So if I am trying to free up more kitchen top space, the last thing I should do is buy another gadget?
I saw this in Lakeland last week, and decided to go for it this week. It is a cute little item, which will replace both my slow cooker and rice cooker for daily use. My massive 6.5-litre slow cooker is great for when I am cooking for a bunch of people, but leaving it on the top for daily use is a waste of space. Likewise my rice cooker (which I originally bought to use as a sous-vide bath, anyway) – it is great for 12-15 people, less so for 1-2.
This has a lot smaller footprint and a 1.8 litre non-stick pot. Easier for daily washing up (my 6.5-litre pot won’t even fit my washing up bowl), and light and easy to move around.
My initial hesitation was whether one device could practically meet both needs – not the actual capability of the cooker, but that I often cook rice with slow-cooked dishes, and it cannot do both at the same time. However, I often cook 3-4 portions of rice at a time and refrigerate for reheating, so that’s an easy way around it.
Other things the Multicooker can do is cook oatmeal, “oven bake”, make yoghurt and bake cakes. It has 8 “one-touch” programmes, but can also be set manually.
I can imagine some of my friends rolling their eyes at the thought of me shopping for the kitchen again. Another useless gadget, or something I will use? We’ll find out. This will be the 5th slow cooker in my kitchen (although that is an exaggeration, as 3 of those cookers are a single triple unit, which I use for side-dishes when catering).
The cooker has passed the “It smells delicious, when it is ready to eat?” test.
Unfortunately, the answer is “not until 6 pm”! 😀
Since I wrote this article, I have completely gone off reheating rice, due to the numerous articles I have read about the dangers.
The danger is the cooling period between the cooking of the rice and putting it in the fridge. Spores – which can survive the cooking process – turn into bacteria, which quickly grow and produce toxins. And although reheating the rice should kill off the bacteria, it doesn’t do anything to the toxins. Which is why this is a case of true food poisoning, not infection.
If you take care, you can avoid this; but frankly, I don’t think it is worth the risk.