My daughter bought an air fryer when she had her kitchen extension built and raved about it. Then I saw a few programmes extolling their virtues and decided I would take the plunge. I would describe myself as a traditional cook and, as I live alone, I didn’t want a large fryer with all bells and whistles. My thinking behind my purchase was try first and when I need to replace it, I can get a higher end fryer. Instructions were clear and it came with an excellent cookbook. I bought a silicone basket to fit inside and it cooks meat, fish and veg perfectly. I have no doubt that I have saved money by not putting my ovens on. This is a small air fryer and will not replace your cooker but is perfect for one or two people. Last night I had roast potatoes with lamb, onions, peppers and mushrooms, all cooked in the air fryer. I did parboil the potatoes – old habits die hard. If I could only keep my microwave or air fryer, the air fryer would win hands down!

 

Used four times since purchase and I’m pleased to say I think it is going to be a good purchase. Having lost my husband last year after 41 years of marriage, cooking for one is a whole new experience. My range cooker could be some what redundant. I think it is like lots of things ‘a learning curve’.
The Air Fryer isn’t too big for my needs and doesn’t take up a lot of space on my worktop. I had one query and that was about the ‘snowflake’ symbol, so I posted the question ‘was this a defrost function’ and received the answer that it was for frozen foods. However as I have discovered and as one of my answers said it wasn’t very clear in the manual but it is for frozen foods. The frozen preset comes up with 175 C with cooking of 10 minutes – not long enough to cook a 400g breaded salmon portion, so this has to be altered with regards temperature and time to whatever is being cooked. I found a YouTube channel called Empowered Cooks and that was very informative. As I discovered Presets are a guide only and can be a bit hit and miss. I did contact Cosori by email to ask for clarification on the Frozen Preset – I am still awaiting their reply but I think I have worked it out now – as above. Summary – the fours meals I have cooked in it, I have been pleased with – A ready meal Cottage Pie, Breaded Salmon Portion, Scampi and chips, Sausage and Hasselback Potatoes. Hope this helps other shoppers.

 

Picked this up as a way of trying to save money on the electric. And So far it seems to be good.

However I feel the 3.5l one I have is to small. The butcher bought burgers you can only get 1 in the tray, as well as only 1 toasted sandwich. So I Think the 5.5l or 6.4l would be better, even as a single bloke.

That said, I am happy with the results off cooking in it. You end to adapt cooking times for things, roughly 20% less time to cook is about right. That said keep an eye on things! For example toasted sandwich recipes all seem to say 10m at 180, flipping over half way. However I found better results at 6m at 180 flipping half way.

I was impressed by the thick cook book it came with, though less so with the recipes. A lot more fancy and stuff than I want, but there were a few that caught my eye ill try.

Size wise, it’s not to big, sits quite snuggly on the counter, and for its size you can get a lot in there. Though by the time you put in liners, or pots, racks etc etc its less than you might think.

Controls wise its a load of presets which is nice. But it’s very loud, the beeps almost hurt your ears they’re so loud. The Fryer itself is also quite loud while cooking. Not to loud, but you will notice it. But given how quick it is its not to bad.

My only real concern is the tray, it’s not a smooth slide when trying to push it back into place. I found I was fighting it, and at times slamming it in.

One thing I do like though is that pulling the tray out cuts off the power. Very nice.

Overall, while I do wish I’d gone for the next size up, I can’t fault it. It does what it says, and what I need from it. What’s more it does seem to be reducing my electricity usage a good chunk