The first time I saw the thing, it was on my cousin’s crowded kitchen counter, half-buried under a basket of onions and a pile of school papers. A brushed-steel dome, a little larger than an air fryer, with a lid that looked straight out of a sci‑fi movie. She pressed one button and the machine went from sautéing onions to steaming green beans, then finished by crisping salmon in the same pot. No pan swap. No oven preheating. No chaos.
Ten minutes later, lunch was on the table and the sink was almost… empty.
I caught myself staring at my own bulky air fryer in the corner.
Suddenly it looked strangely old-fashioned.
And this new gadget had one promise written all over it.
Why the air fryer suddenly feels a bit outdated
The air fryer used to be the rockstar of the countertop. Crisp fries, fewer calories, less guilt. Then came this new generation of all‑in‑one cookers, quietly stealing the spotlight. These devices don’t just blow hot air around potatoes. They pressure cook, slow cook, sear, steam, bake, reheat, dehydrate, and of course, air fry. All in one pot that rarely leaves the counter.
Once you’ve seen a stew go from raw ingredients to meltingly tender in under an hour, then turn into a bubbling, slightly crispy gratin without changing dish, you start asking new questions.
Like: why am I juggling five appliances when one can basically run the kitchen?
Take Léa, a 34‑year‑old teacher who swore by her air fryer for years. She bought a 9‑in‑1 cooker almost by accident, during a late‑night online sale, mostly for the pressure‑cook function. Three months later, the air fryer is in a cupboard, and she can’t remember the last time she used her traditional oven.
She preps in five minutes before work: frozen chicken thighs, rice, stock, carrots. Pressure cook. At 7 p.m., she pops off the lid, sprinkles cheese and breadcrumbs, and switches to air‑crisp. The same machine that braised the meat turns the top golden and bubbly. One pot, two textures, zero drama.
Léa told me the biggest change wasn’t the recipes.
It was the headspace she regained.
What’s happening is simple kitchen Darwinism. The first wave of air fryers solved one pain: “I want something crispy, fast, and not soaked in oil.” The new all‑in‑one cookers attack the entire weekday cooking problem. They collapse nine methods into a single, programmable device that thinks in steps instead of single actions.
That shift changes behavior. You start planning meals around “set it and forget it” sequences rather than watching pans. You stop heating the big oven for one dish. You use less energy, less water, fewer tools. *The gadget stops being a novelty and quietly becomes infrastructure.*
Once a machine does that, the competition is not another fryer.
It’s your stove.
How to actually use a 9‑in‑1 cooker without getting overwhelmed
The smartest way to approach this kind of device is to treat it like a tiny, obedient kitchen assistant. Start with two core modes: pressure cook and air crisp (or “air fry” mode). That combo alone replaces a pot on the stove and a tray in the oven.
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For example, throw in chickpeas, canned tomatoes, spices, and broth. Pressure cook for flavor and tenderness. Then open the lid, add feta, switch to crisp mode for a few minutes. Suddenly you’ve got something that tastes like it simmered all afternoon and finished under a grill.
Once you’re comfortable with that, add a third mode to your routine: sauté.
That’s where deep flavor really starts.
A common trap is diving into the 50‑recipe booklet that comes in the box and burning out on complexity. We’ve all been there, that moment when the new appliance feels like homework instead of help. Start with the meals you already cook, not with influencer recipes.
If you usually roast vegetables, try the roast or air‑crisp mode with the same seasoning. If you cook a lot of soups, shift those to pressure cook. Let’s be honest: nobody really does this every single day, but even using the device three times a week can transform your evenings.
Be kind to yourself on the learning curve.
You’re not failing if you still grab a pan sometimes.
At some point, the machine stops being “gadget” and starts being ritual. That’s what I heard from Marco, a busy nurse who cooks after late shifts:
“Before this, I’d just order food because the idea of cooking felt huge. Now I throw things in the pot, hit two buttons, take a shower, and dinner is… just there. It’s like having time I didn’t know I owned.”
He keeps a small handwritten list on his fridge, a kind of cheat sheet of what his 9‑in‑1 does best:
- Pressure cook: dried beans, stews, whole chicken in under an hour
- Sauté: onions, garlic, quick browning before slow cooking
- Steam: vegetables, dumplings, fish without turning on the stove
- Slow cook: weekend ragù, pulled pork, hands‑off sauces
- Air crisp / fry: potatoes, wings, reheating pizza with crunch
- Bake / roast: cakes, brownies, vegetable trays, small roasts
- Dehydrate: fruit snacks, kale chips, leftover bread into croutons
- Reheat: leftovers that taste fresh, not rubbery
- Yogurt / ferment (on some models): homemade yogurt and kefir
His rule is blunt but effective: **if it fits in the pot, the pot gets the first chance.**
The quiet revolution happening on our countertops
There’s something strangely symbolic in watching the air fryer slide to the back of the counter while a 9‑in‑1 takes center stage. It’s not just about saving space. It’s about how tech is reshaping the most ordinary part of our lives: what we eat on a Tuesday when we’re tired and hungry and the day went sideways.
For some, this new device is a way to cook more from scratch without spending their whole evening chopping and stirring. For others, it’s a financial tool: less takeout, better use of inexpensive cuts and dried staples, lower energy bills compared to running a big oven for an hour. And for many people, it’s quietly becoming a kind of domestic equalizer, where the “non‑cook” in the couple can handle dinner by pressing three buttons.
The air fryer isn’t dead, strictly speaking. It’s just turning into a feature rather than a star. Nestled inside these all‑in‑one machines, the same hot, circulating air that crisped our fries is now just one option in a much larger toolbox. The thrill is no longer “I can make crunchy potatoes with less oil.”
The new promise sounds closer to: “I can feed myself decently, on a bad day, with almost no effort.” That shift may be less Instagrammable, but it’s far more powerful.
If the first wave of kitchen gadgets was about fun, this one is quietly about survival with a side of comfort.
And that’s a trend worth watching – and maybe, worth clearing a bit of counter space for.
| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| 9 cooking methods in one | Pressure cook, slow cook, sauté, steam, bake/roast, air fry, reheat, dehydrate, plus special modes | Replaces multiple appliances, frees counter and cupboard space |
| Time + energy savings | Faster cooking with pressure + crisp combos, less need to preheat large ovens | Quicker weeknight meals, lower electricity use, fewer last‑minute takeout orders |
| Gentle learning curve | Start with 2–3 modes, adapt favorite recipes instead of chasing complex ones | Less overwhelm, more consistent use, better return on the investment |
FAQ:
- Question 1Can a 9‑in‑1 cooker really replace my air fryer?
- Answer 1Yes, most models include an air‑crisp or air‑fry mode that uses the same hot‑air circulation, often with more precise control and better capacity.
- Question 2Is the food as crispy as in a dedicated air fryer?
- Answer 2In many cases, yes. Larger baskets and better heat distribution can even improve results, but you may need to tweak time and temperature the first few tries.
- Question 3Does pressure cooking make food taste “industrial”?
- Answer 3No, pressure cooking mainly speeds up tenderizing and flavor infusion. Browning ingredients first with the sauté mode helps build deep, home‑style flavor.
- Question 4Is it complicated to clean?
- Answer 4Most have a removable non‑stick pot and a crisping basket that can go in the dishwasher. The main body only needs a quick wipe after cooling.
- Question 5Do I need to be good at cooking to use one?
- Answer 5Not at all. Basic recipes rely on layering ingredients, selecting a mode, and pressing start. The device is often friendlier to beginners than a traditional stove‑and‑oven setup.
