Social media has ruined cooking. Everybody with a ring light and a phone thinks they're a culinary genius because they put a block of feta in an air fryer. I spend an embarrassing amount of time testing these so-called "hacks," and I'm here to tell you that most of them belong in the trash.

The Garbage Hacks You Need to Stop Doing

1. Hard Boiling Eggs: This is ridiculous. You are baking an egg. The white gets rubbery, peeling them is a nightmare, and occasionally they explode. Just boil some water. It takes the same amount of time.

2. Air Frying Rice: I saw a video claiming you could make fried rice by throwing wet, day-old rice into the basket. I tried it. It blew all over the heating element and smelled like burning plastic for a week. Use a wok.

3. The "No-Oil" Fries: Potatoes need fat to get crispy. If you cut up a potato, put zero oil on it, and air fry it, you haven't made a french fry. You've made a dehydrated, starchy stick. Use a tablespoon of oil.

4. Baking Wet Batter: Your air fryer is not a deep fryer. If you dip chicken in wet buttermilk batter and drop it in the basket, it's just going to drip through the grates and fuse to the bottom of the pan.

5. Toasting Bread: Yes, it gets crispy. But the fan blows the bread around like a leaf in a hurricane. Buy a toaster.

6. Melting Cheese Directly in the Basket: Unless you enjoy scrubbing burnt mozzarella out of a non-stick grate with a toothbrush, use an oven-safe dish or foil.

7. Baking Cookies: You can only fit like three cookies in the basket at a time. By the time you bake a whole batch, you could have just preheated the actual oven.

3 Hacks That Actually Work

I'm not completely cynical. There are a few tricks that genuinely make the air fryer a superior appliance.

1. The Reheat King: Throwing leftover pizza or day-old french fries in the microwave is a crime. The air fryer restores the crispness perfectly. 350°F for 3 minutes, and it's almost better than the first day.

2. Blistering Peppers: If you want charred jalapeños or blistered shishito peppers for a salsa, toss them in oil and air fry at 400°F for 8 minutes. It chars the skin perfectly without having to turn on the broiler.

3. The Water Trick for Bacon: Air frying bacon is great, but it usually smokes up your entire kitchen because the grease hits the hot bottom pan. Add two tablespoons of water to the bottom catch-drawer. The fat drips into the water instead of smoking. Perfect, crispy bacon with zero smoke alarms.