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Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out

MULTIZ321

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Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out
By Melissa Clark/ Food/ A Good Appetite/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"People have fallen in love with their Instant Pots.

They may like their blenders, cherish their slow cookers and need their food processors.

But the Instant Pot — a device that combines an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker and yogurt maker in one handy unit — sends even mild-mannered cooks into fits of passion.

You find the “L” word over and over in the 15,000 or so product reviews on Amazon. And if you click over to Instant Pot’s Facebook community page, you’ll find more than 360,000 members sharing their undying affection alongside their recipes for chili. (A typical post: “I’m having an affair. My husband said he wished he would have never given me the Instant Pot for Christmas.”)

If you’re a cook and got through last year without bumping into people who couldn’t stop talking about their Instant Pots — or any of the other multifunctional electric pressure cookers on the market (Breville and Cuisinart both make versions) — then you won’t have to wait much longer...."

01APPE6-blog427.jpg

The Instant Pot combines an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker and yogurt maker in one unit. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times


Richard
 

wackymother

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I have a different brand of electric pressure cooker (an Elite Maximatic) and I do indeed love it. I use it almost every day. Do you have one?
 

MULTIZ321

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I have a different brand of electric pressure cooker (an Elite Maximatic) and I do indeed love it. I use it almost every day. Do you have one?
I was going to buy one for myself as a Christmas present but my wife persuaded me to change my mind. We don't have room to store it on the counter nor in the closet and she didn't think I would use it enough to make it worthwhile.

I am intrigued by the concept though.

Richard
 

Talent312

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Is there an optimal number of small appliances on a countertop per square foot?

Here's a list of the 10 most popular from www.overstock.com ...
  • Coffee maker. I'd include a coffee grinder.
  • Toasters and toaster ovens.
  • Blender.
  • Rice cooker.
  • Food processor.
  • Mixer.
  • Electric grill.
  • Slow cooker.
An Instant Pot could substitute for 2 of those.

------------------------
A vignette from the Mary Tyler Moore show:
Mary: Do you need to wash a pot you only used to boil water?
Rhoda: I don't know. I only use paper pots.
------------------------
.
 

Passepartout

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I dunno. Cook's illustrated couldn't recommend ANY electric pressure cooker. For a food processor, I use a 10" chef's knife. The rice cooker is plastic and goes in the microwave. The slow cooker is- well, a slow cooker. I think this is a gadget I can live without. But if someone has a particular food that can't be prepared (at least as well) otherwise, I'm all ears.
 

wackymother

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No...of course there's nothing you can ONLY make in a pressure cooker. But it's much more useful than a slow cooker, so if you already have a slow cooker, an electric pressure cooker takes the place of that but can do more. We have a very small kitchen, and I keep the pressure cooker and the coffee maker and the toaster out, and that's it.

Stovetop pressure cookers do give you more control and more pressure. But electric pressure cookers let you set the cooking time and walk away, or turn your attention to making something else on the stove.
 

CO skier

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Stovetop pressure cookers do give you more control and more pressure. But electric pressure cookers let you set the cooking time and walk away, or turn your attention to making something else on the stove.
I bought a stovetop pressure cooker about 10 years ago for the sole purpose of cooking tamales in a reasonable amount of time (15 minutes per batch versus an hour steaming on the stove -- huge time savings). Now I use the pressure cooker about 5 times per week (sometimes 3 times in the same day) for soup stocks (cannot be beat for this in terms of time), rice, beans, chuck pot roasts, pulled-pork roasts, soups, literally dozens of uses. Peel and coarse chop potatoes, then into the pressure cooker for 15 minutes, then whip in a Kitchen Aid Mixer -- done 45 minutes before boiling the potatoes on the stove.

So easy to clean, I have never put it in the dishwasher, but it could go there, and that is the biggest difference between it and an electric cooker of some kind, which could not tolerate even water immersion for cleaning.

There is a learning curve with stovetop pressure cookers versus push-button electrics. That is probably the main advantage that the electrics have.

Any type of pressure cooking beats regular stovetop cooking by a light year.
 
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geist1223

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My son and DIL love their Instant Pot so much they now own 2 or 3 of them. They brought one with them on our trip to the Big Island. They gave us one for Christmas. We use it about twice a week.
 

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As much as I love to cook and appreciate kitchen tools, I've never heard of the Instant Pot!
We do have an electric pressure cooker, but we don't use it all that much--and we use stove-top pressure cookers for canning.
 

wackymother

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So easy to clean, I have never put it in the dishwasher, but it could go there, and that is the biggest difference between it and an electric cooker of some kind, which could not tolerate even water immersion for cleaning.

Electric pressure cookers have an insert pot. You put the food in the insert pot, cook, and then you can lift out the whole insert for serving (for example, if you want to pour the soup into a tureen) and washing. You can put them in the dishwasher, too! I bought two stainless steel inserts for my cheapie electric pressure cooker, so now I can make (for example) soup in one pot and then rice in the other.

You never need to wash the main part of the electric pressure cooker, so it doesn't matter that you can't put it in water. It's like...I guess it's like removable grill plates on an electric grill, or the pitcher on a blender. You only need to wash the business part of it! :)
 

wackymother

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As much as I love to cook and appreciate kitchen tools, I've never heard of the Instant Pot!
We do have an electric pressure cooker, but we don't use it all that much--and we use stove-top pressure cookers for canning.

