TechRadar Verdict
Using an air fryer can have a bit of a learning curve as you figure out how to cook your favorite foods, but the Kalorik Vivid Touch makes it easier than most air fryers. The touchscreen menu lets you select what and how much you're cooking, which removes a lot of the guesswork. Plus, a handy window lets you keep an eye on your food as it cooks.
Pros
- +
High-resolution touchscreen
- +
Many cooking modes
- +
Window and interior light
- +
Quick and effective cooking
- +
Easy to clean
Cons
- -
Heat comes only from the top down
- -
Fairly large footprint on the counter
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Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer: one-minute review
The Kalorik Vivid Touch 7 Quart High-Resolution Touchscreen Air Fryer with Window stands out from the crowded air fryer scene in a couple of ways. First and foremost, it has a high-resolution touchscreen. I thought perhaps it was a silly gimmick until I actually tried it. The touchscreen meant that I didn't have to refer to a guide to figure out how to cook a particular item. It's all right there in the menu. For example, if you want to heat up some frozen french fries, just tap the French Fries option from the menu. From there, you choose from House Cut, Wedges, Fresh, Crinkle, Waffle, or Curly. Then you choose your quantity, make any adjustments to time and temperature you wish, and then hit start.
The other feature that isn't necessarily typical for air fryers is the large window and interior light so you can take a peek at your food's progress without interrupting the cook cycle.
Overall, this is a pretty typical drawer-style air fryer with some special touches that make it better.
Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer: price and availability
- List price: $149.99 (about £119 / AU$240)
The Kalorik Vivid Touch 7-Quart High-Resolution Touchscreen Air Fryer with Window is available at many retailers both online and in brick-and-mortar stores such as Amazon, Home Depot, HSN, Walmart, and more. Choose from three color options: stainless steel, graphite, and black. The retail price is $149.99 USD for the 7-quart size. There is also a 5-Quart version, which retails for $129.99 and comes in just one color, stainless steel.
- Value score: 4.5/5
Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer: specifications
Price | $149.95 |
Cooking functions | French Fries, Frozen Faves, Pizza, Chicken, Red Meat, Pork, Veggies, Fish, Seafood, Bake, Vegan, Latin Food, Defrost, Preheat, Reheat, and DIY |
Weight | 11.2 lbs / 5.08 kg |
Size | 15.7 in L x 11.5 in W x 13.36 in H / 39.88 cm L x 29.21 cm W x 33.93 cm H |
Number of preset functions: | 12 |
Color options: | 3 |
Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer: design and features
- High-resolution touchscreen
- Twelve cooking menus
- Window and interior light
The Kalorik Vivid Touch looks like a regular air fryer, with the standard drawer and interior crisping tray. You pull out the drawer by its large handle, place your food on the crisping tray, and air fry your food. However, instead of pressing buttons, the Vivid Touch is operated entirely via touch screen.
To use the air fryer, pull out the drawer and place the crisping tray inside. In the drawer, you'll see markings indicating the level of food you have inside. These markings will come into play when you start a cooking cycle. In certain cook modes, you'll select the quantity of your food of your based on these markings.
The touchscreen menu technically has 12 cooking modes: French Fries, Frozen Faves, Pizza, Chicken, Red Meat, Pork, Veggies, Fish, Seafood, Bake, Vegan, Latin Food, Defrost, Preheat, Reheat, and DIY. In actuality, it's much more than that. For example, if you tap on the Veggies menu, you'll see more options: Florets (broccoli and cauliflower), Whole Corn, Cut Carrots, Cut Zucchini, Brussel Sprouts, and Green Beans. Under Chicken, you can choose from Wings, Tenderloins, Breast, Thighs, Drumsticks and Half Chicken. The Vegan menu includes Veggie Burger, Cauliflower Wings, Vegan Sausage, Tofu, Tempeh, and Seitan. Tap Latin Food and you'll see Chimichangas, Taquitos, Arepas, Platanos Maduros, Enchiladas, and Nachos.
Choose your cooking mode, then choose your specific food. You'll usually be asked to choose your quantity at that point, and also you'll have the option to change the time and the temperature if you wish. Press Start.
