Tefal RK302E15 Multicook 8-in-1 Multicooker, (4 Portions), 600 W, 5 Litre Silver

Product Information

It promises to cook pretty much anything and everything, with eight different cooking modes: roast, bake, sauté, boil, fry, fondue, slow cook and steam. But the reality is that it’s quite a simple appliance.

On test, as well as excelling at steak, we were also impressed by the Ninja Foodi Max's ability to perfectly cook a variety of dishes, from beef chili to fries. The large capacity is ideal for those that have several mouths to feed, although the multi-cooker is bulky and takes up a lot of space on a countertop. Our one gripe with the Duo Crisp is that, unlike Ninja, Instant Pot doesn’t provide in-depth instructions or detailed recipe booklets with its products, meaning you’ll have to figure things out as you go. Aside from a little trial and error though, the relative economy, range of features and top-drawer performance of the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid all make it our overall favourite product from the brand – and one of our favourite multi cookers currently available. The Tefal’s build quality is impressive for a mid-priced cooker. The machined steel finish is very fingerprint resistant and practical, while the big handles and detachable cable let you carry the whole thing to the table for serving. It comes with a rice paddle, measuring cup and steaming tray. The top major sensor has an open circuit or there is a short circuit. You will need to send this to a Authorised Service Centre for repair. Why does the "E1" error code appear on the LED screen? While it might be on the large side, the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 is aesthetically pleasing and well designed, with a clear and readable digital display and easy to use controls. You can switch between three modes – pressure cooking, air frying and steaming – as well as 11 different cooking functions. These include classic functions such as slow cooking, air frying, and roasting, as well as two new “combi-steam” functions, which combine steaming with baking or air frying for fluffier bakes and juicier, more tender meats.

It’s a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a steamer and more!

There’s no denying an Instant Pot is a great kitchen appliance but you may be wondering if it’s really worth it? Or will it simply end up as another kitchen gadget that languishes on your countertop gathering dust?

Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are two of the biggest names in the multi-cooker world and are regularly compared to see which is best. Both brands create a wide number of appliances including everything from air fryers to blenders. 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.

The best multi cookers you can buy in 2023

Instant Pots and other multi-cookers come in an array of different capacities ranging from 3 quart / 3 liters right up to 8 quart / 7.5 liters, so knowing which size Instant Pot is best for you can be confusing. If you’re looking for an Instant Pot clone that’s a bit more affordable, this is a good option. The 6l capacity is enough to accommodate a small family whether you’re cooking rice, curry, soups or stews. Better still, the inner bowl is dishwasher safe, making it relatively easy to clean. You can set the temperature for anything from 80 to 240°C. The only other feature it offers that a saucepan on a hob doesn’t do just as well is the countdown timer: you can choose the cooking time safe in the knowledge that it will turn off automatically when it’s done. A safer option if you want to pop out and leave the cooker running. It’s basically a large metal pan with an electric element in the base, a lid on top to keep in the heat, and simple controls that let you set the temperature and cooking time. So it’s essentially a saucepan with built-in heater.

The ultimate in versatile cooking appliances, the 8-in-1 Multi Cooker from Tower is the ideal tool for the busy cook. Allowing you to whip up all manner of meals in no time at all, you can boil, roast, braise, fry, saute, grill and much more with a 5 litre capacity making it easy to cook delicious meals on a large scale. With an adjustable temperature control you can cook everything from stews and casseroles to slow roasted meats, steamed vegetables and even fish dishes, easily and using only one appliance. As you might expect, the larger and more feature-heavy appliances from Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are more expensive, but generally speaking, Ninja models are normally more expensive. All of the best multi cookers will have preset functions for slow cooking, baking and either rice or steaming. Some multi cookers, such as the Instant Pot and Tefal All-In-One, can also pressure cook. These are a good option if you cook a lot of meat joints and want to achieve slow cooker-style tenderness, but don’t have time to wait around. What’s more, the thermostat seemed poorly set up. The idea is that the green light goes on when it’s heating up and turns off when it’s up to temperature. With most appliances, you’d expect this light to go on and off every couple of minutes. The JML’s light went on and off every 15 seconds, leaving you feeling disconcerted: was the pan up to temperature or not?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. The inner pot can be used on the stovetop to sear food before cooking, too, and has handles, so you can take the pot straight to the table. On top of that, the steam release switch is one of the easiest and safest steam release methods we’ve used when testing the pressure cook function on a multi-cooker and the steam valve has a cover to reduce splashes and noise too. The controls are intuitive, though, and the delayed start option is superb – why don’t more cookers have these? You can very easily set it so that your rice, porridge, veggies etc. are ready at the right time. There are two minor criticisms though: you can’t delay the start of a slow cooking programme (for example, to prepare a dish the day before you want to eat it, but only cook it for 10 hours) and delayed start only lets you set food to be ready from 2 to 15 hours, in 1 hour increments. What if you want your rice in 1 hour’s time? Or in 3.5 hours? Still, very few cookers offer a delayed start, so the Tefal is a vast improvement in this respect. Do not use your appliance. To avoid any danger, have it replaced by an approved repair centre. The rice cooker is on but the start light is not flashing, why? And the results are superb. Overnight chilli was cooked perfectly, even though the Tefal’s instructions don’t tell you whether to follow a recipe’s cooking times for a “low” or “high” slow cooking. Rice was timed beautifully and washing up the cooking pot was no bother at all.