Convenient and Affordable Small Kitchen Cookers

Preparing healthy, affordable meals in minimal time is simple if you have the right tools. See if you could benefit from adding a pressure cooker, rice cooker or slow cooker to your kitchen.

by Debra Karplus

Creating interesting, healthy, affordable meals daily is a challenge, especially for working adults. However, there are a variety of small kitchen appliances for under $100 that can make the task of feeding the family a bit less stressful and time consuming.

Welcome to the world of slow cookers, rice cookers and pressure cookers. What is the difference between these appliances? How do you decide which to purchase?

Slow Cookers

Slow cookers use moist heat from the bottom to slowly cook food over time in about two to ten hours. They are great for cooking and braising (stew slowly in a closed container) roasts, stews, some appetizers, soups, stocks and generally easy dinners that you can cook all day.

Slow cookers generally come in three sizes: one-quart cookers for singles or couples, three- to six-quart cookers and the larger six- to seven-quart cookers for families of four to five people. Some slow cookers are round, but oval-shaped cookers are ideal for longer-shaped foods like chicken or ribs.

A slow cooker with a built-in timer is very handy, but you may not need some of the pricier models’ other programmable features. A basic model with only a heat setting might meet your cooking needs just fine.

Like most appliances that you buy, more features or greater size costs more dollars. You should expect to pay as little as $10 or up to about $90 for a slow cooker. If you have several different uses for one or want to cook a few different dinner courses at once, it may be cost-effective to purchase a couple of different sizes or shapes of slow cookers.

Slow Cooker Quick Overview

Function: Slow cookers use low temperatures to cook food over a long period, typically ranging from 4 to 10 hours or more. They gently simmer food, making them ideal for soups, stews, casseroles and tenderizing tougher cuts of meat.

Benefits: They are excellent for “set it and forget it” meals, allowing flavors to develop deeply over time. Their energy efficiency and ability to cook meals without supervision make them a convenient option for busy people.

• The Best Cuts of Meat for Slow Cooker Meals
• 12 Hour Slow Cooker Recipes

Rice Cookers

Rice cookers bring foods to a boil quickly. Just set the timer and walk away!

According to HamiltonBeach.com, rice and other grains are best prepared in a rice cooker rather than a slow cooker. White rice can be cooked in as little as ten minutes in a rice cooker, compared to approximately 15 minutes in the microwave or 18 minutes in a regular pot on your stovetop.

Hamilton Beach also recommends this type of kitchen appliance for preparing seafood and vegetables. Other sources suggest rice cookers as an ideal way to prepare eggs.

Depending on size and other features, rice cookers run in price from as little as about $15 to $100 or more.

Rice Cooker Quick Overview

Function: Rice cookers are specifically designed to cook rice and other grains by bringing water to a boil, then reducing it to a simmer, and finally to a warm setting when cooking is complete. They use sensors to regulate the temperature and timing.

Benefits: Rice cookers eliminate the guesswork in cooking rice, providing consistently good results. They can also keep rice warm for several hours without burning. Some models include settings for different rice types or for cooking complete meals using a steaming tray.

Pressure Cookers

Unlike slow cookers and rice cookers, pressure cookers cook foods very quickly. Some are specialized pots with tight-fitting lids that you use on your stovetop and sell for about $30. It is likely that your mom and grandma had one of these. The free-standing electric pressure cookers that evolved in the 1990s have more features, including their own heating elements and an electric power source. These can cost as much as $150+.

Pressure cookers can prepare many of the same foods as slow cookers and rice cookers.

Pressure Cooker Quick Overview

Function: Pressure cookers cook food quickly by creating a high-pressure environment inside a sealed pot, which raises the boiling point of water and dramatically reduces cooking time.

Benefits: Pressure cookers are much faster than conventional cooking methods, saving time and energy. They are great for quickly cooking meats, beans, and tough vegetables while preserving nutrients and flavors.

How Do You Know Which Small Cookers To Buy?

First, consider your schedule. For instance, if you’re uncomfortable leaving an appliance on while you are away from your home, fast cooking using a pressure cooker is a better choice than slow cooking. Also, consider the size of your family and the types of foods you frequently cook.

if you’re considering more than one small kitchen cooker, you might benefit from an all-in-one cooker. This 10-in-1 Instant Pot Pro can do the job of a slow cooker, rice cooker, pressure cooker and more.

As with other purchases, you should always read consumer ratings online to see what others have to say about the appliance that you are considering.

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Reviewed May 2024

About the Author

Debra is an occupational therapist, accountant, teacher and freelance writer. She is a writer for Advance for Occupational Therapy Practitioners. She also writes for Grand Magazine, has some items (fiction and non fiction) selling on Amazon (Kindle), has written several travel articles for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette and several articles for freelancewriting.com and volunteers as a money mentor for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension money mentoring program. Learn more about her at DebraKarplus.blogspot.com.