Advice for new multicooker.

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elsmandino

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Hi,

I am on the lookout for a multicooker that can cook rice/porridge, slow cooker stews/soups and also steam vegetables.

Could anyone possibly suggest anything as there are loads out there.

This site

http://www.trustedreviews.com/best-slow-cookers_round-up_Page-6

Seems to suggest that the Tefal RK302E15 is the one to get but I was just wondering whether anyone had any first hand experience/advice.

Thanks
 
I don't have any experience of the Tefal one and from the description it doesn't appear to also be a pressure cooker? If you're getting a multi cooker I'd definitely recommend you get one with a pressure cooking function too. I have an Instant Pot (IP Lux60) which does all the things you mention plus pressure cooking, Instant Pot also have a couple of other models with even more functions....I think one of them can be programmed via your smart phone and another can make yoghurt. But those extra functions didn't appeal to me so I went for the more basic one.

I find I use the slow cook, pressure cook and rice cooking functions the most. The saute function is really useful to brown things off before slow or pressure cooking without creating more washing up. I still haven't tried porridge - must get around to that. Vegetables can be steamed normally or under pressure (though mine didn't come with a steamer basket - a collapsible fan steamer fits well).
Its also useful for keeping mulled wine warm this time of year :drink:
 
Thanks very much for that - that model does look like the much better option.

It is interesting that you are a fan of pressure cooking - why is that?

The reason being that I have read a few cooking articles recently about how this method is cooking is coming back into fashion (I remember my grandmother using it years ago) but I had considered it a method that was lost in the past but seemingly not.

As the Instant Pot has both pressure and slow cooking functionality, which do you tend to favour and why?
 
It really depends on what I'm cooking and how much time I have.

Things like spag bol or chilli con carne I tend to slow cook - I think they really benefit from the long, slow, mingling of flavours (in fact I sometimes think they taste better warmed up the next day!). I have made them in the pressure cooker too when I'm short on time but I'd say the flavour was definitely less intense.

I tend to use the pressure cooker to speed things up - particularly for beans and meat. Any meat which you'd boil or braise will work well in the pressure cooker and will be done much quicker eg. a ham joint, lamb shanks, ribs. For dried beans cooking under pressure cuts the time down hugely - and if you forget to soak the beans the day before its not a problem, the pressure cooker can handle that. I tend to cook a lot of red kidney beans so a pressure cooker is particularly useful for them because they shouldn't be cooked solely in a slow cooker.

My rule of thumb is:
- If the ingredient (eg. meat) already contains the flavour and I just want to make sure its really tender then I use the pressure cooker
- If I want the flavours to mingle together in a sauce eg. chilli or a stew, then slow cooking will give a better flavour
 
Also something I forgot to mention yesterday - boiled eggs are great in the pressure cooker. I know it sounds like an odd thing to cook in a pressure cooker and in fact they don't cook any quicker than boiling them in a pan, but the advantage is that they are MUCH easier to peel (especially if you have very fresh ones). I guess the pressure causes the egg white to separate from the membrane and/or shell, thus making them easier to peel.
 
Thanks ever so much for this - seems that I have been missing out on a lot by not (ever) having cooked anything in a pressure cooker.

I am going to go with the IP Lux60 as recommended.
 
Based on a few models I've used, I would warn you that even though a device may be labeled a multi cooker, they don't always do any given one of those things particularly well. My electric pressure cooker, for example, could technically sear and saute, as well as steam food, and be used as a slow cooker. But it didn't do any of those things well at all, and I would never pull it out of the closet to do anything other than pressure cooking. Even though it technically could brown and saute, there was no temperature setting like a conventional stove, it was just "on" or "off". For steaming, it also sucked because you couldn't see the food you were steaming to know when it was done or not. Plus it took about 10 minutes for it to even begin steaming, so I may as well just done it on the stove. For slow cooking, similarly, you couldn't see the food to tell if it was done or not yet.
 
I don't think I'd ever use mine to saute on its own - I'd only use it as prep before slow or pressure cooking to avoid using another pan - and it does that job well enough (but then it does have 3 heat settings).

Whenever I've steamed food (even in my old steamer) I couldn't tell by looking at it whether it was done - I always had to check manually, so doing it in the multicooker isn't any different in that respect. Though one benefit to the multi cooker is I can also steam under pressure which does speed things up a lot. Mine doesn't take that long to start steaming: I think its probably quicker than my old electric steamer, especially if I use the kettle first to boil the steaming water.

Same with my old slow cooker - I open the lid and taste to see if something is done, most things I can't usually tell just by looking. You can get a glass lid for the instant pot to use with the slow cook programme - though I haven't bothered.

For me my multicooker does all I need it to do, and it does the job as well as the separate appliances did. Plus, given limited kitchen storage it has the huge benefit of being much more economical on space.
 
Ninja Foodi.png


I want THIS one!!!! :wink:
 
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Multi-cookers come in all sizes just about.

I truly enjoy making one-pot meals, & with the Nina Foodi, it makes it so easy to do everything in one pot, whereas before, you had to use a lot of pots & containers to do it using the stove, eventually combing the food all into one pot for a casserole or something. :wink:
 
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