Admire your air fryer but detest cleaning up after meals? The use of silicone baskets will completely change your air fryer experience! These clever liners can enhance the quality of your food in addition to making cleaning a breeze. We will provide the details of utilizing silicone baskets in your air fryer in this blog post. We will go over everything, from picking the best liner to making the most of its advantages,And how to use silicone basket in Air Fryer,so you may enjoy crispy, delectable air-fried food and spend less time cleaning.
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is, for all intents and purposes, a convenient countertop convection oven. It uses a fan to circulate hot air to cook, crisp, or caramelize food faster than the usual radiant heat in a regular toaster or traditional oven. Air fryers began with the reputation of being a “healthy” eating appliance thanks to the lack of oil needed to make classic comfort food like chicken wings and French fries. These days, they’re present in plenty of home kitchens, including those looking to make quick and simple meals or those adding an option beyond the oven or the stove while cooking for a crowd.
How Does An Air Fryer Work?
Hot air is quickly circulated throughout an air fryer’s interior to cook food. A fan pumps heated air around food placed in a perforated tray or basket, much like in a convection oven. Without needing to be submerged in hot oil, the food cooks to become crispy on all sides since all of its surface areas are exposed to the hot air.
Different Types Of Air Fryers
Before we look into air fryer liners, I think it makes sense to look at the different types of air fryers. This is because not all liners will fit in every air fryer.
Basket Air Friers
This kind of air fryer appears to be among the most, if not the most, widely used. There are one or two drawers on them. Because they are available in a variety of sizes, customers can choose the one that best suits their family’s needs.
Additionally, the air fryers’ basket shapes differ. While the single drawer air fryer baskets are usually squarer or circular in shape, the dual drawer air fryer baskets are usually rectangular.
Oven Style Air Fryers
These air fryers tend to look like mini counter top ovens. Instead of a basket, they usually have wire shelves and a clear window so you can see the food as it cooks.
Oven style air fryers also often come with various attachments and accessories such as a rotisserie or kebab spikes.
Multi Cookers With An Air Fryer Function
This is the type of air fryer I have and therefore the one you will see in all of my recipes. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker which has a basket that you lift in and out of the machine. It works very similar to standard basket air fryers.
There are newer versions available since I got mine which offer even more cooking functions.
Paddle Type Air Fryers
To my knowledge these air fryers have been around for the longest time. I had one for years before I got my current recent cooker.
They have a paddle or arm that moves around the air fryer tray to circulate the food whilst it cooks. Unlike other types of air fryers, paddle air fryers don’t have holes in the tray as the paddle circulates the food and air.
Silicone Basket
Silicone basket have become an indispensable kitchen accessory, revolutionizing the way we cook and providing numerous benefits for health-conscious and convenience-seeking home chefs. These innovative baskets are designed to fit perfectly in your air fryer, simplifying the cooking process and elevating your culinary adventures to a whole new level.
How to use silicone basket in air fryer
Yes, you can use silicone in the air fryer, whilst a lot of air fryer beginners want to know if you can use foil in the air fryer, silicone is the better option because you can reuse it, and it lasts a long time and is a real money saver.
Though do note silicone in the air fryer, can slow down your cook time a little due to the air fryer air circulation.
Air Fryer Silicone Recipes
But I get it. You want value for money and when you buy your silicone for the air fryer, you want more than one use from it. So, you are probably looking for some delicious silicone air fryer recipes which we have included below and talked about many of them on the podcast. Here we have liners which makes easy and healthy food while using air fryer.
Different Types of Air Fryer Liners
As well as different types of air fryers, there are also a variety of different air fryer liners you can buy or use.
Silicone Liners
These air frier liners are the most widely available reusable option. They come in a number of different sizes and shapes so you should be able to find one that will fit you air fryer. That is unless it is a paddle type air fryer unfortunately.
Silicone liners are multi use and can be washed time and time again. The majority are dishwasher safe.
Walled Silicone Liners
These are the most widely used silicone liners. As their name suggests, the silicone forms a wall which fits inside the basket. Some have holes in them, either on the walls or the base to allow for better air circulation while others don’t.
Flat Silicone
Flat silicone liners can be used in basket air fryers. However, they tend to be more widely used in the oven style air fryers. They are just a flat silicone sheet that usually has holes in for ventilation.
