Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Kitchen Natter => Topic started by: GraciesGran on January 26, 2022, 10:57
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The pressure cooker I have been using since 1974 is about to be pensioned off. It's no longer holding pressure. Do I replace it or buy a slow cooker? Everyone raves about them but am reluctant to purchase unless I feel it will be useful, am not a gadget person and the few I have have earned their space in the kitchen.
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They're at opposite ends of the cooking spectrum GGran, so depends which you would get more use out of, and fits in with your cooking style :D
Slow cookers do exactly that - cooks slowly and gently, just leave it to get on with it all day, so not good if you aren't a plan ahead person.
Pressure cookers can cook things very quickly, but in my experience, you have to keep a very careful eye on them ::)
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Slow cooker every time here, GrGr!
You can get one at a very reasonable price - even Tesco or similar, and like Mum says, they just chunter away during the day or night, and are fabulous for cheaper cuts of meat as they're in soak for so long!
My favourite beef cut is brisket, and a slow cooker is the perfect answer to all that - and I'm not even chief cook here!
Soups are a doddle, just chuck a chicken carcase and a few veg in and leave it all day! Marvellous!
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You could always treat yourself to one of the "pot duo" jobbies that does both. More money than 2 seperate gizmos though. Our slow cooker gets mostly used for tagine/stew or pulled meat, I'm saving up for a pressure cooker as I make a lot of curries. Wouldn't give up the slow cooker for a pressure cooker.
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Ok, will look and see if I can get a reasonable price slow cooker. I'm quite good at meal planning ahead.
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I've got one of the modern pots that does both and it's in and out of my cupboard so frequently it must be dizzy. Really easy to use and does lovely casseroles, steams or pressure cooks beautifully. Rice pudding in twelve minutes, really creamy and the only thing missing is the skin on the top. One pot to do everything instead of two different ones. The only recommendation I would make is that if you like to make quick curries in it, it's advisable to buy a spare rubber lid seal as the curry smell gets into it and could taint something like a rice pudding.
On the other hand, if you bottle your own fruit and veg, then you will need to have a pressure cooker as the one pots don't quite get up to the pressure required to ensure safe keeping.
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Some of the new duo pots are actually more than that, ninja pots can be 7 in 1 or 9 in 1 or even 15 in 1, not sure what they all do , air fry is one of the extras I do know. We bought our daughter a one pot make that was pressure cooker/slow cooker & sous vide as I knew she’d like having a go with that. I’ve got a sage one & I love it, but it was expensive, I’ve also got a power Xl that I can can(bottle) in as it has that feature(button). But I got that 2nd hand off Facebook marketplace although they are a rare find with the Canning button on as they stopped selling them here. But the ordinary pressure/slow cookers come up regularly here,might be worth a try I paid £20 as opposed to £70 or £90
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Love my slow cooker, use it frequently. Never tried a pressure cooker as I'm put off by them (scared is another word). I don't know anybody who has one so no experience. Got my slow cooker for £20 I think, from Tesco a few years ago.
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slow cooker the best thing we ever bought it cooks at a slow pace cooking meats in there natural juices keeping the flavour in our slow cooker is used most days and although we have a range cooker its not used as much as the slow cooker I'm not a pressure fan anyway
we have two slow cookers one large one small there the bees knees as far as I'm concerned :D :D
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Have borrowed a slow cooker from a friend who is going on holiday for 3 weeks. Will give me a chance to try it, will report back
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Slow cooker worth having if only to make rice pudding. Beef stew bubbling away happily, could be my new favourite gadget.
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Slow cooker worth having if only to make rice pudding. Beef stew bubbling away happily, could be my new favourite gadget.
‘‘Tis also great for ‘steaming’ Christmas puddings & cooking oranges for marmalade
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Reason for buying a 'standard' slow cooker over a modern electric pressure cooker with slow cooker option would mainly be cost.
