I don't have a pressure cooker - I'm usually not in that much of a hurry. (Well actually I think there may be a really big one that I used for canning ages ago hiding somewhere in our garage, but I'd probably want a smaller one if I was going to do meal cooking in it.)

I have a slow cooker also from ages ago but don't usually use it. My DIL has taken it to potlucks at work to heat things. I have a slow cooker base for one of my try ply pans that we used during our kitchen remodel - but I also haven't seen a reason to use it after that.

If I want to do a slow cooker recipe, I just throw the things in a dutch oven and put it in my oven at low heat - usually 250 for the recipe time. I think the results come out the same and I don't have to worry about having something hot on the counter for hours with a toddler running around the house. She has figured out how to push a chair up to the counter to investigate something that interests her. She understands that the oven and the range top have "hot" on them.

The pressure cooker gets the tenderizing and water absorption of long cooking done in a short time, but I don't know that it gets all the flavor blending and flavor changes of long cooking.

I have all three and use them for different applications.

Pressure Cooker: Usually to quickly tenderize a tougher cut of meat for use in another recipe (cooked chicken for chicken salad, etc.) I'm really just learning to experiment with this one.

Slow Cooker: LOVE it! I can put an entire meal in there and go off to work (full-time, gone 10 hours/day). If it only needs to cook 5-8 hours, I use a plug-in type timer set accordingly.

Dutch Oven: (Mine is a big 8-qt cast iron one). It's bigger than my slow cooker. I can put an entire meal in it and use the oven. I can use a rack and not have the meat "boiling" in the liquid. I can sear a roast in the same pan and take advantage of all the pan drippings. I can cook other things in the oven at the same time and the house smells great on a winter day!

For me, it depends on my mood, what else I'm doing that day, the weather, etc.

Deanna

May, This is an excellent question and I'm eager to see the responses. I am trying to turn things into space, so I need to know what will suffice and what will do double duty.

Cathy

Well, I'm want of those (many, here) that have all three. I even have not one but three crock pots, but I have to say that I don't use the crock pot as much as I did prior to getting my pressure cooker.

The pressure cooker mimics the all day cooking flavor of the slow cooker, but in about 1/3 of the time. And, you have the burner on only minutes instead of hours.

I still like cooking in my Le Creuset French Oven either on the stove top or in the oven, especially if I have had the oven on to bake bread or bake a cake.

Yep, I'm an "equal opportunity gadget" girl and I think I am in good company here!

I use all three but at different times for different recipes.

I could give up the slow cooker which I mostly use to transport and keep food at the proper serving temp. if I'm bringing a dish somewhere. I also use it to keep things warm when entertaining, especially this time of year. I never really loved the flavor & texture of the dishes I made in it from scratch. DD loves hers & uses it at least 2 nights each work week.

Love the results I get from my LC Dutch oven. I think a lot has to do with being able to brown things on the stovetop before finishing with the long low cooking in the oven - it adds a layer of flavor you don't get with other methods. Love the warmth and aroma cooking in it imparts - like the Beef 'n Beer that's cooking as I type!
Don't use it much from June through August, though. Even at low heat, I don't want the oven on for 3+ hrs in the summertime!

We love vegetables, especially fresh green beans, from the pressure cooker. They cook quickly, keep their color and texture. Also love making vegetarian chilis, stews and soups in it. I'm not too inclined to change some of my favorite recipes so that they'll be PC friendly, but I would like to add a few new ones. I haven't been able to find many good PC cookbooks.

I currently only have aDutch Oven....and I have 4!!
I gave the PC to my daughter....who I think either ditched it or never uses it.
I see no need for a slow cooker with Dutch Ovens and a couple of ovens...does the same thing if you set the oven low enough. But I don't like food that has bees steeping at a low temperature in it's grease and making mush out of any veggies in it!
It's the ability to brown the meats and then add whatever else and cook that I love about a Dutch Oven....and neither of the other 2 cooking methods allow for browning or searing of the foods....and that's where you get the good flavors.
Why do you suppose some recipes call for making stock out of roasted and browned bones and veggies?
Linda C

I'll chime in and say "me too!" ;-) I have all three and it just depends on my mood, the time I have available, and what I'm making.

I love my PC for things like mashed potoatoes in 8 minutes, or a quick beef stew in 20 min during the workweek; however, I have to say the flavors of something cooking in my Dutch oven all day seem better to me. They're more rich, condensed, and carmelized IMO.

I use my crockpot when I don't want to bother with a thing after work. I can throw a quick meal in and set it on medium for the 8 hours. I come home and I have very little to do. Plus it's great for simmering spaghetti sauce for hours, reheating mashed potoatoes without them drying out, and many other really easy, good dishes.

I don't think I would want to live without any of the three, but if I HAD to, I would eliminate the PC. In theory, I can do everything I do in my PC with another dish/appliance, but it takes more time. It's strictly for convenience and energy savings, which is great during the summer!

I have all three as well.

PC's are excellent timesavers--steamed artichokes in 12-14 minutes instead of 45. Excellent for quickly tenderizing cuts of meat. (Great curry dishes in 20 minutes.) And sometime this week I'm gonna make corned beef & cabbage in just a little more than an hour. And I find that I prefer osso buco made in the PC to the non-PC way. Also, with a PC I can make foolproof risotto with hardly any effort and very little time, so I end up making risotto more often. (Indeed, Kuhn Rikon markets a small PC as a 'risotto maker'.)

Dutch ovens are great for unfussy cooking; starting something on the stovetop and then finishing them in a slow oven is their forte. If you like this technique, take a look at Molly Stevens' All About Braising. Great resource.

I have found that since I got into PC cooking I don't use my slow cooker as much. Slow cookers are great for stews, chili, beans and other things where the timing isn't critical--but the pressure cooker is very good on beans and grains as well, in about a third the time. If you want to work more grains and beans into your menus, a pressure cooker really is worthwhile. Lorna Sass, the pressure cooker expert, has written a pressure cooker cookbook precisely aimed at vegetarians. (See the link.)

If I had to give up any one of those gadgets, it would be the slow cooker. I definitely wouldn't give up my PC, and I really like the enameled cast iron Dutch ovens as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: vegetarian pressure cooker cookbook

Thanks for the replies. I guess my conclusion is that they really are all working toward the same goal.

amck, good point about using the slow cooker to transport hot food or keep it warm. I need to keep that in mind when thinking about dishes to bring to pot lucks.

Also, I'd love your recipe for Beef 'n Beer. I'm pretty creative with chicken but for some reason, when I cook beef in the PC or DO, it's pretty much always the same!