I've just had to look up an air fryer to see how it works! Not heard of them before. Our version of chips is small wedges of roastable homegrown potatoes, parboiled, tossed in a little sunflower oil and cooked at 200C for 30 mins in the oven
I do slow cook all meat, but I do it in a le Creuset covered roaster in the oven, on low heat. One of my sons lives near the le Creuset factory outlet so has found some excellent bargains, so I have several, lucky me
. I so love meat which is so well cooked that it is moist but falls to bits. The tiniest hint of pink or, argh, blood has me gagging (I don't know much parasitology, but just enough to be certain all food we eat is thoroughly cooked.) The joints I cook tend to be quite large, and the slow cooker we have is quite small so maybe that's why I haven't found it useful.
I've been researching cooking pulses, including in a pressure cooker, online and from a book I have called something like 'the Science of Cookery'. I soak the beans overnight then tip out the soaking water, as it must contain the oligosaccarides that cause gas formation, and we couldn't have that
Previously I have always done the 10 min fast boil to deal with the toxin (phytohaemagglutinin - I cheated and looked that up), but on thinking about it, I don't think that should be necessary in a pressure cooker. As the temperature at which food is cooked in a pressure cooker is higher than at normal atmospheric pressure, by cooking at a higher temp, there should be no danger of the toxin not being eliminated - unless my logic has totally deserted me. Any views? The toxin damages the gut lining and causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea; it's apparently even worse if the beans are cooked at a low temp, so a temp high enough to destroy the toxin is essential.My previous pressure cooker, bought in about 1974, used to make a most alarming hissing, and always seemed to be on the point of exploding, but it never did so I got used to it and my initial terror of the thing was soon lost. The new one is so quiet that I thought I was doing it wrong, but the food cooked in the right time, so it must just be that they are now quiet and not scary at all. As long as timings are not exceeded the food should be perfectly cooked and not mushy, and retains all its nutrients apparently. For stews and suchlike though I do love the crispy dark bits which form around the top of the cooking food in a normal oven, and are so full of flavour.<< Pressure cookers also excel at puddings >>
In spite of my lack of waistline, we never eat puddings except a spoonful at Christmas, tempting though they are