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I have an entire room in my house filled with small appliances.
But it didn’t include an electric pressure cooker until just recently.
Photo: Courtesy of Brand; EatingWell collage
Anyone who knows me knows I am a gadget woman.
If there is a small appliance, no matter how niche, I probably own it.
I’m that person who might use three or four different countertop appliances to prep for dinner.
Protein being cooked gently to medium-rare with theJoule sous vide?
Check.Risottomagically stirring hands-off to creamy luxurious perfection in theThermomix?
Vegetables getting steam-roasted in theFotile ChefCubiicombi-steam oven?
Sauce being held at temperature in aYeti bottle?
It is my happy place.
But it looks like a whole Williams Sonoma in there.
You couldn’t escape them.
I did my research, explored functions, thought about how I like to cook.
And didn’t get one.
Not because I didn’t want one.
I mean,of courseI wanted one.
I didn’t get one because they scared the bejesus out of me.
I am a middle-aged person, if you believe that 105 is a reasonable age to expect to achieve.
I grew up in the era of stovetop pressure cookers hissing and steaming on the stovetop.
Sure, they could get a tough pot roast tender as anything.
But they could also, if legends begin in truth, explode.
I am not, by nature, a skittish person, especially in the kitchen.
But deep down, if I am honest, it was just serious catastrophizing.
I was worried that it would attempt to kill me.
Like a literal timebomb waiting to go off.
Then, two things happened that forced me to reframe my thinking.
Like it or not, it was time to face my fears.
Which is how theChef iQ Smart cookercame into my life.
It seemed easy and fairly intuitive, and I liked that it connected to my phone.
Where it sat for six months before I got up the gumption to plug it in.
It will surprise no one that the results were both quick and delicious.
Tender butter chicken that tasted long-simmered.
Rice perfectly cooked, each and every grain.
The fastest dal on the planet.
Even a steamed pot de creme for dessert.
The electric pressure cooker was simple, worked as advertised, and I could not fault the results.
Baby steps, people.
I now use the appliance fairly regularly.
I haven’t become a multicooker evangelist, and it isn’t the first appliance I reach for.
We seem to have come to an understanding at my house.
It’s a start.
