This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Because I had no experience in air frying foods I was curious and excited to review this Chefman Chef IQ 8 Quart Digital Air Fryer in exchange for the product. As I took this Chefman out of its box I was immediately impressed with its streamlined, simple, rounded design with contrasting stainless steel and black finishes. The top of the unit, pull-out, 8 quart basket with handle, and front are finished in highly polished stainless steel. The rest of this unit is made of plastic finished in a slightly textured, finger print resistant, matte black. What I really like about this classy looking, unit is that it is not a run-of-the-mill, boxy built appliance with ninety degree corners. The corners of this unit are rounded and extremely pleasing to look at on my counter tops. It weighs approximately 13 pounds, light enough to be portable and placed anywhere I choose to store on my kitchen counter tops. Additionally, the bottom of the unit is slightly larger (approximately 12 5/8” W x 12 5/8” L) then the top (approximately 11.5” W x11.5” L) giving this unit a modernistic, conical appearance. It is approximately 13 1/2” in height and will easily fit under any existing kitchen cabinetry. Over the pull-out frying basket is the black, touch digital, control panel. It is generously sized (approximately 6 5/8” H x 5 5/8” W) and framed with polished stainless steel at its sides. The LED digital readouts, icons, and responsive, touch controls are bright and large enough to read from across my kitchen. This comes in real handy when I am at another counter working in my kitchen away from the Chefman Air Fryer and the Shake LED comes ON. Wow! Since it produces heat I cook with this unit under my range hood to exhaust and dissipate the heat. However, I store it next to my range for convenience since we have learned to cook with this handy unit much more frequently.
So, why do I think this Chefman Chef IQ 8 Quart Digital Air Fryer is so great?
** HEALTHIER COOKING – Using none at all, or, just a scant trace of cooking oil for crisping, reduces unneeded saturated fats and calories in our diet. WooHoo! The majority of time we cook just for the two of us, Grandma and me. But, when our Grand Kids are over begging for a snack of french fries, or, battered onion rings Grandma loves cooking with our Chefman Air Fryer. She knows using little or NO oil at all is much healthier for the Grand Kids. YooHoo!
** FAST COOKING – The Chefman IQ Air Fryer uses what they term as TurboFry to make the whole air frying operation speedy and tasty. This unit can even be pre-heated to expedite the cooking process. How cool is that? The 1700 watt heating element and fan is immediately above the air frying basket for efficiency. The basket bottom rack is designed to be elevated just enough to allow the forced air from the overhead fan to circulate over, under and around my my food items for fast, more even air frying.
** RESPONSIVE TOUCH CONTROL PANEL – Love the simplicity and generously sized Touch Control Panel. At the very top of this panel is the digital, Temp/Time display, which allows me to toggle between Time, Temp, Fahrenheit, or Celsius. There are four presets, Fish, Fries, Chicken, and, or, Meat. The Time and Temperature are preset for my convenience. However, either one can be modified as I see fit. For instance – air frying frozen shoestring fries for the Grand Kids takes only half the time (10 minutes at 400 degrees F) over the preset (20 minutes at 400 F) for thicker, regular sized, french fries. I can easily tap the Time/Temp Touch Controls, + or - to change accordingly. There is a Shake Indicator, which is set to warn me by blinking after every five minutes of air frying to enable more evenness and thorough cooking. Although there is a Start Button Icon anytime the basket is removed to Shake, or, check on the doneness of the food – the cooking process is stopped. Air frying immediately resumes Time and Temp from where it was stopped after the basket is re-inserted into the appliance. Fantastic!
** ENERGY SAVINGS - This Chefman IQ 8 Quart Digital Air Fryer uses less time and far less energy then just heating our oven in order to get ready to cook our foods. It saves us money. At 1700 Watts of power it can air fry frozen, or, fresh foods quickly, while crisping them and making them delicious tasting. It is also great for reheating foods, especially leftovers. It is remarkably better for reheating then my microwave.
** FRESH, FROZEN, OR BATTERED – Pleasantly surprising to me was the crunchy taste and crispness of air frying fresh vegetables. Gotta' taste them! After using this Chefman for two weeks there is NO other way to cook my veggies from now on. As far as air frying frozen foods is concerned, yet another surprise, crispy texture. In my conventional oven frozen foods are either not done, or, overdone, but never just right and crispy too. Love It! Grandma has found out that she can use her most scrumptious batter on our fresh veggies, then freeze them on a cookie-sheet. After they are frozen she cooks them in our Chefman Air Fryer. YUMMY! Folks, it doesn't get any better tasting then that.....
** LARGE CAPACITY BASKET - The eight quart size cooking basket is generously sized enough to cook for four or more, or, your entire family. Just remember to space your food out evenly on the basket rack and Shake when prompted. Thinner slices of meat, chicken, beef, or fish cook more evenly, quickly, and thoroughly. The knack of air frying in this Chefman is an easy learning curve with this large sized cooking basket. For Grandma and I it is so easy to use and allows us to eat more air fried, healthier foods. WowEee!
** EASY CLEANUP – All of the air frying cooking surfaces are coated with non-stick finishes. As the manufacturer suggests they will last longer being hand-washed. However, the basket and basket rack can go on the top rack of my dishwasher. It goes without saying that any utensils used to stir or place food in this basket and basket rack should be non-stick friendly.
** GRANDMA TIPS:
**** Do NOT overload the basket with food – space out evenly, especially with meat, fish, or chicken. Cook several smaller batches.
**** You can use Parchment Paper, or, Aluminum Foil to line the bottom of the basket for more easier cleanup if using meats, or battered foods.
**** Keep all of your food items uniform in size for more even and thorough cooking.
**** Flip meats and add seasonings at the very end of the air frying process.
**** Use an oil-based stainless steel cleaner/polish to keep fingerprints from showing on your Chefman polished, stainless steel.
** SUMMARY - Using the Chefman IQ 8 Quart Digital Air Fryer is obviously a healthier way to cook according to Grandma. But, I love the crunchy, crispness, and greasy-free taste of everything we cook in this Air Fryer, if it is healthier, GREAT. I/We highly recommend this Chefman IQ 8 Quart Digital Air Fryer. This unit actually pays for itself in energy costs over time against using a conventional oven. It is not expensive and makes a great wedding gift, bridal shower, to a special friend, or family member.
