We’ve all heard of a slow cooker, a.k.a. crock pot, and we’ve all probably heard of a pressure cooker.
While most of you know and probably use a slow cooker, some of you may not know what a pressure cooker is, how it works, or the benefits of using a pressure cooker. While both the slow cooker and the pressure cooker cook foods like meats, vegetables, casseroles and beans very well, pressure cookers can also cook things like cheesecake and oatmeal.
Speed of cooking
Pressure cookers cook in significantly less time than slow cookers. And, you don’t have to be super organized to prepare a meal in a pressure cooker, where with a slow cooker you do. For instance, using a slow cooker, you have to get up in the morning and prepare all your ingredients and place them in the slow cooker in order for them to cook all day while you’re at work or running errands. When you use a pressure cooker, you can come home from work and in just a few minutes time have a quick, healthy and delicious meal all prepared all at once.
Convenience
Pressure cookers are also much more convenient than slow cookers. For instance, to gain the maximum flavor from meat, it should be browned. When you use a slow cooker an extra pan has to be used for the browning, but you can brown the meat right inside a pressure cooker. If you have a recipe that calls for bacon, you can fry up the bacon right in the pressure cooker as well. So there is no extra washing of a pan using a pressure cooker like there is if you were to use a slow cooker.
Time-saving
Another advantage of using a pressure cooker over a slow cooker is the fact that you can caramelize onions in the pressure cooker. Again, if you needed caramelized onions in a recipe for a slow cooker, you’d have to prepare them in a separate pan. Not only is this annoying, but it’s also more time consuming. Most of you are rushed in the mornings as it is, and rarely have time to prepare a dish for the slow cooker, but you can have the same great tasting meals, and more, using a pressure cooker.
Energy savings
Not only will you not have to rush to get it ready in the morning for dinner time, but you’ll also save energy. Instead of having a slow cooker that’s plugged in all day and using energy, you’ll be able to prepare yummy, healthy and delicious meals in just a few minutes time using a pressure cooker.
There you have it. Pressure cookers can actually save you more time and money over a crock pot. For those who’ve swore by a crock pot, why not give a pressure cooker a try next time? You might be pleasantly surprised at how much you like it.
Conclusion
Choose what it is best for your style of cooking, but to make things more difficult, there are now slow pressure cookers, small appliances with similar controls to a slow cooker also able to pressure cook. These appliances do both, slow cook and pressure cook. May be this would be the solution if kitchen space is at a premium.