Pressure cooker vs slow cooker

[InspiredToBoot]

Hello! Right. I have never used either. So, I thought I'd come here for advice. I'd like to actually spend less time cooking, waste less food and prepare dishes that I would otherwise be put off cooking (not sure what really but that's another thread).

Which one would you recommend, or would you recommend I get both? What are the pros and cons of each? I am a bit scared of pressure cookers (but could get over that if you say they're worth it) and with slow cookers, I just don't know if this means that the house will smell of food all day long.

Which ones would you specifically recommend for a family of 4?

Thank you all!!

I have used both, and IMO slow-cooked tastes better.

A pressure cooker is fast, but doesn't cut the preparation time, so doesn't make meal prep and cooking as quick as you might think.

I've never used a pressure cooker, but I have the asda slow cooker and am very pleased with it,

You'd need a bigger one though, we only do small chickens and joints of meat in it, not enough to feed 4.

I dont think pressure cookers have ever been unsafe, it's more likely to be misuse by the cook.

Okay thanks. So if you switch on the slow cooker in the morning, does the house start smelling of food then?

Yes but all day cooking would destroy the food.

About 3-4 hours is all you need now, if you go out early then you need to fit a timer.

DH has discovered a really nice slow cooker recipe with a leg of lamb & assorted tinned beans & veg - prep takes about an hour but then it cooks on low for 6-7 hrs (I think) - it's lush

there is a lot less cooking smell from a slow cooker than any other method (the lid gets a seal around it from condensation & they tell you not to lift it at all as that increases cooking time)

we used to have a pressure cooker many years ago - scared me half to death. much prefer slow cooker

I have a Remoska which I use in summer when the Aga is switched off usually guarantees the temperature will drop and it's great for one-pan meals.

Can do cakes/pizzas as well, and everything browns nicely. Lakeland sells them.
More of a 'last minute' than 'get everything ready in rhe morning' thing.

I can't bare to use a slow cooker during the day, smelling the food all day makes me not want to eat it come dinner time, yes your house will smell of cooked food. I'm a stay home mum though so I imagine if you're out of the house all day they would be very useful. I use my small slow cooker every night though on a timer switch to make oatmeal for me and the kids so it's hot and ready the minute we come down stairs!

hmmm.... I'm thinking perhaps I'm more of a pressure cooker girl and I just don't know it yet...

Pressure cookers are ace. I find pretty near everything cooked in my slow cooker winds up tasting like nebulous "stew". My mother has a pressure cooker. i want to steal it.

I have been considering getting this electric pressure cooker? www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-48815-Electric-Pressure/dp/B003TSE25Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1346186110&sr=1-14

It acts like a slow cooker as well as a pressure cooker.