10 Essential Air Fryer Tips for Beginners (UK)

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New to air frying? Not sure where to begin? Could use a helping hand getting started? You’re in the right place! In this post I’ll share 10 essential air fryer tips for beginners. Helping you avoid costly mistakes right from the very beginning! Keep reading to boost your air frying knowledge and confidence…

There are a HUGE variety of air fryers out there now, and thousands of recipes, websites and tips to wade through as a result. Trawling through all that to get to useful information can feel like an unachievable task. Enough to make you cop out and use your oven instead!

But if you don’t like feeling overwhelmed, and want to get to the really helpful stuff right away? You’re in the right place.

These 10 air fryer top tips will start you off on the right path to air frying success. Whether you have a standard single air fryer basket model, a dual drawer air fryer, or otherwise – I promise you’ll find these tips useful to know.

Nervous about air frying?

Anxious about learning new things on your own? Don’t worry!! Kitchen Mason is here, and will ALWAYS be your biggest cheerleader! So make sure you check back regularly for the latest air fryer recipes and tips to help you get to grips with using your air fryer confidently.

What does an air fryer do?

How does an air fryer work? Well, an air fryer is a kitchen appliance that is much smaller than an oven, and originally designed to be a healthy version of the deep fat fryer. It cooks food by circulating hot air around baskets or drawers. This is done with a fan and a heating element on the inside of the machine.

How do you use an air fryer?

Simply put, you use an air fryer by placing foods into the drawer/basket. You then either choose a preset, or set the time and temperature manually, and start the machine. The food inside will then cook according to the settings you selected. I recommended that you regularly shake the drawers and/or turn food over throughout the cooking process, to ensure an even cook.

Can you air fry everything?

Not quite, no. There are a few do’s and don’ts when it comes to air frying. If you want to learn more, check out what you CAN and CAN’T air fry.

Air fryer tips for beginners

Now… Let’s jump straight into it, so we can boost your air frying knowledge and confidence. You can do this!!

1. Make sure you bought the right one

Before you even take it out the box, really consider what you will use your air fryer for. How many people are you cooking for? What will you cook in it? Do you have the space for it? These are all things you should consider before buying an air fryer. But if you buy one that’s not suited to your needs? You’re setting yourself up to fail before you’ve even begun.

2. Get to know your machine first

Before using an air fryer, get familiar with it. This is one of the most important first things to do, but often gets overlooked. It doesn’t have to take hours, or require mountains of learning – simply read through the manual that comes with your machine, and look at all the settings/dials/buttons etc on the machine itself. It’s as easy as that.

3. Check your air fryer’s wattage

If your air fryer is particularly powerful, or not very powerful at all – you may need to adjust the temperatures when following recipes. It’s a handy thing to know when you’re getting started, and could help prevent costly mistakes.

4. Utilise your existing skills!

It may seem initially daunting learning how to use a new piece of equipment, but all of your existing cooking skills are absolutely transferrable! Don’t go into this thinking everything is completely new – because it isn’t. This is cooking like you’ve always known it, just with a little tweaking. Trust me, you’ve got this!

5. Don’t treat it like an oven

This is where the little tweaking I was talking about comes in. Yes, your skills are transferrable, but an air fryer is still different from an oven. If you use oven settings to cook in an air fryer – you’ll overcook EVERYTHING. Air fryers are much smaller, and cook faster as a result. So make sure you reduce the times and temperatures using a good air fryer conversion chart.

6. Look after it

It’s not like a deep fat fryer, where it’s normal to leave the oil in it forever and a day! Make sure you keep it clean, and be gentle with that non stick coating. You’ll get the best lifespan out of it if you do.

7. Know when to use your oven

This may sound counterintuitive to getting air fryer confident – but hear me out. Yes it’s exciting having a new machine, and yes, you might want to use it all the time. But when you’re cooking larger quantities or batch cooking – the likelihood is, that it’s still going to be much more energy efficient using your oven. Rather than cooking lots and lots of individual batches in your air fryer.

