On gimmicky gadgets and such

I have long loathed gimmicky tools, gadgets, and appliances that come on the market which simply do the same thing some other appliance does, or purposes to short cut something that isn’t really that big of a chore in the first place, mostly because I’ve been sucked in before earlier in my life with all this crap, and they have all end up being a fanciful once and done thing, and end up cluttering up my work space or cabinets.

That being said, I’m here to say that I was wrong about the Instant Pot. It is not a gimmicky nonsensical gadget that takes up space, soon to make it’s way to the back of my cabinet. Yes, it’s another pressure cooker, and yes, it’s another crock pot, and rice cooker, and yes It does sous-vide (sort of), and makes yogurt, and browns meat and veg in the pot, all of which I can do on the stove top, oven, or with other equipment, but the fact it comes in one appliance is admittedly pretty damn cool, ridding one’s self of other appliances, and the programming being pretty much idiot proof is also a bonus for people who might not cook often or struggle in the kitchen, so there’s value in that for those folks. The temp controls are a pretty neat bonus as well though, in maintaining temp after shut off without overcooking.

This brings me to how I came upon one. I purchased one as a gift for someone last year in an attempt to encourage them to cook more at home, but to no avail. They are admittedly too lazy for even this, so it ended up being regifted of sorts back to me, and so I gave it a whirl before handing it off to someone else. After some work with it, It’s made the cut, and is staying. I’m certainly not expecting it to be an every day or even every week go to, but I think it really serves a purpose for our hectic lifestyles today, and can see the value in cooking more than just chicken stock in a pressure cooker and such, but hopefully making life just a little easier when I forgot to plan my meals out properly for the week because life got in the way.