Wife sent me to Costco to pick-up a few items and I returned with the items plus an 'Air Fryer'. The idea behind getting this thing had to do with wanting french fries with my meal tonight watching the NFL playoff games and I have to watch my fat intake. "it cooks with air, not oil" I told myself and so no harm, no foul. When the wife saw it, she walked me over to the Kitchenaid Convection Oven on the counter and informed me we already had the ability to do this without a new appliance. How was I to know that red thing on the counter could do so much. So now my youngest son has a new 'Air Fryer' to play with and I sit wondering how that thing on the counter is going to make me Fries...
My wife was deliberating something rather heavily. Finally, she revealed she wants to order an "Instant Pot" cooker. It's a pressure cooker, but electrically heated. Some of the features she described appealed to my concept of a "state of the art" controlled pressure cooker, which could eliminate much of yesteryear's guesswork, splotched ceilings, burned hands. She said they run from $80 to well over $100. There was an off-brand for $40. I told her to order it; yesterday we received it. Cleverly-made I decided, looking it over carefully. But what's different? You heat uncooked food containing water to temperatures higher than 212` F, cook faster, soften meats more, etc. Differences obvious to me were: pressure level electronically-controlled. Pre-programmed for various types of foods. Safer. Yes, steam does come out. Nice and controlled. Outside of pot is insulated, contains heat within, wastes less. So, today she endeavored to do a 1-lb. bag of dry Garbanzo Beans. 30 minutes steam time, the device worked as expected, no mess or fuss, cooled down, she opened it up.......The beans were perfect! No overnight soaking, or soaking of any kind! My favorite, Black Beans are next! Anyone have one of these babies? Or know about them? Advice? Comment? Frank
I have read a lot about how good they are, but when I resented it to my wife, she doesn't want another appliance to deal with...so we won't be getting one. Good luck with yours, @Frank Sanoica
My daughter has one and uses it often....doesn’t use her crockpot anymore...she likes it...that’s all I know.
We've been using an electric pressure cooker for nearly 20 years. Best thing we ever got for the kitchen. I'm going to cook ribs in it today.
I wonder why they don't make a home canner that does the same thing? I might be interested in that...
I decided that it was time to get a smaller crockpot, and re-home the larger one that we hardly ever use anymore. I end up making a large pot of beans, or a soup or stew, and then we can never finish it; so the dogs get what is left. Bobby and I both love beans, but I needed to make them in more reasonable amounts; so I just ordered a small 2-quart crockpot from Amazon, and it should do great for meals for the two of us.
I've had crockpots for years; my favorite is the Cuisinart 3.5 qt oval. It holds a roast or a whole chicken easily. I also have 2 Instant Pots; a 6 qt and a 3 qt. Now that it's just the 2 of us, I use the 3 quart model much more often. I love to make 1-pot pasta meals in them.
I have 3 (or is it 4?) Crock Pots, including the original Rival one I've had for decades. I keep the larger ones for church socials...if they ever return. I also have this insert that makes steamed breads. I think I got it via mail order from the back of my Crock Pot Cook Book. I've made quite a few Christmas gifts in it.
I have 2 pots, large and small, and use them about once a month for cowboy chili and green chili chicken soup. I should do crock pot chicken and dumplings again someday.
Our little purple crockpot arrived last night, so I started some stew in it this morning to test out everything and make sure it is working okay. It definitely does not take much to fill it up; but that is a good thing…. Maybe not so many “feed an army” type of meals now. This looks like the right amount for us for a meal, and maybe a little leftovers for the dogs.
I love my little crockpot not only for single meal use but also for making a special pimento cheese blend sauce in it that I take to friends for holiday festivities. Easy to carry and plugin and keep the sauce at the right temperature.