Using aluminum foil is super convenient when it comes to preparing food. You can simply wrap your veggies or meat in the foil and keep their juices nice and locked in. It is also a great way to keep the food warmer for longer. Many of us have looked at our air fryers and wondered if it would be safe to put food wrapped in aluminum foil inside it. Can you put aluminum foil in the air fryer or would it explode or set alight? While the answer is YES, there are some important safety considerations.
What is an air fryer, and how does it work?
Air fryers are described as “amped-up” ovens, so you’d think you could prepare just about anything inside it. Not quite. Air fryers are more compact and make the cooking time a little faster. If you’re hoping to save on time, you’ll get that with an air fryer.
In the top part of an air fryer, you will find a fan and a heating mechanism. From here, hot air will rush to the food, and around it. The food is placed in a fryer-style basket. Thanks to this fast and rapid circulation of hot air, the food is made crispy, like it would with deep frying. However, it is considered much, much healthier.
Cleaning up air fryers is a lot easier, as well. Most parts of air fryers can safely be put in the dishwasher for cleaning.
What food can you make in an air fryer?
These fryers are great at heating up frozen food that should be deep-fried. What can you cook in an air fryer? You can prepare chicken wings, french fries, mozzarella sticks, etc. We are particularly fond of cooking sausage in the air fryer. You can also bake in air fryers if you feel the need.
What food can’t you prepare in an air fryer?
You will not be able to make anything that has a liquid batter in an air fryer. Also, you cannot make anything in very large quantities, so it’s not the best appliance for when the family comes over. Unless you want to make your food in batches.
Now the big question: Can you put aluminum foil in the air fryer?
In short, yes, you can. However, there is something to consider: safety.
When it comes to putting aluminum foil in the fryer, it all depends on the kind of food you want to prepare. Aluminum foil can be wrapped around just about any food, and you can throw this in the air fryer. Just make sure that you have sealed it properly.
But if you are working with food that is highly acidic, you should probably (definitely) not use aluminum foil. The acid in this kind of food can cause decomposition of the aluminum. This can result in small parts of the foil ending up in your food. Highly acidic foods include tomatoes, tomato sauce, fruits, and dishes that were/are made with vinegar.
If you do use aluminum foil with these foods, you could find black spots on it after preparation. Eating these specks aren’t unsafe, but it could ruin the food’s taste. You could end up eating food that has a metallic taste. This rule of thumb is important for air fryers as well as normal ovens.
It is also possible for food with spicy herbs or food with high levels of salt to react negatively to aluminum foil.
Another thing to remember is to never put aluminum foil (or baking paper for that matter) in an air fryer on its own. It won’t explode, but because nothing is holding it down, the foil (or paper) could be sucked into the heater. This could lead to a fire in the fryer.
Check Your Manual
If you adhere to these simple suggestions, you should be able to prepare aluminum-wrapped food in your air fryer safely. It is very important that you remember to check your air fryer for the way it works before using it, especially with regards to things such as aluminum foil. If your air fryer uses a top-installed coil, you should be okay when using foil, as discussed above.
However, if your air fryer uses a coil in its base, you want to be very careful about accidentally covering it. You don’t want an accidental mishap that leads to something serious like a fire or damage to your air fryer.
Is it dangerous to your health to use aluminum foil?
Many people are wary of using aluminum foil because parts of it end up in our food and our stomachs. On average, adults consume about 1 to 10 mg of aluminum through processed food and aluminum. If you use aluminum foil for your food preparation, you will be exposing yourself to even more. In the long run, this could lead to health risks.
Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to the daily intake of aluminum. For the most part, though, it is considered safe to use foil when making food. Also, it should be noted that aluminum also makes its way into your body through medication. The precise role that aluminum plays in Alzheimer’s development and progression has not been completely determined yet.
It is also possible to perhaps develop inflammatory bowel disease because of aluminum intake. But again, the jury is still out on this one. Tests and research are still ongoing to determine the real risks of aluminum.
If you are truly worried about this, do more research to determine if you and your family are at risk. Most people don’t ever consume enough to really pose a threat to their health.
Conclusion
You can use aluminum foil in an air fryer if you play it safe. When preparing acidic foods, skip on using foil. But in general, you will be alright if you use it to wrap your vegetables and meat. Just don’t ever put aluminum foil in your air fryer without something to hold it down.
It could end up getting sucked into and covering the air fryer’s heater, which could potentially lead to a fire. But as long as you remember the advice given to you here, you will be just fine and can enjoy using your air fryer safely with aluminum foil.
