Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My first air fryer was a small Gourmia. It was fine, but it didn't have much capacity. Worse yet, the pan had vents in it that kept it from holding soapy water during cleaning. So I bought a second Gourmia that had more capacity and a pan that would hold soapy water for cleaning. I've been using my air fryers for scallops, lobster tail, sausage links, hamburger patties and anything previously barbecued. It's quick, easy to clean, and if it isn't quite as good a the barbecue, that's more than offset by the convenience. It's also great for re-heating a slice of pizza -- much better than a microwave or a toaster oven. I came across the Instant Vortex Air Fryer at Best Buy while waiting for a new car radio to be installed. I wasn't dissatisfied with the Gourmia, but because I use an air fryer so often, I thought it would be worth buying even if it was only slightly better. Simply put, I love this thing. As another review pointed out, it has two cooking trays that can be used on three levels, and it cooks a lot hotter/faster on the top level than on the bottom. The other reviewer was apparently disappointed, but I view this as a feature. Today I cooked sausage patties on the top level, and they came out very dark and well done but without being burned. They'd have cooked fine on the bottom level, but they wouldn't have been as dark and might have been dryer. I've always air-fried scallops on a tray, and they've always come out brown on the top and bottom just as you'd get from a barbecue. But just for curiosity I air-fried a batch in the rotating basket (lightly sprayed with canola oi), and they came out golden brown all over as if they'd been deep fried. They didn't taste better, but they looked more elegant. In summary, I like this Instant Vortex air fryer and see it as an improvement over the two Gourmia models. It's very easy to use and easy to clean, with features enough better to justify the higher price .