Power Cooker Pro 6qt

We've cooked a lot of different things since the Power Cooker Pro 6qt was added to our kitchen. One of the first things I cooked was beans since the hour long hot soak, then an hour or more to cook could be shortened down considerably. Honestly, even following the directions explicitly I still overcooked them.

We've gotten rid of all our crockpots since getting this. It's no joke, cooking with a pressure cooker cuts down the cook times dramatically. Instead of loading a slow cooker and letting it run most of the day, coming back later to put the food in containers and wash up, we are doing that ten to twenty minutes later. Controls are very basic, but you do have full control over cook time and the pressure if you want it.

There is no hot cooker slowly heating up the kitchen all day. A big bonus in the hot months. This model does have a slow cooker option, but we haven't used it yet. There is also a rice button, and that does work, don't vent the pressure right away if you're cooking brown rice. The flat disk is for steaming, it rests on the ridge halfway down the inner pot. The instructions say not to use it for pressure canning with the claim that it doesn't regulate the pressure accurately enough. It does so electronically and there is a lag between when power to the heating element is switched back on and it builds pressure back up. 

The power cord is pretty standard, recognize that port? The one that comes with it is pretty short. We haven't needed a longer one, but they are readily available nearly everywhere.

It is important to never overfill this cooker. That Max Fill line is for safety. If the valves in the lid get splashed the vent orifices could become clogged. This could result in a possible overpressure.

Steamer plate in place. A couple cups of water in the bottom and either put the lid on and use pressure, or just leave it venting. There are some things, like asparagus that steam really fast. The cooker would never have time to come up to pressure before it was done.

The seal just drops in behind a stainless ring. It doesn't take too much finagling to get it out or put back in for cleaning. Just be gentle so it doesn't tear. Yes it's loose, but it works just fine. The two fittings are safeties. The upper one is a removable guard over the vent you use to depressurize the cooker. The lower one is a pin that once steam begins to build, will rise up and block the latch to stop you from taking the lid off. It hisses and sputters then goes silent. The silicone washer blocks the small port. All of these things can be removed for cleaning, they're small parts.

The switch just lifts the weight so the cooker can vent when it's done cooking. This unit is electronic, don't cool it in the sink. Remember that sudden drops in pressure can make some food items pop. If you are impatient and vent right after cooking, remember the contents are above the normal boiling point. That's what pressure cooking allows, higher temperatures because you stop the water from boiling away. That doesn't mean food won't burn, I will not attempt lasagna in the pressure cooker again.

And there is the weight popped off. There is a spring clip that retains it so it doesn't get lost or blow off when you vent the pot. The small hole above that is the secondary safety. Don't block either of these. I do like to tent a towel over the vent when I release the pressure to help mitigate the steam that geysers forth.

Overall operation is dead simple. The controls on this one are overly simplistic and there are better ones on the market, most of which are far more expensive than this one which still does the job. The instructions are not all that clear. I recommend trying a few simple things before doing something complex. Like making soup stock. Remember it needs to make steam to get pressure, so always put a cup or two water in it minimum. The pot is non-stick, but the heating element is in direct contact with the bottom of the pot, thus you need to plan your recipe to avoid burning. Mine lives on the counter and gets used at least once a week.

Wonderbag

As always I like to find products and companies that I feel give back to communities and help alleviate poverty related issues in developing countries. The Wonderbag is such a product. A Wonderbag is essentially an insulated cooker. You combine your ingredients in a pot, bring it to a good, hard boil and put the pot in the bag. The food then continues to cook slowly on the remaining heat energy.

The Wonderbag arrives in a vacuum bag and must be fluffed up and allowed to fully decompress before using. You can put a pot of hot water in the bag or set it in a warm place to speed up the process, but it needs several hours or overnight. It will continue to fluff up over the first couple uses. It is recommended to wrap your pots in a towel and place a folded towel in the bottom. This is to prevent soiling the Wonderbag, catching stray condensation and in the case of cast iron to prevent damaging the fabric. I use a silicone hot pad for the bottom of the bag.

Just loosen the drawstring and place the pot in the bottom. Cover with the top and pull the string until the bag is closed up, it doesn't need to be tight.

