I am obsessed with our off-brand air fryer. I hear it’s supposed to cook food in a more healthy way, but I really think that boils down to what food we actually put in the machine. What I like about it is how fast it cooks, the fact that it can crisp the edges of food (rather than make it rubbery, like a microwave), and that it’s super easy to clean. And it does drain grease pretty well, so in that way I suppose it’s healthier. So far, I often use it instead of our toaster oven, microwave and George Foreman grill. Just wish it could also replace our barbecue.
And then I came across a pitch to try the Gourmia GGA2100 FoodStation Smokeless Indoor Grill and Air Fryer ($150) that does just that. Plus it has a clear lid, so you can see what’s going on inside. In fact, that’s a big drawback of my current air fryer – I constantly have to open it, to make sure the food isn’t cooking too fast.
So I ordered the Gourmia to check it out. Its direct bottom-heated grate aims to produce the taste, texture, and grill marks of an outdoor BBQ, but with virtually no smoke. It has a built-in smoke extractor. The machine also uses patented FryForce 360° technology, to air-fry meals that are crisp outside and tender inside with significantly less fat. Its one-touch cooking functions are grill, air fry, bake, roast and dehydrate, and it can reach a peak temperature of 510°.
Before it arrived, I watched several YouTube independent reviews of it to see what I could realistically expect. And the reviewers seemed to generally like it. A lot.
The first thing I did with it – after cleaning everything – was make a turkey melt. It came out great – and I loved being able to watch it, so it didn’t come out overdone. But I did notice that the “preheat” cycle took longer than I expected. Next I took two frozen turkey burger patties, added seasoning, and put those on the direct-heat grill, following the 10-minute cooking time suggestion Gourmia makes in its literature. They came out perfect, replete with nice grill marks. I forgot to start the smoke extractor, and smoke began billowing up from the grill. The moment I hit the extractor button, however, I heard it kick in and the smoke disappeared in seconds. My only complaint again was the length of that preheat cycle. It seemed like it was almost 10 minutes long, to get the machine up to 510 degrees. I see that cycle is optional, so I will try it again soon without preheating it. You can also bake with the machine, and I used that mode to heat a frozen cauliflower crust pizza. The crust came out perfect — seriously better than any I’ve heated in the past. Although I probably would never use the Gourmia to dehydrate fruit, it can be used for that as well.
While I generally love everything about the machine, I have one more beef: Storing it is odd. Because you have both an air fryer basket and a grill grate, they should nest inside the machine to store it. Yet they’re not a clean fit. The best solution I found was storing the grate first, and then lying the basket above it. But the handles of both parts protrude, so the basket doesn’t lay flat. Thus, you have to leave the machine’s glass lid partly open to store it. Which seems vulnerable because that lid is glass. I even called customer service, and the rep told me I was correct – that there is no way to store it all flat. Oh, well, I suppose it’s just a minor price to pay for healthier, good-tasting food in a convenient machine.
