Review of the Breville Halo health fryer

I was very excited to be given this bad boy to review on the blog. If you know me then you know I just love a kitchen gadget. I'm not going to lie my kitchen is huge - well I'm sure there are plenty that are bigger than mine but its big enough for me. Bigger than your average kitchen then. My cousin once remarked that its so big I have to have two kitchen roll holders.  The benefits of having a handyman husband type. Anyhow, in my said kitchen I have lots of cake baking paraphernalia, coffee machines, my beloved kitchen aid and lots of gadgets.  I have accumulated lots of kitchen stuff over the years.  Its normally the first thing I think of when someone asks what I would like for my birthday/Xmas. I have asked for a rice cooker this year - proper hard core!

Breville Halo Health Fryer. I took this picture prior to breaking my iphone - another blog post entirely 

Anyhow, back to the review.  My husband is northern. He likes chips. Thing is he doesn't get the deep fat fried ones that he dreams of. In fact, he said to me upon the arrival of my Halo that I made him chuck out his deep fat fryer when we got together.  So he is as excited as any man can be over a kitchen gadget.  I haven't, as yet, tried out the chips but I shall come back and tell you how I got on. Some reviews have said the paddle gets stuck but I didn't find this to be the case when we made churros.

A vintage deep fat fryer!! We've come a long way

Or as we like to call them chichi's instead.  We love a chichi when we go on holiday to France. Essentially they're a long doughnut minus the jam. They warm the cockles of your heart - only thing is they are incredibly fattening. Enter Mr Halo.  

I piped pieces of churros about 6 inches long. I think this was just about the right size for the fryer. There is a paddle that kept the churros moving so you don't have to turn it or anything. You just let it do its thing.  I set the timer for 12 minutes and whilst they weren't as crunchy as the ones that are deep fried they weren't as greasy either.  I have to say they came out a treat and my daughter was thrilled with them. My children said they tasted just as good as the ones in France. It does look very space age so 10/10 for design. I would ordinarily have pictures but as mentioned above I dropped my iphone and we couldn't find our normal camera. In any event, we were too busy watching the halo in action. I will post pictures when we make chips. We were mesmerised watching them turn around - it lights up and everything. 

The Halo has many features - it can do just about anything - bake, grill, roast etc.  It looks good and the price is reasonable (just over £100 on Amazon at the moment). I called this a gadget intially but it could easily become a regular staple in the kitchen.  I have friends who are at a certain slimming club and this would make an excellent gift for them.  They could eat an unlimited amount of chips!

The only downside I can see is the size. Its not a problem for me in my kitchen as I have lots of work surface and cupboards but if you have a small kitchen it would take up a fair bit of space. Having said this, if you are using it on a daily basis then its not a problem.  

To see the halo in action and all the various things you can cook with it check out this you tube clip. You can also check out all the particulars on the Breville website.

In any event, it got a thumbs up from us and the kids can't wait to try something else out at the weekend. A great Christmas present for those embarking on another diet in January!

I was given the Breville Halo Fryer to test out free of charge in exchange for an honest review on my blog. All my reviews are honest as you would come to expect from The 1970s Diet