Both machines use steam to cook food. The resemblance, though, ends there. The electric pressure cooker 2021 contains an exterior jar with a heating pad or coil, an inner pot and a lid. It may or may not come with additional pieces, such as a steaming basket or a simple tofu cooker.
The heating factor in the rice cooker heats up the rice liquid, allowing it to evaporate and turn to steam. The rice then consumes the hot liquid and softens. This explains why the liquid applied to the rice cooker “disappears” when the rice is prepared. A pressure cooker, on the other hand, comes with parts identical to those of a rice cooker, albeit with some variations. The pressure cooker has a pressure sensor and a lid, which can be sealed or locked. Usually, the lid has a rubber liner to prevent steam from overflowing. This helps the cooker to raise and sustain the amount of pressure within the pot. The food is cooked quicker than traditional pots due to the combination of heat and strain.
When the single feature of the rice cooker is better
As its name suggests, a rice cooker is best used for cooking rice and a small range of similar dishes. However, some rice cookers are manufactured as multi-functional and can be used as slow cookers for meat or fish stews and soups or as steamers for cooking eggs, onions, fish, thinly sliced meats and dumplings.
A pressure cooker, on the other hand, is better used for tendering rough or large parts of meat for dishes such as beef stew and pot roast. It also cooks vegetables like whole corn and squash more easily. There are, however, pressure cookers with multi-functional features that can also be used as slow cookers and rice cookers.
Do Pressure Cookers Make Rice Decent or Better Than Dedicated Rice Cookers?
Let us consider single-function rice cookers and small pressure cookers for comparison. Here are the benefits and disadvantages:
Pros with Rice Cooker
An electric pressure cooker 2021 is the best appliance to cook various forms of rice perfectly in terms of texture, taste and fragrance. It features an automatic shut-off and warm function, and is considered a more energy efficient way of cooking rice than a stovetop pot.
A pressure cooker, on the other hand, heats food quicker and needs less water/liquid for cooking. Since it may raise temperatures above the normal boiling point of water, it is effective in killing microorganisms that may be present in the food. Owing to the closure of the cooking container, a pressure cooker may also preserve food flavors more efficiently. It also needs fewer additional flavorings and seasonings. It is the chosen cooker in high altitude areas because it can speed up the cooking process.
A rice cooker cannot cook anything other than rice unless it is a multi-function cooker. While it can also be used to cook other forms of food, such as oatmeal, fish and thinly sliced vegetables and beef, it may take longer to complete the mission. The pot itself is not insulated and the temperature only exceeds the boiling point of the water inside the cooking chamber.
