Editorial Review

In the good old days, which haven't really ended, there were slow cookers, often referred to as Crock-Pots (though that's actually a trademarked brand name owned by Sunbeam). With the advent of smart technology, however, you can use your slow cooker as a rapid pressure cooker as well, according to whether you remembered to start that stew cooking before you went to work or need to make a quick meal when you get back home. Of course, some foods just taste better when pressure cooked, so you might not want to slow cook them at all. The Breville Fast Slow Pro offers you not only the ability to do slow cooking but 11 different pressure cooking settings, depending on which one you think is appropriate for the meal you're planning to prepare.

The Breville is fully automated and has an on-screen menu that lets you select between vegetables, rice, risotto, soup, stock, beans, poultry, meat, bone-in meat, chili & stew or dessert. Or you can choose the custom option and take control yourself, assuming you know better than an ultra-intelligent automated appliance how your meal should be cooked. (It seems likely that a lot of experienced cooks are going to dive straight for that custom option and make their meal the way they want it -- and more power to them!) The Breville has a steam-release valve that will adjust itself according to what you're cooking and how much steam pressure you want inside the pot working on the food. Top and bottom sensors monitor the food to make sure it's pressurized and cooked all the way through. The slow cook option will work for up to 12 hours if you have a long day ahead of you.

Automated cookers aren't new to the marketplace. For a slow cooker from the original Crock-Pot inventors (or at least trademark owners), compare the Breville to the Sunbeam Crock-Pot 5-in-1, which will also saute, roast and steam but doesn't have pressure cooker options. Or for a multifunction cooker that will do everything except ice cream, look at the Instant Pot IP-Smart or the Gourmia GMC680.