Convenience of use
The Cosori fryer is available in several colors (black, white and red). For our test, we received the black model, which is probably suitable for most kitchens. The CP158 is nevertheless quite imposing. It occupies a surface of 30 x 36 cm on the worktop, when theAirFryer AF160EU of Ninja, with a slightly smaller capacity, only occupies an area of 25 x 32 cm. It is however a little lower, which may make it easier to slide on a shelf – for those who plan to store it.
Like most air fryers, and unlike theActifry Genius XL of Seb or the MultiFry Extrachef FH1394 from Delonghi, the CP158 is loaded with a drawer. Its capacity of 5.5 liters can sustain 4 to 5 people according to Cosori. The manufacturer also mentions the possibility of cooking up to 1.5 kg of fries, 15 chicken wings, a whole chicken of just over 2 kg, or even 2 steaks.
Like the fryer, this basket is rather wide, but low. If it thus offers a good cooking surface for food not to be superimposed, the poultry may lack height. As a bonus, Cosori provides a grid. It is presented as a support for the skewers, also provided, but can be diverted to cook on two levels. For the rest, we find on this basket a central handle surmounted by a sliding button to extract it without having to touch the fryer – a good point since it can heat up a little on the outside -, as well as a button – pusher to detach it from the tank.
Once the food is in the basket, the fryer turns on and is adjusted using a touch control panel. This allows you to manually set a cooking temperature to the nearest 5°C between 75 and 205°C and a duration of up to 60 minutes or to select one of the 11 programs offered (Steak, Chicken, Seafood, Shrimps , Bacon, Frozen Foods, French Fries, Vegetables, Root Vegetables, Bread, Desserts) in addition to the Preheat and Keep Warm functions.
Direct keys are offered for each with rather telling icons, and the presets can be adjusted as needed. In particular, it can be useful to shorten the cooking time for small quantities. On the other hand, it is not possible to save the changes made as it is possible to do with the Mi Smart Air Fryer from Xiaomi. In general, the programs mainly allow you to get an idea of the settings to adopt when you start, in addition to giving an idea of the foods that can be cooked in a fryer without oil.
Since the CP158-AF does not include a stirring paddle, it is important to stir or turn the food to achieve even cooking, but reminders are provided halfway through cooking. Cooking is automatically paused when the basket is removed, and resumes when it is reinserted.
To further guide the user, Cosori delivers with its fryer a booklet containing cooking instructions for certain foods as well as advice for adapting recipes intended for traditional ovens. A book of a hundred recipes is also provided, but only in English, German and Spanish. The French version can certainly be downloaded au format PDF on the official website, but it’s still a bit deceptive.
Maintenance
The matt black plastic coating of the CP158-AF proves to be dirt-resistant, but the same cannot be said for the touch control panel. Brilliant, it catches fingerprints and a quick wipe down after each use. Cosori also advises to wipe with a damp sponge from time to time inside the cavity, and, in the absence of a protective grid, the same can be done on the resistance.
It is of course the basket and the fryer tank that require the most work, since they must be cleaned after each use. Given their non-stick coating, abrasive pads are to be avoided, but the residue comes off easily. On the other hand, it is necessary to deal with the many openings of the basket which can complicate its cleaning. It can also be difficult to handle in the sink because of its dimensions, just like the tank for that matter. The grid and the skewers are of course also to be cleaned after each use, but they require fewer precautions in the absence of a coating. Dishwasher owners will finally be delighted to learn that all the removable elements can go through it.
Cooking
The Cosori CP158-AF fryer is equipped with a 1700 W resistance to which is added a fan and can be set between 75 and 205 ° C to cook food or keep it warm after cooking. According to the manufacturer, a technology called ThermoIQ must also offer “more precise temperature control and more even circulation of hot air”.
Like Ninja, Cosori advocates preheating before placing food in the fryer basket. All you have to do is press the dedicated button. Depending on the desired temperature, the preheating will be more or less long, without ever exceeding 5 minutes, which is more than enough.
Temperature in the basket of the Cosori CP158-AF launched on the fries program (195°C), after preheating to 205°C.
Even to reach the maximum available temperature of 205°C, the CP158-AF only needs 3 minutes. At the end of preheating, the fryer can be loaded and set to start cooking, but this first step can actually be dispensed with given the speed of preheating.
In addition to being quite fast, even if theEssential Airfryer XL HD9270/90 from Philips is still far ahead, the fryer from Cosori manages to spread the heat efficiently inside the basket. It is also very precise. Whether on our measurement at 200 or 180°C, the temperature requested is indeed that which is found inside the basket, at plus or minus 5°C in the center — and plus or minus 10°C on the whole basket.
Temperature in the basket of the Cosori CP158-AF set to 200°C.
Temperature in the basket of the Cosori CP158-AF set to 180°C.
ThermoIQ technology therefore seems to be paying off, if not for keeping warm. With this function, the fryer is set to 75°C, but we note that the temperature fluctuates rather between 80 and 95°C within the tank. Food may continue to cook.
Temperature in the basket of the Cosori CP158-AF set to 75°C.
After the measurements comes of course the time to see how Cosori’s fryer is doing with food in the drawer. It is impossible to test an oil-free fryer without trying to cook at least one portion of fries in it. And what a portion! It’s no less than 1.3 kg of fries that we cooked in the Cosori CP158-AF, which nevertheless remains below the maximum of 1.5 kg put forward by the manufacturer. In the absence of a precise recipe in the official documentation, we started by launching the dedicated program without modifying the settings, after preheating.
Unfortunately, the 25 minutes of cooking at 195°C was not enough, but with about 20 minutes and a few extra wrist strokes, our fries already look much better. Some even crisp up a bit, but others are still soft and very pale. Mixed result therefore, as with most fryers without oil however.
Our fries after 45 minutes of cooking.
Overall, the cooking performance of the Cosori CP158-AF nevertheless remains among the best in our comparison. It is even the most efficient, if we exclude Ninja’s Foodi MAX OL750EU and OL650EU, which are above all multicookers. She positions herself just in front of theAirFryer AF400EU of Ninja or theEssential AirFryer HD9270/90 from Philips, and far ahead of the Mi Smart Air Fryer from Xiaomi and the MultiFry Extrachef FH1394 by Delonghi.