Keep Your Air Fryer Clean With This Dollar Tree Kitchen Find

Air fryer sales have continued to rise as more people have been trying out the countertop appliances that promise crispy, fried-tasting food without all the oil. They can be used for other cooking methods as well, from roasting and broiling to even baking and more. In fact, if you have one, there are foods you may not be making in it but should be. Tips have emerged for best use, such as putting them in the right spot in your kitchen, and more related products for them have sprung up. One is Dollar Tree's Surefresh Air Fryer Parchment Paper Liners, which provide an easy way to help keep the gadgets clean.

The light brown, food-safe rounds look like wide, shallow coffee filters. They won't let liquids, oil, or grease get through, and liquids also won't cause them to break apart. That makes clean-up quicker and easier, and avoids potentially more wearing vigorous scrubbing of the fryer. While they are disposable, you could also potentially reuse them if the food you cooked wasn't that greasy or didn't give off a lot of liquid.

The liners come in two options, both for $1.50. One is a 15-count box of the 7.9-inch-by-1.7-inch size, and the other is a 20-count of the smaller 6.3-inch-by-1.7-inch ones. You could also order them online, with a required minimum purchase of 24 boxes for $36 — though this might be best left for commercial, high-use purposes.

There are some helpful guidelines and tips for getting the best results with Dollar Tree's air frying aid without any worrisome incidents along the way. Safety is always first, so never preheat the air fryer with just the liner in the basket. The appliance's fan will send it flying around, and it could get burned and even potentially catch fire if it touches the heating element.

Wait until preheating is done, then you can put in the food that will hold it down. Similarly, you want to know the maximum temperature that's safe for the parchment paper. It's usually up to 420 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why you can never use it in a pizza oven, but check what the product's packaging says to make sure.

The liners' benefits include keeping food from sticking to the cooking surfaces, preventing hard-to-clean spots from charred cheese or sticky ingredients like honey, and even acting as a vessel to hold the food, while making it easier to take out of the basket. On the negative side, however, they could also keep your dish from being as crisp as possible because the hot air isn't able to circulate as well. Additionally, if you want grease to drain from what you're cooking, there's nowhere for it to go except to pool on the parchment paper. Both problems can be solved by punching some holes in the bottom of the liner. There will be more to clean afterward, but not as much as if there were no barrier at all.