At the halfway point, you'll get an alarm telling you to shake (or turn) your food for even browning. This is important, because the heat comes only from the top. If you don't flip your food, only the top will get crisp and the underneath can get soggy. Tap the light bulb icon to turn on the interior light and keep an eye on your food through the window.
You'll be alerted when your cook time is complete. There is an "add two minutes" button you can tap if you like. Otherwise, remove your food and enjoy.
Cleaning the Kalorik Vivid Touch is easy enough, just hand wash the drawer and crisping tray after use. I don't even remove the tray for cleanup. You should also wipe down the interior of the air fryer outside of the drawer as needed.
- Design score: 4.5/5
Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer: performance
I tested a number of foods in the Kalorik Vivid Touch on various cooking modes with varying degrees of success. Generally it works best for air frying pre-made and frozen convenience foods or reheating and re-crisping leftovers. I did try baking in the Vivid Touch and that worked okay, but only when baking very small and thin items.
I can't take credit for the tofu curry dish seen above, my youngest kiddo made this delicious dinner. They seasoned and breaded the tofu, fried it up in the Kalorik Touch and put it together with curry veggies and rice. It was truly perfection.
Frozen French Fries become a perfectly fried treat in the Kalorik Vivid Touch. The fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. They couldn't be easier to make. Just be sure to shake the drawer at the halfway point; you'll be alerted when you should do so. This ensures even browning.
I made sweet potato "fries" from scratch in the air fryer with just a quick spritz of oil, salt, and pepper. They were delicious, browned on the outside and soft in the middle. I also make lots of fresh veggies and some definitely came out better than others. All of them got blackened, which I enjoy. But for some reason, the cauliflower came out perfect, but the broccoli and Brussels sprouts came out a little bit tough.
Baking in the Kalorik Vivid Touch is possible but not ideal. I baked a quick two-ingredient bread (greek yogurt and self-rising flour) which came out pretty well. You definitely want to keep it thin and small, and even flip it if possible. I made pancake bites in a small silicone muffin mold, and it took two tries to get them right. The key is to fill the molds less than halfway. Fill them up any more than that and they come out burned on top, raw in the middle.
I also attempted corn bread from a mix. I started with a baked the batter in two 5 x 5 inch pans instead of the 8 x 8 inch pan suggested on the box. I made one in the air fryer and the other in my toaster oven. The toaster oven one came out fine but the air fryer one was a fail. Though it was perfectly browned on top, it was raw in the middle.
However, when I heated frozen pre-made waffles in the Kalorik Vivid Touch air fryer, they came out just perfect. Nice and crisp on the outside, fluffy and warm on the inside. I did flip them halfway through the cook time and put a little chocolate on there which melted nicely.
Although I'm a vegetarian, I did make some chicken for my husband. I can barely touch raw meat, but I popped the chicken into the drawer, selected "Breast" from the "Chicken" menu, and it came out great. I did flip it half way as instructed, and I also added two minutes at the end of the cook time because it was a rather thick chicken breast.
- Performance score: 4/5
Should you buy the Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer?
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Value | Though the price is in line with typical air fryers, the easy touchscreen operation adds value. | 4.5/5 |
Design | Lookswise, the design is nothing special. But the high-resolution touch screen and interior light level up the design score. | 4.5/5 |
Performance | It performs as expected from an air fryer, keeping in mind that the heat comes only from the top so flipping is essential. | 4/5 |
Overall | This would be your typical air fryer except for the touchscreen that makes for a better user experience. | 4.5/5 |
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How I tested the Kalorik Vivid Touch Touchscreen Air Fryer
- I tested many different cooking modes multiple times
- I used it daily for two weeks to cook a variety of food
- I cleaned it daily
I love to eat healthy meals but I don't really enjoy cooking. I'm always on the hunt for a kitchen gadget that makes cooking quicker and easier. The Kalorik Vivid Touch does that, particularly for crisping up convenience foods so they taste amazing. My husband and youngest (adult) child enjoyed using the Kalorik Vivid Touch as well. Between us, we made: veggie burgers, hash browns, veggie nuggets, broccoli, frozen waffles, veggie chicken nuggets, chicken breast, fresh sweet potato fries, cauliflower, cottage cheese bread, yogurt bread, breaded tofu, corn bread, pancake bites, tater tots, Brussels sprouts, french fries, and reheated pizza.
Read more about how we test.
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