8. Check the basket(s) before cooking

This may sound really obvious, but I’ve actually had someone tell me that they put a printed conversion chart in a basket/drawer for safe keeping. They then inevitably forgot about it, and burnt it when they next switched on their air fryer! It only takes a split second, and it could spare you a massive headache!

9. Don’t use spray oils

Air fryers are great for using less oil when cooking your meals. But you do need to use the right oil. What do I mean by that? Whatever you do, DON’T use any of the spray oils that you can buy in supermarkets. They all contain an ingredient that will damage the non stick coating of your air fryer drawer/basket over time. Instead, oil the food before you put it into the machine. Or use your own spray bottle and pure oils instead.

10. Don’t be intimidated or scared to use it

Ok, I realise this might be easier said than done. But trust me when I tell you that experimenting is half the fun of learning how to air fry! So long as you reduce cooking times and temperatures, and check on your food regularly, you honestly can’t go far wrong. Just take a leap of faith and give it a go. You won’t regret it!

Still feeling unsure or nervous? You might like what’s coming next…

Get air fryer confident… FAST!

Learning how to use an air fryer is all about boosting your confidence.

“Erm, that’s all well and good Emma, but how on earth do you do that??”

Simple! By boosting your knowledge in the right way, your confidence will naturally grow. But the thought of trawling the internet for hours on end to learn (what will probably be lots of irrelevant information) can seem overwhelming right?

What if I told you there was an easier way? A FASTER way?

Introducing… Get Air Fryer Confident FASTER! The quickest and easiest way to get comfortable using your air fryer.

Instead of trawling the internet for hours on end to find useful information, that is actually relevant to you and your air fryer model – start this course!

It will take a fraction of the time, and you’ll get the information you really need MUCH faster. And all in ONE place!

You’ll be confident enough to air fry whatever you want, whenever you want it… In next to no time at all!

What will I learn in the course?

You’ll learn how to air fry confidently in the fastest time possible. How to air fryer anything, and be proud of the results! How to avoid making costly mistakes. Learn how to clean your air fryer without damaging it. How to repeat your successes, and not be a one hit wonder! And how to turbocharge your air fryer confidence!

The course is fully interactive too. Click complete after every lesson, and you’ll see the progress you’re making in a confidence boosting percentage gauge. Watch informative videos, download helpful printables, click useful resource links, and even start your own air fryer recipe scrap book!

Oh, and remember when I said Kitchen Mason will always be your biggest cheerleader? Never has that been more true than in THIS course! I’ll be there with you, every step of the way to keep you motivated. (I even appear in a video or two!)

What lessons are in the course?

Get Air Fryer Confident FASTER is divided into 8 chapters. Breaking all the information you need into manageable bitesize sections. Making it much easier for you to learn, and complete at your own pace.

It includes how to work out which air fryer is right for you, and how to care for your air fryer. Which accessories are a waste of money, and how to avoid costly mistakes. Plus get to grips with what you can and can’t air fry – including lots of recipe inspiration (5 of which are EXCLUSIVE to this course, and can’t be found anywhere else!).

Are there more air fryer tips?

Absolutely!! There are plenty of air fryer tips throughout the course. So you can rest safe in the knowledge that, if you enrol in the course today, there’s an excess of helpful tricks coming your way!

How do I get the course?

Well that part’s EASY. Simply click the button below, and it’ll take you straight to the checkout. So you can get air fryer confident TODAY!

Want to know a little more before you buy? Have a look at this page to learn all about it.

Love these air fryer tips? Pin it!

If you like this article…

…you might also like:

• UK Air fryer recipes (40+)
• Air fryer cooking times, everything you need to know!
• Why your air fryer is collecting dust… and how to fix it!

Have your say!

Did you find this post useful? Thought of something I may have missed? Let me know! Get in touch via social media – on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com. I’d love your feedback!