With the way life is progressing, there are situations where you can’t waste any time. Enter the instant pot. Instant pots are great for a variety of cooking methods, whether it be pressuring cooking or even making yogurt. Instant pots can make foods range from roasted chicken to cheesecake. The world is your oyster when it comes to using an instant pot. In the case that you’ve bought one for the first time, you’re in luck! This is the perfect article for you.
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How long does instant pot take to preheat?
It takes about 10 to 15 minutes for an instant pot to preheat. Like most kitchen items such as an oven, there needs to be time for the kitchen item to heat to the selection you set. Make sure to be aware that depending on what brand of an instant pot you have, the preheating time could vary.
Another thing to consider is if you already have food inside the instant pot while preheating, the more food that’s in the instant pot could result in a longer preheating time. Being aware of some of these precautions will make cooking with your instant pot all the more instant.
How many instant pots have exploded?
Contrary to popular belief, instant pots don’t really explode. There are exactly 10 built into modern instant pots safety procedures that help in the prevention of any unsafe practices. In the case that something dangerous was happening while using the instant pot, the device would simply either shut off or reduce internal pressure if the sensor detected any sort of issue.
Of course, there are still situations where frequent improper use can cause injury to the cook. There have been a few instant pot injuries from places like California, Texas, and Louisiana. Dealing with an instant pot, although having perks, can still cause serious injury if not taken care of properly. Pressure cookers can reach heats of up to 250ºF. This is 40ºF above boiling water.
There are a few ways to keep yourself safe from the wrath of your instant pot, however. Make sure to use enough water in your instant pot, but not more than half of the pot. This is to help to not overflow, but still using enough after to prevent any explosion from happening. Also, please never try to deep fry food in your instant pot, as explosions are more likely to happen this way, and no one wants to deal with scalding oil getting anywhere near their skin.
Another precaution to take to not leave your instant pot unattended for too long. This is especially important for foods that expand, such as rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. In general, just attend to your instant pot as often as you can.
This cooking method isn’t really a “set-it-and-forget-it” type, so make sure to keep an eye on your food, and you should be fine.
What are some foods I can cook in my instant pot?
Since the instant pot’s second name is the multicooker, there are a wide range of foods you can make. Depending on your purpose for buying an instant pot, there are even more foods than you may have anticipated you could make with an instant pot.
Some of these foods include pancakes, yogurt, cheesecake, and even flan. Searching for instant pot recipes will normally give you food choices such as slow-cooked meats, stews, chilis, and soups, but many people can go their whole lives without knowing that they can use their instant pots to make cheesecake right at home.
However, the downfall of these food choices being cooked in your instant pot is that it doesn’t make the recipes any more “instant.” In fact, in an instant pot recipe like pancakes, it actually takes longer to prepare, so keep that in mind when trying recipes like these.
In the case of more standard recipes that can be cooked in instant pots, the world is your oyster. Slow-cooked meats, sauces, potatoes, ramen, broths, and many other food recipes are great to use for your instant pot.
What are the benefits of using an instant pot?
There are a plentiful amount of reasons why you should pick up an instant pot on your next trip to the store, if you haven’t already. Instant pots are incredibly energy efficient.
Since the inner pot of the instant pot is heavily insulated, this means that less heat is exerted when being used. Another way that instant pots are energy efficient is that the pot requires less liquid to reach a boil. Compared to other methods of cooking, pressure cooking overall can help you reduce both your cook time and energy usage by around 70%.
Pressure cooking can also help retain nutrients from water-soluble vitamins. In some cooking methods such as boiling, important water-soluble vitamins can be removed which can significantly remove their nutrition value. Another great benefit of having an instant pot is the fact that it can help to destroy unwanted bacteria.
You can even use your instant pot as a sterilization tool for items such as baby bottles or mason jars. How have you not rushed to the store to pick one up for yourself already?
Is an instant pot better than a slow cooker?
The battle of the slow cooker and the instant pot has been a question itching consumers for a few years now. Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get a mix of answers. Luckily, there have been tests on both the instant pot and slow cooker in a number of categories to see which kitchen appliance prevails on top.
To start off, the price of the slow cooker was around $25 cheaper than that of the instant pot, depending on which brand you buy. For some, this isn’t a huge deal-breaker, but it’s still something important to note. The next category that was tested was that of clean-up.
The instant pot prevails in this category for its stainless steel cooking pot compared to the slow cooker’s stoneware pot. The next category was ease-of-use which the slow cooker won. The slow cooker has only four buttons as well as the user interface being easy to understand. The instant pot, on the other hand, has a lengthy manual as well as an 18-button interface which can be a bit intimidating for new consumers to these types of cooking methods.
However, after giving the instant pot for a spin (not literally), it can become just as user friendly as the slow cooker. Another category that was tested was on versatility. The instant pot won by a landslide. With its countless cooking functions such as making yogurt, making sauce, rice cooking and many more, the instant pot is a great option for versatile cooking than that of the slow cooker.
There are advantages and disadvantages of both the slow cooker and the instant pot, but the verdict states that if you’re looking for something that’s easy to clean and extremely versatile for cooking, then picking up an instant pot is definitely something to consider.
Even with its more expensive price tag, it’s somewhat intricate cooking methods as well as lack of starting recipes, there are just so many things that the instant pot achieves better than the slow cooker. Happy cooking!
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