Anyone with an air fryer given warning about cooking specific foods in them

Cooking these days seems to be all about making things quicker and easier rather than making them tastier which is perhaps why air fryers have become so popular in recent years.

It seems as if you can put almost anything in an air fryer to cook, although I wouldn't recommend trying to stick a whole Christmas dinner in there after one woman made a huge mistake when attempting that late last year.

Using it too much can also lead to some real problems, especially if you don't follow the strict cleaning instructions, but for the most part they've been a welcome addition for families who simply don't have the time to spend hours on a meal.

However, users are now being warned about cooking certain foods in their air fryers, and considering I managed to set my partner's air fryer on fire when doing the same thing, I'd definitely recommend following this advice.

You're better off cooking bacon in a pan or in the grill (Getty stock)

What is the warning?

Dietitian Brenda Peralta spoke to the Huffington Post last year about the need to avoid fatty foods in air fryers, with bacon in particular causing lots of problems.

She said: "It 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 odours.

"A bacon strip is a small and delicate food, and it can be difficult to flip or remove from the air fryer basket without breaking it.

"The air fryer basket may not be large enough to accommodate a large quantity of bacon. This can make it difficult to cook a lot of bacon at once, which can be inconvenient if you are cooking for a group."

What foods shouldn't we be cooking in them?

Obviously fatty foods like bacon and sausages can leave a lot of mess, so it's essential you clean up otherwise the fat build-up in the air fryer could lead to smoke or fire.

Anything with wet batter is also a big no no. In fact, anything that is more liquid than solid is one to stick in the pan, while unless you want crispy rice or pasta, you should probably just cook that in a more traditional sense.

Just be safe and get a barbecue going (Getty Stock)

A real-life example

I've already mentioned how I managed to set one on fire, though I'm still not entirely sure how I managed that.

But one Reddit user shared the story of how he fancied some sausages as a late night snack but returned to his beloved air fryer 10 minutes after switching it on to find that it had set off the smoke alarm.

While he says he'd never had a problem before, it seems as if he also didn't wash it regularly, which might be why the kitchen appliance finally kicked the bucket.