Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer, Includes App With Over 800 Recipes, Stainless Steel, 6 Quart
From the manufacturer
Top reviews from the United StatesAnne P. Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE My Instant Pot! But Here's What I Wish I'd Known when I First Got It
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2016
Size: 6QtPattern Name: Pressure CookerVerified Purchase
I LOVE my Instant Pot! But I will be the first to admit that it can be a little intimidating at first,
and it can feel like it has a steep learning curve (and I'm a tech reviewer and tech lawyer,
and one of those people who generally just jumps in and figures things out without reading
the manuals ("Manuals? We don't need no stinkin' manuals!"), so for me to feel like I'm not
'getting' something ..well, yeah. So if you are feeling a little bewildered by your new Instant
Pot, *you're not alone*!) Plus, the manual does *not* include certain information that I, at least,
was looking for. Such as, how long is each pre-programmed cooking cycle? Exactly what
temperature do the various sauté settings heat to? Things like that.
So, here are a few tips that have really helped me to finally 'get' it, plus instructions for two
things that you can make in your Instant Pot that will change your life: incredibly easy
perfectly poached eggs in 2-3 minutes, and baked potatoes in 12 minutes.
First, it is almost impossible to mess up with this thing to a point of being dangerous, so if
you're concerned about the exploding pressure cookers of yore, you needn't be (I said "
almost", don't go overriding your pot's safety features and then blame me when you poke
an eye out). The lid audibly tells you when its sealed (when you turn it clockwise), and the
pot won't even build up much pressure if you haven't properly closed the steam release handle
by turning it, too, clockwise. The most likely point at which a problem could arise would be if
you try to open the lid (by turning it counter-clockwise) before all of the pressure has been
released and normalized (so don't do that). The pot visually lets you know when it's safe to open
the pot, by the float valve (the little silver post that pops up when the pot is pressurized) dropping
back down flush with the lid instead of being popped up. Think of the float valve as the reverse
of a turkey pop-up button, in the case of the float valve it's done when the button pops
*in*, instead of out.
The sauté function has three temperature settings: 'Normal' heats to 320 degrees, 'More' heats to
338 degrees, and 'Less' heats to 221 degrees (all in Fahrenheit)
For pressure cooking, you will probably use 'manual' nearly all the time (nearly every Instant
Pot cookbook I've read relies on the manual setting almost exclusively). So *don't* feel badly for
not using all of those other buttons very much, if at all (I've never used any of the preprogrammed
buttons).
The preprogrammed settings each have their own timing, and *variable* pressure, which the pot
manipulates by manipulating the temperature of the contents (the higher the temperature, the
higher the pressure). That is primarily what makes them different from manual, which provides
one consistent pressure (either high or low). However they *generally* bring the contents to high
pressure, fluctuating the temperature a little so that the pressure fluctuates a little too, for a set
period of time (the main exceptions to this are the rice button, and the multigrain button).
Personally I just find it easier to use 'manual' and set the time that I want.
After you hit 'manual' to start cooking, you then set the amount of time you want it to cook at
pressure, after which you will have a 10-second grace period (for example to add more time, etc.),
after which the display will switch to displaying the word "on". Then it will be a while before the
display switches to the timer countdown. This is *normal*. The amount of time you enter is for
how long it will cook *after it reaches full pressure* (either high or low pressure, depending on
what you selected), and so the timer will switch on when it reaches full pressure.
The cooking time in any recipe is the time *at full pressure*, not in total. So you need to take into
account the time it will take to reach full pressure (which depends on many variables, including
what is in the contents of the pot, what temperature they started at, and your altitude), *and* how
long it will take for the pressure to be released and normalized (i.e. for the float valve to pop in,
which of course is really "dropping in", but you get the point). And this brings us to the two
different types of pressure release.
