Tefal CY505E40 All-in-One Cooker review: a great multicooker for families

Multicookers have become a popular, must-have appliance in the kitchen nowadays. Not only do they provide convenience and capabilities to rustle up delicious meals, but they can also save us precious cooking time. And while the market is full of competing big brands, the Tefal All-in-One pressure cooker is certainly one not to underestimate.

A brand known for reliability, the Tefal All-in-One is a versatile, electric pressure cooker that offers more programs and functions that you’ll ever need (it’s in the name!). For those who enjoy cooking up a feast, it comes with a large 6-litre capacity which can easily hold large quantities at a time, making it ideal for larger households.

Best of all, it comes with a very affordable price tag, making it a worthwhile consideration. I put the Tefal All-in-One cooker to the test to find out if it can perform just as well as its more expensive counterparts, and if it's one of the best multi-cooker you can buy.

Tefal CY505E40 All-in-one Pressure Cooker/Multi Cooker

Specs

• Power: 1600W
• Capacity: 6 litres
• Pre-sets: 11
• Cooking functions: Pressure, steam, slow cook, simmer, brown, bake, baby food, oatmeal, rice
• Weight: 5.8 kg
• Size: 34 x 34 x 39.7 centimetres
• Included: Measuring cup, spatula, steam basket, trivet, recipe booklet

Unboxing the Tefal CY505E40 All-in-One Pressure Cooker

The Tefal All-In-One Pressure Cooker was easy to lift out of the box, with minimal fuss (and packaging). Design-wise, it looks attractive and sleek in a black and stainless steel design and has a neat LED display screen and panel.

Due to its extra large, 6-litre capacity, it does seem a little bulky on the worktop compared to other brands. So if you have limited space or a cluttered worktop, you’d need to bear this in mind. What’s more, it has a hinged lid, making it easier to open and dish out, without leaving wet circles on the worktop. However, if you have low hanging cabinetry like myself, you will have to locate the cooker towards the edge when you need to open.

• See the best slow cookers

The Tefal cooker comes with several accessories including a steaming trivet, measuring cup, white spatula and drip pan for collecting steam. Another bonus is the handy recipe booklet packed with 30 dishes to help get you inspired at mealtimes.

Cooking in the Tefal CY505E40 All-in-One

If you’re a beginner to multicookers, the Tefal All-in-One cooker seems a tad tricky to use at first without thoroughly reading the manual. I had to carefully read to understand what the basic functions are.

In addition, the front control pad looks a little overwhelming and can be difficult to figure out at first glance. For instance, there isn’t a clearly labelled Start/Stop button like on other models. Instead, the start button is an icon (which you’ll find out in the manual), and you’d need to stop each program at the end by pressing Cancel.

In any case, beginners will certainly appreciate its 25 preset programs to choose from, making it suitable for just about every cooking need. Not only can it pressure cook, steam cook and bake, but it can also make baby food and oatmeal, amongst many others. There is also a DIY option if you want to customise your own recipe timings.

All the programs are listed in the instruction manual, and you’re bound to find a new dish to try out in the recipe booklet. This will tell you what programs you need to use, temperature and the correct time to set it for. You can choose between temperatures of low, medium or high, depending on preference.

Once I got confident with the settings and process, I found it easier to use and cook dishes in. When you select the program of your choice and time, the LED display turns to a circular rotation to signal the cooker is getting ready. This is followed by a timer display to start counting down the suggested time. It has a one-button pressure release at the end of each program, and the hinged lid proved to be convenient. Especially since I have very little worktop to place a separate lid down.

Overall, I enjoyed the flexibility of the Tefal All-in-One cooker, and the countless options available. The Keep Warm function also came in handy when I had to step away for an hour for a meeting and came back to piping hot food.

Pressure cooking goulash

There were so many tempting dishes to choose from in the recipe book, but I decided to first try out the popular goulash, using cubed cuts of stewing beef. This recipe utilises the Brown program, which I used to sauté my onions for about 5 minutes whilst stirring them around. After adding my meat and other ingredients to the pot, the timer beeps, at which point you press the Cancel button. I was surprised at how quickly the meat browned in the oil within a short time.

