Last year it was the hero of TikTok dinners, buzzing through frozen fries and “healthy” nuggets like a weeknight savior. Now, in more and more homes, it’s being nudged toward the backsplash, half unplugged, a little greasy, slowly morphing into an overpriced bread bin. In its place stands a louder, bulkier challenger, proudly flashing nine glowing icons: steam, bake, air fry, slow cook, sauté, grill, reheat, dehydrate, yogurt.
The ads promise one thing above all: one machine that does everything.
But between exhausted parents, gadget-loving foodies, and die-hard traditionalists gripping their cast-iron pans, this new multi cooker is more than an appliance. It’s sparking a debate right at the center of the home.
Scroll through any cooking group and the pattern is obvious. A cluttered countertop. An air fryer, a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a toaster oven — and now, a towering multi cooker with more buttons than a cockpit. The same question always follows: “Which one do I keep?”
The air fryer, once crowned king of easy dinners, is slowly fading from the spotlight. This nine-function heavyweight claims it can do the same job — and eight more — all inside one stainless-steel body.
Take Maya, 34, who cooks after work every night. A year ago, she posted “Air fryer changed my life” above perfectly crisp chicken wings. Recently, she shared a new photo: a chunky multi cooker on sale, the old fryer pushed aside like a forgotten ex.
Now she steams dumplings, slow-cooks bolognese, and bakes banana bread in one single pot. The air fryer only reappears on weekends, when her partner insists the wings “just taste better” in the old basket.
Brands saw this coming. They watched people collect gadget after gadget, then complain about cables, counter space, and endless cleaning. Their solution is simple: one device to replace your air fryer, slow cooker, steamer — sometimes even your oven.
For some, it feels like freedom. For others, it feels like betrayal.
And that’s where the divide begins.
The Nine-Function Dream: Smart Shortcut or Flavor Compromise?
The real magic of the multi cooker lies in what you could call “stacked timing.” You can sauté onions on high heat, switch to pressure mode to speed things up, then let everything rest on warm — all without transferring a single ingredient.
For anyone racing home from work, that feels revolutionary. Toss in lentils, vegetables, spices, stock, tap a preset, and walk away. The machine manages temperature shifts, cooking duration, even steam release.
Suddenly, “I don’t have time” turns into “Dinner’s ready.”
Yet this is exactly what frustrates traditional cooks. Chefs argue that steam-heavy cooking softens flavor, that a slow roast in the oven can’t be replicated by a preset button. One baker tested her bread in the multi cooker: the loaf came out pale, soft, almost shy.
Then she pulled bread from her old Dutch oven. The crust crackled. The crumb opened beautifully. The kitchen filled with that unmistakable bakery smell.
“Show me a button that can do this,” she laughed, tapping the machine like it owed her an apology.
Convenience won the round. Soul won the argument.
Beneath debates about crispness and caramelization lies a deeper question: what do we actually expect from daily cooking?
If dinner is survival between Zoom calls, the nine-function machine feels heroic. Tap, wait, eat.
If cooking is about ritual, texture, and that slow relationship with heat, the preset-filled tower can feel suspiciously impersonal.
Truthfully, most of us live somewhere in between. We crave deep flavor on a Tuesday — but we also don’t want to cry over onions at 8:45 p.m.
How to Use the Multi Cooker Without Losing Your Mind — or Your Taste
The happiest owners treat the machine like an assistant, not a replacement for skill. They ignore half the glowing icons and rely on three or four functions that fit real life: pressure cooking for beans and stews, air frying for leftovers, steaming vegetables, slow cooking for batch meals.
One small habit makes a big difference: decide on texture first. Crispy? Tender? Saucy? Brothy? Then choose the function that gets closest to that goal.
The button should never come before the intention.
A common mistake is trying to use every feature because the manual says you can. Too many ingredients, too much liquid, too many steps — and everything ends up tasting like seasoned mush.
Start with something you already know well. Your chili. Your lentil soup. Your roasted vegetables. Adapt just one recipe to the new machine. Change one variable at a time.
If it fails, it’s not a judgment on your skills. It simply means the preset wasn’t designed for your stove, your seasoning style, or your weeknight stress.
“Technology doesn’t replace cooking,” says Léa, a blogger who tests kitchen appliances. “It just makes a bad Tuesday a little less terrible.”
Use it where it shines: long-cooked dishes, grains, and set-and-forget meals become easier and cheaper.
Keep one specialty tool you truly love — maybe your Dutch oven, maybe your original air fryer.
Wash it the same evening; dried starch inside a multi cooker is a small disaster waiting for morning.
Resist every trend; two reliable recipes beat ten forgotten ones.
And remember: buying the machine won’t magically turn you into a meal-prep guru.
What This Appliance Rivalry Reveals About Modern Life
Behind the jokes about air fryers versus nine-function giants lies something quieter: our complicated relationship with time, effort, and what we consider “real” cooking.
Some people feel guilty for using machines at all, as if true devotion to food requires three pots on the stove and a sink overflowing with dishes. Others feel guilty for neglecting their expensive gadgets, as if productivity should extend to every corner of the kitchen.
The multi cooker isn’t just reshaping dinner routines. It’s reshaping how we measure effort.
We’ve all stood in front of the fridge, phone in one hand, delivery app open, while an expensive appliance stares back from the counter. The debate isn’t really about saying goodbye to the air fryer or welcoming a new all-in-one marvel.
It’s about accepting that some nights call for perfectly crisp chicken in a cast-iron pan — and other nights call for soup that cooks while you’re in the shower.
Both can share the same kitchen.
The online arguments will continue: “Real cooks don’t use presets.” “My multi cooker changed my life.” “Air fryer forever.”
But the real decisions happen offline — in lived-in kitchens where something simmers, something beeps, and someone quietly chooses what stays and what goes.
| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Test, don’t worship, the nine functions | Focus on 3–4 modes that match your real habits instead of chasing every preset | Reduces overwhelm and helps the appliance fit your actual life |
| Keep one “joy tool” alongside the multi cooker | Hold onto the pan, Dutch oven, or **air fryer** that still gives you pleasure to use | Protects flavor, texture, and your personal cooking identity |
| Use the gadget to ease weekdays, not replace cooking | Reserve it for beans, grains, stews, and batch meals that usually drain your time | Less stress, fewer dishes, and more energy for the meals that really matter to you |
