Expert points warning to air fryer customers over the one merchandise you need to NEVER cook dinner

An air fryer expert has issued an urgent warning to discourage cooks from making popcorn in the counter top device.  

Grace Forell, a consumer expert,  said that the device doesn’t reach the temperature needed to safely make the classic cinema snack     

Speaking to BBC Morning Live she said: ‘Popcorn won’t cook well in an air fryer as most models won’t reach the required temperature to pop the kernels.’

‘Popcorn kernels can also become lodged within the air fryer’s heating element, which may cause the appliance to short, creating a fire hazard.’

‘Stick with the microwave or the hob for popcorn if you’re settling down for a good movie night!’ she said. 

But not everyone has heeded the advice of experts, with some having shared air fryer popcorn recipes online – much to the horror of experts.

One experimental cook took the question to Reddit, asking readers for their favourite popcorn recipes to use with the air fryer.   

Launching the question of the forum, they wrote: ‘I see everyone saying not to do it because of risk of fire,’.

An air fryer expert has issued an urgent warning to discourage cooks from using a popular kitchen appliance to cook one food item in particular

‘Why can’t you put aluminium over the entirety of the hot plate like you should do with anything anyways to keep it clean? 

‘Or even more so, do that and wrap it around the top for the popcorn kernels to pop into?’

But most Reddit users were horrified by the suggestion, warning that it would likely end with an inedible batch of snacks and an annoying mess to clear.  

Other advised against using aluminium foil to make popcorn in the air fryer – though most experts agree it is safe to use for cooking other things.

One warned: ‘When a kernel flies into the fan and bangs around and you swear for a hour while trying to get it out, you will wish you hadn’t. Please don’t.’

A second added: ‘Or when the air fryer scorches the popped kernels, the smell will also make you wish you hadn’t.’

Another warned from bitter experience ‘that the air fryer does not work’. 

Elsewhere, others pointed out the potential damage that could be caused to the device itself, urging the hopeful popcorn maker to wait until they had access to a microwave to do the job properly.

Another pleaded with the Reddit user not to use the air fryer. ‘Don’t do it. You will just burn the popcorn. Air fryers can do a lot of things but popping corn is not one of them. Just get a cheap Wheril-y- pop stove top crank operated corn popper, cheaper and better results,’ they wrote.

It’s not the only thing that experts have warned against using in the miniature ovens.

People should also avoid anything that is cooked in wet batter. According to Poppy O’Toole, the self-titled Potato Queen and author of Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook, the air-fryer is not the place for beer-battered fish or cauliflower wings.

‘It needs that contact heat of hot oil to cook, rather than the non-contact heat of an air fryer,’ she wrote. ‘Otherwise you just end up with mess and a little bit of crunchy batter.’

Additionally, people should avoid putting uncooked pasta or rice in the devices. 

Unsurprisingly, neither grains or uncooked pasta shells will go down very well in the air-fryer since both by nature need to absorb water to cook.

But it can offer an quick and easy option to heat up a lasagne, where each of the components has already been cooked separately.

Foods that are laden with sauce can also pose a similar drip risk to the wet batter.

Writing for Real Simple, chef and consumer test kitchen specialist, Laurie Klein said: ‘The worst foods for air frying have sauces or batters.’

‘The problem isn’t the cooking so much as the cleanup. Air fryer baskets have holes in the bottom or wire mesh for air circulation. Sauces fall through the openings and cause a messy disaster to have to clean up,’ she added.

As per the name, the air-fryer is best for dry dishes and struggles with anything that needs liquid.

That said, Poppy O’Toole, suggested ‘tapas-y meatballs’ could work well in the air-fryer. She suggested air-frying at the end of cooking to add a layer of caramelisation and colour.

‘‘That’s fine because I put it in a little tapas dish and it’s just an inch of sauce, not pure liquid.’,’ she said.