Why You Can Trust CNET Last-minute Mother's Day win: This 4.5-quart Gourmia air fryer for $59.99
Not that you expect Mom to always do the cooking, of course. Would it kill you to peel a potato once in a while? Plus: Play the award-winning Monument Valley for free!
Find out what all the air-fryer fuss is about.
Potatoes are actually pretty darn good for you, right up until you plunge them into a vat of oil. Then they're gonna kill you.
But, what, we're supposed to give up French fries? Don't think so. In my house, we've invested considerable time and energy into various methods of preparing oven fries, nearly always with disappointing results.
Then came the air fryer. And it was good.
More on that in a minute. For now, this: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Gourmia GAF570 4.5-quart air fryer for $59.99 shipped (plus tax). It normally runs $120, and Amazon sells it for $110.
An air fryer is really just a countertop convection oven, meaning it circulates hot air so foods cook quickly and evenly. But I've had one for only a couple months, but I continue to find new and awesome uses for it. (See my 7 tips for air fryers, by the way.)
Starting with fries: I run unpeeled potatoes through a slicer, pat 'em dry, coat 'em in a small amount of oil, then dump 'em in the air fryer basket. They still take 25-30 minutes to cook, but come out pretty darn good -- way better than anything we've managed in the oven.
I've also made freakin' amazing air-fryer donuts and, more recently, air-fryer bagels. (Pro tip: Use self-rising flour and you can skip the salt and baking powder.)
All this is to to say that I'm pretty happy with my air fryer -- happier, in fact, than the editors at CNET's Louisville Smart Home, who didn't love any of the models in their recent round-up of air fryers. But that didn't include a Gourmia model, and it didn't find any standout alternatives, either. This Gourmia model has presets, a digital display and touch controls. Mine has a pair of annoyingly imprecise dials and that's it.
Monument Valley for Android is free for a limited time.
It's new to Best Buy, so there aren't any customer reviews there, but over at Amazon it picked up a 4.5-star average from over 400 buyers.
This doesn't have to be for Mom. It can be for you. Either way, it's a big win, because many air fryers of this size cost at least $100.
Bonus deal: Game time! If you've never played the exquisite puzzle game Monument Valley, here's your chance: It's currently free for Android. (Normally $4.)
I'm not even going to describe it. I'm just going to tell you to play it. Make sure to connect some headphones so you get the full experience, because the music adds a lot to the richness of the game.
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