In a fast paced world and fast food too convenient, the dinner table for many families has become a thing of the past.  Pressure Cookers and Air Fryers can help take the “pressure” of family mealtime a little less stressful, if we only knew how to use them and feel comfortable operating them.  The Pressure cooker, is not your grandmother’s pressure canner. If only this modern family could feel more comfortable using them.The Instant Pot was a hot seller and under many Christmas Trees this past Christmas.  However, many times, these gadgets are only used once and in some cases never even taken out of the box.  The Pressure Cooker can offer many benefits for the family and there had been a lot of interest expressed in our community to better understand how to use them.Because of the overwhelming interest in the Pressure Cooker/Air Fryer Class, 2 classes were needed.  The first class had over 50 participants registered in the first week, so a second class was schedule.

Because the Crittenden County Extension Service does not have a FCS agent, the other agents in the office have been trying to continue educational programming to the community.The FCS agent from Lyon County was asked to do the program for our county. The participants signing up for the program were very eager to learn how to use their new gadgets and be able to provide healthy meals for their families. After both of the classes were completed, 99% of the participants were able to identify the two main types of pressure cookers and better understood the safety features.  94% of the participants were more likely to purchase a pressure cooker or air fryer.The reason many used for this purchased would be the ease, fastness of cooking and creating healthier meals for their families. 93% of participants surveyed replied that they will cook more meals at home now and 96% felt they could cook healthier meals at home. 98% of participants felt they would save money by cooking at home instead of eating fast food or pre-cooked/prepared meals.

Many participants listed that the main thing they learned as a result of this program was how to provide quicker and healthier meals for their families as well as being cost saving to the monthly budget. The things the participants liked most about the program was gaining hands on information for free and learning about the many features of a pressure cooker and to not be scared to use them.   Participants felt more confident after the classes and were very appreciative of the wealth of information that was given to them as well as healthy recipe ideas.