I think using a stove-top pressure cooker for canning is safer. You need the higher pressure.
 

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I love my Instant Pot. I use it for cooking rice, beans, quinoa, stocks, soups, ribs (tender in 25 mins, then throw them on the grill), stews, and recently creme brûlée. I love not having to watch it. I can just plug it in, set it up, and go to work.
 

klpca

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I received one from my daughters for my birthday. I'm still learning, but it is a pretty nifty gadget. I first heard about it when I followed Skinnytaste on facebook - she uses it frequently and includes directions for using it in many of her recipes. I gave one to my mom for Christmas and she is delighted. She has only used it to make soups but is quite impressed.

It is supposed to be able to replace a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a pressure cooker although I have only used the pressure cooking feature. My favorite thing to cook in it so far is pork chops - it has a saute setting so you can brown them right in the pot, then deglaze the pot and add the liquid to finish pressure cooking them in about 15 minutes. I also tried pressure cooking a whole chicken - it worked fine but I would only do that if I was planning on shredding the chicken because it was so tender, but it was nice to not heat the whole kitchen by using the oven, and it cooked quickly (45 min +/-).
 

wackymother

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I received one from my daughters for my birthday. I'm still learning, but it is a pretty nifty gadget. I first heard about it when I followed Skinnytaste on facebook - she uses it frequently and includes directions for using it in many of her recipes. I gave one to my mom for Christmas and she is delighted. She has only used it to make soups but is quite impressed.

It is supposed to be able to replace a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a pressure cooker although I have only used the pressure cooking feature. My favorite thing to cook in it so far is pork chops - it has a saute setting so you can brown them right in the pot, then deglaze the pot and add the liquid to finish pressure cooking them in about 15 minutes. I also tried pressure cooking a whole chicken - it worked fine but I would only do that if I was planning on shredding the chicken because it was so tender, but it was nice to not heat the whole kitchen by using the oven, and it cooked quickly (45 min +/-).

Have you ever made ribs? That's very rewarding! You cook them in the pressure cooker and then brush on the sauce and brown them under the broiler. So fast and the ribs are really good!
 

klpca

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No but I can't wait to try!
Have you ever made ribs? That's very rewarding! You cook them in the pressure cooker and then brush on the sauce and brown them under the broiler. So fast and the ribs are really good!
 

klpca

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We have our coffee maker on the counter and the Kitchen Aid (too heavy to move!). The rest live in the cabinets in the kitchen. We don't have a rice cooker, an electric grill or a toaster oven.

Btw, not on the list, but an immersion blender is my favorite gadget. I think that everyone should have one.

Is there an optimal number of small appliances on a countertop per square foot?

Here's a list of the 10 most popular from www.overstock.com ...
  • Coffee maker. I'd include a coffee grinder.
  • Toasters and toaster ovens.
  • Blender.
  • Rice cooker.
  • Food processor.
  • Mixer.
  • Electric grill.
  • Slow cooker.
An Instant Pot could substitute for 2 of those.

------------------------
A vignette from the Mary Tyler Moore show:
Mary: Do you need to wash a pot you only used to boil water?
Rhoda: I don't know. I only use paper pots.
------------------------
.
 

LisaH

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Count me as one who loves the InstantPot! I use mine almost everyday to cook rice, soup, meat (use pressure cook settings), congee, yougurt, and even the Chinese fermented sweet rice (Jiuniang). This the appliance that I use most often.
I recently also got into Sous-Vide, which is another story :)
 

wackymother

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Count me as one who loves the InstantPot! I use mine almost everyday to cook rice, soup, meat (use pressure cook settings), congee, yougurt, and even the Chinese fermented sweet rice (Jiuniang). This the appliance that I use most often.
I recently also got into Sous-Vide, which is another story :)

Is there a sous-vide attachment for the Instant Pot? What does it do?

Also, macaroni and cheese! Super easy and very creamy and yummy.
 

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I'm in... just purchased one on Amazon for $129. Hopefully not too big for the counter space. :)
 

wackymother

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I received one from my daughters for my birthday. I'm still learning, but it is a pretty nifty gadget. I first heard about it when I followed Skinnytaste on facebook - she uses it frequently and includes directions for using it in many of her recipes. I gave one to my mom for Christmas and she is delighted. She has only used it to make soups but is quite impressed.

It is supposed to be able to replace a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a pressure cooker although I have only used the pressure cooking feature. My favorite thing to cook in it so far is pork chops - it has a saute setting so you can brown them right in the pot, then deglaze the pot and add the liquid to finish pressure cooking them in about 15 minutes. I also tried pressure cooking a whole chicken - it worked fine but I would only do that if I was planning on shredding the chicken because it was so tender, but it was nice to not heat the whole kitchen by using the oven, and it cooked quickly (45 min +/-).


Mine isn't an Instant Pot, and I think it has higher pressure than an Instant Pot, but I do chicken soup in 24 minutes with natural release.
 

LisaH

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I don't think The 5 Qt have yougurt function, is this important to you?
 
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