All Instant Pot recipes will include (or *should* include) either one of these terms: natural
pressure release (also known as NPR), or quick pressure release (QPR or QR). What these mean
is simply either "let the pressure dissipate on its own" (natural pressure release), or "force the
pressure to escape immediately by turning the steam release handle counter-clockwise to the open
position (quick release). The reason for using quick release (QR) is not because you are too
impatient to wait for natural release, but because your food will be over cooked if you don't get it
the heck out of dodge once it's done cooking at pressure. A really good example of a food needing
quick release is poached eggs (which come out *perfectly* in the Instant Pot (see how to poach eggs
in the Instant Pot below)). On the other hand, lots of (if not most) foods need the natural release -
it's part of their cooking process and processing time.
Natural pressure release generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
Quick pressure release takes about a minute, plus the hours spent in the ER if you forget to
KEEP YOUR HANDS, FACE, AND ALL OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY FROM THE STEAM
VALVE WHEN YOU DO IT!! Many people put a towel over the valve before they turn it, to help
suppress the steam, which you may want to do (I don't because then I just end up with a scalding
hot towel - but I also rarely need to do QR, and those times that I do, I'm sufficiently respectful
of the power and heat of that steam to keep my distance).
Finally, in my experience, unless you are doing a "dump everything in at once and turn it on"
recipe, you will definitely want to have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking.
For example, for any recipe that includes sautéing in the pot first, then adding ingredients and
then starting pressure cooking, you definitely want to have everything lined up before you start.
Oh, wait, *this* is actually the final note: the stainless steel inner pot can take a real beating, and
cleans up just fine..BUT...after the first use or so (it was after my first use) you will see little "stains"
(not sure what else to call them) and, if you are anything like me, you will think "Oh no! I have
ruined the beauty of this pot! How can I fix it?" It turns out that this is *very* normal (at least
the 'staining', not sure about my reaction being normal :-) ). In my case I had made beans, and my
pot now still bears the "imprints" of beans, even though it is completely clean..it's sort of like the
chalk outlines from a little bean murder scene. ;-) I'm in an Instant Pot forum on Facebook where
many IP cookbook authors are members (including JL Fields and Jill Nussinow) and they have all
said that this is perfectly normal and just what happens (in fact they said it in response to my "Oh
no, I've ruined my beautiful pot" post).
Ok, I think that those are about all of the things that I had wished that I had fully understood on
my first day with my Instant Pot.
Oh, actually there's one more thing. I didn't fully appreciate, until several days in, just how amazing
this aspect of the Instant Pot is: you can start something cooking in it, and then *walk away* - even
leave the house, and it will finish cooking just like you instructed, and be *perfectly done*, and then
it will *keep it warm for up to 10 hours*! Not keep cooking it, just *keep it warm*. For up to 10
hours! You can put something in there in the morning, leave for the day, and come back to a perfectly
cooked whatever, just waiting for you! Booyah! (I think this is the thing that pressure cooker purists
who try to talk people out of getting an Instant Pot, rather than a stovetop pressure cooker, fail to
understand. You can't just walk away from a stovetop pressure cooker after the stuff starts cooking.)
Now, here are the *the best* accessories (in my opinion) that you will want for your Instant Pot.
5.0 out of 5 stars This has changed the way we eat. It's easier to use than I thought it would be.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2016
Size: 6QtPattern Name: Pressure CookerVerified Purchase
There are so many people who say the can't cook, but I swear I'm on a whole new level of not
being able to cook. This little appliance helps expand our menu and I Have learned to do so
much with it. I will sum up in a nutshell, I love how easy it is and how I throw everything in
it comes out done. No stirring and not many messy dishes. I still don't love it for meats (which
I don't eat much of anyway), but I think that's just a matter of needing to experiment more
with them. I seriously can't believe how many foods can be cooked in here!
What got me thinking about the IP was talking to a friend at work who is a firefighter. He works
long shifts with mostly men, they can't really cook, but they just buy meat and throw it in here.
He swore by it. Then someone else chimed in and said they pressure cook a lot. About a month
later it went on sale for Prime Day and I picked it up. I am all of a sudden a much, much better
cook! There are so many cookbooks for this, my favorite being
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