My love for all things fried has led me to consider an air fryer. I’d never had one before and I was admittedly skeptical at first. A fryer that uses little to no oil? Banking on either a hit or miss, I decided to give it a try. After reading up on several reviews online, I went with GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer.
The overwhelming number of positive responses to this product led New York Magazine to call it one of the best air fryers on Amazon. Once I got the chance to use it, I was impressed myself. This machine fries, bakes, grills, and roasts in less than 30 minutes. And thanks to rapid air technology, I mostly don’t need to use oil.
In case you’re not yet familiar with it, rapid air technology circulates hot air around the food inside the air fryer’s basket. This technique makes for faster and precise cooking while using only a tablespoon or less of oil. This not only means less grease; it also results in crispier, juicier, and healthier meals.
In this article, I will review the GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer, covering its top features, pros and cons, customer reviews, and my recommendation.
Cooking Mode and Settings
Off the bat, I immediately appreciated the air fryer’s user-friendly features. Its digital LCD controls are easy to use. For one, it comes with eight presets: warm, fries and chips, chicken, steak, shrimp, pork, cake, and fish. These presets make for easier cooking, which is perfect for those of us who aren’t looking to be gourmet chefs. We can just press the pre-set that we want, and the air fryer does the rest.
The air fryer also comes with a manual that lists preset preferences and includes a cooking guide. I’ve consulted it a couple of times to determine which preset feature, temperature, and time setting will work best for my preferred meal. Notably, small ingredients require shorter cooking time compared to larger ingredients.
Using this air fryer also saves me some time, since I don’t need to constantly check whether the food has finished cooking. I just know when it’s ready once the timer starts beeping. There’s also no danger in overcooking or leaving the food too long in the basket since the device automatically goes into standby mode once it’s done cooking.
Now suppose I want to cook without using the preset, I can still do so with this air fryer. For one, I can manually set a temperature range between 170°F to 400°F and cook up to 30 minutes. I can even stop and resume the cooking process.
Product Structure
The air fryer has a minimalist design that highlights its large LCD control panel. This design simplifies the air fryer’s features and makes it easier to label the parts. Moreover, it is lightweight and takes up only a small space in my kitchen. It also comes in different colors: black, white, chili red, and plum.
Perhaps one of the air fryer’s most important features is the nonstick fry basket that comes with a release button.
This button makes it easy for me to shake or flip ingredients inside the basket and transfer food to a serving plate while securing the basket into the pan.
Both fry basket and pan have a PFOA-free nonstick coating. The pan’s handle also stays cool, so there’s no harm for me to pick it up right after cooking.
Product Information
- Dimension: 12 x 8 x 8 inches
- Weight: 12.15 pounds
- Capacity: 3.7 quarts
- Temperature range: 170°F to 400°F
- Time range: 30 minutes
- Watts: 1400W
- Voltage: 120V, 60Hz
Cooking Capacity
GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer has a 3.7-quart cooking capacity and carries 1400 watts. How much does that cook?
For starters: four portions of fries, three to four portions of chicken drumsticks (or a small to medium-sized whole chicken), or two pieces of pork chops.
However, the basket is the air fryer’s only layer of cooking. That means entertaining a large group entails cooking in batches. That shouldn’t be a problem since cooking time is relatively quick. Other than that, it cooks perfectly for a party of two.
What can it cook? This air fryer has proven its versatility. It makes the perfect fries, charred and juicy meat, crispy but tender pork and chicken, and so much more. It’s designed for kitchen use, but it can also work as an indoor grill.
Moreover, I can even prevent food wastage by reheating leftover food in the air fryer itself. Unlike microwaves, it revitalizes crispiness and freshness through its rapid air technology, making my leftovers still taste fresh.
Surprisingly, it’s even possible to bake a cake in it. However, it doesn’t come with a baking pan, so there’s a need to buy one that fits the device.
Safety Features
In case you would like to know, GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer is ETL-certified, which means that it is compliant with the North American safety standards. The product also includes features that ensure safe and comfortable cooking.
For one, the machine switches to automatic standby when not in use. Once the timer reaches zero, it automatically stops cooking. I’ve also read a couple of reviews warning against fire hazards and overheating. The manual addresses this by listing preventive measures and troubleshooting methods.
The fry basket also comes with a stay-cool handle that doesn’t heat up during the cooking process. The guard button on the basket keeps it attached to the pan. I just slide the guard button upwards to release the basket from the pan.
Cleaning Up
One of the things that I like the most about this air fryer is the minimal cleanup. For one, the fry basket’s nonstick coating eliminates the tedious task of scraping food off the pan’s bottom.
Both pan and basket are dishwasher-safe. I choose to clean them by hand, which is also hassle-free. To prevent breakage, I wait for at least 30 minutes for the parts to cool down before washing.
The basket and pan are easily cleaned with hot water, soap, and a non-abrasive sponge.
For the air fryer’s interior, I just use a cleaning brush and a damp cloth to get rid of any food debris.
And since the air fryer doesn’t need all that oil, it’s practically grease-free.
Consumer Reviews
As of writing, GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer has over 2,000 reviews on Amazon. Most of these reviews are positive. In fact, the average rating is 4.2 out of 5.
So far, a majority of the customers are satisfied with the product due to its quick cooking time and impressive quality of cooking. The photos of meals made in the air fryer included in the reviews clearly show it—from mozzarella sticks to French fries and even grilled meat.
Another great benefit this air fryer gives is more time. Because it takes only a short amount of time to clean the machine, reviewers find extra time to do other chores or spend more time with their friends and family.
On the other hand, a small percentage of customers experienced technical difficulty with their product. These customers have had issues with fire hazard or with the machine shutting down after a short period of use. Meanwhile, other customers would have liked the air fryer to include more cooking layers.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
Overall, GoWISE USA 8-in-1 Electric Air Fryer appears to be the real deal. I like how it has a small kitchen footprint, costs just right, and has enough cooking capacity for quick solo meals. It’s not immune to technical difficulties, but we can avoid unfavorable circumstances by consulting the manual that comes with the product. At the end of the day, there is less grease, less work, faster cooking, and healthier food. I say it’s a convenient must-have for a lazy cooking day.