As someone who considers cooking more of a nuisance than a joy, I’ll readily admit that anything that promises to cut down my time in the kitchen is a winner in my book. Although I’m not a bad cook, I struggle to find enjoyment in anything that takes forever to prepare only to be demolished in under 10 minutes.
Considering my lack of love for spending my evenings frying, grilling or baking, I’ll confess that splashing out on something kitchen-related was not top of my priority list. That’s why when Cosori offered to send me its TurboBlaz Air Fryer, £159.99 here, to try out, I jumped at the chance.
The air fryer arrived promptly on my doorstep, and before I’d even got it inside I was impressed by how compact and lightweight it is. I could quite literally lift it with one hand, and even when inside the box, it took up minimal counter space. So far, so good. Once I’d removed it from all the packaging, I was pleased to discover just how sleek and understated it was, blending into the space and fitting neatly on the end of my bench without getting in the way of valuable preparation space.
As someone who is less than tech-friendly, I was also glad that the instructions were easy to follow and setting it up was a doddle. I just needed to turn it on and let it run for 10 minutes to burn off any residue (just like you would with a normal oven), and it was ready to be used.
Even during its first empty run it was impressively quiet, with no rattling or overbearing noise from the fan. In fact the second I left the room I couldn’t even hear it anymore. Although it came with a recipe book full of ideas, when trying to choose what to cook for my first meal I decided to keep it simple – even my dubious skills couldn’t mess up a cheese and ham toastie.
The temperature and time settings were easy to change and adjust, and you can flick between the nine different cooking functions instantly, with options including reheat, roast, bake, and, of course, air fry. I popped my toastie in the air fryer’s basket and set it away (195°C for 10 minutes, in case you were wondering), and left it to do its thing.
Now, full disclosure I used an air fryer liner within the basket to cut down on clean up time, and after the 10 minutes was up my toastie was almost perfect, except for the bottom which hadn’t crisped up quite as much as the rest of it. I put this down to the liner stopping the air from reaching the underneath as easily, so simply flipped the toastie and left it in for another couple of minutes which did the trick.
It might seem dramatic to say Cosori’s air fryer changed my life, or at least the way I cook, but the speed at which it not only heated up but how quickly and easily it cooked my food really was a game changer for me. Rather than waiting 10-15 minutes for an entire oven to heat up, plus the actual cooking time, this is a great energy-saving bit of kit that’s going to both cut down on my time spent in the kitchen and my energy bills – definitely a winner in my eyes.
Although I rarely cook for more than two or three people, the 6 litre basket on it is really generously sized and would definitely be big enough to feed a full family. In fact, Cosori suggests it's the ideal size for feeding three to six people, and its not hard to see why.
Other users have also been blown away by it, with one Amazon review saying: “We have owned a number of airfryers over the last 10 years that have varied in useability, ease of cleaning etc. The cheaper ones do not seem to last. This unit is robust, very easy to use with sensible controls, clearly visible information screen and soft touch 'buttons'. It is provided with a range of basic in built options but is entirely flexible. It even goes down as low as 30 degrees C which bakers will find usefull for proving. It is very easy to clean, both the rack for the food and the basket are non-stick and can go in the dishwasher. It is pretty quiet in use others we had had were much noisier. This is possibly the easiest unit we have had to keep clean. I would have given it 5 stars only I think it was a bit expensive for a fryer with only a single compartment.”
If you do feel like you’d benefit more from a two basket option, Ninja is still running its Easter sale, and you can nab the Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK for £179 here, rather than its usual price of £249.99. However for me, Cosori’s single basket TurboBlaz Air Fryer, £159.99 here, works great for what I need. Who knows, I might actually end up falling in love with cooking!
