The basics

Like your toaster or food processor, a multicooker is a countertop appliance. While pressure cooking is what you’re likely going to hear the most about, multicookers often offer options for slow-cooking and sauteing. Other food-specific features might cover rice, beans and yogurt. Some models include dish-specific presets (soup, poultry, porridge, etc.), but many cookbook authors and recipe writers recommend sticking with the regular pressure cook (mostly high, but sometimes low) or saute (choose from several heat levels) settings for greater control over heat and time.

Multicookers consist of an inner pot set over a heating element inside a large base (see the diagram below for a breakdown of the components). The pressure cooking function works by creating a sealed environment. Once the appliance “comes up to pressure,” which can take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour depending on what or how much you’re cooking or the strength of your machine, air and steam can’t escape. When that happens, more energy is required to cause the liquid to boil, raising the boiling point from 212 to 250 degrees. That, in turn, makes the food cook faster. (Keep in mind there are also stove-top pressure cookers, which reach an even higher pressure and therefore cook food even faster.)

What to make in it

If you can think of a dish, someone has probably thought of a way to make it — or try to make it — in a multicooker. Pore over all those new cookbooks and you’ll find lasagna, breakfast burritos and cinnamon rolls among the less expected foods being nominated for pressure-cooker treatment.

But there are certain types of foods multicookers truly excel at cooking, where high pressure serves a purpose other than sheer novelty. Think about large cuts of meat that would otherwise take a long time to cook — pot roasts, pork shoulders, whole chickens. Dried beans cook in a fraction of the time they would take on a stove top. (You can cook dried beans, although some people still prefer to do a pre-soak.) Grain dishes such as risotto or steel-cut oats end up perfectly chewy and creamy, no stirring required. Even the firmest vegetables can be steamed in a matter of minutes.

Soups, stews and saucy dishes such as curries are ideal for pressure cooking. Sure, they’ll cook quickly, but in the sealed environment, you don’t have to worry about evaporation of liquid and flavor.

There are some things you should not attempt to pressure cook. Milk and cream, for example, if not incorporated into a batter, can separate and curdle under pressure, so add them at the end or use evaporated milk, which has already been cooked down. Fresh herbs will not hold up in terms of taste or structure, so add them after cooking, too. Oats other than steel-cut (rolled, quick-cooking) can blow out and disintegrate. Very delicate foods, such as certain types of seafood, are best left out of the pressure cooker.

Also ask yourself what purpose the pressure cooker is serving. Are you just trying to get the most out of your purchase? That’s fine, of course, but if a dish can be made just as quickly in the oven or on the stove top — keep in mind the time it takes to come up to pressure, which not all “fast” recipes include in their calculations — you might just want to skip the multicooker.

Because of the relatively fast, largely hands-off nature of the appliance, it can be the perfect assistant for meal planning and batch cooking whether you’re a singleton, couple or family. Use it to prepare large cuts of meat, a pot of beans or bowl of grains that you can eat and repurpose throughout the week. You’ll get the bonus of an extra dish or two without all the extra work.

Equipment and tools

Kitchen real estate and budgets are not unlimited, so if you’re going to buy a multicooker, it might as well be one that you’ll get the most use out of. For that reason, you should focus your attention on the 6- or 8-quart models. A 2- or 3-quart multicooker just isn’t big enough for anything of substance, while the larger options easily hold large cuts of meat, generous batches of soup and more. You’ll be able to feed at least four people.

Another reason to stick with a 6- or 8-quart model is that you can always partially fill larger pots, but you can’t overfill a smaller one. And you want to pay attention to the maximum capacity in a pressure cooker (more on that below).

What should you look for in choosing a multicooker, other than size? The good news is that in their comprehensive testing, America’s Test Kitchen found that all but one of the machines they tested were deemed satisfactory. Among the differences were how long they took to come up to pressure and how hot they ran during pressure cooking. Sauteing or searing foods was problematic unless you used the highest setting, often labeled as “brown.” Slow cooking can be a little tricky since multicookers heat up faster than traditional slow cookers, meaning times have to be adjusted if you don’t want your food overdone.

