Marshmello threw his fucking name on an air fryer. In September of last year, Best Buy announced they were teaming with DJ/Producer Marshmello to develop a countertop appliance to make cooking french fries and brussel sprouts mad easy (featuring TurboCrisp© technology!). Why Marshmello, of all people, and why an air fryer, of all things??? Well on Wednesday, I paid full retail (130 bills) to find out why.
Marshmello is a DJ and Producer known the world over for tracks like Numb and Happier began his career with the release of Wavez to his Soundcloud in 2015. Since then, Mello has amassed more than 14 billion (with a B!) views on YouTube, and 12 billion streams on Spotify! How can this even be possible? Well, when you introduce a big goofy mask and a corny gimmick, you become ageless. When you can’t talk, you’re not tethered by a single language and have to rely on universal body language. Marshmello has used this to build a global fanbase of all walks of people because he’s like a DJing minion–he’s cute, he’s easily understood, and he’s no stranger to throwing himself in unfamiliar cultures. His connection transcends age and borders. From there, his music does the talking. That, and his side ventures.
One of his many side ventures, the one relevant here, is his cooking channel on YouTube. What stood out to me about it was his obvious effort to reach the widest audience possible with hyper-inclusive, globally-accessible content. His three most recent recipe-specific videos boast recipes for Thanksgiving treats, Nigerian jollaf rice, and Spanish paella. Its clear he’s made a legitimate, conscious effort to showcase the world's finest dishes for the widest variety of viewers to promote inclusivity. And in September, he launched a kitchen appliance to help his global audience make some of these meals themselves.
So I bought that stinking thing, and I borrowed my friend Dustin’s Power XL Vortex air fryer to compare it against, and the results will shock you (clickbait alert!). I cooked a variety of multicultural snacks…from the frozen food section. Egg rolls, french fries, pizza bites, and taquitos, all of which were cooked at the same temp for the same amount of time. And if I’m being entirely honest…the results were split. Between 3 blind designated tasters, the cumulative results were 8 wins for Mello, 7 wins for Power XL, and 3 ties. Do I wish I had more to report? For $129.99, absolutely. Can you put a price on my Goddamn journalistic integrity? Hell frickin nah.
The tiebreaker, you ask? Marshmallows. Of course it’s marshmallows! This is really what set the Marshmello’s TurboCrisp© apart–it came with a silicone baking pan to insert in the basket. This sucker helped the mallows get crispy and caramelized on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and kept them from rolling into each other and creating some Stay Puft-style mega marshmallow like the Power XL did. So alas, I raise Marshmello’s hand high, this air fryer is legit. I’ve got to imagine it would make a serious grilled cheese when you get home from a show, and this thing is so easy to use that a child could cook breakfast in it. My attempt at making
And I think that’s the whole point. To make cooking accessible like he’s done with everything else. Similar to what he’s done with his character, and like he’s done with his music, and what he continues to do on his cooking channel. If Marshmello's short 7-year career demonstrates anything about him, it's that he wants everybody in on the party. From young to old, from the far East to the yeehaw West, Marshmello wants to connect people with music… and food. And I’ll be damned if this air fryer doesn’t use his name to do just that. I hosted a small party to test Marshmello’s machine and in one use it has already brought me together with loved ones. My guest walked in and noticed the Marshmello logo on my air fryer and we shared a giggle about it, and how couldn’t you? So, a legit air fryer that carries its weight, that brings people together for yummy treats, that makes you and your friends giggle–I think that's worth the single square foot of counter space it costs, and I think it’s lovely that Marshmello did it. Marshmello, please, take our free ad!
My heroic effort at making Marshmello's
logo out of Marshmello's with TurboCrisp
Technology!©
