Pressure cooker VS Slow Cooker

[KezzaMucklowe]

Evening MNers << tips cap>>
I already have a slow cooker and have to admit I've never managed to make a really lovely meal in it. I have cooked nice ribs and joints of meat etc in it but as far as anything else goes it all went to mush and has a funny bitter taste.
I recently went out for dinnand had a pressure cooker curry and it was fucking lush.
So, in your experience. Is it worth persevering with the S/C and giving it another go.
Does a pressure cooker do a similar thing in a different way.
What do you use and recommend?
Many thanks in advance for your input.
<<passes around turkish delight and baileys >>>

You'd have to pry my pressure cooker from my cold dead hands.

That's what us children of the '70s worry about!

I was a late adaptor to the IP but its a workhorse and I use it most days.
I didn't have an air fryer so getting the Pro Crisp version (on offer) worked well.
I'm just about to put a couple of sweet potatoes in to roast on the AirFryer function.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instant-Pot-Crisp-Electric-Cooker/dp/B08XC4JH7Y?th=1

Pressure cookers creates amazing, quick, healthy food which tastes likes it’s taken 4 hours in the oven.

Slow cookers creates food with a horrible texture, little flavour and a very unappealing appearance.

There’s really no comparison.

I did try to live the MN slow cooker dream - throw it all in in the morning & come home to a delicious meal, and I tried loads of "guaranteed delicious" recipes without success - but as far as I am concerned its all a big lie/conspiracy.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m a decent cook by any other method, and have friends the same, but have never had a great meal out of a slow cooker from any of us.😆 Convenient in some circumstances, I suppose, but fails on quality every time.

My mum and nan both had stove top pressure cookers they used and always reminded me of an aunt who had a whole potato spew out the little hole and platter all over the kitchen ceiling! 😬

You can get modern pressure cookers which are electric and have more safety features than the older, stove top types. I have one, along with a slow cooker. I cook similar things in both- its just MUCH quicker in the pressure cooker. Pea/ham soup, beef stew, pork ribs etc. My pressure cooker has various functions and settings- so a button for pulses, one for veg, meat, fish etc. You can also dial up or down the cook time once you get used to it. Its great for cooking dried pulses- which are cheaper than the tinned varieties.

A bitter taste from the slow cooker could be something burnt, like garlic, or if it had been sitting in there all day- it might have been going off!

Lob in potatoes with boiling water and a bit of salt. Pressure cook for 15 minutes, drain and mash for very fluffy mash!

I could never figure out where the horrible bitter taste was coming from. It was strange.
I didn't get it from a joint of meat.

Slow cookers make everything taste like slow cooker. Very underwhelming too. I vote pressure cooker!

Can someone please clarify what it is these pressure cooker service announcements were warning about? Was it explosions? We have an old stove top pressure cooker that belonged to fil and we occasionally use it. It gives great results but I always get DH to oversee it because it scares me. He is adamant there is nothing to worry about with it as long as you keep
an eye and I can’t seem to find any of these announcements on YouTube. Would be nice to know what they said 😬

I did find this one while looking… ! 🫤

I like crispy bacon and halloumi cheese in my salad. I cut them both up, put them in a silicone liner, add a few flaked almonds and fennel seeds and airfry on high for 8 mins, stirring half way through.
Adds great flavour and texture to salad (I also often add the same thing to soup)

I once had pea and ham soup all over my kitchen ceiling when using a pressure cooker.
That was forty years ago and I’m still using one today😀

Another vote for the IP. I make all soups and stews in it. Never use the slow cooker option, always pressure. I bought a slow cooker years ago, used it twice then relegated it to the back of a cupboard. I have no idea how people produce edible food in a slow cooker and I’m not willing to try and find out when pressure cooking is so successful.

I've got a combo instant pot thing. You can saute meat and onions in it, add veg and stock, pressure cook for 20 mins then leave to slow cook for when you want it.

Slow cookers are good but you need to brown things first and veg goes very soft. They're good for curry, cooking joints of meat etc

I think people don't understand that modern versions are not the scary hissy versions from the 70's :-)

Pressure cooker, no comparison. With a slow cooker you have to get up and dick around chopping veg and frying onions in the morning, and the food is then bland and tastes mostly of slow cooker. Pressure cooker means food cooks quicker (tough cuts of meat about 25 minutes for example) and always tastes great.

