Air fryers are described as "convection ovens in a basket" because of the way they similarly use hot air to cook food. Hot air coming from a convection fan surrounds the food with air instead of oil. The air bounces off the bottom of the air fryer and back up through the food to cook them all the way through. Unlike conventional ovens, air fryers cook at a much faster speed.
This combination of features made the appliance such a celebrity in recent years that it has been dubbed as the "Instant Pot of 2019.”
Air Frying Healthier than Deep Frying
Enjoying fried foods with the least amount of oil, just about a teaspoon or tablespoon of it in the case of air fryers, make this appliance a star in the kitchen cookware market.
How does this make a difference to our health?
As much as 3 cups or 750 milliliters of oil is needed for deep frying compared to a tablespoon or 15ml of oil needed in air frying. This means that air fryers require just 2% of the oil that traditional fryers need!
Reduced fat intake decreases the risk of heart disease and inflammation.
More fat means more calories, which leads to weight gain.
Air-fried and oven-fried foods are highly recommended for people who want healthier fried food preparations.
Some of these harmful compounds include acrylamide, which is associated with cancer. Air frying can reduce acrylamide production by as much as 90%, according to one study.
Cosori Air Fryers: General Features
Cosori Air Fryers are among today's top-selling products that make use of this rapid air circulation technology.
The product line fries food with 85% less of the fat compared to traditional frying. The air fryers can cook up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
Its removable parts, including the outer and inner baskets, are FDA-certified free of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFA) and Bisphenol A (BPA), which have been both linked to cancer. BPA can be found in most plastic products while PFA used to be a popular material for making Teflon.
Cooking Capacity
Cosori Air Fryers come in two sizes: the 3.7-quart size, which can fry food for as many as 3 people, and the 5.8-quart size, which serves as many as 5 people.
Material and Color
Cosori Air Fryers have an elegant looking square exterior made of hard plastic with brush matte finish. The products are available in white, black, and red. All units have touch-screen LED digital panels.
Its square-shaped basket gives users more room to fry and position meat and other ingredients side by side compared to the circular models with circular baskets in the market.
Price
- The 3.7-quart premium models are priced $99.99 (black) and $109.99 (red and white).
- The 5.8-quart premium models are priced $119.99 (black), $129.99 (red and white).
- The 5.8-quart smart model starts at $119.99 (black).
- The 5.8-quart stainless steel model costs $129.99 (black).
Best Cosori Air Fryers
Best Overall: Cosori Premium 5.8-Quart Air Fryer
The unit's panel has buttons that are pre-set to a certain temperature and the number of minutes for frying 11 types* of food: steak, chicken, seafood, shrimp, bacon, frozen food, French fries, vegetables, root crops, bread, and desserts.
The duration of the 11 “pre-settings” are as follows:
- steaks and shrimps - 6 minutes
- seafood, bacon, and bread - 8 minutes
- frozen food and vegetables - 10 minutes
- root vegetables - 12 minutes
- chicken and French fries - 25 minutes
- desserts - 30 minutes
Bonus settings include a pre-heat button, which is similar to letting the oil get hot before frying food, keep warm function, and a shake reminder, which tells you it's time to shake the basket or flip the ingredients inside so they will fry evenly. The pre-heating and ‘keep warm’ functions last for 5 minutes.
There are also buttons for adjusting temperature and setting time if you prefer not to use the pre-settings.
Other specifications:
- Dimensions: 11.8 x 12.6 x 11.7 inches
- Weight: 15.9 pounds
- Voltage: AC 120V, 60Hz
- Power: 1700W
COSORI 5.8 qt Air Fryer Video Review
Best for Families: Cosori Stainless Steel 5.8-Quart Air Fryer
This air fryer's outer basket has a stainless steel exterior. This unit also comes with an extra metal holder with 5 skewers so you can cook more food at once.
The stainless steel model has all the pre-set buttons found in the premium model except for the root crop and bread settings.
This unit is recommended for household use due to its capacity (can feed 3-5 people). Its oven-like appearance will make it feel at home with your other kitchen cookware.
