REVIEW – Here’s a neat one for you. Today we’re testing a combination immersion blender and smoothie maker from Gourmia, designed to make your life a wee bit easier. It’s hand held. It multitasks. It has a Turbo button (heh-heh!). How does it go? Let’s blend!

What is it?

It’s a combination handheld blender with two attachments: one for an immersion blender, and one that enables you to blend a smoothie directly in the supplied sports bottle.

Hardware specs

• 3.5” by 2.5” by 18.5”
• 1.5 pounds
• 5 speed + turbo blending speeds
• Stainless steel rod & blades
• 3 foot long power chord
• 120V-60Hz, 300 W
• ETL Listed

What’s in the box?

The package includes the base handheld unit, the immersion blender attachment, the smoothie maker attachment, and a BPA-free sports bottle with a lid.

Design and features

The Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker is a two-in-one device that, as the name implies, performs two common kitchen tasks in one handheld package. The base unit contains the motor, while supplied attachments execute blending operations.

The blender has some nice heft to it and integrates rubberized grips for confident handling. You’ll find the power and turbo  (heh-heh!) buttons positioned on the barrel of the base with a speed setting dial on the end cap. Both the dial and buttons are big with soft-touch surfaces. It’s very easy to manage even if you have wet hands.

The immersion blender attachment is a one-piece stainless steel unit that snaps onto the base. Pop it in, and you’re ready to reap havoc upon your soups and sauces. A wave pattern in the blade cover allows you to slide the unit across the bottom of the bowl without damaging your pan or bowl while enabling the free flow of material when you crank it up.

I put this blender to work on a pasta sauce I made last weekend. I sautéed onions and garlic in the pot first, the threw in a heaping helping of rough-cut tomatoes with some fresh basil from the garden… seeds, skins and all. After a few minutes of simmering, I put the beast to work. It obliterated the contents to a nice purée in about 90 seconds.

The wave pattern on the base does enable the blender to generate some liquid flow in the pot, but you’ll need to plunge it a few times to get the bigger stuff churned up.

I was pretty impressed with the results. Everything was puréed to a nice even consistency, with no bits of tomato skin or partially-chewed basil leaves to be had. The placement of the dials at the top of the barrel makes it easy to adjust your controls in-flight. Nicely done.

Let’s talk about the Turbo mode (heh-heh!) for a moment. When you run into something that is a mite too tough to blend with the six normal speeds, you pop the Turbo button. It’s not just a little higher than the highest setting… it’s like turning it up to 11 (the dial only goes to six). It’s got mad power. I blasted it once or twice with the Turbo mode to eradicate offensive chunky bits. It does generate a lot of froth, but it’s wonderfully satisfying and effective.

Cleaning is a snap. The attachments click into the base, and are released by pressing these stubs on either side of the unit:

Because the immersion blender attachment is stainless steel, a quick rinse is pretty much all you’ll need to get the job done. You can submerge the whole piece, and leave it out to dry.

The smoothie attachment works kind of like a hand-held version of the Magic Bullet, if you’re familiar with that blender. The blades are in the cap. You’ll add your ingredients to the smoothie bottle, screw on the cap, then attach it to the blender base.

You’ll then invert the whole thing, holding it like a torch, and fire it up. It’s a bit tall and awkward, so you’ll want to use both hands to keep it stable (and vertical) during operation:

The Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker motor is rated at 300 watts. Not huge power, but the blades sit almost flush against the base and have good speed. This means you’ll get uniform blending for the most part. You’ll find ice chips in your smoothie and some larger chunks of frozen stuff, but it’s no worse than other blenders at this power level. Try the Turbo (heh-heh!) to zap those annoying bits.

The smoothie bottle comes with a cap (including a lanyard) so you can take your drink on the go. It’s a solid if basic, bottle combination. If you’re moving quickly to get out the door in the morning, you’ll find this handy.

One huge benefit of the smoothie design, like the Magic Bullet, is that the blade is completely accessible and easy to clean. It’s also easy to clean quickly, too, since you are blending into your to-go cup. Just rinse the cap and off you go. Nice convenience.

