Unlike the Instant Pot, the Dream Cooker doesn’t rely on a ton of presets. It only has four modes: pressure cook, slow cook, saute/sear, or keep warm. But this stripped down set of functions actually makes it more versatile, as weird as that sounds, because you aren’t tempted to rely on presets and the preset sort of food they make. Everything will come out the way you want it instead of the way the manufacturer of your multi-cooker thinks it should be. While this requires a bit more knowledge of the basics of pressure-cooking and slow-cooking than say, pressing the Poultry button on the Instant Pot, I liked it much better.
I tried my best to find something the Dream Cooker couldn’t do well. I made applesauce with the slow cooker function, cooked Japgokbap that I had forgotten to soak, pressure-cooked a whole chicken (then crisped the skin in the Wonder Oven). It was easy to clean, too, and I never had to pull it out of a cabinet or down from a high shelf, because the Spice colorway I chose looked really good with my freshly painted pistachio cabinets.
After a week, my Instant Pot Duo was out on the sidewalk with a FREE sign taped to it.
The Wonder Oven
Unlike the Dream Cooker’s slick shell, the Wonder Oven looks like it came straight from a Toys “R” Us. But according to the brand, this thing could Air Fry, Bake, Roast, Toast, Broil, and Reheat. It also features a steam infusion option and allegedly doesn’t require preheating.
For my first test, I decided to toss the Wonder Oven a softball. I am deeply obsessed with Snow Days healthyish Pizza Bites, which are like if Totino’s pizza rolls actually tasted good and contained nutrients instead of just being quick and comforting. My old CRUXGG toaster oven–slash–air fryer hybrid would consistently burn the outsides while leaving the interiors still frozen, so I was curious to see how the Wonder Oven would do. I popped them in the air fryer basket, and eight minutes later I was eating the platonic ideal of a pizza roll. The outsides were delightfully crisp and positively golden, and the interior was pure cheesy, saucy goo.
Source link
