Instant Pot. Why does my wife need one of these. What does it do that is better than the other 50

[Anonymous]

I use mine mostly on the weekends. I agree that it's a useful tool, but not life changing, and there's been a lot of fanciful claims that lead to disappointment.

I think the slow cooker function is crap, and still use a slow cooker for certain soups, etc.

One poster previously commented that the electronic pressure cookers aren't as good as the stovetop ones. Could you expand on that? I have been reluctant to get a stovetop PC - I am easily distracted, and nervous about the hazard issues.

[Anonymous]

beans, basically. you can go from a bag of dried beans to perfectly cooked in under an hour, with 5 minutes of prep and otherwise totally hands off.

also handy for cooking meat from frozen if, like me, you are bad at planning ahead, but quite like meals that consist of chicken thighs + delicious sauce of your own devising (or from a bottle, no judgment here).

I've tried a few other instant pot recipes and don't really get the hype for the most part. but I use it for those two things pretty regularly. I cook a big pot of beans at least once/week and do some chicken + sauce at least every other week.

[Anonymous]

I cook regularly with my electric pressure cooker. I can come home at 6 and have a hot meal ready by 7. Cleanup is a bitch, but my family is happy. I could make the same food on the stovetop, but the pressure cooker is faster and can do things (such as braise meats) that are not possible on the stovetop in the available time. I don't have an Instant-pot since I already have a good rice cooker, slow cooker, and pressure cooker. I typically brown items on the stovetop before placing them in the pressure cooker.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Can't explain it. Crock pot food is nasty. Fast crock pot food is even nastier. Resist!

It's a pressure cooker, dummy.

Same! Pressure cookers produce really disgusting food.

It's not the appliance's fault if you are a terrible cook.

I am quite confident in my cooking skills as I went to culinary school. But crock pots and pressure cookers ruin most food. They are good in very specific instances, but almost no home cook who wants to make good tasting food needs one.

If you actually went to culinary school, you would not be on the DCUM cooking forum, you would be on chef talk with all the other real chefs. Go try to make your idiotic imposter statement there and watch how fast you are crushed by the real chefs.

You can believe what you want. I did go. It was a second career for me after being a lawyer.

i completely agree and I did not go to culinary or law school Both are made for people in a time crunch or limited cooking skills.

As an Indian cook, your ignorance is outstanding. I guess that is what is to be expected when dealing with the average American.

a bad Indian cook? I am Russian btw...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:beans, basically. you can go from a bag of dried beans to perfectly cooked in under an hour, with 5 minutes of prep and otherwise totally hands off.

also handy for cooking meat from frozen if, like me, you are bad at planning ahead, but quite like meals that consist of chicken thighs + delicious sauce of your own devising (or from a bottle, no judgment here).

I've tried a few other instant pot recipes and don't really get the hype for the most part. but I use it for those two things pretty regularly. I cook a big pot of beans at least once/week and do some chicken + sauce at least every other week.

YES, this. No-soak dried beans is one of my favorite uses for the IP. And cooking from frozen, and occasionally the much-praised hard-boiled eggs...pretty much only for Easter. Even if you only used it as a slow cooker, the ability to sauté and brown food right in the pan is a huge, huge plus.

That said, I agree about some of the recipes you see online for the IP...whole chicken? No thanks.

[Anonymous]

What else can you cook besides dried beans?
I understand that in some cuisines, beans play bigger role. For example in Indian meals... which btw is excellent. But we don't eat much beans and other stuff I made in the crock pot never tasted that great. I ended up giving away the crock pot. I can't see plunking down $100 for instant pot when I can just buy a can of beans occasionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What else can you cook besides dried beans?
I understand that in some cuisines, beans play bigger role. For example in Indian meals... which btw is excellent. But we don't eat much beans and other stuff I made in the crock pot never tasted that great. I ended up giving away the crock pot. I can't see plunking down $100 for instant pot when I can just buy a can of beans occasionally.

I wouldn't get one in your case. Most of the people I know who are very devoted to their Instant Pots are serious cooks who make a lot of bean dishes from scratch and stews, chili, or braised meats.

[Anonymous]

Can someone tell me how to cook dried beans in the IP? One recipe I found had a pre-cook stage in the IP. That doesn’t save me as much time as I’d planned.

Also, can you tell me how to adjust cooking time if my meat is froze ?

I just got an IP and am experimenting. I love the hands free nature of it. Set and forget. I don’t like how long it takes to come to pressure and release.

We eat lots of beans and would like to eat more. I made hard boiled eggs in it and it was so, so easy compared to stovetop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me how to cook dried beans in the IP? One recipe I found had a pre-cook stage in the IP. That doesn’t save me as much time as I’d planned.

