The air fryer is the unsung kitchen hero of the quarantine kitchen. From the simple oil-free cooking of frozen chicken nuggets and French fries to cooking and baking everything in it, too, the air fryer has become indispensable for many home cooks during the pandemic.
However, we bet you have one air frying task that you might possibly dread: cleaning the air fryer.
It's ideal to always clean the air fryer, especially the basket after every meal is cooked. For anyone who has one, you understand why there is a degree of difficulty in cleaning it. The basket is particularly hard to get properly clean! So if you have been negligent in washing up more thoroughly, cleaning the air fryer is one task you may have left for another day.
The good news is that we have tips and tricks to help you get that air fryer cleaner than you imagined it could. This is how you can clean your air fryer:
Photo by Shutterstock 1 Remove the basket from the holder.
The basket should be removable from the holder so this makes it easy to clean better. Not only will you be able to clean the basket all over but you can also clean the holder of any oily residue that may cling to its surface. Any hardened grease or fats from meats can also be easily reached and cleaned, too.
Photo by The Marketplace, Robinsons 2 Soak both in soapy water.
The good thing about air fryers is that the basket holder is meant to hold liquids, particularly oil, that drips from the food you're air frying. (This acts as the drip pan in an oven.) This means that you can add soapy water to that basin and replace your basket in its holder, effectively soaking both the basket and the holder. You do not have to look for a basin that it will fit into!
You just have to make enough soapy solution made of dishwashing soap and water to fill the basket holder. Any dishwashing soap should do the trick, but we highly recommend kitchen cleaners that can do the grease-cutting job easier and faster.
Joy Zesty Lemon Dishwashing Spray, 300 ml, P179, Shopwise and Lazada
Joy Fresh Lime Dishwashing Spray, 300 ml, P179, The Marketplace and Lazada
Mr. Muscle Kitchen Cleaner, 500 ml, starting at 147.75, SM Hypermarket, Robinsons Supermarket, and Lazada
Photo by Lazada 3 Use a brush!
Don't use a sponge if you're cleaning the basket! While the sponge works great for cleaning the holder, the same can't be said for the basket. That's because the basket has so many crevices and places that food can get stuck on that it will shred your sponge's abrasive side before it can be free of those food particles properly.
Instead, use a brush! Dishwashing brushes can have long handles or be the stubby version that fits in your hand and allows you to apply more pressure as needed for those stubborn pieces. Choose the ones with stiffer bristles to make scrubbing and removing food from dishes, pots, and other cookware easier.
If you have soaked it long enough, 10 minutes up to overnight for the really caked-on food, the bristles of the brush should reach those hard-to-reach places and be strong enough to push the food hidden in the basket's wires free.
Bamboo Dish Scrub Brushes, P134.47, Lazada
4 Clean the air fryer inside and out.
Remember to clean the inside as well as the outside of the air fryer for a thorough cleaning. The inside of the air fryer may not need much other than a wipe to remove any food that may have fallen from the basket to the floor of the unit.
Stay away from cleaning the fan above the basket area since you may jostle parts that could prevent your air fryer from working properly.
Do check the air vent at the back or top of your unit to make sure that there are no grease stains that you need to wipe down. If your air fryer is made of stainless steel or chrome, consider wiping it down and spot cleaning with soapy water to prevent rusting.
Photo by Shutterstock 5 Rinse and air it dry.
Once cleaned, wipe your unit dry with a dry cleaning cloth as much as possible, especially the outside. The best way to dry your air fryer basket and holder is to place it back in its holder, push it into the appliance, and turn it on. As short as 3 minutes is all you need to dry it out and prevent rust from ever developing on the surface of the air fryer basket and its holder.
Do these cleaning tips, especially for the basket and holder, as often as you use the air fryer so you have a spotless kitchen as well as an appliance that's worthy to keep on the countertop.
What are your air fryer cleaning tips?
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