While you can dive even deeper into how to clean an Instant Pot, you should also take a look at all the different things you can cook in them. There are all sorts of signature dishes as well as the ability to simplify easy recipes even more. Don’t believe us? Take a look at our guide on how to cook hard-boiled eggs in an Instant Pot. It’s easy, fast, and a great example of how an Instant Pot can make something that’s relatively simple even easier and hassle-free. Slow Cook (low and high temperature) – for long slow cooking of casseroles and stews and tenderising tougher cuts of meat

Rice/Steam: for perfectly cooked fluffy rice and quinoa as well as healthy steamed meat, fish, poultry and vegetables The pre-set cooking settings installed on the Sage the Risotto Plus multi and slow cooker make everything from fluffy rice, to nutritious steamed veg and fish, and tender, slow-cooked casseroles easy. It even makes creamy risotto without having to stir. The smart functions integrated into the machine ensure you have optimum conditions for whatever you’re cooking. Simply add your ingredients and press the corresponding button on the base of the machine to get started. Even the simplest of microwave rice cookers will cook grains such as quinoa and sometimes pasta as well as rice. In electric models, look out for extra cooking settings. These may include ones for specialist rice, including risotto, brown and wild, porridge, pasta, yoghurt and even cake! Rice cookers that are essentially multi-cookers will have all this. Plus 'slow' and 'fast' cook functions. Some foods taste better with time and others are perfected under pressure, which is why each cooker is highly versatile and includes multi-function settings. These settings allow you to either speed up the cooking process of your favorite slow cooker chicekn recipes without compromising on flavour or texture, or slow cook for tender results. Smart presets are designed to suit whatever you are cooking, with a custom option that puts you in control.

Not the most refined rice cooker by any stretch, but the Risotto Plus is far more versatile than its name suggests

Finally, we assess each multi-cooker on ease of use, design and instructions, before awarding it a final score. The Ninja Foodi Max doesn't have presets with defined temperatures and times for different dishes, as Instant Pots do. Instead, you'll need to refer to the cooking charts that come bundled with the multi-cooker and we found these to be comprehensive and very helpful.

This cooker uses induction heating that’s determined by AI technology, adjusting the temperature of the ceramic bowl based on the type of grains, water volume, internal temperature and the pre-selected cooking programme.Most cheap rice cookers can only cook long-grain rice and even then only to a basic standard of quality. Basmati, the curry house staple we’re all familiar with, is a long-grain rice. Pricier rice cookers can handle other types – notably short-grain rice, the type used in risotto as well as Thai and Japanese dishes, and more unusual rice-based dishes using presets chosen from a control panel on the front of the rice cooker. What’s the best feature on a dedicated rice cooker?