Zega Digital Pot review: Cook dinner for eight people in 30 minutes | Nick Tsagaris

 REVIEW

As I write this, I’m gnawing on tender chunks of chuck steak from the beef goulash I casually whipped up last night in my new hi-tech Zega Digital Pot.

This meal was a three-hour cooking event of which I only spent 30 minutes taking part in. Have I just discovered the latest cookware revolution? Well, you may think I’m just describing good ol’ slow cooking, and if so, you’re kind of right. However, Zega has set out to revolutionise slow cooking and one pot meals.

The Zega Digital Pot isn’t just any old slow cooker.

Zega’s Intelligent cookware caught my eye when I found out it was designed by the team who created Magic Bullet, which still holds a place in my heart and cupboard.

Their special Zega pot heats up in minutes and can cook on its own for hours even when you take it off the stove, requiring no gas or electricity to finish cooking safely. The kicker – (the digital version) also notifies you through the Zega app when your meal is ready to eat and it can keep your food warm for you until meal time.

It’s able to do this with its patented double wall thermal insulated design that can keep your food safe to eat for approximately four hours. And to put it simply, it has a fancy lid that has a built in high precision thermometer that monitors this.

Obviously, I had to try all of this for myself to find out if it was all it’s cracked up to be!

To get started I had to charge the pot’s hi-tech lid with the provided charger, download the Zega app and create an account.

Notably, the pot also comes with a steaming rack and which doubles as a grater. Its clever design means you can simply flip the rack upside down and it sits at the top of the pot so you can grate cheese or vegies straight into it. I haven’t tried this yet, but – mind blown!

In the app there was a reasonable number of recipes to choose from, some were quicker than others but I chose beef goulash as it took about three hours to make. The recipe was fairly simple – steak, onion, capsicum, mushrooms, potatoes and spices. Sounded tasty and very do-able for someone like me who likes a fast and easy meal.

The Zega Digital Pot tells you when it’s hot enough and then you can take it off the stove.

It said it would take 30 minutes to prepare. Well, guess what? I used a stopwatch to time the prep process for you because I’m thorough like that and it took me 28 minutes and 48 seconds to complete (at a swift pace!).

Once I had done this (which included some searing and boiling in the pot), following all the instructions carefully, I was able to press ‘start cooking’ in the app and take the pot entirely off the stove. Magic.

As promised, almost three hours later my phone started screaming at me (a very effective and loud beeping made sure I certainly didn’t miss it) so I went to check on the meal.

Lo and behold the food was well cooked and still very warm, even in the middle. And, I can’t forget to mention the meal was really delicious and the giant pot allowed me to make a huge six to eight servings with the one recipe.

I can see this product being such a money saver and relief for people who already love slow cooking their meals.

Not only does it take away almost all of the cost of electricity or gas needed to make your meal but you don’t have to worry about leaving the house while your Zega pot is cooking. You could even transport a meal while it’s still finishing cooking (though the pot will be piping hot on the outside until it starts to cool).

My only hangup was that the pot is quite heavy, so it may be difficult for elderly people to lift it up or move it around. Though the handles are large and well shaped to assist you.

The digital edition retails for $299 and the analogue edition is $249. Although a little pricey, I think it would pay dividends if you intend to use it frequently.