Most of my content
is about PC and mobile hardware, but I am also a keen fitness and health enthusiast.
As an ex-fatty, I made a lot of lifestyle changes to improve my physical and mental health, this includes eating more healthily, cutting back on the booze, sleeping better and then of course, fitness.
I have tried many
of the diet/nutrition trends over the years, including the keto and its
variations, but the old fashioned low fat, high protein and carb is the one I
find suits me. My very high level of activity benefits from the increased carbs,
and I generally find it easy to limit fats rather than carbs. I still eat healthy
fats, and I am more lenient with my macros now I am relatively lean and fit,
but I do avoid unnecessary fats whenever possible.
One easy healthy
way to cut fats is to stop frying anything, either shallow or deep. Avoid frozen
oven chips is both healthier and saves you money. Oven cooked (potato &
sweet potato) chips and roasted butternut squash have long been a staple in my
lower-fat diet. I have always used an oven for this, and while it does a good
job, roasting can be uneven, my cheap oven takes ages to warm up and even then
is irregular with its timing.
In the past, I have tried the rotating Actifryers, which are good, but tend to mash up things like chips. Recently I have been using a Habor XL Air Fryer which is enormous and fries things in a large basket, which has proven to be superb.
from £59.99
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Last updated on 7th August 2019 7:40 am
Shortly after buying
my Air Fryer, Cosori sent me one of their 3.5L units to review, priced at £59.99
it is an affordable solution for a couple, single person, or even a small
family that eats moderate-sized portions.
If the air fryer trend
has passed you, then these are a kitchen appliance that cooks by circulating
hot air around the food using the convection mechanism. So it is basically just
a tiny fan-assisted convection oven.
Most full-sized ovens
can hit temperatures of 250-degrees, but these countertop air fryers hit around
200-degrees, the Cosori actually goes up to 205-degrees. However their smaller
nature means they heat up extremely fast, and the two reactions that cause
browning in frying or roasting only require 140-165°C for the Mallard reaction or 110-180°C
for sugar caramelisation.
To achieve the Mallard
reaction with most foods, you will need a small amount of oil, you can do this
using the low cal sprays such as Frylight.
The Cosori can be used for much more than just making chips (even if that’s what I mainly use it for). It has pre-sets for steak, chicken, seafood, shrimp, bacon, frozen foods, veg, root veg, desserts, bread and then of course chips.
The specs of the Cosori include:
11 Original
Presets
A Cosori Air Fryer
means so much more than fries. Serve up egg bakes, impressive sides, desserts,
roasted veggies, and just about any protein, expertly cooked.
One-Touch LED
Panel
You make the
selection, and the machine takes care of the calculations. The LED panel helps
you make excellent choices—no matter what food you decide to make.
Shake & Keep
Warm Functions
Unique to the
Cosori Air Fryer: a helpful Shake reminder, letting you know when to shake the
contents for an even fry. Try the Keep Warm function if you need your food well
kept for a while.
Dishwasher Safe
Frying foods
doesn’t have to mean making a mess. Remove the baskets and separate them, then
let your dishwasher take care of cleaning them up! Basket materials are
PFOA-free.
Detachable
Basket
A removable inner
basket means it’s easy to separate and clean the part that gets up close and
personal with your food. You can also bring it to where you’re preparing food
for extra convenience.
Nonstick Basket
Foods are as easy to take out as they were to put in. The nonstick surface of the basket results in less residue left behind. In turn, clean-up won’t be so rough.
In use and performance
Using the Cosori is
extremely easy if you use the pre-sets, it is just a press of a button. Most of
the time I set the timer myself.
Ideally, you should
pre-heat the fryer for 3-4 minutes, though it is not uncommon for me to forget
this, and the results are still good.
If doing things
manually, you will want to press the temp/time button to select the temperature
first then the time. The front panel with the buttons feels a bit cheap, but it
works accurately enough, and not much different than many microwaves.
With the fryer
pre-heated you can place your food inside. Most meals will benefit from a spray
of frylight so you can get that lovely browning colour. Then just leave it to
do its thing.
I have found it to
be considerably faster than my oven. Pre-heating that takes about 20 mins whereas
you can almost finish cooking a batch of chips in that time with the Cosori.
I generally prefer
my chips and things like chicken a little darker, so for chips, it usually is
done start to finish in about 30 mins.
I have not been
overly adventurous with it, probably 75% of the things I have cooked in it are
chips. I have also done roasted butternut squash, sweet potato, baked potato.
Roasted veg including carrots, parsnips and sprouts.
For proteins so far
I have tried fake-away KFC using egg whites, cornflour and spices to get a crispy
coating, then also bacon wraps chicken to get a lovely crispy bacon on the
outside.
Overall, I love it.
I prefer the larger 5.5L option as I eat a lot, and that can handle enough food
for a family. The 3.5L capacity of this is probably just about Ok for my
partner and me, and I imagine fine for most small families.
For the price, I
think these are a great purchase. Their smaller size should mean they use a lot
less electricity than an electric convection oven; then you also have more flexibility
giving you the option to do something in the oven and this. Compared to my gas
oven it is orders of magnitude better for roasting things, both in terms of the
results and speed.
Post from: Mighty Gadget – Gadget and Technology Blog
Cosori Air Fryer Review – 3.5L oil-free air fryer for quick low-fat healthy cooking
