Air frying has become a staple in every household. Air fryers work by distributing hot air around the food, which cooks and gives it a crispy exterior using just a small amount of oil. This is why many people wonder whether you can also use cooking spray in an air fryer.
No, you should not use any cooking spray on your air fryer. Doing so will ruin the non-stick coating on the air fryer basket. As an alternative, spray the food with cooking spray before putting it on the air fryer instead of spraying the basket itself.
Also, check our article on whether you can use Pam in an air fryer or not.
Why you shouldn’t use cooking spray in an air fryer
As mentioned above, using cooking spray on your air fryer or other non-stick cookware is not recommended.
Cooking sprays contain ingredients like lecithin and propellants. If you use these sprays continuously over a long time, these ingredients will build up on your air fryer basket or rack.
Check out how to get grease off your air fryer basket!
Propellants are not good for our health and can damage our food. Lecithin usually leaves behind a sticky residue that can be extremely difficult or even impossible to remove.
These oils also have a very low smoke point, which cannot handle the high temperatures of an air fryer and can lead to them burning very quickly.
Want to learn how hot air fryers really get? Then, check out our article here!
This can severely damage the non-stick surface of your air fryer and ruin it. In some cases, it may void the warranty of your air fryer, so be careful.
This is why instead of using cooking spray, brush some oil onto the surface of your air fryer. Use an oil with a high smoke point, like coconut or avocado oil, so that they don’t burn and damage the coating or the food.
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Conclusion
In short, while cooking sprays may look like a good option to use on air fryers, they aren’t. They contain ingredients like lecithin which can ruin the surface of your air fryer. Instead, spray the food itself, or use a high-smoke-point oil and brush it on the surface.