Trick #8: Multi-Cookers are Magic!

I am a big fan of Alton Brown, and one of Alton's cardinal rules is to avoid kitchen tools that only do one job. So why have to store a rice cooker, a pressure cooker, and a slow cooker, when you can have one appliance that does all three jobs? If you have not heard of this miracle, my friends, behold: the multi-cooker!

Ta-Da!!!!

Why Multi-Cookers are the best thing ever

1. Short Cooking Times: These babies can cook white rice in 6 minutes. SIX MINUTES. They can do brown rice and quinoa in 15 minutes. And they can cook completely dry beans in ONE HOUR. Normally, dry beans take overnight soaking and twelve hours of slow-cooking. It's really amazing the time you can save - and money! I used to use canned beans to save time, which are much more costly than dry. But now I hardly use canned beans because I've got my multi-cooker.

2. Save on dishes: These cookers also have a browning function, which means that you can brown your pot roast or saute your veggies and then pressure or slow-cook your dish in the same pan, instead of dirtying two dishes. Yay!

3. Hot meals ready when you want: It's also programmable, so you can throw everything in it in the morning, and tell it to start cooking later so that your meal is ready and waiting when you get home. 

4. Space saver: I got rid of my rice cooker, slow cooker, and pressure cooker and replaced it with this one appliance. I love when I can make more counter or cabinet space - who doesn't need that? 

5. No-stress pressure cooking: So old-school pressure cookers freak me out. I feel like it's a bomb on my stove that I have to babysit, because I'm weird like that. But these cookers have safety functions that make pressure cooking safe and easy. And pressure cooking is just awesome. It keeps everything tender and moist, and everything cooks so much faster. 

This is the most time-saving and efficient tool in my kitchen. If I had the cash, I'd get one for every couple at every wedding we attend. Share the news, and get one for your kitchen! They are awesome!