REVIEW: 5 useful multi-tasking appliances for small kitchens

MAGIMIX LE PATISSIER

1/5

WHAT I LIKED

• It’s fast. It sliced its way through starchy potatoes and watery cucumbers readily, and shredded both hard root vegetables and leafier greens like cabbage equally well. I couldn’t seem to put food in it fast enough!

• There are two chute sizes – a small one that’s just right for carrots, and a wider one for halved onions and potatoes – so I didn’t need to waste time with extra cutting.

• My smoothies took just a quarter of the time it usually takes in my regular blender. Thanks to the Blendermix attachment, I got a smooth mix without having to scrape down and stir in the sides. It crushed ice well too.

• It whipped egg whites to stiff peaks in less than half the time it takes with a handheld mixer, and even heavier bread doughs were ready in a jiffy.

• I loved that the whole assortment of blades could be neatly packed away in the small accessories box provided.

• Two recipes books come with it, one of which also contains the manual. I appreciated that the recipes told me exactly which bowl and attachments to use. Even the blades are clearly labelled.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER

• Just two small quibbles about the food-processing function: I couldn’t get onions chopped as finely as with my own food processor, and the potato slices made for slightly thicker chips than I’m used to.

• The whisk attachment didn’t mix meringue so well. I noticed some sugar sticking to the bottom of the windmill-looking whisk, and I struggled to scrape them in fully. In the end, I had to carefully scoop out the rest of the meringue from the sides of the bowl, avoiding the granular bits in the centre.

• Each bowl and attachment needs to be placed over the central protruding shaft and locked into place before you can start a task. I had no problems with processing food but I ran into diffi culties when it came to baking. When I placed ingredients in the mixing bowl before fixing it onto the machine, I found it tricky to fit the bowl and dough blade properly over the shaft, without some of the dry ingredients “jumping” up and spilling.

VERDICT

A reliable workhorse for most cooking and baking needs.

Magimix Le Patissier is available at Robinsons The Heeren, Robinsons Jem, and Tott.

TEFAL PRO RICE COOKER RK8055

2/5

THE APPLIANCE

Unlike most rice cookers with a flat base, the 1.8-litre Tefal Pro Rice Cooker has a curved one, designed for heat to flow in a circular motion rather than from the bottom up, for more even cooking. 

There are four rice functions – white, brown, glutinous and Japanese – and each can be adjusted to your preferred rice texture, from soft to crispy.

Aside from rice, there are 12 cooking functions, from common ones like Steam, Slow Cook, and Porridge, to more unusual functions like Clay Pot, Baking/Dessert, Small Quantity and DIY.

WHAT I LIKED

Fluffy rice 

The Pro performed admirably in delivering fluffy grains of white rice. It also cooked brown rice, Japanese rice and glutinous rice equally well.

One-pot cooking 

Using the Clay Pot function, I stir-fried mushrooms, Chinese sausages and chicken chunks in the rice cooker (with the lid open) before adding uncooked white rice and water, and setting it to cook. I missed the thick crust that cooking in a claypot gives, but the thin, crispy edge around the rice was rather nice. Thanks to the non-stick pot, I did not have to scrub any sticky bits out.

Also read: RECIPE: Make claypot rice in minutes

A useful DIY function 

You can set the cooking temperature at between 40 and 160 deg C, and the timer from fi ve minutes to nine hours. It works great for making perfect soft-boiled eggs – 35 minutes at 60 deg C.

I also cooked Glutinous Rice with Pork Belly with this mode, from a recipe provided by Tefal. I sweated onions at 160 deg C, stir-fried pork belly, and mixed in uncooked glutinous rice before adding water. To cook, I switched to the Glutinous Rice mode. Another one-pot wonder!

Simple baking 

My basic chocolate cake turned out well. 

Also read: 3 surprising dishes you can make using a rice cooker

Skipping presoaks 

I used the Porridge function for tau suan, and the beans came out perfectly al dente after 30min. I could skip the usual hours of presoaking the beans.

A neat display panel 

The Pro comes with a minimalist display. By default, only the rice functions are shown; the other modes come up only when you hit the Menu button.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER

The rice functions lack a countdown timer, which is useful when you have a hungry family waiting for dinner.

Also read: RECIPE: Make tau suan in your rice cooker

VERDICT

A reliable and versatile rice cooker that whips up desserts, stir-fries and one-pot meals equally well.

Tefal Pro Rice Cooker RK8055, $499, is available at major department and electrical stores.

BRAUN IDENTITYCOLLECTION JUG BLENDER JB 5050 BK

3/5

FEATURES

It comes with a 900W motor, two speed settings and a pulse mode. 

