We’re living in a golden age of small kitchen appliances (see: slow cookers, Instant Pots, and air fryers). We’re also in a not-so-golden age of abundant counter space. So what’s a home cook to do?

Alina Bradford has been writing how-tos, tech articles and more for almost two decades. She currently writes for CNET's Smart Home Section, MTVNews' tech section and for Live Science's reference ...

An Instant Pot surrounding by bowls of ingredients ready to go in the slow cooker - Qwart/Getty Images ...

The Instant Pot and the slow cooker may look alike, but they function a lot differently. The name of each appliance says it all — slow-cooked food takes hours, while the Instant Pot knocks it out ...

RELATED: All the Slow Cooker Recipes You Could Ever Want The Instant Pot is a multi-cooker—it has settings for pressure cooking, slow cooking, sautéing, and yogurt making, and it can probably do your ...