What I like

• Immersion blender has good power and works smoothly
• Simple operation
• Easy to clean
• Adjustable speeds plus Turbo mode obliterate most materials
• Makes fine smoothies, even with ice cubes

What needs to be improved

• Smoothie mode can be a bit awkward and requires both hands
• Will leave some small chunks of ice or frozen fruit in your smoothie

Final thoughts

I think this is a smart multitasker. I’d buy it for the immersion blender alone, but you don’t use that every day in the kitchen. The added smoothie maker brings a nice daily use to the device. The smoothie making method may be a bit awkward, but easy cleaning and blending right into your to-go cup are great convenience features. Construction looks solid. I’m also seeing pricing on Amazon as low as $29.99. It looks like a winning combo to me!

Price: $29.99
Where to buy: Get it on Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Gourmia

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Cooking, Home and Kitchen

Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 11, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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REVIEW – For quite some time now, my family has been into healthy eating with healthy ingredients and healthy ways to prepare food. When we heard about the Air Fryer and its concept, we rushed out and bought a pretty large one. Unfortunately, it got accidentally damaged, so I was really happy when I received the offer to test one.

What is it?

The Gourmia GAF365 Digital Air Fryer is a 2.2-quart oil-free air fryer. Just in case anyone is not familiar with the air fryer concept, here is a description from Wikipedia: “An air fryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks by circulating hot air around the food using the convection mechanism. A mechanical fan circulates the hot air around the food at high speed, cooking the food and producing a crispy layer via the Maillard effect.”

“The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor.”

What’s in the box

1 x Gourmia GAF365 Digital Air Fryer
1 x Instruction/Cookbook

Design and features

The Gourmia GAF365 Digital Air Fryer is a round cylindrical form that measures 9.5″ x 7.5″ x 12.5″ and weighs approximately 5.4 pounds. It has a slanted top with the controls, a front blue LED display and a bottom half removable 2.2-quart basket pan. The basket pan includes a removable drip tray. Both the basket pan and the drip tray are made of a relatively lightweight metal and coated with a non-stick surface. The handle and a part of the exterior form sort of a semi-circle around the pan that matches the rest of the exterior of the fryer. It is the same plastic and color as the rest of the fryer so that it all matches when the basket pan is in the fryer. The removable drip tray is also metal and because it is removable, it makes it easier to clean the basket. In my experience, when cooking foods like chicken, there always is some residue from the food left stuck to the tray despite the non-stick surface. This is also the same when making french fries. When I am done using it, I pour water into the basket high enough to cover the drip tray and I leave it for a few hours. It then cleans quite easily with just a sponge.

On the slanted top, there are controls for raising or lowering the temperature and the cooking time. In the middle in between the controls, there is the power button. On the back of the fryer, there is an air vent.

On the top front of the fryer, there is a blue LED display that shows frying time and temperature. The fryer can be set to a maximum of 400 degrees, and 30 minutes for any single cooking cycle. If more time is needed,  a new cycle can be started.

Here is a quick video of the fryer in action:

The pictures below show seasoned, raw chicken being placed into the fryer and the nicely browned result after being fried.

Once you get the timing right, the foods come out of the fryer properly cooked and in the case of the chicken, soft, and tender and with an abundance of flavor. We also use it for fries, sausages, and many other types of meat as well as vegetables.

What I like

• The look and design of the fryer
• The controls and the easy to read digital display
• The compact design
• Its ability to properly fry food

What can be improved

• Currently, cooking cycles are limited to 30 minutes

Final thoughts

The Gourmia GAF365 Digital Air Fryer is just simply a nice, compact, sleek and good performing air fryer. The first one I owned was not digital, so I really appreciate the digital functions on this one. It is not the biggest fryer and it does not have a large capacity, but for my family, it is just right. While it will probably take months before I can more reliably ascertain its ability to withstand almost daily use, I am giving it a thumbs up for now, and I will provide an update should anything change.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Gourmia.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Cooking, Home and Kitchen

Gourmia GAF365 Digital Air Fryer review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 6, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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REVIEW – With more and more people looking for healthier ways to prepare food air fryers are becoming very popular these days. I have been researching them myself recently so when I got the chance to review the Jese Air Fryer I didn’t hesitate.

