Another kitchen appliance? Is the multi-cooker/ pressure cooker worth it?
THE PRODUCT
I bought this Philips HD 2137 All In One Cooker for ₱7,800. It is 1000W and has a 6L Capacity. It is 34cm tall and 34cm in diameter (36cm with the handles)
The outer structure is a thick shell and has the buttons in front. It insulates from heat inside. It has different cooking settings. Notable are:
- Slow cook with high & low temperature up to 12 hours
- Saute/Sear with high & low temperature
- Pressure cook
- You also have buttons for the timer.
A durable and non-stick inner pot, rests inside the shell. It is nice and round and easy to clean.
The cover is one of the most important parts of the cooker. It consists of a top shell and a removable disk. The disk has a silicon seal on its circumference and is meant to keep steam inside the cooker. The top shell cover fits snugly with a twist. On top of the shell is a vent pipe, which can be opened with a lever. This allows for the steam to escape safely. A lot of steam will escape (it takes around 2-3 minutes) if you have a soup inside.
BUYING GUIDE
A pressure cooker pot costs only ₱780. You won’t have any of the shell that this cooker has, but it serves the basic purpose similarly. You will need a stove or induction cooker, of course. One advantage of this is that you will have the temperature based adjustment from your induction stove, which this cooker doesn’t have.
Standalone cookers have advantages as discussed below, and you can get them from ₱3k (Kyowa brand) and above. Do make sure that if you are buying a multicooker, you have the modes you need (slow cooking and pressure cooking are must-haves for me). The unit in this review is on the more expensive end.
ANG OKAY
I use all the features, though mostly for soups and pressure cooking. In general, the cooker taught me how sealing cuts time to cook, basically, the cooker lets very little heat escape. I would estimate that cooking is cut to around 50% or 75% the time vs. using a pot on a stove top. I love using it with tough vegetables like carrots and sayote, because after 5 minutes, these vegetables are already soft. For meats, I like the slow cooking because meat is tender after. I once left soup in it for over 12 hours without the power, and it was still quite hot.
The smart cooking involves getting to a temperature-and-pressure and maintaining it there. The indicator will tell you where in the process you are. This, along with the seals that make cooking times shorter, affords you some electricity savings. This, along with lack of really high temperature settings, is why these multicookers (900 to 1200 watts of different brands) have lower wattage vs. induction cookers (1500 to 2200 watts). Apart from this, I haven’t found any cases that the pre-set modes cannot serve.
I like the safety feature that the shell gives. The outer shell can be touched even while it is cooking. The vent pipe will open automatically if there is too much pressure inside, though I have not experienced this. And in general, it's a solidly manufactured unit, and I understand this is the premium I paid for also.
ANG HINDI OKAY
The biggest disadvantage of course is that it costs a lot of money, it’s 10 times as much as a pressure cooker pot, and around 2x more expensive than others in its class. You are of course paying for the seals and safety features, as well as the pre-set buttons. In this case, you would still have to compare it to its class, some of which are half the price at the 6L capacity.
Another big this is that it also takes a lot of space. This is important in smaller kitchens, and you may want to consider a pressure cooker pot for use with your stove instead, as these take up less space. It also takes time to clean the cooker, as you will have to clean the pot as well as the cover.
VERDICT
■■□□ On the fence
The biggest thing to feature in the decision is moving from a ₱780 pot for a stove to this cooker at 10 times the price. I can see how the features are worth the money, but you'll have to answer the question if these are necessary features, and if this brand is worth more than others of its class. I have no complaints of what it sets out to do, so if you want cooking that’s simple and that you can leave, this might be up your alley, but do consider cheaper brands..