Jun 28, 2021
Entering Agnes Kalyonge’s kitchen, you know you are in the presence of a cook. The small space is filled with gleaming pots and pans, alongside an imposing five-burner stove, a large refrigerator, and a dishwasher — a rare appliance in Kenyan kitchens. But the imposing collection of electric pressure cookers may be the most surprising find. “Right now I am drowning in pressure cookers in this house!” she laughs. “I have so many models. I started just buying, going more complex with every purchase.”
Agnes is a food blogger who focuses on clean cooking, photographing, and filming the EPC dishes she creates from her modest apartment in Nairobi, Kenya. Her specialty is Kenyan food, with a twist for example matumbo (tripe) in the style of Indian butter chicken. “I decided to stick true to my roots,” she says, “with a bit of creativity on the side.” Along with maintaining a sizable following on her YouTube channel and Instagram account, she also does catering and has made several cooking-related appearances on local TV shows. “It all revolves around food,” she says. “I love talking about food.”
Agnes has been serving as an EPC Superuser for the Global LEAP Awards Electric Pressure Cooker Competition Usability Testing, a component of the Competition evaluating product performance and user experience with real-life Kenyan cooks. As a Superuser, Agnes has prior experience with EPCs. She is testing each nominated model over the course of two months, reporting back on each products’ benefits and pitfalls.
“A superuser is someone who uses EPCs a lot,” she explains. “We are trying to find out what we like about them, what we don’t like about them, do we feel safe when we are using them? Do they feel durable?” After several days of ordinary cooking, she conducts a controlled test with each model, cooking yellow beans, rice, and spinach to compare how much time and electricity the EPC requires to cook these Kenyan staples. “Then after you have finished the whole process,” she adds, “do you like your beans? Are they raw, are they overcooked? For rice, is it clumped together?”
“I decided I wanted to participate in Usability Testing to have products that are up to standard in Kenya,” says Agnes. Her relationship with EPCs began several years ago when she was recruited by MECS to help promote clean cooking in Kenya. When she tried her first electric pressure cooker, she was immediately struck by how quickly it cooked foods that typically take hours on a charcoal stove.
“For women, it’s a game-changer, in that you don’t feel tied to the kitchen,” she says. There are considerable health benefits as well since women and children aren’t inhaling as much smoke. But what her followers find particularly convincing is the cost of running an EPC.
“There is this perception that cooking with electricity is very expensive, but I can actually demonstrate using the energy meters that it’s not as expensive. I can configure my energy meter to show me how much I am spending, so I’m able to tell you that I am only spending ten shillings ($.09 USD) cooking my beans.”
With extensive EPC experience, Agnes is clear about which features she prefers in an EPC. “After using the smaller ones I have found that I love them,” she says. “I have come to realize is that it is really not the size that matters — you can have a huge pressure cooker and you are struggling to even sauté your onions or brown your meat. The sauté function is very important; I like building flavor in my food.” She also prefers EPCs that are well-insulated, and that comes with a users’ manual.
“I have become very passionate about clean cooking,” says Agnes. “I want to change the cooking sphere in Kenya.” She aspires to start her own business selling electric cooking appliances, leveraging both her own experience with EPCs and her in-depth knowledge of the impact they can make in Kenyans’ lives.
“I believe that food is there to be enjoyed, to bring happiness, to bring us closer together,” Agnes explains with earnest. “If I can achieve that in the EPC and share it with people, then I feel that I have touched someone, I have changed their life, and I have brought a positive impact to them.”
Check out this YouTube video to learn more about the usability testing participants.
Read on Margaret's experience, another EPC User in the Electric Pressure Cooker Usability Testing Process.
The 2020 Global LEAP Awards EPC Competition was implemented through Efficiency for Access Coalition in partnership with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS)programme and funded by UK aid. Detailed information about the products tested is now available in the newly published Electric Pressure Cooker Usability Testing Buyer’s Guide.
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About the Global LEAP Awards
The Global LEAP Awards is an international competition to identify and promote the world’s best off-grid appliances, accelerating market development and innovation. This unique program has evolved into a trusted global brand that serves as the de facto source of accurate, actionable information about the quality and energy performance of off-grid appliances. The Global LEAP Awards is implemented through the Efficiency for Access Coalition and managed by CLASP.
