Can You Open An Air Fryer While Its On?

The air fryer is becoming more and more popular nowadays with the impressive benefits that it offers. With an air fryer, you can now easily make a meal ready within the shortest time and with the minimum effort. The unique appliance uses a completely different mechanism that allows it to cook the food quickly and be healthy. But can you open an air fryer while its on?

The short answer is yes. You can open an air fryer while it’s on. In the below part of the article, we will let you know a bit more about the topic. Along with that, we will discuss some other safety tips about the air fryer which you might find useful.

Can You Open an Air Fryer While Its On?

If you already have an air fryer, then you might know a bit about the mechanism it uses for cooking the food. The air fryer uses hot air circulation to cook the food. There are fan and heating element inside the device that produce hot air and circulate it around the food. The food in the encased compartment inside the air fryer gets cooked with the hot air. The air actually affects the food from all angles, allowing the food to be cooked quickly and perfectly from all sides.

Now the question is can you open the air fryer when it is on and cooking the food? As we said above, the air fryer cooks the food in a closed compartment and there is no way to know whether your food is cooked or not without opening the compartment. But is it okay to do so? The answer is yes; you can open the air fryer basket to check how much the food has cooked. No issues will occur if you do so while cooking the food.

Most of the air fryers pause the cooking when you open the device to check the food. As a result, even if you set a cooking duration and the cooking temperature, they will not be affected. As soon as you put back the air fryer basket inside the machine, the cooking time and temperature will resume. That means you will not require setting the time and temperature again. Your food will start cooking for the remaining time and temperature.

Now you might be thinking about the heat leaving the basket as you open it. The answer is some heat will leave but there are no issues with that. The mechanism of the air fryer allows it to retain the heat within the shortest time.

Dos and Don’t While Operating an Air Fryer

Your air fryer is an amazing device that allows you to cook things better without requiring extra time and effort. Below we will let you know about some dos and don’ts that will help you to get the best out of the device.

Do Read the Manual

One of the first things you need to do after purchasing an electric appliance is read its manual. The user manual that arrives with the product allows you to know everything about the device. It includes the correct procedure of using the device safely. Furthermore, you will find the safety tips, cleaning and maintenance process, and other information about the device. You can even find the contact information of the air fryer manufacturer support in it that you might require sometimes.

Do Put it in Heat-Resistant Surface

As you said, the air fryer uses super-hot air to cook your food. It has an air inlet and outlet that intake and leave the hot air. Moreover, some of the interior and exterior components of the air fryer become very hot during the process. While cooking in the air fryer, make sure to put it on a heat-resistant surface. If your countertop is not heat resistant, you shouldn’t directly put it in the countertop. Use a countertop protector instead.

On the other hand, keep away your things from the air inlet and outlet. Especially, the outlet leaves hot air which can even melt your things. So, make sure to position the air fryer away from other things. Preferably, you should put the air fryer in an open area where there will not be any blockage.

Don’t Overcrowd the Basket

You really shouldn’t overcrowd the air fryer basket while cooking the food. Make use of the guidance on the user manual while adding the put in the basket. Usually, you should add the ingredients in a single layer at the bottom of the basket. You need to leave some free spaces in the basket to assure proper air circulation. This assures proper and consistent cooking of the ingredients.

Putting the food in multiple layers is a big no when it comes to air fryers. If you overcrowd the basket and put the food in multiple layers, you will end up undercooking and overcooking, which you might not cherish. Cook the food in multiple layers if it is not possible to cook them at once in a single layer.

Don’t Keep Your Air Fryer Plugged In

When you are not using the air fryer, you shouldn’t keep it plugged in. Although, there shouldn’t be any issue if you leave the air fryer plugged in. But sometimes it may put you in unwanted situations. As an example, if you accidentally press any button in the air fryer, it may start heating the device which can malfunction the appliance and even lead to serious issues.

Do Clean the Air Fryer

Air fryers are openly advertised as they don’t require much cleaning. While it is true at some intent, some parts of the air fryer do require regular cleaning. Refer to your air fryer basket to know how to clean the device in the correct way. Follow the exact dos and dont’s mentioned in the air fryer user manual about the cleaning.

Conclusion

The air fryer can be a great long-term companion for cooking the food if you make use of it in the correct way. We hope the above guidelines will help to get the best out of the air fryer.