Kitchen

[monicakm]

My husband peeled an apple this evening and I sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on the peels and put them in the AF.   The parchment liner wanted to fly up towards the top heating element.  I put some leftover mashed potatoes on the paper to keep it grounded.  I only had 3 apple peelings (about 5in long) in the AF.  If you've ever run into this issue, what did you do?  I guess I could have taken out the parchment paper.

[Icegoddess]

If there's room, you could put an upside-down ramekin or some other small oven-ready item in to weight it down. I have a silicone mat that was cuttable that I cut to fit and then added holes with a hole punch for mine.  That way I can wash and re-use rather than throwing parchment papers away.  

[retiredatlast]

You can use a wire rack-(like the kind in the Instant Pot) to hold down the paper.  Either put the food on the rack or under the rack.  The weight of the rack will hold the liner in place.  You can put a plate on top of the rack and put the food on the plate if it is the type of food that would fall through the holes in the rack.  I have a rack that has slightly longer legs and I can put food under the rack and on a plate on the top of the rack.  This way I can do meat or fish on top and veggies or potatoes on the bottom.  Hope this will help.

[monicakm]

@Icegoddess 

Thank you!  Yes, in this case, there was room for a ramiken.  I wondered about that.  I'm going to get the silicone inserts.

[monicakm]

Thank you @retiredatlast   Yes, it helps!  At this early point (2 days) into my AF journey ALL advice helps   Thanks for the tip for using a rack and plate and cooking two things at once.  That may be a bit advanced for this newbie tho.

[Lilysmom1]

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@Icegoddess wrote:

If there's room, you could put an upside-down ramekin or some other small oven-ready item in to weight it down. I have a silicone mat that was cuttable that I cut to fit and then added holes with a hole punch for mine.  That way I can wash and re-use rather than throwing parchment papers away.  

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@Icegoddess Are those silicone mats good at 400-450 degrees?  That is a great idea.  I have one I don't use.

[Icegoddess]

@Lilysmom1 I use silicone grill mats, so they're meant to go on the grill.  So, yes, they should withstand those temps.  You do need to make sure they are cuttable mats.  It needs to say it on the packaging.  The reason is, some silicone mats have fiberglass in them and when you cut them, you're releasing those fibers which can get into your food.  I got mine at Ollies (Good stuff Cheap) if you have one of those in your area.  I punch holes in them so I don't lose the air circulation since that's what an air fryer is all about.  

[Lilysmom1]

@Icegoddess thank you for the info!

[loriqvc]

If anyone is interested in purchasing a perforated silicone liner for your air fryer, there are tons of options available on Amazon; I have picked up a couple of different sizes for different purposes from this listing: B09VDCW641 (just paste that item number into the search bar on the website and locate the listing that begins, "Multipurpose Silicone Liner for Steamer, Air Fryer, Pressure Cooker...").

[wagirl]

@monicakm ---so what brand of airfryer did you end up with? I know you were considering one.

Anyway as to using the parchment paper--I use it under frozen things like french fries mostly and slices of pizza too. Have even re-heated a lovely choc chip cookie---  I think cooking food that can become juicy, does better in a container. I re- heat things all the time and use containers for them--mashed spuds would be one thing, leftover vegs too. Just use low and wide containers to re heat in. Leftover meats  on parchment  works well-- also I wait until the air fryer is heated up and then put in the parchment with the food on it.