The new electric/electronically controlled pressure cookers with slow-cooker option have so many safety measures built in that it would be extremely hard (almost impossible) to make them blow-up in pressure-cooker mode AND, I believe, are well worth the extra money if budget will allow. Also, one still gets slow-cook mode if one really insists on simmering a meal all-day, but pressure-cook mode will allow similar results in much shorter time. (Get home from work, chop food, click on the pressure cooker and, more often than not, pot-meal will be ready by time you have relaxed/changed clothes and sorted the pets out !) I paid over £100 for my electric pressure cooker, but cheaper options readily available. (My ex- luckily found a very well-recognised brand, pretty-much un-used, in charity shop for a few £s which works absolutely fine !)
Another reason to pressure-cook rather than slow-cook: if ya like your beans (in particular), but have a sensitive tummy, natural lectins can be a problem. As I understand it, slow cooking will not cook-off/neutralise bean lectins (red kidney bean being the worst I believe), BUT a pressure cooker will/should neutralise because cooks at much higher temperature.
Obviously not possible to cook a nice rice pud' and a curry or stew in the same pot at the same time. So a modern electric pressure cooker AND an electric slow-cooker would perhaps be a good combo if kitchen space permits.
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Salixer, I believe there’s a ninja dual pot so not sure if that can pressure cook & slow cook at the same time?
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Salixer, I believe there’s a ninja dual pot so not sure if that can pressure cook & slow cook at the same time?
No, if I understand your post correctly @snowdrops , "dual pot" means it can do more than one thing BUT NOT at the same time.
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Salixer, I believe there’s a ninja dual pot so not sure if that can pressure cook & slow cook at the same time?
No, if I understand your post correctly @snowdrops , "dual pot" means it can do more than one thing BUT NOT at the same time.
Not according to this, but not pressure cook & slow cook from a quick look
https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-max-dual-zone-air-fryer-af400uk-zidAF400UK?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI99u41Ybx9QIVXurtCh2V-QYHEAQYASABEgKRHfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Salixer, I believe there’s a ninja dual pot so not sure if that can pressure cook & slow cook at the same time?
No, if I understand your post correctly @snowdrops , "dual pot" means it can do more than one thing BUT NOT at the same time.
Not according to this, but not pressure cook & slow cook from a quick look
https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-max-dual-zone-air-fryer-af400uk-zidAF400UK?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI99u41Ybx9QIVXurtCh2V-QYHEAQYASABEgKRHfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Link took me to an air-frier which is not the same as a pressure cooker/slow cooker. Some top-end pressure/slow cooker options have an optional air-frier lid (expensive and I cannot comment on effectiveness), BUT they are different to things called "air-friers" - the latter do not do pressure cooking and are essentially designed to fry stuff (as one might expect !).
NB: What ever option of new-fangled "convenient" cooking equipment one might be tempted by, bear in mind ease of cleaning (or not) !!!!
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I like my slow cooker and use it a lot. I have a pressure cooker as well, but don’t use it much. It is fast and tenderises stuff well enough, but lots of things benefit from gentle simmering to allow flavours to develop and mingle over time.
The pressure cooker is good for cooking ingredients that would otherwise take ages, like pulses, but the slow cooker wins out for me most of the time :)
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There is a hand-me-down slow cooker also in my house: have never used it actually. I will trust in devotees' love of their slow-cookers and maybe give slow cooking a whirl (!!) one day either in that slow cooker or using the p/cooker in slow-cooker mode !
One passing thought re modern electric pressure cookers: seemingly they do not reach quite the same high pressure that a hob-type p/cooker can. Whether that puts them out of the running for making preserves I wouldn't know.
Um, a 2nd passing thought: I find there there are even pressure cookers 'pots' for use in a microwave !! I believe they are relatively expensive (for what they are), but I'd be interested to hear about experience if any member has ever used one.
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The results are in. Cheap slow cooker purchased it was reduced to peanuts because the box was broken! Acquired a pressure cooker from a friend who bought one and used it once. Both have their uses.
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Acquired a pressure cooker from a friend who bought one and used it once.
That's about as many times as I've used mine. Speed was really the the only benefit and the concept always had me a little concerned. I think a lot will depend on what type of cooking you do or want to do, I have adjusted to make use of a slow cooker.