Due to them not having ‘walls’ they won’t prevent any food sticking to the sides of your air fryer.
Parchment Liners
Disposable liners come in a range of shapes and sizes to fit most air fryers. The majority of them are walled, but you can get flat parchment liners too.
It also seems to be more common for the parchment liners to not have holes. But I have seen a few you can buy with holes.
As the name suggests these are for single use.
Tin Foil
If you don’t want to invest in any air fryer specific accessories, a lot of people use tin foil in their air fryers. You can fold and bend it to your desired shape so it will fit in any air fryer you have.
Obviously, the tin foil will only have holes if you make them yourself.
Advantages Of Using an Air Fryer Liner
So now you know the different types of air fryer liners, what are the advantages of using one?How to use silicone basket in air fryer?
Easier To Clean
The primary benefit and, in my opinion, the primary factor driving the majority of users to choose air fryer liners is their ease of cleaning compared to the air fryer basket.
Disposable foil and paper liners can be thrown away, whereas silicone liners can typically be placed right into the dishwasher. Your actual air fryer will not have any cooking liquids if your liner does not have holes in the bottom.
Although a lot of air fryer baskets themselves can go in the dishwasher, they are quite bulky and can take up a lot of room. An air fryer liner is much smaller and therefore doesn’t command so much space.
Helps Prevent Food Sticking
Whether your liner is silicone or parchment, they both help to prevent food from sticking to the air fryer basket.
Not only does food sticking to the basket make cleanup a little more complicated, but it also has an impact on the meal itself. It might pull some of the coating off the chicken, for instance, if you were cooking chicken nuggets and the coating stuck to the air fryer basket.
Disadvantages Of Using an Air Fryer Liner
Although liners have some great advantages, they do also come with some disadvantages. This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be used, but they are factors people should be aware of.
Food Can Take Longer to Cook
An additional layer is added between the cooking food and the basket when using an air fryer liner. The thickness of silicone liners, which is only a few millimeters, will impact the cooking time.
Even though parchment liners are often very thin, they have an effect on cooking time.
Some folks might not mind if food takes a little longer to cook. This is because cooking food in an air fryer still takes less time than cooking it in an oven most of the time.
An Air Fryer is smaller than a convection oven and cooks’ food more quickly meaning they save time and energy.
Food Might Not Get as Crispy As You Want
Air fryer liners put an additional layer between the food and the air that is circulating to cook it. This prevents food from getting as crisp as quickly as it would without the liner.
Usually if you cook the food for a few more minutes, you should be able to achieve the perfect level of crispness.
However some recipes such as Air Fryer Sausage Rolls might never get quite as crisp as they would if you didn’t use a liner. The pastry isn’t in direct contact with the heat so although it will cook through, it won’t necessarily have the same crispness.
Parchment Liners Can Blow Around
If your air fryer requires preheating, make sure you do not add your parchment liner at this stage. Without the food to weigh the liner down, it is likely to blow around inside the basket of your air fryer.
Benefits
- Non-Stick Cooking: Silicone air fryer liners are engineered to be non-stick, preventing food from sticking to the bottom of the basket and making cleanup a breeze. It eliminates the need for excess oil or cooking sprays, reducing unhealthy fats and calories in your meals.
- Healthy Cooking: With these liners, you can achieve crispy, golden-brown results without deep-frying. Excess grease is drained away for healthier, guilt-free cooking.
- Versatility: These liners are compatible with a variety of air fryer brands, including popular ones, ensuring that they can be used with different models and sizes. You can use them to fry, bake, grill, and reheat a variety of foods, including vegetables, meats, and desserts.
- Durable and Reusable: These air fryers with Silicone liners are built to last with their heat-resistant, food-grade silicone material. They are reusable and withstand high temperatures, saving money and reducing waste.
- Easy Cleanup: Forget about scrubbing and soaking your air fryer basket after each use. These liners make cleaning up a breeze remove them from the basket, rinse them, or toss them in the dishwasher for a quick and effortless cleanup.
- Enhanced Food Safety: The food-grade silicone is safe for cooking and won’t release harmful chemicals or toxins, ensuring that your meals are cooked in a healthy and safe environment.