REVIEW – Fun holiday gathering post dinner/pre dessert discussion topic: Does every appliance now need to be “smart”? I have a “smart” carpet cleaner and I have exactly zero idea why it needed to be smart; now I have an app that tells me when it’s on or when the water is low, two very obvious conditions of the machine. You could say I’d gotten a bit disenchanted with “smart” devices. I didn’t see a need to educate a lot of perfectly capable “dumb” appliances. I also thought it would be a bit of a feat to improve on an air fryer – one of the most popular kitchen appliances since around 2017 that’s still going strong today. Just ask any one who’s reheated fries in them! So to say I was skeptical when the Cosori 6-quart TurboBlaze Smart Air Fryer arrived at my door is an understatement to say the least. But could this 6-quart air fryer that “works with Alexa” change my mind? Does automation equal upgrade ? I think you know where I’m going with this, let’s find out!
What is it?
As it states in the name, the Cosori 6-quart TurboBlaze Smart Air Fryer, is a countertop appliance that advertises 10 cooking functions including; air fry, bake, dehydrate, pre-heat, roast, proof, reheat, keep warm, defrost, and broil.
Assuming I didn’t name one twice, or forget any, this unit manages this with a quieter DC (direct current) motor that also encourages faster cooking. The sparkle factor on this unit? It connects to your virtual assistant via the VeSync App so a user would be able to say, “Alexa, pre-heat my Cosori to 350 degrees”, and it works.
What’s in the box?
- 1 6-quart Cosori 6-quart TurboBlaze air fryer
- 1 Non-stick rack with pre- installed silicone feet
- 1 Air Fryer Quick guide sticker
- 1 Cosori instruction manual
- 1 recipe book
Design and features
Right out of the gate, let’s talk about this app. The VeSync app is used for a number of other gadgets and home appliances. This gives the app a bit of a step-up in customer usability; it seems like they’ve been doing it for a while and set up was super easy (more on that later). With VeSync, you get alerts for when the TurboBlaze is preheated, “Shake” notification when half way though a cooking cycle, when your food timer is done, etc. Additionally, it comes with a feature where the recipes in the app can actually start the air fryer remotely to that specific recipe’s time and temp.
The Cosori TurboBlaze is six quarts of absolute cute. Well, as cute as an air fryer can be. I do love the cream color it comes in and the body itself seems to have been engineered to use all the space wisely.
The basket has a button on the handle to lock in for cooking security and a rack that is non-stick with silicone feet that fit snugly in the bottom of the basket while protecting the basket non-stick coating.
The top of the TurboBlaze sports a beautiful glassy control pad that is super sensitive to the touch; it will attract every fingerprint within a mile radius and possibly those of the ghosts in the attic (remember this when we talk about the app later; the control pad, not the ghosts).
Setup
Honestly, the Cosori TurboBlaze is really the plug-and-play kind of fun. The manufacturer includes a fun sticker directly on the glassy top to remind you that you can’t deep fry in this unit and other quick-start info to read before you plug it in.
After washing the unit (and admiring the non-stick), your next quest lies in the app. It’s much safer than Moria (10 points to whoever gets that reference).
Thankfully the app is very user-friendly. Once downloaded and the TurboBlaze smart air fryer is selected to be linked, it’s a very straightforward pairing process like connecting a new set of earbuds.
This app runs on what I like to call the Highlander Principal: there can only be one. Meaning, only one person in the household can use the app connected to the TurboBlaze and utilize it for the purpose of automating this air fryer. I strongly suggest that if you do have to make that choice, you let the person in your household who has primary access to your voice assistant – it will make everything much easier. I will say my partner did attempt to steal the link and ended up having to rename the unit and put in a bunch of information all over again. He said it just wasn’t worth it since voice commands work for anyone who asks; he, too, could just tell Alexa to “air fry at 400 degrees” and know he’d have to come back for the basket shake.
Performance
Remember when I said I didn’t think you could improve on the already popular air fryer? I’m woman enough to admit I was wrong. The DC motor makes this the quietest air fryer I’ve ever been around. To be honest, I’ve been pushing them on my thirty- and forty-something friends for literal years. However, it also means you have to re-learn how fast your food is going to cook; for example, when I attempted to reheat pizza in this for my usual 4 minutes at 340 degrees, it came out very well done.
