Last Tuesday, my neighbor knocked on my door holding her air fryer like it was a garage sale reject. “Want this?” she asked, barely waiting for an answer before setting it on my porch. I was confused—this was the same woman who’d evangelized about crispy bacon and perfect reheated pizza for two solid years.
“I got something better,” she said, pulling out her phone to show me a sleek black box sitting on her counter. It looked like a spaceship had a baby with a rice cooker. “Nine cooking methods in one machine. I made bread this morning, steamed dumplings for lunch, and now I’m slow cooking dinner. All in the same device.”
Standing there with her abandoned air fryer, I realized I was witnessing the end of an era. The kitchen gadget that had ruled countertops everywhere was about to be dethroned by something that promised to do it all.
Why Your Air Fryer Suddenly Feels Like Yesterday’s News
Walk into any apartment kitchen today and you’ll see the same story: counters crowded with single-purpose gadgets that once seemed revolutionary. The air fryer sits next to the rice cooker, which neighbors the slow cooker, which competes for space with the toaster and blender. Each one promised to change your cooking life. Each one delivers on exactly one thing.
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“People are tired of playing appliance Tetris every time they want to cook,” says kitchen design consultant Maria Rodriguez. “They want their counters back, but they don’t want to sacrifice functionality.”
Enter the new kitchen gadget that’s quietly replacing them all: the nine-in-one multi-cooker. This isn’t just another Instant Pot revival or a glorified slow cooker. It’s a complete cooking system that air fries, steams, bakes, grills, sautés, ferments, dehydrates, slow cooks, and pressure cooks—all in one compact unit.
The appeal goes beyond just saving space. While air fryers excelled at making frozen foods crispy, they hit a wall when you wanted variety. You couldn’t steam vegetables, slow cook a stew, or bake a loaf of bread. This new kitchen gadget removes those limitations entirely.
The Nine Ways This Gadget Transforms Your Kitchen
The real magic happens when you see all nine cooking methods working together throughout your day. Instead of switching between multiple appliances, you’re working with one intelligent system that adapts to whatever you’re craving.
Here’s how the nine cooking methods stack up against traditional appliances:
| Cooking Method | What It Replaces | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Air Frying | Traditional air fryer | Crispy foods with less oil |
| Steaming | Steamer baskets | Vegetables, dumplings, fish |
| Slow Cooking | Crock pot | Stews, soups, tender meats |
| Pressure Cooking | Instant Pot | Quick beans, rice, tough cuts |
| Baking | Toaster oven | Bread, cakes, casseroles |
| Grilling | Indoor grill | Meats, vegetables with char |
| Sautéing | Stovetop pan | Quick stir-fries, browning |
| Fermenting | Fermentation jars | Yogurt, kimchi, sourdough starter |
| Dehydrating | Food dehydrator | Fruit leather, jerky, herb drying |
The versatility extends beyond just having multiple options. You can start by sautéing onions, switch to pressure cooking for rice, then finish with a quick air fry for crispy toppings—all without changing containers or transferring food.
“The seamless transitions between cooking methods are what sets this apart,” explains culinary instructor James Chen. “You’re not just replacing appliances; you’re unlocking cooking techniques that were previously too complicated for weeknight dinners.”
Real Kitchens Are Already Making the Switch
The shift from air fryers to multi-cookers isn’t just happening in kitchen showrooms—it’s playing out in real homes where people are discovering what cooking freedom actually feels like.
Take Sarah Martinez, a working mom from Denver, who replaced four countertop appliances with one nine-in-one unit. “Monday I slow cooked chicken thighs while working from home. Tuesday I steamed broccoli for the kids and air fried salmon for adults—same machine, same time. Wednesday I actually made bread because why not?”
The psychological shift is just as important as the practical one. Air fryers trained us to think in terms of limitations: what can I make crispy? The new kitchen gadget flips that question: what do I want to eat today?
Restaurant chef and cookbook author David Kim sees this as a fundamental change in how people approach home cooking. “Instead of working around your appliances, your appliances work around your appetite. That’s the difference between a gadget and a tool.”
The numbers support this shift. While air fryer sales peaked in 2021, multi-cooker sales have grown 40% in the past year, with nine-in-one models leading the surge. More telling: resale sites are flooded with barely-used air fryers as people make room for their new all-in-one systems.
What This Means for Your Kitchen Counter
The ripple effects go beyond just swapping one appliance for another. When you can bake bread, ferment yogurt, dehydrate fruits, and still air fry your favorite foods in the same device, you start cooking differently. Meal planning becomes more creative. Food waste drops because you have more ways to use ingredients. Counter space opens up for actual cooking preparation instead of appliance storage.
The convenience factor can’t be overstated. No more digging through cabinets to find the right appliance. No more choosing between steamed or fried based on what’s already plugged in. No more washing five different appliances after attempting an elaborate meal.
“This new kitchen gadget isn’t just changing what we cook—it’s changing how we think about cooking,” notes food technology researcher Lisa Park. “When the barrier to trying new techniques disappears, people get more adventurous with their meals.”
For small kitchens, apartments, and anyone tired of appliance overload, the nine-in-one cooker represents something bigger than convenience. It’s a return to cooking as exploration rather than routine, where your tools expand possibilities instead of limiting them.
The air fryer had its moment, and it was a good one. But sometimes evolution means knowing when to let go of yesterday’s revolution to make room for tomorrow’s possibilities.
FAQs
Is the nine-in-one cooker really as good as dedicated appliances?
While specialized appliances might have slight performance advantages in their specific functions, the nine-in-one cooker delivers excellent results across all methods and the convenience factor often outweighs minor performance differences.
How much counter space does this new kitchen gadget actually save?
Most nine-in-one cookers replace 4-6 separate appliances while taking up roughly the same space as a large air fryer, freeing up significant counter and storage space.
Can you really use multiple cooking methods in sequence without cleaning between?
Yes, many cooking sequences work without cleaning—like sautéing vegetables then pressure cooking rice in the same pot, or slow cooking meat then crisping it with the air fry function.
What’s the learning curve like compared to an air fryer?
The learning curve is surprisingly gentle since most functions use familiar cooking principles, and many models include guided recipes and preset programs for each cooking method.
Are these multi-cookers reliable with so many functions?
Modern nine-in-one cookers use proven technology for each cooking method and many come with longer warranties than single-function appliances, reflecting manufacturer confidence in their reliability.
What happens to all the displaced air fryers?
Many are being donated, sold secondhand, or repurposed for specific uses like reheating leftovers, while others simply end up in storage as backup appliances.
