Slow Cookers & Pressure Cookers

[PiKe]

Looking to buy one of the above, which do you find more useful in the kitchen, aside from speed, does one have advantages over the other?

 

[FrenchTart]

They're used for completely different purposes. You shouldn't be comparing them in that way.

What kind of food is it you want to cook?

 

[pexonpcs]

As above, completely different.

I love cooking in slow cooker, can make amazing curries, stews etc.

 

[robj20]

I might be being stupid here but what does a slow cooker do that an oven on the lowest setting doesn't?

 

[pexonpcs]

Doesn't use gas, so its cheaper to run lol

 

[Steampunk]

My wife uses her trick slow cooker far more than she uses her pressure cooker.

 

[#Chri5#]

IIRC, a slow cooker costs about the same per hour as 60W light bulb. No idea if it's cheaper than running the gas oven on low though.

 

[PiKe]

ASDA have slow cookers for £10 at the moment, sounds like a worthy investment?

 

[FrenchTart]

I might be being stupid here but what does a slow cooker do that an oven on the lowest setting doesn't?

In addition to above, some people's ovens won't go as low temperature as a slow cooker.

 

[Haircut]

I might be being stupid here but what does a slow cooker do that an oven on the lowest setting doesn't?

If you've only got a fan oven then it can dry things out over the course of several hours, even with a lid on and on a low setting.

I use a Le Creuset in my top oven (non fan assisted, goes down to 80 degrees C) in lieu of a slow cooker, but if you can pick one up for £10 then it sounds a decent investment.

I've also got a pressure cooker. I was sold on it when I was able to cook beef shin to tender in 40 minutes and now use it for loads of things.
It's excellent at making stock, you can get a great, thick, gelatinous stock in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

 

[FrenchTart]

I've also got a pressure cooker. I was sold on it when I was able to cook beef shin to tender in 40 minutes and now use it for loads of things.
It's excellent at making stock, you can get a great, thick, gelatinous stock in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

That's rather awesome. I don't have a pressure cooker these days and never really saw the point in getting another one but fast ultra-tender beef shin might be enough to change my mind Shin is about my favourite cut of beef.

 

[Haircut]

It is pretty good. The first time I tried shin in it I left it on the highest pressure setting for just over an hour and the meat was falling to bits.

 

[oli collett]

Pressure cookers are brilliant. Whilst being completely different, there probably are a lot of overlapping uses for things like braising (e.g. shin mentioned above) and the pressure cooker can not only reduce time but also produce better results than anything else.

 

[pitchfork]

That's like asking "I'm not sure if I want a kettle or a toaster"

 

[booyaka]

slow cooker is great. Done loads of currys, stews etc in it. Throw the stuff in the pot 1st thing in the morning - go to work, come home, dinners ready!

 

[PiKe]

Are there any good recipe books which have recipes that don't require pre-cooking of the ingredients?

 

[FrenchTart]

Are there any good recipe books which have recipes that don't require pre-cooking of the ingredients?

Eh?

The only pre-cooking you might be doing is browning the meat. Potentially sweating the onions too I guess but you could get round this by simply adding them before anything else and letting them do their thing for 30 minutes.

 

[Begbie]

Are there any good recipe books which have recipes that don't require pre-cooking of the ingredients?

I ignore those parts and thrown them in the slow cooker, might not taste as good but it works.

Normally cook on low for much longer than most recipies say too, much tastier.