Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker

Pressure Cooker vs Slow Cooker
 

Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker are two types of cookers that show some difference between the way they function. It is important to know that both of them are good in cooking food and meat in different styles. The slow cooker is also known as Crock Pot in the US. The main difference between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker is the time they take to cook a meal. The pressure cooker is much more faster while the slow cooker, as the name indicates, cooks very slowly. Based on these two differences, we can see some other differences between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.

What is Pressure Cooker?

The pressure cooker cooks food and meat very fast. It takes only a few minutes to cook. The principle with which pressure cooker works is as follows. The pressure cooker cooks the food by means of the steam pressure created from the liquid within the cooker. Since the temperature created within the appliance is very high, food and meat are cooked very fast indeed.

It is a well-known fact that when we are cooking meat, to get the maximum flavor, the meat has to be browned. Browning of meat is very much possible in the case of pressure cooker. Due to the extreme heat, the meat is cooked and browned in the pressure cooker without a problem.

Pressure cookers are available for gas, ceramic, induction, and electric cooking. Electric pressure cooker, however, has to be monitored very carefully for that matter. That is, in the sense, that the food will be overcooked if it is not monitored properly.

What is Slow Cooker?

On the other hand, the slow cooker, as the name itself indicates, cooks food and meat very slowly. It takes hours to cook using a slow cooker. The principle with which the slow cooker works is as follows. The slow cooker cooks food using a low, steady heat. The temperature created within a slow cooker is not very high, and hence the process of cooking is also very slow when compared to the pressure cooker.

When it comes to getting the maximum flavor of food items, the slow cooker user has to use other cooking methods as well. For example, the browning of meat is not possible in the case of slow cooker. Therefore, the user has to get the cooked meat from the slow cooker and use a pan to get the brown sear on the meat.

The advantage of a slow cooker is that it cooks the food and meat very slowly in the sense that you can prepare the cooking and set the slow cooker and go and the food will get ready by the time you return back home from your office after work. So, you can cook with a slow cooker with minimum supervision. However, you have to time yourself correctly. Also, you have to make sure that you create everything you need for the evening meal before you leave for work and put it in the slow cooker to cook while you are at work. However, some people can find it hard to find time to prepare for the evening meal in the morning.

Moreover, the probability of overcooking does not exist at all in the case of slow cooker. It only means that food does not get overcooked due to the low temperature created within the appliance of slow cooker.

It is true that both these appliances discharge their functions to the delight of the users in the sense that food and meat get a definite taste when cooked in them. Hence, both of them have their own specific advantages and disadvantages.

What is the difference between Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker?

Working Principle of Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker:

Pressure Cooker: Pressure cooker is a cooker that cooks food in minutes by means of the steam pressure created from the liquid within the cooker.

Slow Cooker: Slow cooker is a cooker that uses a low, steady heat to cook food and takes hours to cook food.

Characteristics of Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker:

Cooking Time:

Pressure Cooker: Pressure cooker takes from five to twenty minutes to cook food depending on what you are cooking.

Slow Cooker: Slow cooker takes anywhere from four to ten hours to cook food.

Who Should Use:

Pressure Cooker: Pressure cooker is more suitable for experienced cooks.

Slow Cooker: Slow cooker is more suitable for new cooks.

Getting Maximum Flavor:

Pressure Cooker: Getting the maximum flavor of a food is possible using the pressure cooker alone. Ex: meat.

Slow Cooker: Getting the maximum flavor of a food is not always possible in a slow cooker as browning is not possible in a slow cooker. Ex: To get the maximum flavor of meat, you have use a pan to brown the meat.

Other Names:

Pressure Cooker: Pressure cooker does not have other names.

Slow Cooker: Slow cooker is also known as Crock Pot.

 

Images Courtesy:

  1. Pressure cooker by Wikinaut (CC BY-SA 3.0)
  2. Slow cooker by trenttsd (CC BY 2.0)