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You can't beat a portion of golden, crispy chips with your dinner. Although they're so simple, they instantly make your meals much more interesting, and they're very easy to make.

Slicing and cooking potatoes isn't too much effort, but on lazier days, it really helps to have a bag of frozen chips in the freezer. Many of us will now use an air fryer to cook these, since it's quicker, healthier and often gives better results. But if yours often end up soggy or unpleasant, experts say there's a good reason for this, and thankfully, it's easily avoided.

The consumer experts at Which? reckon that many Brits are being failed by their air fryers, with several common errors potentially ruining the taste and texture of food. They said: "There's a bit of a learning curve with some air fryers, so you might need to tinker before you get recipes right."

Chips are one of the foods that can go really wrong when cooking, despite how simple they seem. Sometimes they come out soggy and limp, and sometimes they're burnt to a crisp.

The experts said: "Getting the perfect golden-brown chips can take a few tries, as the time and temperature depend on things such as the power, size and type of your air fryer."

According to the experts, overfilling the air fryer basket or tray is one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your chips. It's important to make sure they all fit in there comfortably, as this will help them to cook evenly with no soggy or burnt bits.

Overcrowding the basket can also pose a fire risk, especially if the food touches the heating element, so this should be avoided for safety reasons, too.

When it comes to chips, try and keep them in a single layer if possible, for the best and most crispy results. If you're keen to make bigger portions, you may want to invest in an air fryer with a larger capacity.

Another mistake that can lead to burnt chips is failing to shake or stir your air fryer basket during cooking. Package instructions can sometimes be misleading and ask you to do this just once during cooking.

But according to the Which? experts, doing this more regularly gives the best results, so it's worth giving it a try.

Having said that, you'll obviously need to open up the drawer in order to carry out this task. The experts said: "This will let out some hot air, so you want to avoid doing it too frequently. But at least a couple of times during cooking should help achieve a more even colour and tastier chips."