THE PRESSURE’S ON

Versatile and useful cooking gadgets, electric pressure cookers make wonderful braised meats, will cook beans without soaking, and are great for stocks and most one-pot soups and stews. Dishes that traditionally take a long time to cook can be made in substantially less time, and you can even start with frozen meat. Many electric pressure cookers are multifunctional (called “multicookers”) and have the ability to slow-cook, steam, and sauté. Some models will even make yogurt.

I love to cook, so I own multicookers by Instant Pot and Crock-Pot. Although I’ll never discard my slow cookers, Dutch ovens, or rice cooker, I’ve found my multicookers to be quite handy. Both are programmable, with a similar range of functions. Both have easy-to-clean removable inner pots; the Crock-Pot Express Crock’s is no-stick while the Instant Pot’s is stainless steel.

Electric pressure cookers are easy to use — just