Crock Pot vs. Pressure Cooker

by Kurt
14 replies
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I was looking for new ways to cook and I never owned a crockpot so I did some googling for crockpots.

I accidently came across some ads for pressure cookers. It reminded me of how my Grandma would cook her turkey in a pressure cooker for a while, then brown it in the oven. She made the best turkey I've ever had.

So I did some research on cooking with pressure cookers. It seems using a pressure cooker has all the benefits of slow cooking with a crockpot, but a lot faster. And there's all sorts of recipes for cooking with pressure cookers.

Why spend 10 hours cooking something if you can get it done as well, if not better, in 45 minutes or less?

All you cooking experts out there...Any reason I shouldn't get a pressure cooker instead of a crockpot?
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Depends on what you want and how you want to cook.

    Main advantage of a crockpot is the ability to put food on to cook in the morning and do nothing with it all day.

    You can go to work and come home to a great smelling house and a meal ready to eat. Pressure cookers are about speed and crockpots about convenience.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattlaclear
    I think you should get both. Last Sunday my mother cooked a roast in the pressure cooker and it was cooked and tender within just 30 minutes! It's amazing how well they work for that. I'm more of a crock pot guy as I can prepare dinner in the morning and let it simmer all day with no further fuss from myself or my wife.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by mattlaclear View Post

      I think you should get both. Last Sunday my mother cooked a roast in the pressure cooker and it was cooked and tender within just 30 minutes! It's amazing how well they work for that. I'm more of a crock pot guy as I can prepare dinner in the morning and let it simmer all day with no further fuss from myself or my wife.
      Now that's what I'm talking about!

      It seems that generation is more likely to use pressure cookers than younger folks.

      Maybe both is best...I may get a new pressure cooker and see if I can't find a cheap crockpot at a yardsale/second hand shop.

      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      Kay basically said all there is to say.
      OK Kay and Kim...I'll take that as a challenge.

      Let me add, I live at 8500 ft above sea level where the air is very thin. This means water boils at a very low temperature. A 3 minute egg takes 8-9 minutes up here. An artichoke took me almost 3 hours of cooking at a rolling boil.

      But because a pressure cooker is a closed system, altitude is no longer a factor.

      (Plus, I don't go to work. )

      I guess I find it interesting that crockpots have become so popular while it seems we've forgotten about pressure cookers.

      But other than convenience, is there any difference in the end result or something one can do that the other can't?
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        My mother used to cook with a pressure cooker - some meats done't have the same texture when fast cooked but doesn't mean they aren't good.

        For blending flavors, crockpot works better and I use a lot of herbs in cooking (though I seldom use my crockpot in the first place).

        Pressure cookers used to have a reputation of blowing up on occasion (very big mess - I've seen it) - but I'm sure that problem has been solved by now.

        My favorite fried chicken place uses a "pressure fryer" - great chicken.

        kay
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      • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        But other than convenience, is there any difference in the end result or something one can do that the other can't?
        One other point that I would suggest is obvious is that crock pots are basically 'set and forget' and pressure cookers need to be monitored.

        To get really technical...steam is a property of water whereby when it goes from a liquid to a gas it increases in volume by a factor of 1800. So a cubic centimeter of water will become 1800 cubic centimeters of steam...instantly.

        That kind of power can drive a steam locomotive up the side of a mountain pulling an entire train with it given the proper grading of the tracks.

        You are already familiar with the boiling boint of water being higher due to ambient air pressures being higher and vice-versa. Once the boiling point inside a pressure cooker is reached the water boils at a phenominal rate. That is why those appliances are so dangerous.

        If the lid is released too early the liquid inside can still be at a high enough temp to initiate spontanious boiling at room pressures. Once the water is exposed to those lower pressures it expands (turns to steam) at that 1800:1 ratio. Not a pretty picture, and a good reason to spend the extra dollars for pc's with good safety features.

        ~Bill
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        • Profile picture of the author Kurt
          Originally Posted by Bill Farnham View Post

          One other point that I would suggest is obvious is that crock pots are basically 'set and forget' and pressure cookers need to be monitored.

          To get really technical...steam is a property of water whereby when it goes from a liquid to a gas it increases in volume by a factor of 1800. So a cubic centimeter of water will become 1800 cubic centimeters of steam...instantly.

          That kind of power can drive a steam locomotive up the side of a mountain pulling an entire train with it given the proper grading of the tracks.

          You are already familiar with the boiling boint of water being higher due to ambient air pressures being higher and vice-versa. Once the boiling point inside a pressure cooker is reached the water boils at a phenominal rate. That is why those appliances are so dangerous.

          If the lid is released too early the liquid inside can still be at a high enough temp to initiate spontanious boiling at room pressures. Once the water is exposed to those lower pressures it expands (turns to steam) at that 1800:1 ratio. Not a pretty picture, and a good reason to spend the extra dollars for pc's with good safety features.

          ~Bill
          Thanks Bill...BTW, I have (a long time ago in a previous life) Coast Guard credentials as an apprentice marine engineer working on sea-going merchant ships...Both diesel and steam powered...I know a little bit about steam.
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Kay basically said all there is to say.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      Kay basically said all there is to say.
      Where were you when I was doing all that typing...
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
    Hi Kurt,

    My wife is a highly accomplished cook and an ex-restaurant owner. She uses a pressure cooker periodically and I can tell you from experience that eating meals cooked in a pressure cooker really taste good. The flavors are kept intact, the vitamins remain in the food unlike some other cooking methods, and the meals are cooked very fast.

    Bottom line...buy one.

    But do use extreme caution when cooking with a pressure cooker. They can be highly dangerous. This point was brought home to us in spades when one of our employees accidentaly opened her pressure cooker too early and got massive steam burns on her face that scarred her dramatically.

    Those appliances have safety features built in, at least the good ones do, but you still need to treat them with the highest respect as you would any vessel that contains high pressure steam.

    When I lived on my boat I used a crock pot regularly as I could put the ingredients in before I went to work and the meal was ready when I got home. The secret to crock pot cooking lies in the seasonings you add to the mix. It allows you to take inexpensive cuts of meat, for example, and turn them into tasty cuts where the collagen is converted to gelatin and makes for a great consistancy of texture when eaten.

    I'm getting hungry already just typing this out...

    ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
    I don't know about down there in Americanland, but here in Canada a good quality Crockpot costs less than twenty bucks. On sale you can get them as low as twelve dollars. Great big ones top out at about 39.95 with an average big one being 29.95.

    Unless you're feeding the local militia, dropping a twenty on a five liter slow cooker is an excellent investment.

    They are cheap enough to make owning both worthwhile.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      But other than convenience, is there any difference in the end result or something one can do that the other can't?
      Yep. They are two different tools which achieve different results.
      A crock pot is good for foods that cook better slow.
      I can guarantee you Veal and peppers, any stew, and chili will taste much better cooked in a crook pot then in a pressure cooker.
      On the other hand beans cooked in a pressure cooker for baked beans are awesome as is corn beef and cabbage.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Wow!

    A big, hearty helping of thanks to everybody who posted in this thread.

    My wife and I got a crockpot when it was just the two of us, but with kids in the house it's too small.

    Time to change that. Maybe.

    The problem, however, is that I would have to smell it all day because I work from home.

    My stepmom has worked in restaurants and foodservice for almost as long as I can remember. Anyway, my dad has recently been talking about how good pressure cooked meals are. So, now I may have to get one of those, too.

    And, then, you all go and make it an even better thread by adding all kinds of neat info about the properties of water and steam, and the different components of meat. Absolutely fascinating.

    Thanks!

    All the best,
    Michael
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