Healthy Low-fat Convenient No-oil/Smoke and Non-stick Air Fryer
Consumers around the world are working hard to make more heart-healthy decisions these days. One of the biggest trends we are seeing from consumers is the decision to cook and eat foods that are ‘cleaner’ and less saturated in fats and oils. Sadly, this decision often means the sacrifice of taste, especially with some of those foods we seem to love the most—fried!
Air Fryers to the rescue! These nifty appliances offer the opportunity to eat foods that taste and have the texture of deliciously fried foods, without the oil and unsafe conditions that often accompany deep-frying. The Le CouCou Oil-Less Rapid Air Fryer Harmony II is one to consider when looking for alternative, healthy cooking options!
Rapid-Air Technology
You might Google air-fryers and find the words, “Rapid-Air Technology,” for many different air fryers, and that is because most use exactly that. The Le CouCou Oil-Less Rapid Air Fryer Harmony II does as well, and it’s important to note because there is often confusion about the difference between how air fryers actually cook or ‘fry’ food without oil.
Many ‘air-fryers’ are not much more than a convection oven or use infrared heating methodology, but a rapid-air fryer actually circulates very high heat around food that sits stationary in the fryer. This ensures a moist and juicy fried taste on the inside, with a crispy, ‘fried’ texture on the outside, and with the use of no (or little-to-no) oil in doing so!
Le CouCou suggests that most foods require no oil, but some owners have said that things not previously frozen do better with a teaspoon or so of oil. Still, much healthier option than deep-frying!
Design and Style Features
The Le CouCou Harmony II is very similar in design and function to many other air fryers. This model is an analog version, which means that you have much more control on cooking time and also has a count-down timer.
Often, a common owner complaint of air fryers with digital functionality is that there is little room for going between the already programmed functions of a digital fryer. The perk to this analog model is that once you’ve really gotten to know this air fryer well, because it is analog, you have the ability to perfectly time and cook just about anything you can fit in it.
More, sometimes users can be overwhelmed with all the ‘bells and whistles’ of appliances and just want basic functionality with an easy-learning curve. The two-knob control panel is easy to use and remedies that frustration with too much to learn before one can even use it!
Safety
Because air fryers work on the concept of high heat circulating rapidly, it’s important to choose an air fryer that has good safety features! This little gizmo can reach up to 390?, so the count-down timer with a buzzer to make sure you turn it off is imperative!
More, when the fry pan is removed? Auto-stop kicks in.
VERY important in the kitchen, where little hands may come behind Mama or Daddy trying to ‘help’ and get burned! The Le CouCou Harmony II also has an Auto Standby feature, which is nice when you are using it to prepare the main portion of a meal and want to coordinate with the other dishes!
Cleaning
While it’s pretty much a given that people LOVE the taste of foods that are fried, very few people (if any?) like the clean-up process that accompanies deep-frying! Here’s where the Le CouCou Harmony II comes to the rescue! Because there is little-to-no oil needed for ‘frying’ there is little (-to-no) clean-up required of hot oil.
Some users are not huge fans of the natural oil/juices that come from the foods that are being cooked, but the Harmony II tackles this by making sure the non-stick rack and pan are completely dishwasher safe! Clean-up problem solved!
Pros And Cons
Pros
It seems that there is a saturation of air fryers on the market, and that often leaves a consumer feeling unsure when making a purchase.
The Le CouCou is a nice, basic oil-less air fryer that will deliver the key things one typically looks for in an air fryer—versatility in meals able to be cooked quickly and in a more heart-healthy manner.
Reducing calories and fats in one’s diet is a key reason to buy an air fryer, and this one will certainly enable one to do so.
Cons
Because this is an analog air fryer, one may not like more precision in pre-programmed temperature cooking. It’s a perk to have wiggle room in setting temperature, but by the same token, when cooking with this technology, ensuring foods are thoroughly cooked is important and there’s less room for error when using a digital version versus an analog.
Also, while the parts you’ll need to clean the most are dishwasher safe, only the fry pan is non-stick. The steel rack is not, so it may require some extra cleaning before and after the dishwasher to ensure full cleanliness and food removal.
Consumer Ratings
Consumer ratings are limited.
While you can find 4+star ratings here, they are limited. That always leads us to be cautious, though wouldn’t preclude us from purchasing and trying on those recommendations!
The users we’ve spoken with like the ease of use and flexibility in cooking dishes in a more healthful manner, and that’s exactly what we look for when we are reviewing and recommending air fryers. Most owners tell us their foods taste like their ‘truly’ fried-food counterparts, so this air fryer delivers.
Price
The Le CouCou Oil-Less Rapid Air Fryer Harmony II model is Le Cou Cou’s only analog version, and as we’ve noted, even with the imprecision an analog temperature knob may bring, many consumers prefer analog. They prefer the ease of two-knob programming and therefore are willing to pay a bit more.
While their digital models can be found at a more significantly reduced price, the price point for the analog model seems a bit high to us, considering there is not an exceptional amount of features.
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Summary
Overall, the Le CouCou Oil-Less Rapid Air Fryer Harmony II is a solid air fryer and will most likely deliver the results one is looking for when deciding to choose an air fryer for cooking needs. We feel that it will do as it claims; however, it’s a higher price-point than we might recommend when considering features.
This is all dependent on what you, the consumer, may want, as the Harmony II may have just the features you are looking for. If so, it’s worth the shot!
