An electric pressure cooker will be the right choice if you want to cook wholesome and delicious but fast simultaneously. These are energy-efficient functional appliances that will help you save time and make some savings with the preservation of nutrients from foods.
The electric pressure cooker cooks the food much faster than traditional methods by building steam within a closed environment, thereby increasing the pressure and temperature required for cooking. There are several other cooking functions for an electric pressure cooker, which include making soups, stew, rice, and yoghurt.
Choosing the Best Electric Pressure Cooker
Okay, but how do you pick an excellent high-pressure electric oven in today’s market? The UK market is flooded with numerous models at different levels of capacity and affordability.
To help you make an informed decision, here are some factors to consider when buying an electric pressure cooker:
Capacity
There are several electric pressure cooker models as small as 3-litre and larger than 8-litre and above. This is based on the number of people that you cook for as well as the amounts of food that you intend to prepare simultaneously.
Usually, most families prefer a pressure cooker with a capacity of either 5 or 6 litres, while bigger ones can serve batch cooking and even guests.
Power
An electric pressure cooker‘s power dictates how effective it is in heating up, as well as achieving a required pressure speed. Cooking speed increases with increasing power level. Although it is faster, greater power also entails more power consumption. Hence, choose rate versus efficiency if the latter is essential for you.
An amperage rating of close to 1000 watts is usually enough for many recipes in most electric pressure cookers.
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Cooking modes
Unlike traditional pressure cooker, electric pressure cooker is equipped with various cooking moods, which gives you the freedom to customize pressure, temperature and duration based on what you are cooking. A few options include pressure cook, slow cook, sauté, steam, rice, yoghurt, soup, meat, poultry, beans, dessert, or manual.
Also, some models have intelligent plans that regulate the settings according to the food and amounts used. The more number and diversity of cooking modes a pressure cooker has, the more flexible it is.
Settings
There are multiple options in an electric pressure cooker, which allows customization of the cooking requirements. The main settings include delay start, keep warm, off cancel, and regulate. A delay start will enable you to set up a timer indicating when a pressure cooker should begin cooking something helpful in planning or with overnight breakfasts.
This function, known as keeping warm, keeps your food hot until you serve it after the cooking has been completed. If it is necessary, you can cancel the cooking process midway through. You can adjust it according to your mood (high or low) in terms of pressurization, temperature (low, medium, or high), and time (in minutes or hours).
Safety
The electric pressure cooker has numerous safety mechanisms to ensure no incident occurs during cooking activities. These include the locking lid, steam release valve, anti-clog cap, air outlet vent, condensation collector, float valve and the insulated cool outer wall and handles.
Additionally, a locking lid that stops the pressure cooker from opening until the pressure has been released in its entirety.
The steam release valve controls the pressure in the pot, releasing additional steam if necessary.
An anti-clog cap prevents food particles from entering the steam pressure regulating valve. Therefore, an air outlet vent through which air escapes while cooking is used.
It captures any water droplets from the upper part of the pot’s cover and its edge.
The float valve shows its signals when the pressure reaches its limit. These signs indicate that you can open its cover.
When touching or moving the pressure cooker, one is not burnt by the hot inner wall and its handles because they are cold.
Top 3 Best Electric Pressure Cookers in the UK
To give you some examples of electric pressure cookers that meet these criteria, here are some of the best models available in the UK market:
Ninja OP300UK Foodi Pressure and Multi-Cooker
NINJA OP300UK Foodi is an advanced and creative kitchen gadget that does not only perform pressure cooking but also other functions. Its steam, sautee, air fry, roast, bake, and grille modes are all included here.
A 6-litre (cooking) pot and 3.6-litre (cook-crisp (chicken)-French fries (up to 2kg)) basket. It also boasts of its innovative TenderCrisp technology, which enables the cooking of a succulent interior with a crispier exterior.c
Crock-Pot CSC051 Express Pressure Cooker
Crock-Pot CSC051 is an ordinary but straightforward pressure cooker that one can use to perform slow cooking, browning, sautéing or steaming your meals.
Its capacity is 5.6 litres, which serves six individuals. The product consists of 12 one-touch programs that include meat/stew, beans/chilli, and rice/risotto, among others. For convenience, it is also fitted with a keep warm function and a delay start timer.
Instant Pot DUO80 (7-in-1) Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot DUO80 (7-in-1) is the most preferred and all-round electric pressure cooker, functioning as a slow cooker, rice cooker, yoghurt maker, steamer, warmer, and sauté pan.
It comes with an 8-litre pot to cook for around ten people. The unit features 14 smart settings for different meals. Among them, there is a poultry program designed to make fowl, including turkey, goose, or other types thereof. It also offers three modes, which allow you to alter the texture of any of your meals.
There are a few examples of available electric pressure cookers in the United Kingdom’s market. You may also have a variety of models to choose from according to your level of affordability, liking and demands. Anyone who intends to cook healthy and delicious kind without hassle should consider having an electric pressure cooker.