One meal, one pot, one appliance

Automated kitchen appliances are handy devices, and their popularity growth shows no sign of slowing. But when you combine one-pot cooking with automation, their convenience factor goes through the roof.

The Hamilton Beach Digital Simplicity Deluxe Rice Cooker/Steamer frees cooks from ever having to stir a pot. While some foods--such as rice--yield the best results if they are undisturbed while cooking, other foods and recipes benefit from active cooking methods. However, there's no reason why one appliance can't do both.

With two main cooking modes in addition to the rice or whole grain cooking modes, the multicooker can cook whole meals all in one pot. The Steam/Cook function lets users steam dumplings, vegetables, or proteins such as chicken, meat or fish, while the Boil/Simmer function starts off at a boil and switches to a gentle simmer.

The capability to just throw together some ingredients and have them reappear some time later as a delicious meal makes cooking seem almost like magic.

The convenience of one-pot meals is nice, but the multicooker's additional features highlight its usefulness in the kitchen. The cooker has a 20-cup capacity as well as  "Delay Start" and "Keep Warm"  functions. 

No matter what's on the menu, be it soup, stew, beans, or even steamed fish and vegetables, a little convenience is sure to go well with it.