disclaimer

Productexpert.ae spends many hours on research to help you find the best products to buy. Each product here is independently selected by our team. If you buy something through links in our content, we can earn a small commission that helps support our work.

TOP 10 Best Multi-Cookers 2024

Thanks to technological advancement, cooking no longer has to feel like a chore, especially when you're struggling to keep that work-life balance. With the mere push of a button on a multi-cooker, you can delight yourself in home-cooked meals as it aids fast cooking. Flawlessly integrate cooking your meal into your busy schedule with these best multi-cookers.

Buying guide 

If you're curious about how professional chefs buy the multi-cookers that go on to last them for a long while, this buying guide is our answer to that curiosity. Our buying guide addresses all the features and pointers that lead you to high-quality cookware. In addition, this buying guide will teach you how to differentiate between high-quality multi-cookers and poor quality ones. So let's get down to business. 

What does a multi-cooker do? 

A multi-cooker is a versatile home appliance that does it all. That is, it does all the types of cooking that you can imagine, from frying to slow cooking, deep-frying, steaming, crisping, etc. A multi-cooker takes away the hassles of buying too many kitchen appliances to try out different cooking types. It also saves you money and time for setting up these other appliances that'll help prepare these other food types. More importantly, a multi-cooker combines the function of a pressure cooker and a slow cooker into a single powerhouse machine that ensures the quality of your food is healthy. 

What are the types of multi-cookers?

Multi-cooker with a pressure cooker

Multi-cookers with a pressure cooker include pressure cooking in its line of abilities. The majority of these types of multi-cookers often have a pressure cooker as their primary function. Nevertheless, they can still perform other cooking types. Pressure cookers work by generating steam and pressure to increase the temperature of the cooker. In effect, your food cooks faster. You can use the pressure cooker function on this type of multi-cooker to cook rice, steam vegetables, cook hard meat, etc. 

Multi-cooker without a pressure cooker

The other kind of multi-cookers is the type without the pressure cooker function. This multi-cooker type slow-cooks and performs different kinds of cooking. The only difference is that they perform other cooking functions but can't pressure cook. With this multi-cooker, slow cookers are their primary function. They simmer your food, but the result is a healthier, juicier, great-tasting meal. Hence, your vegetables and potatoes would have more flavor; your meats would taste better. Aside from enjoying the benefits of slow cooking, you can also bake, make yogurt, etc.

What cooking modes can a multi-cooker have?

As the name "multi-cooker" suggests, it has different cooking modes. Below are some of the modes a multi-cooker can have.

Air Fry

This cooking mode allows you to not only air fry; you can also broil, roast and, bake. Air fryers generally cook your food with fans. These fans circulate the heat that the fryer generates so that it cooks your food perfectly. With the air fry mode, you can give your chicken that crispy look and feel while the inside remains soft and well-cooked. 

Pressure Cook

The pressure cook is another cooking mode of a multi-cooker. Here's how it works:

  1. It deploys pressure and heat to speed up your meal's cooking time to make your food ready within a short period.

  2. It generates heat then acts as a sealer chamber to trap the heat inside itself, preventing it from evaporating.

  3. It channels the steam into cooking your food. 

Sear

You can delight yourself with a delicious brownish-crusty dish on a multi-cooker that offers this function. This searing method involves cooking your food on high heat, almost similar to pressure-cooking. For example, searing is a process that your chicken goes through when you grill it. It is also a common process during baking, sauteing, or braising. 

Dehydrate

The process of dehydration involves extracting moisture from your food. This process is a great way to increase the shelf life of your food from your vegetables, fruits, meats, etc. You'll also make your food a lot tastier when you dehydrate it, especially fruits and vegetables. You can also drain meat to create a healthy snack. Unfortunately, not all multi-cookers have this ability. However, if your multi-cooker can air fry, it can also dehydrate foods.   

Sauté

Sautéing is another cooking style that you should try. This cooking technique deploys high heat, a small amount of fat, and constant movement to cook your meal. The combination of these three methods allows your food to cook evenly. However, with a multi-cooker, movement is necessary to get the desired brownish exterior. Also, sautéing with a multi-cooker is not as easy and automatic as with other cooking techniques you can try. Hence, you need to keep your food in the cooker while you sauté it, with the lid off.

