Last year I jumped on the electric pressure cooker bandwagon. I’d heard a few friends rave about their experiences and when it was a featured item on Amazon Prime Day I decided it was time to take the plunge. Apparently, I wasn’t alone – Amazon sold 215,000 of its most popular brand of electric pressure cooker that day. Why, you might ask, are so many people obsessed with this appliance? This edition of TRIO focuses on three ways that an electric pressure cooker has changed the way my family does dinner.

1. Options. Options.  Options.

Electric pressure cookers are packed with options. The brand that I have serves as an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan and warmer. With all of this functionality I was able to clear out some cabinet space and actually expand my culinary capabilities! But it’s not just what the electric pressure cooker can do – it’s the time that it can do it in. Before when my family wanted a roast for dinner, we’d have to plan ahead. More often than not, I’d forget to take meat from the freezer and realize it right around the time I got off work. Now, I can go to the store on my way home and have a tender roast on the table in a little over an hour. With an electric pressure cooker pasta can be ready to eat in less time than it takes to boil water on the stove and dessert options are endless.

2. Set It Then Step Away

Growing up, my mom relied heavily on her stovetop pressure cooker. At least once a week I would hear its rapid jiggle and steady hiss of steam echo through the kitchen. This meant only one thing – something good was about to come our way. But it also meant that my mom would have to hover near the stove to monitor the pot’s pressure. With the electric pressure cooker, all of that guesswork is gone. Today’s electric pressure cookers have a variety of built-in safety features that range from locking devices to pop-up indicators. These features make it possible to multi-task while the cooker does all of the work. Last night while using my electric pressure cooker I was also able to do a load of laundry, water my plants, vacuum and watch an episode of my favorite show.

3. Quick Clean Up

In our house, we have a rule that when one person cooks the other person cleans. When we are using our electric pressure cooker everybody wins! Most of the meals we cook in our electric pressure cooker are one pot meals, so already there’s less to clean. Even when we use a pressure cooker accessory like a steamer basket for hard boiled eggs, a trivet for quick baked potatoes or a small pan for lasagna, we’re still left with clean up that takes just a few minutes.

Interested in learning more about cooking with an electric pressure cooker? Join us for the upcoming Electric Pressure Cooking class. Call 405.377.3333 with questions or register here. To find out about more courses like this sign up for our monthly e-newsletter. View all of our upcoming courses in our digital catalog.

Cara Adney is the Marketing and Media Relations Coordinator at Meridian Technology Center.