My guess is that you love home-cooked meals, but the home-cooking part gets hard to maintain throughout the week. That’s normal and expected… so what we need are a few clever tools that help make it simpler!
There are two in particular which, in my opinion, every healthy kitchen should have.
Both make cooking easier – especially after a long day…
Both appliances are brilliant for convenient and hands-off cooking…
Both produce the kind of food that tastes like you’ve been slaving over it all day…
And they each do it in a very different way.
We’re talking about pressure cookers vs. slow cookers. The most old-school of appliances, but you know what – they work! And my question is, which one is better for you?
Depending on your cooking style, let’s look at which tool you might want in your kitchen.
The Pressure Cooker
Most people who’ve never used a pressure cooker are terrified of them! Imagining lids flying off! I hope to demystify that today.
How Do Pressure Cookers Work?
Pressure cookers have an air-tight sealed lid that, once the heat rises inside – it’s impossible to take off until it cools back down. Any liquid inside, present in the food and ingredients, turns into steam that infuses back into the food cooking it under high pressure.
You can find electric pressure cookers, or stove-top pressure cookers. I’ve only tried stove-top and it’s brilliant!
What can you cook in a pressure cooker?
Everything! High pressure cooking quickly breaks down veg, meat and beans. You can do a pulled pork, roast chicken or bean stew (from dry) in a fraction of the time. (around 30 – 40 minutes!)
Suggested resource: Hip Pressure Cooking has a ton of recipes for you
What’s the biggest pro?
Time – you get that same slow-cooked flavour, without having to plan in advance. If you come home and decide that you want to cook dried beans for dinner, tonight – you can make that happen.
What’s the biggest con?
I’ll be honest, I’m a pressure cooker fan – I can’t think of a con. I would say that, getting to know cooking times will take some learning… but that’s like anything!
A day in the life of person using a pressure cooker.
Here’s the scenario: you’ve come home with the biggest craving for bean chili with melted cheese and saltine crackers… but you forgot to soak the beans. You can’t wait 5 hours!!
Ordinarily, you’d need a “Plan B” but with a pressure cooker, you can speed cook dried beans in less than an hour, and eat that bean chili you so crave.
I want one, what’s the best pressure-cooker?
The Presto Stainless Pressure Cooker / $49.00
The Slow Cooker
It’s a very handy tool that cooks long and slow – like a gorgeous pot of tomato ragu, that’s been lovingly looked after by your Italian grandmother.
How Do Slow Cookers Work?
Slow cookers, also called crock pots, are electric cookers that cooks at a very low temperature. It’s safe to leave it on for hours through the night, or even if you leave the house.
What can you cook in a slow cooker?
Everything! From stews, soups, beans and even cuts of meat to make pulled pork or braised beef. Anything that you’d want to cook for hours in an oven or in a big pot, will be perfect for a slow cooker. A lot of people are even experimenting with making cakes and sponges in them!
Suggested resource: 365 Days of Crockpot has a ton of recipes and tips for you
What’s the biggest pro?
Hands-off. The best recipes for slow cookers are ones that you throw all the ingredients in, close the lid, set it on low and forget about it.
What’s the biggest con?
Time. The entire point of a slow cooker, is that it’s slow. That means there’s a bit of planning involved, ie: I’d like to eat in… 8 hours.
A day in the life of person using a slow cooker.
Here’s the scenario: it’s the early morning and you’re already thinking about tonight’s dinner. You know you’ll be busy all day, so you decide to prep something now. You throw in some chicken, potatoes and herbs, a splash of stock and wine and set it on low. When you come home from work 8 hours later, dinner is hot, and ready.
I want one, what’s the best slow cooker?
The Hamilton Beach Programmable Slow Cooker / $49.99
So what do you think? Are you a pressure cooker lover or a slow cooker lover?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights too!!
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I love both and it just depends on my mood and need that day, tonight we had tacos and while the ground meat cooked in the cast iron frying pan, I prepped a whole chicken and put it in the stove top pressure cooker, the chicken was done by the time we finished eating. It will be shredded for different recipie this week if I don’t pick and eat it all. I love pressure cooker chicken.
Great article. I was a bit confused about which cooker should I buy? But your article helped me a lot to clarify my doubts and now I can choose the best one as per my needs
Pootata potato I work shift so it’s good for me to do my prep set and forget and cone to the house smelling amazing for hours (and that’s one thing you are missing is that when you slow cook the smell is awesome for hours) also psssstt all the time is actually annoying if you want quick and no prep a fry pan will kill the pressure cooker which is why it depends on what works best, and prep is everything so if you know what you are doing you allow for it and having worked in a kitchen slow cooking process is actually better for certain kinds of dishes that feature on the menu you can cover yourself better it’s the same concept if you are in a hurry did you want it already to go under heat lamps or can you wait 5 minutes and I would not use either to make a roast or a pizza or a Mediterranean breakfast so that is your context time management and
Amazing post! I am really excited about using a pressure cooker and I know I should purchase one ASAP instead of driving home exhausted and stopping for fast food. Thank you, Militza for your enlightening article!