@Missingpate I think the scare was/is about the seal on the lid being damaged or the steam release valve being blocked, which would mean that the lid might explode off. As long as those things are checked before using there's no problem. I have an old-style hissy one that goes on the hob, and have used it for years multiple times a week.

I had a slow cooker and then I had an instant pot. Both have their uses but neither was used enough use to warrant counter top space so eventually got given away. As did the ice cream maker, the bread maker etc. the only one that has stayed is the air fryer.

The other incredible thing an Instant Pot does is cook frozen chicken breasts into lovely shreddable hot chicken. Or you can just slice it up into slices or chunks once cooked.

It takes 25 minutes to actually cook and I allow an hour for the heat up process, cooking and natural release which means just letting it depressurise over time. Then it just sits there waiting for me to deal with it on the automatic keep warm setting.

Great for roast chicken dinner when you have 4 adults and everyone wants breast meat, add to sandwiches hot on just out of the oven part baked baguettes or add to pasta or stir fries, or stash cold in the fridge to discover it has all been eaten by your adult children

And "mwahmemwah" Charlie says always tell your Mum where you are going. Clunk, click, every trip. Funny that as there were no seatbelts in the back of the car we had, just a big vinyl bench seat you slid around on. Ah the 70s, if you survived you are a warrior.

I use my pressure cooker/Instapot daily for making curries, rice, coups, porridge, cooks beans, streaming vegetables, boiling potatoes, fermenting yoghurt... the list goes on. If it broke today, I would go out and buy another one on the same day.

I have a ninja 15 in 1. Has slow cooker and pressure cooker. Use it qyite a lot. Much safer and not like the old ones with weights balancing on the top

I find them a faff and although I have one I've never really got to grips with it. By the time it's got to pressure and then released it's taken the same time as it would do normally!! Maybe I'm cooking the wrong things 🤷🏼‍♀️.

My slow cooker is more useful to me because I use it on days we get in the house and have a 20 minute turn around. It's ready to eat there and then. This said I am very careful about what I cook as some stuff turns out shit but the stuff I've been doing from the taming twins website is brilliant and a real hit with the family.

@teacoffeeorpassthegin

My pressure cooker takes 5 mins to get up to pressure on the hob.

3 options to release the pressure:

1. Just turn off the heat and leave it (takes ages)
2. Release valve (about 3/4 mins) you have to do it in stages rather than a full release in one go.
3. Shove it under a cold tap in the sink (1min)

I use option 3 which is why I've not gone down the instapot route.

Food inside stays v hot and no water leaks as it's still sealed in the pot,

I've got a tefal hob pressure cooker - much cheaper than an IP and I can also just use it as a big pan (for pasta for example).

I could not exist without my pressure cooker. I always think the slow cooker seems a lot of faff. Pressure cooker, quick, bish bash bosh and done.

For the sake of honesty, I don’t have a slow cooker but have watched my son with his.

Team Pressure Cooker here, slow cookers are a reason for England’s diabolical food reputation!

PC is amazing for anything pulse based, as well as soups. I do gammon joints in the PC - around 8 mins and they do DHs sandwiches for the week. I have a stovetop Kuhn Rikon one. Combined with an induction hob that has a timer, you can set it at pressure, set a timer and walk away from it.

Another SC failure here - I really tried but everything tasted bland, apart from lamb shank which was delicious but too expensive to be regular. Tried the porridge many times but never got anything edible.
I also ditched it and got an Instant Pot (air fryer combo). It takes A LOT of space but we have a cupboard for it. If I'm doing a stew it's great (don't do them often though, DC not keen), but still super useful. I find minced beef goes a bit powdery so I don't do bolognese, but anything else - Potatoes (mini roasted, jacket) chicken stock, it's fab.
My colleague did a delicious chicken curry in her SC at work - I asked for the recipe but it was full of ready made sauces. It tasted delicious but I try not to use those jars that last forever.