Good multicookers are also a breeze to operate, with straightforward, responsive buttons for selecting your program of choice. It’s especially important that a multicooker be easy to operate, because if any of the key parts — gasket, lid, etc. — are misaligned, you won’t be able to seal the machine and begin pressure cooking. That’s why it’s helpful to have a machine that can alert you if the lid is not properly sealed.

Other than the multicooker itself, there are other kitchen tools worth having around for when you want to use it. You’ll want all your typical standbys, including a good chef’s knife. An instant-read thermometer helps, especially as your familiarize yourself with how the machine cooks meat. Tongs are great for reaching into the deep pot to flip and remove food, and heatproof spatulas and wooden spoons will help you stir and release the pressure (see below). If you plan to bake or do other types of cooking that don’t involve putting the food directly in the pot, springform pans, round cake pans and souffle and casserole dishes are nice to have, too. A steamer basket will help you achieve vegetable perfection, and a tall metal steam rack (multicookers generally come with a short one) allows you to cook multiple foods at once. Portion out soup or stew with a long ladle.

Safety and other tips

You may have heard all the jokes and genuine fears about exploding pressure cookers. You can kiss those goodbye with countertop electric multicookers. Sure, you might fail to seal it properly, but in that case, it won’t start pressure cooking. (Keeping your multicooker clean is key since stuck-on food can interfere with sealing and cooking; other than the electric base, the parts can be washed by hand in the sink or, in some cases, in the dishwasher.) The appliances also have built-in features that will cut them off if they sense food is overheating.

Properly releasing the pressure is definitely a safety concern, primarily because hot steam can give you a very bad burn. If you’re doing a so-called natural release (ideal for gently finishing cooking food such as large cuts of meat, which can seize up otherwise), where the pressure is allowed to gradually decline until the pot unseals, then no worries. If, however, you’re doing a quick release (ideal for foods you don’t want overcooked, such as chicken breasts), where the pressure is immediately released by turning a knob, you have to take a little more care.

Use a wooden-spoon or heat-proof spatula to turn the knob, keeping your hands and face clear of the venting steam. Some people throw a dish towel over the vent for additional security. For recipes that employ a natural release, America’s Test Kitchen prefers to do a quick-release on any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.

While your multicooker won’t explode, you do have to remember that the combination of heat and pressure causes food to expand in volume and bubble vigorously. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to maximum fill lines. For foods that foam and expand (think oatmeal, beans and grains), don’t fill the pot more than half full, or you risk clogging the vent pipe and, yes, then pressure builds too high. Otherwise, you can fill the pot two-thirds full.

If you’re nervous about figuring out how your multicooker works, especially for pressure cooking, read the instruction manual carefully, as well as your recipes. Start with something easy — even water — just to take you through the motions and functionality. Other low-risk foods to begin with are oatmeal, beans, broth and soup. Familiarize yourself with the basics, and then move on to the wide world of dishes you’ll be able to make in your multicooker.

Recipes to get you started

Ready to really get cooking? These recipes from The Post's Recipe Finder take advantage of many of the multicooker's best features.

Braised Chicken Thighs With White Beans and Pancetta (pictured above). The flavors of rich-tasting chicken thighs, salty pancetta and creamy cannellini beans are heightened with woodsy rosemary in this Tuscan-inspired one-pot, pressure-cooked dish.

Winter Squash Gratin. For this casserole, which could serve as main course for vegetarians, the squash is quickly steamed in the multicooker/electric pressure cooker (6-quart capacity, with a steaming rack), then blended with egg yolks for richness and whipped egg whites that lighten the texture.

Black Bean Soup. Bacon, red bell pepper and jalapeño deepen the flavor of this earthy soup.

Pernil Asado. Here, a garlicky citrus marinade turns a plain pork shoulder into a Puerto Rican classic.

Cannoli Cream Rice Pudding. This has flavors reminiscent of classic cannoli filling.