Also, can you tell me how to adjust cooking time if my meat is froze ?

I just got an IP and am experimenting. I love the hands free nature of it. Set and forget. I don’t like how long it takes to come to pressure and release.

We eat lots of beans and would like to eat more. I made hard boiled eggs in it and it was so, so easy compared to stovetop.

I don't have one because the reviews are so mixed I can't figure out whether it would be used. But how do eggs get easier than on the stovetop? I made eggs this morning. I covered the eggs with cold water and turned on the stove until boiling, then turned the stove off and let them sit in covered pot for 10 minutes. What's easier than that? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me how to cook dried beans in the IP? One recipe I found had a pre-cook stage in the IP. That doesn’t save me as much time as I’d planned.

Also, can you tell me how to adjust cooking time if my meat is froze ?

I just got an IP and am experimenting. I love the hands free nature of it. Set and forget. I don’t like how long it takes to come to pressure and release.

We eat lots of beans and would like to eat more. I made hard boiled eggs in it and it was so, so easy compared to stovetop.

I don't have one because the reviews are so mixed I can't figure out whether it would be used. But how do eggs get easier than on the stovetop? I made eggs this morning. I covered the eggs with cold water and turned on the stove until boiling, then turned the stove off and let them sit in covered pot for 10 minutes. What's easier than that? Thanks

Not PP, but just putting the eggs in the instant pot, turning it on, and then walking away from the kitchen until it's completely done is even easier than waiting for water to come to a boil. Also, the shells peel really easily for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me how to cook dried beans in the IP? One recipe I found had a pre-cook stage in the IP. That doesn’t save me as much time as I’d planned.

Also, can you tell me how to adjust cooking time if my meat is froze ?

I just got an IP and am experimenting. I love the hands free nature of it. Set and forget. I don’t like how long it takes to come to pressure and release.

We eat lots of beans and would like to eat more. I made hard boiled eggs in it and it was so, so easy compared to stovetop.

For 1 lb. of dried beans, I just rinse the beans well and add them to the instant pot, then cover with about 8 cups of liquid. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.

I usually use beef broth instead of just water, and add salt and other seasonings for more flavor. Depending on how firm or soft you like your beans, you can either do a quick release or a natural/slow release after the beans are cooked.

[Anonymous]

Hard boiled eggs peel insanely easily when done in the InstantPot.

Someone asked about frozen meat. You actually don’t have to adjust the cooking time. It takes longer to come to pressure when it’s frozen, so it’ll take a little longer, but you don’t have to adjust the set time. This changes if it’s a bunch of frozen meat frozen and stuck together because there’s a different surface area. So separate your meat before freezing if possible!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me how to cook dried beans in the IP? One recipe I found had a pre-cook stage in the IP. That doesn’t save me as much time as I’d planned.

Also, can you tell me how to adjust cooking time if my meat is froze ?

I just got an IP and am experimenting. I love the hands free nature of it. Set and forget. I don’t like how long it takes to come to pressure and release.

We eat lots of beans and would like to eat more. I made hard boiled eggs in it and it was so, so easy compared to stovetop.

For 1 lb. of dried beans, I just rinse the beans well and add them to the instant pot, then cover with about 8 cups of liquid. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.

I usually use beef broth instead of just water, and add salt and other seasonings for more flavor. Depending on how firm or soft you like your beans, you can either do a quick release or a natural/slow release after the beans are cooked.

I'd add that it depends on the kind of beans. for regular black beans, I use less liquid (more like 5-6 cups, unless I'm making soup) and pressure cook for 25 minutes + 10 minutes NPR. My pot takes 10-15 minutes to come to pressure; so the total time is still less than an hour). larger beans (like kidney beans) take longer. I would assume that smaller peas and such cook faster, but I haven't tried.

[Anonymous]

In the past two weeks, I've made: refried beans, split pea soup, rice, black bean soup, beef stew, mac and cheese, and pulled pork in my instant pot. I don't think I use it as much in the summer time, but in winter, it's a game changer for hands off cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm vegetarian and Indian and make food in the instantpot 3-4 times a week. There are very few dishes that I'd say actually taste noticeably better on the stove.

That said, I used the regular (stovetop) pressure cooker before my IP nearly as often, and my results are much the same. The main advantages are that (1) you can walk away from your kitchen (because it's on an electric timer), (2) you can time it on "delay" so that a meal is waiting for you when you walk in through the door, and (3) the inner pot is much easier to clean that the old-time pressure cookers. Those factors alone made it a good purchase for me.

I'm vegetarian and rarely use my slow cooker so I have been hesitant to get an Instapot. But now I'm reconsidering! Do you have any recommended books/online resources for IP vegetarian and Indian vegetarian recipes?