Back in the day, and I mean in Ancient Times, guys, beans were prepared calmly at home. Firstly, we would clean them from impurities like pebbles or broken grains. Then, we would wash them, and lastly we would soak them overnight before being able to cook them. At home, we would prepare them using the pressure cooker. In more modern days, a cousin of mine talked to me about a slow cooker; the Crock Pot. She would say it was safer because there was no risk of it blowing up. Because let us be honest; raise your hand if you NEVER heard the story about a neighbor or friend who would’ve had their pressure cooker blow up and that their kitchen had ended up in a real mess. However, I remember thinking it would not be safe to leave it on for 8 hours or overnight. One of the first rules I learned was to never leave anything unattended in the kitchen. Anyway…
Then, it was around 2000 when it was my turn to furnish my kitchen. In my list I had the pressure cooker. Honestly, I didn’t even consider the slow cooker. Therefore, I made sure it was the safest one I could acquire, even when it weren’t the most expensive one. Because, yes, the pressure cooker did explode once in my own home as a kid. Now, the one I chose made me comfortable. The brand I chose, Presto. It’s still in perfect conditions and I still use it from time to time. Hey, I even remember who was kind enough to give it to me as a gift.
Now, Crock Pot was never something I considered having. My mother would always talk about the benefits of cooking with the pressure cooker and its time-saving feature, and even when I went to culinary arts school, my secret love affair with the pressure cooker was always present. As soon as I had the chance to use it once more, I did.
Then, we moved to the U.S. and everyone around here was talking about the most recent invention for the kitchen: The Instant Pot. I saw it and I honestly didn’t pay much attention I assumed it was the evolution of the pressure cooker and that instead of putting it on the fire, one would plug it to the electricity and program it with specific cooking times and that was it.
But to my surprise, one of these multi-cookers ended up in my hands and it conquered me. Coincidentally, I got it as a gift once more, and since it was already in my kitchen, I started playing with it. It wasn’t the famous Instant brand, but one named Fagor (now Zavor). The model was an 8-Qt. Lux Multi-Cooker. A complete stranger for me up to this point. But my dear friends, if you are among those people who like to do stuff without having to pay attention at all times, then this is your best choice. It’s got settings to quickly pressure cook (high and low), slow cook, rice cooking, yogurt fermentation… It’s really useful, honestly.
There are plenty of brands available. As a matter of fact, after a little bit of research I learned about the global offer. In France, for example, there’s Cookéo by Moulinex and they have a wi-fi connected version. Then, in the USA we find the most popular one, Instant Pot, which I understand also offers a connected model that communicates with an app to your phone. And then, the one I got, the Lux. By the way, America’s Test Kitchen ranked it as the best in the American market.
Evidently, there are many other brands in the market, but what I am sharing here is what I kept in my mind. At home, I have been using it regularly. Frequently, I prepare everything I don’t want to be looking after at all times such as vegetable or chicken stock, rice, farro, and obviously, beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
Well, there you have it, guys. I confess this is a tool one can avoid having and will not need, but if you are a cook who likes homemade foods but don’t want to mind the stove, then, this is the BEST option for you.
