If you are looking for an electric pressure cooker and noticed the Bella Multifunction Pressure Cooker in the bestseller list you might be wondering if a cheap pressure cooker can offer as much as the most popular brands like the Instant Pot Duo.
We are going to give you here today our best selection of the pros and cons offered by the Bella by picking out some of what we think are best parts to help you make your decision.
The Bella Multifunction Pressure Cooker is a 6 litre capacity, low priced, smart looking kitchen appliance. With a stainless steel outer it will fit nicely in any kitchen if you want to leave it out on the worktop. The big question though is why should you buy the Bella?
Check out some of the pros and cons below:
Pros
Cooking Functions
The Bella Multifunction Pressure Cooker is called that because it is more than just a pressure cooker. Of course that is the main function and the Bella can cook food up to 70% faster than normal cooking methods making it ideal for throwing together a fast tasty meal, but for the times when you have a bit more time to play with you can take advantage of the slow cooker for making a hearty stew or any other of your favourite recipes and if you like to sear your meat and vegetables before you add the stock you have a sear function on this pressure cooker too which lets you keep all of the flavours in one pot. You also have a rice and risotto function if you want to do away with your rice cooker. You can make a different meal every day of the week and if you need more ideas any pressure cooking recipe will work in this pressure cooker.
Simple to use controls
When you’re looking at kitchen gadgets that offer a lot of functions one of the main problems is that they can be complicated to use and that will stop you from using it, but on the Bella Pressure Cooker the controls are very simple to use. If you want to use the pressure cooker function you add your ingredients, secure the lid, set the pressure valve to pressure and then select the cooking function button on the front of the unit that you need. You can select stew or meat or just pressure cook if you want to manually choose your own time.
There are 2 selections for each button and a light will show beside the one selected. Each button on the front will give a pre-set time selection which can be used as is or can be adjusted with the +/- button on the top of the panel. If you want to steam cook without the pressure then just leave the pressure valve on the top at pressure release and set your time to suit what you’re cooking. If you want to slow cook select the button on the front and set the pressure valve on release, it will give you a time of 4hours but you can change that up to 12 hours so you can set it up on the morning and let it cook to be ready for your evening meal. There is also a 2 hour delay function if that helps you when preparing your meals. You can press that button and set your delay before selecting your cooking function.
Safety built in
As in all electric pressure cookers there are built in safety measures, like a built in alarm to inform you if you haven’t put the lid on correctly. Once the lid is on and the pressure is building there is a pressure valve which regulates the pressure inside to keep it at the right level and there is a floating safety valve in the lid which makes sure that the lid is locked once it gets under pressure and can’t be opened again until the pressure is fully released after the cooking is finished. The pressure can be released naturally but that can take a little bit of time, this is used when you are making soup or something that might spray through the pressure valve, normally though you would just turn the valve to pressure release and within a minute or two the pressure is released and you can open the lid. There is also a boil dry protection just in case you don’t put enough water in.
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Cons
Lack of accessories
This is a great pressure cooker but you will have issues if you want to buy extra accessories. The Bella has a 6 litre non-stick inner pot, a stainless steel steam tray and a gasket to seal the lid, all parts that people tend to want to replace at times. Some customers have got around this by using Tower T16005 parts, they look very similar in design and it could be an option if you scratch your inner pot or want a spare sealing ring.
Lack of steaming space
The steam rack fits into the inner pot and rests on a ridge around the pot. The problem is that it sits at the top third of the pot so it doesn’t leave a lot of space to put your food. There are a couple of options to get round this, you can invest in a Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker 3 Piece Set which gives you a steaming rack for the bottom of the pot and you also have a vegetable holder which can sit on that rack or on the original steam trivet while you cook something else underneath.
Takes up space in the kitchen
This is a large kitchen item and some people think it takes up too much space in the kitchen, if you don’t want to leave it out you would have to find cupboard space for it but I do feel that you will use it often enough to justify leaving it easily available on the worktop.
Conclusion
This Bella Multifunction Pressure Cooker offers a lot of options for a cooker at the cheaper end of the market. It seems to me that the pros far outweigh the cons and you won’t be disappointed if you invest in this piece of kitchen equipment.