Spooky season is just around the corner, and households across the UK have spent the day doing the rounds of trick-or-treating. This Halloween, most will have had an array of shop-bought sweets and homemade treats on offer.
Preparing homemade treats could be time-consuming, so many are opting to use their air fryer to speed up the process for this season’s fun food classics.
“Whilst air fryers are a fantastic addition to your home, saving you both on your electricity bill and cooking time, certain Halloween classics mustn’t be baked in the air fryer, as they could cause havoc in your kitchen, and even damage your appliance,” said Matt Ayres, an appliance expert at RDO Kitchens and Appliances.
Matt Ayres from RDO Kitchens and Appliances gives the following tips on three Halloween Classics to avoid cooking in the air fryer!
- Candy apples
Candy apples in an air fryer are a logistical nightmare due to the sensitive cooking time of the sugar used to make the candy coating for the apple.
When using the traditional method of heating the sugar in the pan, the heat can be easily controlled, and the sugar can be monitored to ensure that it doesn’t burn.
When using an air fryer, the appliance is designed to heat the contents extremely quickly, leading to the sugar burning in a few seconds. It is near-impossible to control the cooking speed of the sugar in the air-fryer, and the baskets are not designed to hold liquid to be heated up.
“Trying to make candy apples in the air fryer will also be extremely messy, making it nearly impossible to remove the dried caramelised sugar from the basket.
For the best results, use the stovetop method to make candy apples, which will ensure that you get a smooth, even coating without the cleanup nightmare.
2. Spooky pancakes
Despite encouraging TikTok videos suggesting users to make Amercian-style pancakes in the air fryer, this is a terrible idea. These appliances are simply not designed for wet batters.
Unlike using a specially designed crepe pan to make your perfectly fluffy spooky pancakes, using the air fryer will lead to a stack of soggy mess, which won’t be able to cook through in time.
Depending on the thickness of the batter, this may also become incredibly messy at the bottom of the basket, which will be very inconvenient to clean.
3. Honeycomb toffee
Making honeycomb in the air fryer could easily become a messy disaster rather than an indulging treat to share during the Halloween celebrations.
Although honeycomb relies on precise heating of sugar to the right temperature to create its iconic light and airy texture, the air fryer doesn’t always offer the precise control needed, which can lead to burnt or undercooked caramelised sugar. The sugar mixture can also splatter and stick, creating a sticky mess in your air fryer.
Honeycomb hardens quickly as it cools, and cleaning hardened sugar out of an air fryer’s basket and fans would be a nightmare, which could even damage your appliance. For these reasons, sticking to the stovetop or a candy thermometer with a controlled heat source is likely to give you much more consistent and tasty results.
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