Multi-Cooker 101: What's the Difference Between Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking?

No-fuss cooking is what everyone’s after these days, right?

And despite being fundamentally different, both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker are your pals for that -- in their own ways.

RELATED: This Mom of Five Tested the Instant Pot! Here’s What She Thought

What’s the actual difference between the two, you ask?

Well, in short, pressure cookers work their magic instantly, while slow cookers do it, well, slowly.

And did you know that a multi-cooker can function as a pressure cooker AND a slow cooker? In fact, that's what Melissa used to demonstrate two of her recipes on our show.

"You [could] have dinner in an hour instead of 12 hours," food writer Melissa Clark explains of pressure cooking (using either an electric pressure cooker or a multi-cooker's pressure cooker setting). "It uses pressure and heat."

And with her new book, Dinner In An Instant -- inspired by her viral NYT article -- she’s walking the walk!
 

Rachael Ray Show

But if you already have a slow cooker that you're attached to -- and you don’t want to buy a pressure cooker or a multi-cooker -- some of Melissa’s recipes can be adapted for slow cookers, too!

Want to give it a go? Try her Maple Chile Glazed Sweet Potatoes (she says they’re done in FOUR MINUTES) or her Butternut Squash Soup with Coriander (which you can make now and freeze for Thanksgiving).

Sweet!