking expert and recipe developer Brenda Peralta.

The third food you shouldn't ever cook in your air fryer is fresh greens, particularly if you're trying to make something like kale crisps. Anyone who has ever made these knows that they are deliciously moreish and a healthy alternative to traditional crisps, but the air fryer isn't likely to be able to tackle these, because they are too lightweight and the air will just blow them around, meaning a mess you will have to clean up and they won't have cooked evenly, meaning a disappointing snack too.

The experts also say you shouldn't bother trying to cook cheese in your air fryer, once again because you are most likely to just end up with a mess on your hands. "An air fryer is actually NOT a deep fryer. When you make something like a mozzarella stick in a deep fryer, an instant outer crust is formed...In an air fryer, this does not happen, and you'll instead end up with a gooey, cheesy mess," explained culinary director of ButcherBox Yankel Polak.

Finally, the experts say that if you have a hankering for homemade burgers, stick to your traditional oven, because an air fryer won't be able to handle it. "Air fryers are not ideal for grilling red meat. You'd be able to get the inside of a burger to medium rare, but the outside wouldn’t get that 'char' that you want on a burger. Plus, it's really messy," warned expert and author Anna Vocino.

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