Slow cooker vs. pressure cooker

[LNorman]

I'm interested in finding out how many people cook with either a slow cooker or a pressure cooker. Also looking for best cookbooks for either of these appliances.

[JudyG]

I use both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. In my working days, I love the slow cooker because I could get everything ready the night before, put it in the pot and leave it overnight in the fridge - pullout in the a.m. and put it up just before leaving the apt.

I still like to make stock in it- though I often cook it down a bit after 12 hours or so.

The PC is wonderful for hurry up or cooking something fast when Im just not in the mood to let it go forever. Example: Ive cooked osso bucco in the pc - moved it to another pan for reheating later and then done a risotto in the pc!

Lorna Sass has two great books out for the PC -Cooking Under Pressure and The Pressured Cookbook.

Crockpot - It is best to just browse - I have some books in the city (at the moment Im at the beach) - if I recall, the best are by mabel Hoffman Jacqueline Heritau - both old paperbacks. I honestly have a bunch of recipes I got from another Internet site where Im on the Staff.

Judy

[Abra]

Like JudyG, I use both, and I use them differently, although the results they achieve can be much the same with certain foods. I tend to use the slow cooker nostalgically, when I want the house to smell of cooking all day, as well as when I want to be out for 4-5 hours and have dinner underway.

The pressure cooker is a marvelous tool, and I'd never be without it. I have an 8 qt. Magefesa, and also use Lorna Sass as the know-all source. I'm a personal chef, and with the pressure cooker I can turn out three dishes in the time one would take me if cooked conventionally. They also make great stocks, extracting an amazing amount of flavor from the bones.

[tryska]

depends on how much time i have, and also how intricate the spicing is on any given thing. imo the slow cooker doesn't do a good job of melding dried ground spices together. much better with whole seasoning.

Edited August 27, 2004 by tryska (log)

[Suzanne F]

depends on how much time i have, and also how intricate the spicing is on any given thing. imo the slow cooker doesn't do a good job of melding dried ground spices together. much better with whole seasoning.

That's an interesting point. Why do you think that is? Seems kind of counter-intuitive to me, but if you have experience, I'd love to hear about it.

[tryska]

I'm not really sure, actually. My guess is that ground spices need a high heat and a shorter cooking time in order to meld together because well they are already broken up and tiny. So it's only so much time before they become gritty little bits all to themselves.

if you use whole spice in low heat for a long period of time, it's forms almost like a "tea" so the essence of the spices gets into the "broth" well.

totally unscientific, but that's my guess.

[andiesenji]

I use both crockpot/slow cookers and pressure cookers quite a bit, depending on the food, the time available and the amount I have to prepare.

I have several slow cookers and use them for candying citrus peel, ginger, fruits, and for making jams, fruit butters, sauces, reducing wines, carmelized onions, etc., - I could go on and on.

The pressure cooker is great for cooking tough cuts of meat with good flavor so as to extract as much flavor as possible in a short amount of time. I then put the meat and bones (now softened) throught a meat press to extract as much liquid as possible then clarify this and cook it down still more to concentrate it. Some people say that classic stocks require long, slow cooking but sometimes that is just not feasible and for some applications this works as well, if not better.

I also use a big pressure cooker for canning things that are not safe canned with the open kettle or waterbath method, i.e., low acid foods, meats, etc.

I have a lot of books on both subjects, however there are excellent online recipe sites:

CrockeryKitchen

andJust slow cook recipes.

For pressure cooking I rely a great deal on

Miss Vickie's website

and

Diana's Kitchen.

I rarely need to look through a book unless I am looking for a rather obscure recipe.

[Milagai]

I'm interested in finding out how many people cook with either a slow cooker or a pressure cooker. Also looking for best cookbooks for either of these appliances.

i use a pressure cooker.

i do have a slow cooker; used it once and not again.

most of my cooking works well with a pressure cooker

and i can't be bothered remembering to turn the slow cooker

on and then off again hours later;

plus i can't justify hours and hours of energy use,

when one quick whoosh from the pc does it all

:)

milagai

[iguana]

I only have a pressure cooker, but am interested in a slow cooker. For those of you who have one, how do you manage the food safety issue-- it seems like putting cold food over low heat would leave it at bacterial growth temperatures for a long time. Is is enough to subsequently cook the heck out of it?

I love my pressure cooker (Kuhn Rikon), especially in beet season. It's also great for beans. I second the recommendation of Lorna Sass's cookbooks.

[Wolfert]

I think the energy costs using a slow cooker are really low.

Edited August 27, 2004 by Wolfert (log)

[Milagai]

I think the energy costs using a slow cooker are really low.

do you know for sure how the energy costs of a slow cooker

stack up against those of a pressure cooker?

i keep thinking that ~ 10 minutes (usual time) on a pc

(that's about 3 minutes on high heat and the rest on low heat

to maintain pressure; and then heat off to cook in residual pressure)

would use less energy compared to ~ 8 hours on a slow cooker,

but what are the facts?

milagai

[naguere]

how do you manage the food safety issue-- it seems like putting cold food over low heat would leave it at bacterial growth temperatures for a long time. Is is enough to subsequently cook the heck out of it?

Usually slow cookers have an initial high heat setting to resolve this problem

[Jensen]

According to Kawasaki, a slow cooker uses approximately 130 W.

[scott123]

There is one huge difference between a slow cooker and a PC. The way they deal with smaller quantities.

A pressure cooker will work fine 1/4 filled... 1/8 filled...

Don't try putting that small of a quantity into a slow cooker.