The pot you use can be quite large, though today I used something less than three quarts. I made quinoa in a microwave cooker, after a few minutes of boil time I put it in the Wonderbag. Actually I forgot about it, but it wasn't overdone, and cool enough to put it in the fridge. No big deal as it was destined for a chilled quinoa salad.

The inside of the bag is about fourteen inches across, and as you can see, the insulation pillows puff up a good bit so be mindful that a fourteen inch pot may not fit well. The key is the insulation which needs to not get excessively compressed. I should note the bottom is actually semi-rigid closed cell foam, the remainder is shredded reclaimed open cell foam.

The pot can also be quite deep, though remember big handles or knobs will likely get in the way. I usually put an old pillow on top just as an extra layer of insulation, and when the bag is not in use, I stuff it in the Wonderbag to help it keep it's shape when stored. I keep mine on top of the kitchen cabinets so it's always ready. Some people toss it on the couch as a throw pillow. You can also use the Wonderbag to keep things cool, insulation is insulation. It also works well for holding hot food during transportation to pot lucks, or just around the holidays in a crowded kitchen. Those casseroles will be just fine in the Wonderbag and moved into the dining room, out of the way. I have also used it for rising bread and on a cold day put a heating pad around the bowl, plastic over the top, and a thermometer to make sure I don't kill the yeast.

Cook times are much like using a crockpot on low, but you need to keep an eye on the temperature. If it cools too much, you'll be taking a risk of bacterial growth. Better to put the pot back on the stove before it gets too cool and heat it up and put it back in the Wonderbag. Generally speaking it takes hours before there is a problem. It also depends on the overall mass you put in the Wonderbag. Mostly full, heavy pots near the size limits of the Wonderbag will have the necessary mass to last long enough to do the difficult things like beans.

Hot Logic Mini

The Hot Logic Mini is a small, portable, electric food heating device. I have had mine for about three months or so. I did not buy it with the pyrex baking dish, I sourced that locally from the grocery store.

The case appears to be nylon with an insulating layer. There is a fabric handle on top and inside is what looks like woven aluminized polyproplyene or mylar. The hot pad itself is slightly smaller than the case and has a power cord with a decent length. I did not measure it, but it's about four feet long. There is a slit in the middle of the rear of the case to feed the cord through. Generally though, the plate just stays in the case.

Here is the data plate on the bottom. 45W isn't much and that makes it critical to have as much contact area as possible. I have seen cooking temperatures in chicken breasts reach 160F. I also experimented with food service grade plastic trays, food cooked faster in them and tended to dry out easily. It is imperative that containers have tight fitting lids.

There is a tunnel on the back of the case where the cord can be rolled up and stored.

This is what the six cup pyrex dish looks like in the Hot Logic Mini. It is a good fit and zips up fine. I have also used a three cup dish with a little foil in the bottom to reheat frozen burritos and a four cup round to make oatmeal. Typically I give it two hours to work for most of the cooking I've done with it so far. Brown rice is the only failure I've had, so I precook that prior to using it in the Hot Logic Mini. 

For the most part I use the Hot Logic Mini to help keep myself to a diet and reduce my instant gratification cycle. Instead of heating something up in the microwave, I put something together in one of the pyrex dishes I have and try to forget about it for a couple hours. I have also used it to hold hot food while I cook other parts of a meal, like the bacon so I can make dirty eggs or a stack of pancakes so everyone gets to eat together.

Depending on what you want to cook, this can almost replace a crockpot. While brown rice and beans can be done in a crockpot, the Hot Logic Mini doesn't have the horsepower to be successful with them. That said, if you keep in mind the limitations of the lower temperature there is still a lot that can be done. If you work a job where you don't have a set lunch break or that break is easily interrupted, this is an excellent tool to free you from that time constraint. As I mentioned before, about two hours seems to be about when frozen vegetables become al dente (except carrots unless sliced thin) so whether you're cooking or reheating seems like a good timeframe. If your meal is interupted, just close it up, leave it plugged in, and when you come back to it it'll still be hot. Remember to use good food safety practices. I have also had good luck with a variety of frozen microwavable meals, just leave them sealed up or transfer them to something with a tight lid.

Size-wise, as can be seen in the pictures, the Hot Logic Mini is about the size of a child's lunchbox, or a large bento. Even with the six cup pyrex there is just barely room for an icepack, two if you take out the heating plate. So you could use it for a cooler if necessary.