Other specifications:
- Dimensions: 12.4 x 12.4 x 12.8 inches
- Weight: 17.35 pounds
- Power Supply: AC 120V, 60Hz
- Rated Power: 1700W
COSORI Stainless Steel 5.8 qt Air Fryer Video Review
Best Smart Air Fryer: Cosori Smart Wi-Fi 5.8-Quart Air Fryer
You can control all the functions of this Cosori unit remotely using your Wi-Fi connected phone by downloading the VeSync app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The smart model has all the 11 presets in the premium air fryer.
The app also offers recipes and other helpful details to help you maximize the use of your smart air fryer.
Other specifications:
- Dimensions: 11.8 x 12.6 x 11.7 inches
- Weight: 14.45 pounds
- Voltage: AC 120V, 60Hz
- Power: 1700W
COSORI Smart Wifi Air Fryer Video Review
Best for Small Servings: Cosori Premium 3.7-Quart Air Fryer
You can control all the functions of this Cosori unit remotely using your Wi-Fi connected phone by downloading the VeSync app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The smart model has all the 11 presets in the premium air fryer.
The app also offers recipes and other helpful details to help you maximize the use of your smart air fryer.
Other specifications:
- Dimensions: 11.8 x 12.6 x 11.7 inches
- Weight: 14.45 pounds
- Voltage: AC 120V, 60Hz
- Power: 1700W
COSORI Premium 3.7qt Air Fryer Video Review
Other Winning Functions
Overheat Protection
As a safety feature, Cosori Air Fryers shut down when they overheat.
Automatic Shutoff
Cosori Air Fryers automatically turns off within 3 minutes if they have no active cooking programs. They also pause automatically when you pull out the basket.
Button Guard
The inner basket has a release button that, when pressed, allows it to separate from the outer basket. The button guard prevents the release button from being pressed accidentally so it helps keep the inner basket firmly in place within the outer basket until the user needs to take out the former for food to be served in a separate container.
The inner basket’s cool-touch handle makes it easy for contents to be transferred elsewhere right after cooking is over.
Display Panel Design
The panel is ergonomically angled toward the user so that you can clearly see the buttons without having to bend over for a closer look.
Free Cookbook
Most cookbooks that accompany air fryers contain only 30 to 40 recipes but Cosori's cookbook has 100 original recipes.
The following are just a few of the recipes you can try using the cookbook or the recipes on the Cosori website:
For breakfast: coffee streusel muffins, ginger blueberry scones, stuffed French toast
For appetizers: homemade tortilla chips, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, Jalapeno cheese dip
For entrees: New York-style steak, Italian meatballs, air-fried whole chicken, Santa Maria rib eye steak
For sides: homemade French fries, avocado fries, honey soy tofu
For desserts: chocolate soufflé, mini apple pies, lemon pound cake
Pros & Cons of Cosori Air Fryer
PROS
The baskets have a non-stick coating. They are dishwasher-safe and can be exposed to hot, soapy water. Unlike using bigger ovens, Cosori Air Fryer parts are smaller and are therefore easier to clean.
Buyers of Cosori Air Fryers can avail themselves of lifetime support. The stainless steel model comes with a 2-year warranty while the smart model has a one-year warranty that can be extended by another year. Premium models come with a buyer assurance of up to 2 years.
To make sure your ingredients cook evenly, you can activate the "shake reminder" so that your air fryer will alert you when to shake or flip the basket's contents. The fryer will pause cooking when you open the lower compartment to rearrange food like fries, nuggets, or cut-up vegetables or turn over a steak or chicken pieces.
Cons
Hot air blows out of the back of the air fryer so you need to provide space for it while in use so as not to damage nearby items or cabinets.
Conclusion
If it's within your budget, the Cosori Air Fryer is highly recommended if you want to enjoy eating fried meals less the fat.
Although some reviews say that you can prepare food the same way using a toaster oven or countertop convection oven, the Cosori Air Fryer is worth trying due to its user-friendly settings that can take out the time and temperature calculations for many of the food we usually serve at home.
Since it makes use of hot air, Cosori Air Fryers are a much healthier alternative for heating and cooking food from the refrigerator compared to putting them in the microwave oven.