I’ve never had a slow cooker since in my country pressure cookers are way more common. I’m a pressure cooker fan/proud owner/lover, thanks to the facility it has to cook tasteful, fast meals. Maybe one day I buy an slow cooker one, but by now my pressure cooker are my babe <3
Ps: I've never in my life wrote too many times pressure/slow cooker
All interesting, but what is your answer to your question –
So what do you think? Are you a pressure cooker lover or a slow cooker lover?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights too!!
I live on my own and would like to know what would be best for me pressure or slow ,I am retired so do have time but am a bit confused as to what I should buy as some times I would like to cook a quick meal
regards des
Hi Des! I’m a huge pressure cooker fan. I think it gives you that slow cooked taste, but in a fraction of the time. It’s pretty amazing for making quick meals – beans, stews even pulled pork etc.
Two models to consider:
The Presto is a simple pressure cooker – no frills. Some people are a little nervous of cooking under-pressure, but really it’s easy and simple to do. It’s $30-40 on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2p80O6u
Also the Instapot is a great option. It’s a programmable pressure cooker – that gives you a lot of variety. It’s pricier at $90 on Amazon, but you can do all sorts of different recipes from pressure, to steaming and even making yogurt: http://amzn.to/2pK5DH8
Hope that helps! Good on you for taking good care of yourself and eating well!!
PS: If you want pressure cooker recipes, you might try Hip Pressure Cooking
>>http://www.hippressurecooking.com/
Great comparison! Do you know something about the different nutritional values cooking with one or the other?
Hi Valentina. Great question! From what I’ve read, the benefit of pressure cookers is that the short cooking time actually helps to preserve nutrients…
The Food Renegade did an interesting article on this: http://www.foodrenegade.com/pressure-cooking-healthy/
You are most welcome. It can be a very complicated process to explain, but to watch it, makes it so much easier to understand. Once you start, you will be hooked. I tend to use herbs and flowers from my garden, rather than dyes and chemical perfumes.
Hi there, the best way of learning the hot process soap making process is by going into the Kimberly McNutt dot com website or Kimberly McNutt on You Tube, and she shows you the simple and easy way of making Hot Process soap in the slow cooker. She is very successful in her business and easy directions to follow without making it too complicated. I have been making Cold process soap for many years, and Kimberly helped me change to the Hot process soaps very easily and with great success. I still make soap in both processes, but when pushed to make a batch quickly I find the Hot process very satisfying and enjoyable. Regards Barbara Mundy
Hi Barbara – thanks so much for sharing. I look forward to learning more about soap making!
We have a Magic/Thermal Cooker. It works great for making soups and stews, we even make yoghurt in it! And the upside: it uses no electricity, you use the heat from the food you put in there. You have to heat up what you’re making first on a stove and put it in the thermal cooker. Because it uses no electricity you can even take it with you and enjoy your hot lunch in the office or park! Can’t go greener than that ;-)
Hi Mascha! I haven’t used one yet, but sounds incredibly useful!! I’ll have to check that out – thanks for the tip!
I remember the days when my mother used a Pressure cooker and blew the lid off with soups…. it was everywhere. I love my slow cooker, it does so many things that I can rely on being a success every time. So far I haven’t had a pressure cooker, but have looked at them a few times, still can’t make my mind up to buy one though.
When my slow cookers have lost a handle or knob, I use them for soap making instead, always recycle when you can, then replace it with a new one.
Hi Barbara! Oh dear, that would be so scary! Happily, I haven’t had any issues at all with my pressure cooker – it’s been so useful in my kitchen :)
Can you tell us more about how you use the slow cooker to make soap? I’ve been learning soap making here in Bali, but haven’t seen a slow cooker recipe yet!
Great post!! Learned a lot about cookers I’ve never tried before. I think though I’m a pressure cooker-type, since my life is hectic as well as growing up in a home where my mom used one ;)
Hi Donya! The pressure cooker would be perfect for you then! Let us know if you end up giving it a try!
I have an instantpot. The best gadget ever. All-in-one Pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, yogurt maker, saute, etc… thanks way I caneed cook both ways & the yogurt is heavenly.
I actually like them both. My daughter just bought a new pressure cooker and our meals were delicious! Lots of flavor. I have a slow cooker that I use often I love some of the recipes I make but I will be buying a pressure cooker very soon!