Expert issues stark warning to Brits planning to use their air fryers on Christmas Day
It's safe to say that air fryers have had the nation in a collective chokehold for a while now.
We cook everything we can in an air fryer, whether it's nuggets or a whole chicken, and it regularly pops up as a subject of small talk.
But you might want to pause before using it on Christmas Day, according to one Michelin-trained chef.
Poppy O'Toole, who is known for her mastery of the humble potato, is sharing a series of recipes in the run-up to Christmas of all the different ways you can cook them.
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The chef has issued a warning to anyone thinking about rustling up their Christmas dinner.
She even has a cookbook dedicated to delicious air fryer recipes, and confessed that she might use it on the big day to cook.
Many people run out of oven space on the big day, when you're cooking for what feels like the 500.
Poppy said last year about the perils of running out of space.
She said she would be feeding 'a lot of people' on Christmas, so praised the air fryer for that.
She told The Independent: "There’s not enough space to do everything, but what it’s really good at is giving you the capability to do more stuff at the same time."
"So you’re not just relying on the oven and the hob - you’ve also got this other piece of equipment, which is amazing at cooking things, and it can be done quicker and more energy efficiently."
And yet she's warned that it's also easy to ruin a Christmas dinner in an air fryer.
So she has shared her top tips of what to do - and what not to do.
Don't overcrowd your air fryer
Even if you have one of the dual drawer gadgets, don't be tempted to shove too much in there.
Poppy has warned not to 'overcrowd' it.
O'Toole added: "It can be very easy to throw it all in, 'it’ll be fine'. But it doesn’t work that way - the whole point is that the air circulation gets around everything, so it needs a gap where that can happen."
Set a timer
It's so easy to get carried away and distracted when cooking. There are plenty of people to greet and welcome, drinks to top up, kids to play with, and tidying away the wrapping paper.
Air fryers can be unforgiving with how quickly things crisp up.
Poppy says it's essential to put a timer on in case your attention wanders.
The chef said: "I’ve done that a few times, where I’ve gone, it comes out in 20 minutes or whatever and you go, ‘Yeah, I’ll come back in a few minutes, it’ll be fine’.
"And I’ve left it in there the whole time and it’s burned to a crisp."
Give it a clean
One of the most important things in cooking is to prepare, and it's never more important than when sorting Christmas lunch.
If you can't remember the last time you cleaned your air fryer, even the professionals let it slip.
"I don’t wash it enough, I don’t clean it enough," O'Toole confessed, "I end up getting these little dark bits on the rest of my food, which is fine when you’re cooking for yourself - that doesn’t matter.
"But when you’re cooking for other people, if you’ve got family coming over, you want to make sure it’s the best. So make sure in between each thing you cook, you give it a little wipe down."
Topics: Food And Drink, Christmas, Air Fryers
Jen Thomas