I admit it... we're Ninja junkies. If you've been following us you know that we love our Ninja Foodie pressure cooker/multicooker. What you don't know is that we also have a Ninja indoor grill, a Ninja double-drawer air fryer, a Ninja Creami ice cream maker, and a Ninja Thirsti carbonated drink maker. Counting the Ninjas... yep, that's all.
Or that was all! I just ordered Ninja's three new multicookers: the PossibleCooker, the Combi, and the Speedi. Here they are!
You might be wondering why I needed these devices when the pressure cooker does everything. There are a couple of reasons, the first being that it doesn't do everything! Another reason is that these new devices are easier to use, faster cooking, and more energy efficient.
And another reason is... recipes! The Instant Pot and the original Foodi have been around for years, and there are dozens... if not hundreds... of cookbooks available for them, and recipe sites and Facebook groups dedicated to them.
So I went looking for cookbooks for the new cookers. I have Kindle Unlimited, so I can check a book out, look at it, and return it. I did it with books for these appliances, and I was shocked... shocked, I tell you!
Ninja Combi two-level multicooker. Functions (depending on model): combi meal, combi crisp, combi bake, steam, proof, rice/pasta. air fry, bake, broil, pizza, toast, sear/saute, slow cook, sous vide.
I found a lot of books where the author had clearly taken air fryer and pressure cooker recipes for the Foodi and Instant pot, changed the name of the device in the recipes, and published a quick book hoping to make a quick buck. Many of the recipes I looked at called for selecting the PRESSURE setting on the device. None of the three new cookers are pressure cookers!
Other recipes had instructions that would be impossible to follow with the new devices. And the pictures in the books were from stock photo sites and didn't look like what could be made in the cookers. How about a fried egg made on a grill plate? Not a flat griddle... a grill plate with holes in it! I suspect that some of these "authors" didn't even own the devices and make anything on them.
Ninja Speedi two-level multicooker.
Functions (depending on model): speedi meals, steam & crisp, steam & bake, steam, proof, air fry, bake/roast, broil, dehydrate, sear/saute, slow cook, sous vide.
Now, these were the "free" (as in Kindle Unlimited) cookbooks. I'm sure there are professionally done Ninja appliance cookbooks with good recipes in them. But to find out I would have to buy them, read them, and then return them if they were "fake" recipes. That would take a lot of time that I don't have to spare.
I think there's a need for more good cookbooks for these devices, with recipes that have been developed and tested on the devices, and with photos of the food that was made on the devices. In other words, with real recipes.
Ninja PossibleCooker Pro.
Functions: slow cook, sear/saute, steam, keep warm, sous vide, braise, bake.
So I've decided to write my own cookbooks for the new cookers, as well as the others that I already had. And maybe any new ones that Ninja comes out with... if I can find room for them! I might need to change a spare bedroom into a Ninja Kitchen. If I had a spare bedroom!
So you'll be seeing more Ninja recipes on the site. These devices really are amazing. I've used all of them, and I'm still trying to figure out which one I like best. But they all excel at different things. For example, I think the Combi is going to be great at casseroles, especially since the pan that comes with it is the same volume as a 9x13 baking pan!
But as wonderful as they are, I'm not giving up our original Foodi. There are some things that will always work better in a pressure cooker.
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