But it’s not just the stellar air frying, which, frankly, was almost a given with the Cosori brand; it’s all the other things I loved having the option of doing.
For example: the proofing. Omg, the proofing. Fun fact: I bake to stave off mental break-downs. It’s my version of therapy if I ordered it from Wish. I make proofed doughs pretty much weekly so this was actually the first thing I wanted to test. I even picked out a recipe from the included book that I could test a bunch of the functionalities and found that in the cinnamon rolls recipe.
A second fun fact: if you use a recipe that is also included in the app, those quick start buttons to start the machine without ever having to touch the glassy display are a game changer when your hands are oiled. This is actually a fantastic argument FOR this smart air fryer because you don’t have to worry about finger prints if you never have to touch it!
These proofed beautifully. The TurboBlaze kept the temperature perfect the entire proofing time in the unit and protected the dough from cold air shock. It was interesting and helpful that they gave the pro-tip to remove the rack from the basket so the dough wouldn’t rise into the heating element.
I also baked in this unit and while you can, the question really becomes, should you? Technically, these cinnamon rolls baked, but they weren’t great. The recipe said to butter the basket sans the rack and cook directly on the floor of the basket. The rolls were really hard on top where the heating element was “baking” down on them, but the bottoms, where there was now no airflow (because the basket was removed), were almost raw. I do think that if the technique was tweaked to, say, using a silicone baking dish with a tin foil cover for the beginning of the bake; things might have gone differently.
I had a bit of a giggle because all the recipes for the dehydrate function are for dog treats. I’m not complaining and neither is the cocker spaniel that owns this house. I did dehydrate some banana chips which gave a good show in performance, but soon learned that I actually really like using this mode for drying out the tops of decorated sugar cookie cut outs. With the holidays coming up and all the cookie swaps, this could really speed up that decorating time and stack packing.
What I like about the Cosori TurboBlaze air fryer
- The smarts – being able to voice control my air fryer from any place Alexa (even using the FireTv remote) is awesome!
- The basket – the non-stick is nice, but what really seals the deal are two words: dishwasher safe.
- Push alerts – the app allows you the freedom to leave the room while the air fryer is going and knowing exactly when it’s done, or when you need a good shake.
- Control panel is super responsive.
- DC motor being both quiet and powerful is a huge win.
- All of the options and customizations allow for such a wide variety of food tasks.
What I’d change
- Possibly offering a rack inside the basket that could be adjustable. Even just two heights, that way when you are baking, the circulating air phenomenon has a chance to work and the baked good could be low enough to not rise into the heating element.
- Some type of way to protect the heating element, which I’m aware is asking for an engineering marvel but if I could, I would.
Final thoughts
Cosori absolutely changed my entire opinion of having a smart air fryer. I was honestly changed the first day I was in my office 2 floors away from the TurboBlaze and asked Alexa in said office to “preheat Cosori” for some lunchtime corndog nuggets. I got an alert when it was done, and boom – corndog nuggets in 6 minutes! The TurboBlaze and all of its functions does what most promise but sometimes fall short. We use ours almost every day. One of us is coming home late and will miss dinner? Keep warm in the Cosori. Want a quick piece of pizza from the night before? Reheat. Want to meal prep some hard boiled eggs that are surprisingly easy to peel? Bake mode for 11 minutes. Can these can all be done with voice-activation? Yes, please. The app is the unsung hero of this story; being able to get updates to my phone is surprisingly freeing. Not to mention not having to clean the super shiny glass control often is a plus. It also makes a very good option for people who might need a little extra help in the kitchen maybe due to a fresh surgery or disability. I know I keep mentioning it but they are coming – those gift giving holidays are speedily approaching, the Cosori TurboBlaze air fryer could make for a great gift. Especially if you get it for yourself.
Price: $129.99
Where to buy: Target and Amazon
Source: The model for this review was provided by Cosori. Cosori did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