MAKING SMOOTHIES

The powerful motor produced smoothies with a super smooth consistency – no pulpy fruit chunks and only a few icy bits. Even the lowest setting was very powerful.

GRINDING REMPAH

It produced a really fine mix when it came to rempah, but it was also quite noisy at grinding the spices.

CRUSHING ICE

It did this quickly with the pulse function, but it didn’t do a very thorough job. There were ice crystals left behind.

VERDICT

A powerful but noisy machine that gives the smoothest blends and finest mixes. 

 

Braun Identitycollection Jug Blender JB 5050 BK, $169, from major electrical and department stores

Hitachi Superheated Steam Microwave Oven MRO-NBL5000E

4/5

The Hitachi Superheated Steam Microwave Oven MRO-NBL5000E is a multi-tasker with a 33-litre capacity and a water tank. It’s a microwave, steam oven, convection oven, and bread maker. All accessories are included: a microwave-friendly ceramic tray, two steel trays for baking and roasting, a collapsible grill tray with lid, and a bread maker attachment. There’s even a measuring cup and spoon set, and a pair of oven gloves for further convenience.

WHAT WE LOVED


 Bread maker attachment. It worked better than some standalone bread makers I’ve tested. It had compartments for yeast and extras like nuts and dried fruit. Just like a conventional bread maker, I prepped my ingredients at night, set the timer, and woke up to freshly baked loaves. The bread had a good bronze crust, tall loaf, a relatively moist and fluffy crumb, and an even distribution of chopped walnuts and raisins.  I also baked a pound cake with it, although I’d go for “Lo” browning next time (other options are “Med” and “Hi”) so the sides turn out less crusty.   
Convection oven. Cookies placed in the centre of the tray were just slightly browner than the rest – my baking projects generally turned out great. 
Roast chicken program. This uses a Superheated Steam and Grill combo – one of my fave functions. The chicken skin was golden and crispy, and every part of the chook, including the breast meat, was tender.    
Built-in recipe progams. There are more than 200 – a good mix of Asian and Western dishes and desserts, with full instructions in the operating manual-cum-recipe book. They were easy to follow and the handful I tried turned out nicely.
LCD touch panel. Easy to navigate and it tells you which trays to use for each program, important as the steel trays aren’t microwave-safe. 
Pre-heating feature. The oven beeps when the desired temperature is reached, so I didn’t have to guess. Pre-heating was also fast, taking just 10 minutes.
Cleaning programs. Different ones for cleaning the inside, clearing the drain pipe, and deodorising the interior, which makes maintenance a cinch.


WHAT COULD BE BETTER


Too many programs and choices. I was overwhelmed by all that choice. 
Gyoza program. It was supposed to be a model of how the Steam Grill function uses the new Super Grill Tray and Lid attachments to make perfectly steamed gyoza with a crisp sear on the bottom. The gyoza was indeed juicy and moist but the browning was uneven. A good handful had almost no browning, while some were a burnt and hard.


Watch how the bread maker attachment works:



Verdict The hefty price tag is well worth it when you consider how it consolidates so many different appliances into one sleek machine – and each ones works well too.

Hitachi Superheated Steam Microwave Oven MRO-NBL5000E, $2,399, is available at Best Denki, Gain City and Harvey Norman.

 

FISSLER VITAVIT PREMIUM 6L

5/5

The modern pressure cooker is a real three-in-one vessel. Besides using it to turn tough cuts of meats tender, or making deep, flavourful soups quickly, you can also use it as a steamer, or as just a pot for everyday boiling and braising. Pressure cooking takes a maximum of 30 to 45 minutes even for tough cuts, and a mere 20 minute duration or so for soups, which makes them more energy-efficient and space-saving than slow cookers. 

USING IT

• The standout feature is the pressure vent, where the steam inside the pot is expelled in a V direction away from you. This makes depressurising less scary.

• It had visual cues about the heat. Yellow indicates that it’s reaching optimal pressure. Green: Pressure-cooking has started and you should lower the flame. Red: The temperature within is too high and you should turn down the heat or take it off the stove.

• Thanks to the Close tab on the lid, this one was dead easy to secure.

THE FOOD

• Beef stew came out almost fork-tender after 30min at high pressure, and the broth was beefy without being gamey. But the carrots and potatoes were a tad mushy.

• Chicken soup was robust and the breast meat was still moist after cooking.

VERDICT 

A dream to use in every way, it’s worth the premium price tag.

Fissler Vitavit Premium 6L, $999, available at Isetan Scotts.