One of the first steps to becoming independent is learning how to cook for yourself. During the pandemic I learned how to slow cook and smoke meat. I had so much fun with it and enjoyed eating my creations and sharing with family and friends, I decided to look into other avenues of meal creations. One thing I love is homemade hand cut French fries. I do have a $25 deep frier I have been using for years. But like everyone who uses these, it can get messy, and you have to replace the cooking oil. I never did enjoy replacing the oil and the mess to clean up. So, I started researching on what some have told me to use an air fryer to cook French fries. I found out it is healthier and does not use much oil. Very easy to use and clean up. As you have guessed, I invested in an air fryer. I did my research as a Blind person and read comments of others on the accessibility of air fryers. You can buy an analog fryer that just has two knobs, one for the temperature and the other one is the timer. But I wanted the best of the best! So, I found the COSORI 6.8Qt Air Fryer, which uses dual blade heating technology. What this means, most air fryers only have one heating element which is usually at the top. It will then have a fan that circulates the hot air around. In this case it can heat up very quickly and make your food crispy quickly. However, you will have to halfway through the cooking to pull it out and flip what food you are cooking. With the dual heating element, there is one at the top, and another one at the bottom. No need to flip your food halfway through. Haha, I know I am lazy at this. This Cosori air fryer was perfect on my counter. It has a big basket with a handle, sort of like a big jug you pull out. There is a touchscreen at the top front part of the device. The touchscreen is one of those you do have to put pressure on to activate a button, not one of those super sensitive screens that just a slight touch will randomly activate itself. However, I chose this unit due to its smart capabilities. You can connect to a free app called Vesync on your smartphone, which I used an iPhone for. Or, you have the ability to use your Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to control the air fryer.
I got this unit through Amazon on Black Friday sale. At the time there was a deal to get a 5-piece accessory to add on for free. All the links will be below in the all-links table. Unboxing this unit and getting it ready was extremely easy. I downloaded the Vesync app and when through the setup process. However, I did needed a sighted person to help me to press the Start button on the COSORI 6.8Qt Air Fryer, to pair up with my iPhone. You can use a sighted person with you to help press that button or use the Be My Eyes app to have a sighted person let you know where to press on the touchscreen. Also, during this setup, I found out that when you want to start cooking using the Vesync app, there is still a step that you have to press Start on the air fryer. I find this a bit annoying since you can control it with an app, but still need to press a button on the fryer. But a simple LOC-Dot on the Start button took care of this issue.
The Vesync app on the Apple iPhone or iPad was very accessible. I did not use most of the features, but the Start Cooking, choosing the temperature and time was very accessible and easy to use. Overall, I really loved this unit and I have been using this quite a bit. Quick to use, quiet, and it does not make a mess, and it does not make the kitchen hot. My wife loves it, and she uses it all the time. Now, read on how I made my homemade hand cut French fries. I promise, you will never view fast food French fries the same again. Enjoy!
How to make Homemade Hand-cut French Fries
- Step 1 Peel Potatoes
- Peel all the potatoes and rinse them off under water. I used a good high quality Veggie peeler for this. Tip, I would often run the potatoes under water so you can feel with your hands the rougher part that needs peeled, or the smoother part which is already peeled.
- Step 2 Cut into French Fries
- Now use a large cutting board use a big knife to cut your potatoes into French fries slices. The secret here is no perfect cut is the best. You want each French fries to have a thick part and a skinny part. In this case, you will get both crispy and soft potato goodness! As a Blind person, I use my hands to hold the potatoes and use the knife between my thumb and fingers, cut straight down. I find larger knife is better to use than the smaller ones. But each person is differnt, just make sure you stay safe and don’t do anything you don’t feel you can do.
- Step 3 Soak your Fries.
- Now, put all your cut fries in a big bowl and fill it up with cold water from the sink. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes to an hour. This will remove the starchiness and make it more crispy.
- Step 4 Drain water and mix in oil.
- Now, drain out the water from the bowl. Get your favorite cooking oil. Dribble in oil and mix the fries until the fries are evenly coated. You don’t want to dump in a lot of oil, just enough to coat everything. I find this the most important step. I once cooked French fries without this and just used the Pam spray, the fries were very rubbery and did not taste good at all.
- Step 5 Put in Salt & Pepper (optional)
- Some would also sprinkle in salt & pepper in this step. I found I much rather do it at the end when you are ready to eat. My taste bud will love me for this step.
- Step 6 Cooking
- Now, go to the air fryer and put in your fries. You want it to have a layer without any overlap. If you have a basket that can stack, do so without any overlap. If there are any overlap, your fries will not fully cook and get crispy. For my air fryer since it is a dual blade heating element, I have it set to 400 degrees at 17 minutes. However, if you use a different fryer, experimentation is in order.
- Step 7 Sprinkle on your Favorite Seasoning
- Once the air fryer is done and it feels crispy enough for you, place the fries on a plate with a folded napkin. Now, here is my secret seasoning. Montreal Steak Seasoning, and use the Hog’s n Heat BBQ sauce as a dipping sauce. This by far will be the best experience you will ever have. That is the ticket and enjoy!
Extra Resources
Below is a list of extra resources in what others say about the accessibility of the Cosori Air Fryer.
| Resources Lists | Description of |
|---|---|
| Vesync | Check Apple Vis sebpage on the accessibility and details of the Vesync app on IOS. |
| Hands on review of the Cosori and Vesync | Another Apple Vis review of how accessible the Cosori Airy Fryer is along with a review of the Vesync app. |
| Blind Mom reviews Cosori Air Fryer | Here is a good Youtube video of a Blind Mom reviews a slightly older Cosori Air Fryer. She points out the things she likes and some accessibility tips to make it user friendly. |
| A Podcast accessibility review of the Cosori Pro 2 | This is an Podcast of an accessibility review of the previous generation Cosori Pro 2 which still shares many of the same features of the newer Cosori Pro 3. |
| Are Air Fryer Accessible? This one is! | This is the first site I have visited on doing research on accessible Air Fryers. This Fryer has been reviewed by a legally Blind person who has a background in culinary arts as a pastery chef. |
Products List
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| Products List | Description of products. |
|---|---|
| COSORI 6.8Qt Air Fryer, | Cosori Pro 3 dual blade Air Fryer has two heating elements. Making cooking quicker, easier, and has an app that you can control away from your device. The app is what makes it accessible for Blind & partially Sighted users. |
| 5-piece accessory | This Cosori Air Fryer Accessories is a must have for your Cosori. Total of 6 different accessories from pizza & cake pan. Skewers and more! |
| LOC-Dot | These tactile bumpdots is a must have for a Blind or Partially Sighted person to indenify what button to push on the screen panel. Since the Cosori screen is smooth, these dots will give a tactile marker will show the location of a button. |
| high quality Veggie peeler | When peeling those potatoes, this is the peeler that will do the job. Tip, wet the potato while you are peeling so you can feel what needs needs to be peeled. |
| Montreal Steak Seasoning, | The secret of everything! Best used on the good food, like steak, briskit, burgers, and the top secret of them all, handcut homemade french fries! |
| Hog’s n Heat BBQ sauce | This half gallon of BBQ sauce will go very quickly. Goes great with Montreal Steak seasoning. |
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