Steam

Steaming with a multi-cooker is straightforward. Here, you need a small amount of liquid. Then, the cooker heats it to generate steam. The cooker then channels the steam to cook your food. While this function is excellent, steaming your food with the pressure-cooking function would speed up the entire process. But if you're not in a hurry, you can cook your food with the steaming function. 

Rice

The rice function is not too different from the steaming function. When you set the multi-cooker to this function, it heats the water to the point that it starts to boil. As it boils, it cooks the rice grains in the cooker evenly. 

Yogurt Making

Yogurt is milk that you ferment with live bacteria. To successfully make yogurt with a multi-cooker, you'll have to keep the temperature steady and low for several hours while you incubate the bacteria. 

Sous Vide

Sous vide cooking means you have to cook your food via vacuum-sealing and cooking for extended hours within a precisely heated water bath. With precise temperature control, you can achieve any result you desire flawlessly. 

What should you look for in a multi-cooker? 

Capacity

You have to decide the number of people you intend to cook for to determine the quantity of food you would always make. It helps you determine the cooker capacity you should opt for as you can't fill the cooker to the brim.  

Pot

Most multi-cookers in the market have a detachable pot with a nonstick coating to make the cleaning process easy. 

Lid

The multi-cooker should have a lockable and non-transparent lid if it has a pressure-cook mode. Having a non-transparent lid means you'd have to stop the cooker from checking the food. However, a multi-cooker without a pressure-cook mode comes with a tempered glass lid. 

Steam release valve

Your cooker should have a steam release valve. The steam release valve allows you to maintain proper cooking pressure. 

Pressure settings

Look out for cookers with more than enough pressure settings. That way, you'll quickly adjust the time frame for cooking your food to your preference. Higher pressure means faster cooking. 

Cooking times

Multi-cookers always come with pre-programmed cooking times to further simplify their use. These pre-programmed settings are for different meals. 

Controls

Opt for multi-cookers with accessible and labeled control switches and bright indicator lights. This makes it easy to use.

Exterior

Ensure the multi-cooker you intend to purchase has no crevices that can trap food. 

Cleaning

You should be able to disassemble each part of the multi-cooker so you can clean it thoroughly. 

Timer

Multi-cooker with a timer makes cooking easy. It counts down while it cooks your meal till your food is ready. 

Automatic setting

An automatic setting on a multi-cooker comes in handy as it starts cooking the food at a high temperature, then drops the temperature throughout the remaining cooking process. 

Steaming and warming feature

Steaming and warming features are extra features that add to a multi-cooker versatility. 

Maximum fill line indicators

This feature is essential for multi-cookers, so you know how much food quantity is in the cooker. It also helps you not to overfill the cooker.

Some tips before you use your Multi-cooker 

After deciding which multi-cooker fits your lifestyle and purchasing a suitable one, there are certain things you should pay attention to and do before you start using the multi-cooker. Below are a few of them.

Pressure cooker quick tips

  • Before and after using your multi-cooker, it's excellent to routinely check the pressure valve for food residues. That way, you'll prevent food poisoning or contamination. 

  • Ensure you clean the multi-cooker rubber seal regularly for the sake of hygiene. If you need to remove the silicone rubber seal to clean it, go for it.

  • To prolong the lifespan of the gasket, consider leaving the gasket upturned when you store it. It would prevent the gasket from deforming. 

  • The pressure release of the multi-cooker would be hot, especially when you're cooking a meal with it. Hence, when you want to open the pressure release, do it with a towel so you won't suffer a burn. 

Slow cooker quick tips

  • If you want to try a traditional recipe with a Slow cooker multi-cooker, increase the cooking time and reduce the liquid you intend to use by half. To convert a traditional recipe for a slow cooker, halve the liquid and increase the cooking time.

  • The number of hours it takes to bake in an oven differs from baking with a slow cooker. For instance, what you'd usually bake within an hour in and over would take six to eight hours in a slow cooker, on a low.

  • Reheating leftovers with a slow cooker is a bad idea. You're better of using the microwave, oven, or cooktop.