Next, I pressed the Pressure Cook program followed by the timer button, to decrease the time as instructed in the book. I then closed the lid and pressed the Start icon to start the cooking process.  As suggested, the goulash took just 20 minutes to cook, with an extra 5 minute browning time. Once the timer beeps to indicate the end of the process, you’ll need to open the pressure valve to release the steam before pressing Cancel again.

Considering the minimal time it had taken to prepare and cook, the goulash results were impressive. The meat was soft, tender and had retained much of its delicious flavour. The tomato-based sauce was able to thicken slightly, without needing further reducing. Bear in mind though, the pot is quite deep so it can be awkward to serve the contents onto a plate without making a mess. However, this is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

Pressure cooking basmati rice

I decided on cooking basmati rice to compliment the goulash. Rice can be one of those tricky dishes that can either be too soggy or undercooked if not done properly. I measured a cup of rice to a water, using the measurement lines inside the pot as a guide. Closing the lid, I selected the Rice program, set the timer to 9 minutes before pressing the Start. Once again, after it beeps, open the valve to release the steam, which seemed to be quite a lot.

I was a little sceptical that the 9 minutes would be sufficient to cook my rice to perfection. I tend to use a rice cooker to achieve my ideal fluffy rice, so I was keen to find out what the outcome would be. Surprisingly, the results were fluffy rice with a soft, consistent texture. In fact, it made a rather tasty addition to the goulash recipe.

Cooking chicken cacciatore

I do enjoy a good chicken side dish and so opted for the chicken cacciatore recipe in the booklet. Again, this uses the Brown function, which I used to heat up the oil and cook the chicken for about 10 minutes. This was able to cook relatively quickly compared to my conventional saucepan. I removed the chicken from the cooking pan, to stir in the onion to cook. Once it beeped, I pressed Cancel. I then added the remaining ingredients before selecting the Pressure Cook program.

As instructed, I increased the timer to 15 minutes, closed the lid, and pressed the Start icon. I must say that the results were not as impressive as the goulash dish, as I found the chicken to be slightly dry in places. However, this could have been resolved if I added more water into the pot. In any case, the dish was still tasty and flavoursome.

Cleaning the Tefal All-in-One Electric Pressure Cooker

Only the accessories are dishwasher safe, but cleaning the inner pot is easy and doesn’t take long to handwash. The inner pot has a non-stick coat, which means there were no food residue to scrub off. In addition, you can quickly clean the cooker exterior and give the inside of the lid a good wipe. One thing to note is, the chrome is prone to picking up fingerprints and smudges, but this can be resolved with a lint-free, micro cloth.

Should you buy the Tefal All-in-One Electric Pressure Cooker?

If you’re looking for a top multicooker that won’t break the bank, the Tefal All-in-One cooker is a great option. With its 25 one-touch programs, it’s incredibly versatile, and you’re guaranteed to find a setting for just about anything. Plus, if you’re new to the world of multicookers, it takes the guesswork out of cooking and will make mealtimes a breeze. The cooking performance is impressive, producing tender and flavoursome meat dishes and fluffy basmati rice.

Another feature is the large 6L capacity bowl, which was more than enough to cook a family meal, and still have leftovers! Having said that, the bowl is rather deep when serving, which doesn’t bode well with the small spatula that comes with the cooker.  Also, it doesn’t have an auto shut-off feature for safety, so you’ll have to remember to switch off after long periods. However, it’s a great performing multicooker and at such an affordable price, certainly worth the money.

About this review, and the reviewer

Cynthia Lawrence is a freelance lifestyle and homes/interiors journalist and writes for various national publications. With an unhealthy obsession for all things homes and gardens, she also has an interior design blog. When she’s not spending time surfing online for decor inspiration to revamp her 1930s home, she is busy reviewing some pretty awesome home appliances.

A regular contributor to Real Homes, she has written for Livingetc., Gardeningetc., Ideal Home, T3.com, Top Ten Reviews and House Beautiful amongst others.