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This is the one thing Homes & Gardens' Editor is buying this Amazon Prime Day

It's a tried, trusted and brilliant buy – plus it's on sale

Instant air fryer
(Image credit: Instant)

I'm not a big fan of fried food, but there's no denying its unbeatable flavor, and my kids love fries, so I've been thinking about investing in an air fryer – a tried and tested way to 'fry' food more healthily – for a while. 

I'm usually pretty reticent about recommending products to you – so when I pick something, I only do so with the confidence that what I'm highlighting is really good, tried and tested by not just me but the wider team – and, of course, that it is sensibly priced.

This Amazon Prime Day, my top buy is the The Instant Vortex Plus 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdorErase, which not only tops our list of the best air fryers, but in our review of the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer, lived up to its claims to eliminate cooking smells entirely.

Full disclosure: I'm buying this but haven't tried it yet. However, it has been thoroughly tested by Millie Fender, our small appliance editor who has put a huge amount of air fryers, including this one, through their paces. And this one came out top. 

To quote Millie: 'The Instant Vortex Plus 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdorErase is the first of its kind to almost entirely eliminate cooking odors, but this is far more than a gimmick. The air fryer is quick, quiet, and has a transparent cooking door that makes it easy to monitor meals.

'We found that the Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart 6-in-1 Air Fryer made the best homemade fries of any air fryer we tested. They had a fluffy interior and crispy exterior, with evenly browned edges and consistent cooking throughout.'

If that's not enough to please my kids, I don't know what is. Let me take you through a few more of the pros and cons of this air fryer, below. 

Uncooked fries in the Instant Plus air fryer

(Image credit: Future)

What we loved about the Instant Pot Vortex Air Fryer

Instant Vortex Plus 6 Quart 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdorErase

(Image credit: Future)

It's not just for fries

The Instant Pot Vortex isn't just about cooking the best fries Millie has ever tasted, you can also use it to reheat foods like rice or pasta. In our tests of this product, we also used it to cook the perfect crispy bacon and chicken pieces, and tried the roast setting for scrummy roasted veg.

It's a great size for families

The six-quart capacity is perfect for 5 or 6 people. 

It really does prevent cooking odors

Love the taste of fried food but hate the smell it leaves behind? The Vortex's innovative OdorErase technology really does help prevent cooking odors. Even the bacon we cooked was undetectable after cooking. 

It's quiet

This is also one of the quietest air fryers Millie has tried, perfect for keeping dinner time stress levels down. 

You can see your food cooking

Instant's latest ClearCook technology lets you to look inside the air fryer as it cooks so you can monitor it easily.

It's easy to clean by hand

If you love to put everything in the dishwasher you'll be disappointed here; this air fryer's parts are best washed by hand. Needless to say, the non-stick surfaces make this quick and easy.

I'm okay with this last part – Millie assures me it is easy to wash by hand. It's worth noting that Millie tested all the air fryers she reviewed in one day, in the same kitchen, under the same conditions and with the same foods and that the Vortex consistently produced the best results. You can find out how we test products for more peace of mind. 

Lucy Searle
Content Director

Lucy Searle has written about interiors, property and gardens since 1990, working her way around the interiors departments of women's magazines before switching to interiors-only titles in the mid-nineties. She was Associate Editor on Ideal Home, and Launch Editor of 4Homes magazine, before moving into digital in 2007, launching Channel 4's flagship website, Channel4.com/4homes. In 2018, Lucy took on the role of Global Editor in Chief for Realhomes.com, taking the site from a small magazine add-on to a global success. She was asked to repeat that success at Homes & Gardens, where she also took on the editorship of the magazine. Today, Lucy works as Content Director across Homes & Gardens, Woman & Home, Ideal Home and Real Homes.