I love cooking quick, tasty recipes that don't require my undivided attention so it was no surprises that after a couple of months of pressure cooking, I fell in love with Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro (currently available for $299, rrp $599) sent to me by Prestige Home Appliances to review.
I treat each of my kitchen appliances as kitchen assistants and usually have two or more of them working at the same time. The other night, my Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro was cooking up super tender beef cheeks as I made potato mash in my ThermoCook, steamed corn cobs in my Thermomix and fresh watermelon juice in my new Nutri Force Extractor (review coming soon).
For me to love and constantly use a kitchen appliance it needs to be -
- Safe to use without constant supervision; and
- Easy to clean - ideally dishwasher friendly.
This all revolves around being time poor. I have always been a serial multi-tasker but the arrival of junior cravings has taken my multi-tasking to a whole new level - I can't afford to waste a second.
The Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro took me awhile to get to know, it is not one of those appliances that you can just switch on and just know what to do. Being digital and sophisticated, I relied on the recipe booklet provided to step me through how to use it. Initially, I started testing the Induction Pressure-Cook Pro by going by the recipes in the booklet but as I had found with most recipes that come with appliances, you really do need to adapt them to suit your tastes as they often lack flavour.
These are some of my favourite dishes to pressure cook along with the functions I used -
Thai Massaman Beef Curry
I usually slow cook my Massaman Beef Curry on the stove to tenderise the beef so I love the Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro allows me to step away from the kitchen. I no longer need to worry about topping up the coconut milk or junior burger wandering into the kitchen on her own as I'm busy looking after junior cravings (my new 3 week old baby).
I use the deep fry function to brown the paste and casserole beef (best cut for curries). I then add potatoes (large chunks), kaffir lime leaves, a dash of fish sauce, a tin of coconut milk, brown sugar and select the slow cook high function. I then go do whatever I need to do for three hours and the Induction Pressure-Cook Pro announces when my dinner is ready. This is particularly useful when I'm upstairs during the day, not so cool when I'm trying to put junior burger to bed as the voice over is super loud.
Oat Porridge
Making oat porridge with the Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro for breakfast takes a few minutes longer than microwaving Uncle Toby's 90 second porridge satchels but it is so much more healthier and a fun activity for junior burger. It's as simple as adding rolled oats and milk then selecting the oats function, waiting 6 minutes then stirring through sultanas, honey and cinnamon.
Vanilla Sponge Cake
I have never dreamed of baking a sponge cake in a pressure cooker so I was quite amused by the cake function which baked me a perfectly round sponge cake!
I just used my Thermocook to make the batter then poured it into my Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro and set the cake function to 50 minutes. I then made my chocolate icing in my Thermomix.
I have also attempted making beef cheeks with the meat function, potatoes with the steaming function and thawing steak with the defrost function:
- The beef cheeks was super tender after cooking for only 40 minutes but I followed the recipe provided with the appliance so I need to adapt the recipe and try it again;
- Steaming is super fast - takes half the time of my Thermomix; and
- I wouldn't recommend defrosting steak or any meats that require minimum cooking time.
I recommend Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro to anyone who wants to save time in the kitchen. It is super easy to clean, cooked food just slides off the non-stick inner pot with soapy warm water and you can just leave it to cook your meals once you've mastered your recipes. There's also a timer function if you want meals ready for a certain time.
The Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro is available from Prestige Home Appliances (a brand of Froothie International) for an introductory price of $299 (rrp $599).
