Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The "air fryer" has taken America's kitchens by storm. Everybody wants one. Most everybody is coming t have one. There are a myriad makers and sellers. Frankly the facts above for a while put me off the idea of owning one. My kitchen space is valuable. Another once seemingly Great Idea sitting in a cabinet unused was not what I wanted at all. But as I read owners' positive and enthusiastic comments -- and this about seemingly all makes and models -- I thought that owning one seemed a good idea, and I picked up a low priced, unknown brand, one locally. And to my amazement it quickly became a much used kitchen appliance. That early one I purchased, though, was small, and, alas, did not prove durable. So I returned it and started looking here on Amazon for what to me would hopefully be the ideal replacement. What did I need and want? 1) Size. I wished to be able to cook enough food for my small family and perhaps some friends. And more, I'd learned that air fryers cooked some foods (such as french fries) better when the basket is only partially loaded. So even when cooking just one or two servings a bigger machine would likely do better than a smaller one. 2) Cleaning ease. My reading showed very mixed reviews for the different makes. Some were reported to be easily cleaned, others not so much. 3) Appearance. Since I'd be using the air fryer often it would have to be out and in a convenient space, hence appearance mattered. Clean lines and an unobtrusive modern simplicity -- those are the things I wanted. The Elite Platinum seemed to offer all of these things. Its only possible drawback was its physical size. But in fact, owing to its basic design shape, it was only a bit bigger in every direction than units with much less internal capacity. My order, purchased directly through Amazon, took some weeks to be fulfilled. But it was worth the wait for the Elite Platinum appears to be everything I hoped it would be and more. Solidly built, quiet, easy to operate, easy to clean, and most important of all it is a fine cooker. My very first batch of fries come out crisp on the outside, moist on the inside inside and evenly browned. Cleanup was a breeze -- far easier than on the previous model I'd had. Yes, the Elite is big. But not much more so than the other "small appliances" -- the K-Cup coffee brewer, the espresso maker, the toaster, the vacuum sealer, etc. -- that sit with it on my kitchen counter. And like them I expect it will be seeing regular, almost daily, use. Worth mentioning as well is the unit's temperature accuracy. Just out of interest I turned it on for three minutes set at 400 degrees. I then opened the draw and pointed a digital meter at the basket. It measured 398f near the top, and 374f down at its base. A couple of more minutes and I expect it would have measured a nearly perfect 400 throughout. Superb! Each of us has somewhat different needs. But if your's match my own as set out above I most highly recommend the Elite Platinum 5.5. Quart Air Fryer.