The glass panels and the ability to turn a light on inside the cooker, to see what's going on, is also fantastic--so much better than the older versions. Damage resulting from accident, alteration, misuse, abuse, neglect, unreasonable use, use contrary to the operating instructions, normal wear and tear, commercial use, improper assembly, disassembly, failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance, fire, flood, acts of God, or repair by anyone unless directed by an Instant Brands representative. Not just any old air fryer, it has two separate 3.8 litre baskets, each with its own independent heating element, meaning you can cook at different temperatures at the same time, and finish their cooking cycles at different times. However, you don’t have to use them separately if you don’t want to, thanks to the SyncCook and SyncFinish modes, which let you mirror the cooking settings of the two baskets and programme them to finish at exactly the same time. Since the capacity of the latest Vortex Plus is 5.7 litres / 6 quarts, we plumped for our usual 450g / 1lb batch of steak-cut fries, rather than reducing it as we did to account for the smaller frying basket of the dual-drawer model. We selected the Air Fry cooking mode but raised the default temperature from 196ºC / 385ºF to 204ºC / 400ºF, setting the cooking duration to 15 minutes. The results were crisp and evenly browned fries on the outside, with soft and fluffy potato on the inside. Once the cooking time had finished, however, it was clear the fries weren’t cooked to our liking – they were pale and soggy, with some still raw in the center. So we added a further three minutes to the cooking time. Frustratingly, the air fryer goes through the automatic preheat again, in effect pushing cooking time to an additional six minutes. However, the fries still weren’t crisp and crunchy enough, so we added a further two minutes (five with the preheat). The fries still weren’t properly cooked,, in spite of the additional time, so it was clear this wasn’t going to be a success, so we abandoned cooking.

The larger capacity of the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer means it takes up slightly more countertop space than the Vortex Plus, measuring 31.7 x 40.3cm x 38.4cm /12.5 x 15.9 x 15.11 inches (h x w x d). However, as we’ve already mentioned, it isn’t as bulky as some other dual-zone air fryers on the market. Just like the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer, the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer with ClearCook & OdourErase doesn’t include any cooking charts or guides in the box. While the Instant app is loaded with recipes for homemade dishes, there’s no advice for temperature and cooking times for frozen foods. So we used our experience with the Dual Drawer Air fryer as the basis for cooking frozen steak-cut fries.Just like the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer, the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer with ClearCook & OdourErase sports an angular design. This ensures it has a smaller overall footprint than its predecessor, measuring 39.2 × 30 × 33cm / 15.43 x 11.81 x 13 inches. The touch controls are positioned closer to the top of the air fryer, while the dial to adjust the cooking temperature and duration is slightly smaller than on the first iteration of the Instant Vortex Plus. When it came to homemade fries, we were just as impressed. We followed a recipe from the Instant app, coating the potato batons in 2tsp of oil before air-frying them for 20 minutes at a temperature of 191ºC / 376ºF. Once the cooking time had passed, we had crunchy, evenly browned fries that were soft and fluffy inside. The Vortex’s clever design is matched by its great performance and range of features. Its twin baskets benefit from Sync Cook and Sync Finish features: Finish will make sure your two baskets are done at the same time, even if they require different times or temperatures, while Cook mirrors the settings on your baskets, for when you’re cooking two portions of the same thing. SyncCook mode – with the simple touch of a button, you can mirror the settings for both baskets so they’re doing exactly the same job – ideal if you’re catering for a crowd.

However, just like the Instant Vortex Plus, we found that this model’s crisper plate falls out easily if the frying basket is tipped up too much. As well as air fry, the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer can roast, bake, grill, reheat and dehydrate. The air fryer has a total capacity of 7.6 litres / 8 quarts, which is split evenly across the two frying baskets. The front of the baskets feature a built-in plastic window, which, along with a light in the cooking cavity, ensures you can see how cooking is progressing. For easy cleaning, both the baskets and the crisper plates that sit inside them are dishwasher-safe – an improvement on its predecessor, where only the crisper plate could be cleaned in the dishwasher. Air fryers have become so popular in recent years because their size and clever designs mean they’re speedy, energy efficient and need very little to no oil to effectively crisp up food. This is in contrast to traditional ovens, which are larger and therefore require more time and energy to reach the same temperatures. Image credit: TechRadar) Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdourEase price and availability When it comes to cooking duration, you can set each basket to complete cooking independently, or utilize the sync feature that stalls the basket with the shorter cooking time so that the two zones complete at the same time.The short answer is yes. Even the simplest dual air fryer can make a whole meal thanks to its twin basket setup allowing you to cook two things at once, whether that’s two kinds of veg, potatoes and protein, or breakfast foods such as hash browns and bacon. The handy sync and match features available on many models takes things a step further, allowing you to better coordinate the cooking of your two items. Additionally, accessories such as grill plates let you cook a wider range of foods more effectively, fully opening up your mealtime possibilities. The other major upgrade over the previous version is the OdourErase technology, which uses built-in air filters to reduce cooking smells wafting through your home – compared to other models on the market, we could certainly detect a clear reduction in cooking smells when using the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer with ClearCook & OdourErase. Alongside a varied set of preset functions, the Genius XL’s standout feature is its rotating paddle, which does away with the need to pause your cook and shake midway through, instead gently stirring your food throughout for consistent results. The air fryer’s 1.7kg capacity is split between two cooking compartments, with the bottom compartment utilising the stirring paddle and a second static section sitting on top – though the latter can be removed for extra room if needs be.