You spend a fortune on an air fryer to cope with your busy life and have the taste of your favorite restaurants. But what’s the point of having it if the air fryer food taste like plastic?
Not just you, like many others – I have also kept wondering why does my food taste like the air fryer for some time. Some may even experience a metallic taste!
For the first few times, it is acceptable. But it should not keep going like that after several times of heating and cooling of your air fryer. In this article, I will solve the problem forever! Just keep reading…
Reasons Why Air Fryer Food Tastes Like Metal Or Plastic
Of course, air fryer is the main culprit. And there are plenty of air fryers that don’t smell and people spend a good amount of money to get them. Sadly, some of them still experience a metallic or plastic smell.
So, it’s important to figure out the probable reasons why it might happen. Then I will show you what should be done to solve the problem.
Plastic Components/Coatings
Air fryers are mainly made of metal. But it has some heat-resistant plastic components too. The venting fan is nothing but a plastic mold.
Besides, some of those metal components have plastic coatings too.
Naturally, as you can guess, when you fry or cook something at a higher temperature, such as plastic coatings or components burn off. So, you get the plastic smell and taste.
But, why they use plastic components in the first place?
Well, they have to. An air fryer has to distribute the heat evenly to make it work efficiently. And the heat-resistant components are just great to insulate the heat.
These plastic components help to concentrate the heat inside and keep the outside cool so that you can touch it. So, that’s the reason.
Apart from the plastic coatings or components of the air fryer, some people use plastic accessories to reheat their food. You can guess the rest, right?
Now, this problem is not an issue for the latest air fryers from trusted brands. Reputed brands ensure that their air fryers go through multiple heating and cooling processes to get rid of the smell at the factory level.
So, if you must have an air fryer that doesn’t smell like plastic – you should get it from a trusted and reputed brand in the first place.
But if your brand is unknown and you bought a cheap air fryer, the plastic smell will keep going for a very long time.
They simply don’t spend enough time in the heating and cooling process to get rid of the smell at their factories.
Even if you have the latest one from a reputed brand like Nuwave Bravo XL and it has some plastic coatings, the smell should go away after using it 2 to 3 times.
If it does not, there is an easy fix which I will talk about later.
How To Get Rid Of Air Fryer Metallic Taste Or Plastic Taste
Now that you know why does your food taste like the air fryer, it’s time to take action.
It simply can’t go like this forever! Luckily, there is some easy fix you can try. Here are some of them:
Give It A Test Run
If you have access to the electric outlet outside your home, you should do this task outside to keep the fume and smell outside.
When the air fryer is completely new, you can remove all the smells you may face in the future. Just give it some test runs.
When you heat and cool it several times, all the smell will go away before affecting your food.
Don’t run it completely empty though. Just don’t put any food. Put all the accessories to the air fryer one by one to release all the plastic fumes.
You can test run it for 3 to 4 minutes setting the temperature at 350-400 deg. Then let it cool down for 15 minutes. Pretty soon, it will be settled down just like any new car.
Vinegar & Lime Juice
I strongly recommend giving your air fryer a nice bath of lime juice and vinegar from day one. This should take care of the metallic and plastic smell from your food fried or cooked in the air fryer.
This is how you should give it a wash….
Get an oven-safe small dish and put 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of distilled vinegar. Mix it up and make a solution. Now, place the dish inside the air fryer.
Set the temperature of the air fryer to 350-400 degrees and run it for 3 minutes. Then let it cool for the next 15 minutes keeping the dish inside.
The vinegar and lime will create a coating inside the air fryer and absorb any excess fumes. Use a clean but damp cloth to wipe the inside and all the smell will be gone!
You can give another steam bath to avoid your air fryer food taste like plastic if the plastic smell is too strong.
Clean The Accessories
Apart from the plastic taste, you may notice some kind of metallic smell too. That’s mainly because your air fryer comes with lots of accessories like the frying basket, baking pan, grill pan, basket divider, and so on.
These accessories may come with some smell when they are fresh. They are not metal but you should clean them nonetheless. That way you can avoid the metallic smell.
You can use any dishwashing soap to thoroughly wash the tray and basket. When done cleaning the air fryer, let them air dry.
Seasoning The Basket & Tray
Once the accessories are cleaned, it’s really helpful to give the basket and the grease separating tray a coating of cooking oil.