I've also noticed that pressure seems to expand muscle fibers causing them to swell/take in more liquid.

Edited August 27, 2004 by scott123 (log)

[bong]

Anyway, a crockpot draws about 3 kWh while a typical range draws about 100 kWh.

These numbers do not look right. I am also assuming you really meant "kW" when you wrote "kWh".

This 5 qt. "West Bend" slow cooker is rated at 270 Watts (0.27 kW): http://www.westbend.com/westbend/catalog.c...ection&linkid=5

I coudn't find the online specs for a Rival crockpot, but I would be surprised if they were significantly different.

A typical (electric) range is around 10kW, not 100. See, for instance, this (PDF) specification of a GE range: http://products.geappliances.com/ProdConte...D&itemid=320638

The 240V model is rated at 10.8 kW whereas the 208V model is rated at 8.1 kW.

Dunno about gas ranges.

[Abra]

The new generation of slow cookers have supposedly solved the temperature safety zone issue by cooking quite a bit hotter than the earlier versions. And, indeed, older recipes don't work well in the new cookers, since you end up cooking the life out of everything if you follow their cooking time guidelines. That said, I usually start the cooker on high until it comes to a boil, then either turn it to low if I have hours to spare, or just leave it on high for the whole cooking period. There's a lot of evaporation with the new cookers, so you know they're hot. They also shut themselves off when the time runs out and have a "keep warm" temp that is also supposed to be above the danger zone.

[fiftydollars]

Anyway, a crockpot draws about 3 kWh while a typical range draws about 100 kWh.

These numbers do not look right. I am also assuming you really meant "kW" when you wrote "kWh".

This 5 qt. "West Bend" slow cooker is rated at 270 Watts (0.27 kW): http://www.westbend.com/westbend/catalog.c...ection&linkid=5

I coudn't find the online specs for a Rival crockpot, but I would be surprised if they were significantly different.

A typical (electric) range is around 10kW, not 100. See, for instance, this (PDF) specification of a GE range: http://products.geappliances.com/ProdConte...D&itemid=320638

The 240V model is rated at 10.8 kW whereas the 208V model is rated at 8.1 kW.

Dunno about gas ranges.

You are right. I took the 3kwh from a chart meant to provide comparisons between different devices for estimated monthly and annual usage.

[bong]

I think the energy costs i keep thinking that ~ 10 minutes (usual time) on a pc

(that's about 3 minutes on high heat and the rest on low heat

to maintain pressure; and then heat off to cook in residual pressure)

would use less energy compared to ~ 8 hours on a slow cooker,

but what are the facts?

10 mins of 10 kW electric range = 1.67 kWh

8 hours of 0.27 kW slow cooker = 2.16 kWh

So they are in the same ballpark, energy use wise.

Although, I am not sure I would use solely this argument to justify using one over the other.

(Actually, I never use a slow cooker and only rarely use a pressure cooker).

[jayt90]

Just to complicate the issue, my electric power corp., Ontario Power, wants us to have smart meters, so that we get charged less in non-peak hours, and more in the early morning or evening...

[Wholemeal Crank]

I've never used a slow cooker, but have three pressure cookers (ok, four if you count the pressure canner). At times I've wished for a fourth....

I cook a lot of food at once for a couple of weeks' worth of lunches that I freeze in portions and take to work. So I might have one cooker going with some plain chickpeas to be pureed for hummus, another one cooking some rice to go with a different entree, and a third making stock from corncobs and whole spices to be used in a vegetable soup with corn. And I could be waiting to use one of them, when done, for an artichoke for dinner that night.

I think they make the best artichokes; are great for beans; I can cook rice in them without it burning or turning to soup; make great stocks fast.

[fiftydollars]

Speaking of pressure cookers... A grandmother recently gave me an old Presto pressure cooker. It's the type with a round metal stopper that wobbles.

I have been somewhat afraid to use it... should I be?

[bong]

It's the type with a round metal stopper that wobbles.

I have been somewhat afraid to use it... should I be?

We have a similar old one, which we got from India a while back. We use it, although rarely, to cook the hard-to-cook dals, occasionally to cook meat, etc.

It wont be unsafe just because it has a "wobbly" stopper.

However, it may be unsafe if there is excessive wear and tear on the lid or in the body of the pressure cooker etc...

[snowangel]

Here's another thread on Slow cookers that also mentions pressure cookers.

I don't use my slow cooker as often as most of the other cooking equipment I have, but it has been, and will continue, to be indispensible to me. I have never had a pressure cooker (unless one considers the days when I worked 50 hours a week outside the home while trying to mother 3 kids ).

[NulloModo]

I don't have a pressure cooker, so I can't comment there, but I love my crockpot.

It is perfect for onion confit, or slow braised roasts, corned beef and cabbage, etc. Just put everything in in the evening or morning, let it run on low or warm all night and the next day, and enjoy coming home to a house that smells wonderful and dinner being ready.

[Toliver]

Speaking of pressure cookers... A grandmother recently gave me an old Presto pressure cooker. It's the type with a round metal stopper that wobbles.

I have been somewhat afraid to use it... should I be?

Just make sure the gasket (the rubber ring in the lid) is in good condition and there shouldn't be any problems. The cooker is pretty easy to use.

I posted this on another thread but my mom received her Presto pressure cooker (with the little rocking doohickey) as a wedding present in 1955. Two years ago the gasket finally wore out. She called Presto and they still had the replacement gaskets in stock! She ordered two, in case they run out (Mom is always thinking ahead).

Did you receive the cookbook/instructions along with the pressure cooker? If not, call Presto and they may have copies you can purchase.