Air fryers are amongst the latest and greatest when it comes to cooking tools. With the constant search for healthy ways to prepare food without compromising the flavors and textures that we’ve grown to love; air frying has become very popular.
However, many home chefs are nervous about air frying because of the safety concerns and questions that come with deep frying.
Can you put water in an air fryer?
You can put water in an air fryer. When you’re cooking fatty foods, which normally smoke when heated, adding a tablespoon of water will reduce the formation of smoke. Heating soup in a bowl in the air fryer is also perfectly fine. Make sure that any liquids placed in the air fryer are kept away from the electronics as it may create a short-circuit.
The same delicious and buttery crunch of deep-fried foods can be achieved with just a fraction of the oil that’s used in deep frying. Although we’ve been taught that water and oil don’t mix, we’ve also learned that hot oil and water can be borderline explosive.
Are you interested in air frying, but a little nervous about what happens if water gets into the fryer? We can help with that.
Why Add Water to an Air Fryer
So why exactly would anyone purposely add water to an air fryer? We know from elementary school science that putting water or liquid into hot oil makes the oil pop and sends splattering grease all over the place.
So, putting water a fryer seems like a bad idea. But it actually can make air frying even safer and cut down on the risk of filling your home with the smell of burnt grease.
Air Frying High Fat Foods
Foods with higher fat content are mighty tasty when they’re fried, but the fat can cause the air fryer itself to smoke. When fat heats up, it melts and turns to liquid, the liquid in oil causes spattering. This is exactly why we’ve been conditioned to not put water into hot oil.
But, because there’s so little oil in an air fryer and it’s in an enclosed area, the spattering particles aren’t as dangerous and can’t get out and burn anyone or anything.
The liquid spatter can, however, get onto the part of the air fryer that puts off heat, which is what causes the smoking. These foods are usually the culprit of some smoke coming from the air fryer:
- Chicken thighs
- Bacon
- Meatballs
- Burgers
Smoke can cause all kinds of health issues for anyone that has asthma or allergies. But it can also cause a lingering stench in your home, so smoke billowing out of your air fryer is clearly not ideal.
Stop an Air Fryer From Smoking
Without getting too deep into how an air fryer works (because we’ll do that later), it’s important to know that putting water in an air fryer can actually make it safer. It’s not uncommon to see smoke coming from an air fryer.
If you’re going to be cooking one of the above foods, or something similar, then you’ll want to add water to prevent any of this from happening. The water should go in the drawer of the air fryer, or under the basket.
Not much is needed, about two tablespoons should do the trick.
Other Liquids Used in an Air Fryer
While water in the bottom of an air fryer does prevent a smoky mess from unfolding in your kitchen, it might have the wheels in your brain turning.
There are a lot of liquids involved in cooking, especially frying. But what about air frying? What other liquids can be used with this cooking method, and which liquids should be avoided?
Wet Batter
Grandma’s fried chicken is legendary, and so are those deep-fried snacks you find at the state fair. While we’re constantly on a quest to find a healthier way to prepare these traditionally deep-fried delicacies, the air fryer is not the answer.
Most fried chicken, as well as deep-fried fair foods, use a wet batter. A wet batter is, well, wet and has to swim in a pool of hot, hot oil in order to cook.
Again, without getting into how the air fryer works (yes, I promise it is coming), it’s worth noting that the hot air used in air frying just doesn’t cut the mustard.
The hot air can’t quite cook wet-battered things fast enough to produce the crispy texture that we get from regular deep frying. So, unless you like food that’s covered in glue, wet batter in an air fryer isn’t going to give you the same result.
The batter will just turn out semi-cooked, gooey, and slimy. More than likely, the batter will get hot enough to just slide right off the food and cause a giant mess.
Oils
Air frying can be done without oils at all, which is a huge part of its allure. It does deliver a texture that’s similar to our deep-fried favorites, with little to no oil.
However, some oil can help with maximizing the crispness output. Naturally, this is a pretty important factor in some recipes. Nobody wants to eat soggy French fries.
Just like any other cooking method, there’s the pan stick factor. Air frying is no different. Even though an air fryer recipe might not call for oil, if it’s something that could potentially stick to the frying basket, spraying or brushing oil onto the basket will prevent anything from getting stuck.
To be sure that the oil doesn’t have a similar effect as the fatty foods, causing a smoky and stinky kitchen situation, there are a couple of things to be mindful of when adding oil into the air frying mix.
Choose Your Oil Wisely
When deciding which oil to use, you’ll want to make sure to find one that has a higher smoke point. This means the oil can get really hot before smoking and burning.
Even if you’re just spritzing the oil on the basket, it should still be something that can get incredibly hot without smoking. Here are a few oils that have higher smoke points:
- Extra Light Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Grapeseed Oil
It’s also worth mentioning here that nonstick cooking sprays should not be used in air frying, as they can damage the inside of the fryer itself.
Mix the Oil with the Foods
With air frying, there’s no pan or solid bottomed area to dump the oil. And, if there’s an excess of oil floating around inside the fryer, you’ll again be facing a bunch of stinky smoke while you’re trying to cook.
Instead of pouring oil into the air fryer, it should be sprayed or added to whatever is being fried.
How Does an Air Fryer Work?
I promised we’d briefly go over how air fryers work, just to put it all into perspective. And, to better understand why water can work in an air fryer. Yes, it uses less oil than deep frying.
No, you’re not fully submerging your food in oil. So how does it fry, exactly?
An air fryer is fairly small and works kind of like a convection oven. Very hot air is sent into the fryer, and a fan blows the air all around inside.
Because of its size, the air can get very hot but is also contained in a small area. The heat then cooks the food quickly, causing the crispy evolution that we know as air frying.