Take a paper towel and dampen it with your regular cooking oil. Use the dampened paper towel to coat the inside of the basket and tray. Now, run the air fryer at 350 -400 degrees temperature for two minutes.
Let them cool down for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
The air fryer has become an integral part of our busy life. But it’s so painful when your air fryer food tastes like plastic. You know the reason and the solution. So, stop scratching your head and get to the action!
How do I get rid of the metallic taste in my air fryer?
If you’re using an air fryer which doesn’t smell like plastic, the metallic taste will be a problem. As I mentioned earlier, some of the components in the air fryer are made of metal and that is what gives the metallic taste.
So, how do we get rid of it?
Well, there is no special fix for this. You have to get rid of it in pieces.
The main reason for the metallic taste is that it comes from the basket. So, you have to take care of the basket first.
You should wash the air fryer basket regularly with a dish washing soap and then dry it. That will help you get rid of much of the metallic taste from your food fried in that basket as well as other foods cooked in different ways in your air fryer.
How do you get the weird taste out of an air fryer?
If you’re wondering how to get rid of that weird taste, it is the oil residue left behind after you use your air fryer. It could be residual oil from the primary air fryer or the oil residue if you’ve re-fried something in your air fryer.
Cooking oils are often made with extra virgin olive or sesame oils, almond and/or coconut oils and sometimes they might use a vegetable oil as well.
All the ingredients in an air fryer can leave behind a residue. And, it doesn’t take much to get rid of the taste. Just run your air fryer at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then let it sit idle for 20 minutes. It will get rid of most of the left-over oils and taste after that.
Do air fryers make food taste funny?
Most of the people who own air fryers get rid of that weird taste by using oils. But it is not much effective to remove the smell associated with some foods.
For example, you can’t simply boil potatoes in your air fryer or you cannot boil an egg on it’s surface. You might feel bad if you do that but in no way will it affect your health.
So, obviously, some food items have already a significant amount of iron.In the following section, I will tell you how to get rid of that strange taste associated with a particular type of food.
If you’re wondering why your egg in an air fryer tastes funny, it is the high iron content of some foods. So, it is important to find out which foods have extra iron and then avoid using that air fryer.
Why does my air fryer food taste like plastic?
There are two reasons behind the plastic smell associated with air fryers.
The first reason is really simple to solve. It’s nothing but using the accessory which comes along with the package for the first time. If you’ve never used any of your accessories, there might be some fumes trapped inside it. So, to fix that simply run the air fryer unplugged for about 10-15 minutes. By doing so, it will release all those fumes and your air fryer food will taste like normal again.
If you’ve noticed that your air fryer smells like plastic, then it is due to the plastic material they’re made of. So, to get rid of the plastic smell, simple giving the air fryer a steam bath will take care of it all. Just place 1-3 cups of water in your sink and cook the food using your regular methods. Then place the food into your basket and leave it in there for 30 minutes.
Why does Airfryer taste different?
One of the most frequently asked questions is ‘why does my air fryer food taste different from traditionally fried food?’
The answer to that question is simple. Air frying is not the same as frying in oil. The whole process is based on circulating hot air inside a closed compartment.
There are lots of holes at the bottom which are responsible for the circulation of hot air. The food is placed on the basket that is placed inside the air fryer.
There are lots of differences in traditional frying and air frying. For example, an air fryer uses less oil and produces much less fat than a deep fryer or a pan. Though lots of people don’t know that an air fryer would produce some amount of oil when cooking. It’s smaller amount but still it can smell or make your food taste funny.
Is air fryer toxic?
For some people, using an air fryer is not just about removing the extra fat from foods. The main purpose is to get rid of all the additional fat in the snack. So, being concerned about what are you getting into, you should know that your air fryer is not toxic at all.
You should not worry at all as there are no toxins in an air fryer. You should not take the health of your family into consideration and you must give the air fryer a chance to prove itself.
Can I use an air fryer for my pet?
If you’re wondering if it is safe for your pet to use an air fryer, then definitely, that would be safe. Though there are some risks associated with using an air fryer in general including operating it at high temperatures, which could be harmful to your pet.
I tried my best to cover the topic you have been searching for. I hope that it helps you to make your decision better. I hope that you will like this article, and it is enough for you to choose an air fryer for your kitchen.
In the next chapter, I will show you how to use and clean an air fryer along with some common mistakes as well as tricks which will help you make better food in your air fryer.
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