What is it?

The Jese air fryer is a fryer that uses 360-degree rapid and dynamic airflow instead of oil to fry foods.

What’s in the box?

• Air Fryer
• Quick start guide
• Cookbook
• Users manual

Design and features

Black with brushed steel accents the Jese Air Fryer has a modern design that would compliment any kitchen. It’s rather large because of its 3.5-quart capacity, so it does take up a little counter space.

The timer knob and fryer basket are located on the front of the unit. The timer knob is large, and the numbers are pretty easy to read going from 0 to 40 minutes.

The fryer basket is two pieces. There’s a release button on the handle that’s covered by a small plastic flap. To remove the basket flip the flap up and push the button.

The air fryer has an automatic shutoff feature. It will shut off whenever the basket is removed and will restart when the basket is replaced. It will also shut off once the timer has expired.

The temperature setting dial is located on top of the unit. The numbers on the dial are easy to read with temperature settings from 180F to 390F. And there’s even a handy quick cook guide printed above the dial.

There are also two indicator lights for power and heating.

The power cord is a nice length, and I like that you can wrap the cord around the base for easy storage.

I did notice that the fryer is pretty quiet when cooking. I was happy about this because in my research one of the main complaints was how loud some of the fryers were.

Jese is cool to the touch while cooking. The only place where it gets hot is in the back where the hot air vents are located. Just make sure that it’s pulled away from the wall when using it.

One of the things I liked about the Jese is its versatility. You can use it for frying, grilling, baking, and roasting just about anything.

For my first time using the fryer I wanted to start with something simple, so I decided to cut up some squash and zucchini. With the air fryer, you don’t have to use a lot of oil. For the veggies, I used 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I preheated the fryer for the recommended 3 min at 355-degrees. After about twenty minutes the veggies were done. They were delicious. They had a slight crisp on the outside but, the insides remained juicy and flavorful.

One thing about air fryers, you can’t just set them and forget them. You have to occasionally remove the basket during cooking and shake the contents so that they brown on all sides.

I decided to step it up for my next meal. I found an easy fried chicken breast recipe online. The fryer does come with a small cookbook but, I found that the recipes weren’t all that great. Fortunately, with the popularity of air fryers, there are tons of recipes available online. The chicken breast was fantastic. Total cook time was 14 minutes, flipping the breast halfway through. The outside had a nice brown crisp, and the inside was juicy and flavorful. Tip: use a spray oil (I used an olive oil spray) and lightly spray anything that you’re going to bread. This helps the breading brown up and gives it a little more crispiness.

In the past few weeks, I’ve used the Jese to make a lot of stuff. Fresh waffle chips, fried onion potatoes, frozen french fries, and frozen onion rings. I noticed that the frozen foods cooked up the best. They turned out crispier than the fresh foods I made. The fries and onion rings were the best I’ve ever made at home. But everything I’ve made using the fryer has turned out great. I can’t wait to experiment with even more recipes in the future.

The fryer’s 3.5-quart capacity is perfect whether you’re cooking for a family or just one or two people. However, with larger items like chicken breasts, fish or steaks you’ll probably only be able to fit 2 of each in the basket at one time. So cooking these items for a larger group will take some planning.

Clean up is easy. Because you’re not using a lot of oil the mess is minimal. The fryer basket itself is fully submergible, or you can just wipe it clean with a damp cloth.

What I like

• Easy to use
• Food tastes great
• Versatility
• Easy to clean

What needs to be improved

• Can’t think of anything

Final thoughts

I love the Jese air fryer and have used it a lot in the past few weeks. I like the fact that it’s easy to use and the results are great every time. And it doesn’t hurt that it makes everything a little healthier without sacrificing taste. If you haven’t tried using an air fryer yet, the Jese is a great place to start.

Price: $61.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Jese.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Cooking, Home and Kitchen

Jese Air Fryer review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 5, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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