Last year I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. There was some concern that I would be afraid to use it but I must say I love the darn thing.
My mother used a pressure cooker when I was young and I will admit to having a fear of that thing. But the Instant Pot has computerized safety features and I don't worry about it at all. It has given me a burn warning a few of times.....but all while cooking one meal. I have to assume that I didn't get the pot deglazed well enough after browning the meat as I had made that dish before with no incident. I took the top off, and carefully stirred, scraping the bottom of the pot with a plastic spoon and hoped for the best. There was just no other reason for it to be warning me. Dinner was just fine and in the entire year, that was the only incident.
I'm still reading messages in the forums from people who are staring at their new Instant Pots and are too afraid to plug them in. I say, do the seal test, as described in the manual, and the cook yourself a perfect egg or two, just so you will get the idea how to use it without worrying about wasting too much money on some more expensive food that you are so convinced you will ruin. Then use actual Instant Pot recipes as this method of cooking is definitely different from what you are used to. Over time you will learn the tricks and come to understand just how this gadget works. After that, you may start to develop ways to use the Instant Pot to cook some of your old favorites.
The Instant Pot will not only save you time, it will save you money on your electrical bills as well. The other thing it will do is save you money by stretching your food dollars. When you use an Instant Pot you must always put at least a cup of water or some other fluid into the pot first. The juices off your meats will end up in this water and I came to the conclusion that it had to be good for something. I started freezing it and asked an online group if they every use that liquid for soups or other dishes. The answer was a resounding yes! So today I thawed out one of those containers of frozen liquids and mixed it with the juices from the most recent meal. Both were chicken dishes, but quiet different from one another so the juices were different colours and had different flavours. It didn't matter. I added a bit of store bought chicken broth too, just to top up the pot a bit so there would be enough for four bowls. Then I divided it in half as there are only two of us here. I considered adding vegetables, but just went with noodles for today. The other half may get the vegetables since I'm exploring taste sensations.
It was so good, and full bodied. We really enjoyed it. So, besides already getting a couple of meals out of my cooked dinners, I will get a couple more out of the simple water that was required to cook them. You can't beat that kind of savings, especially since it was so good. The juices can, of course, be used in your other cooking as well. I may cook some rice in it next time.
My mother used a pressure cooker when I was young and I will admit to having a fear of that thing. But the Instant Pot has computerized safety features and I don't worry about it at all. It has given me a burn warning a few of times.....but all while cooking one meal. I have to assume that I didn't get the pot deglazed well enough after browning the meat as I had made that dish before with no incident. I took the top off, and carefully stirred, scraping the bottom of the pot with a plastic spoon and hoped for the best. There was just no other reason for it to be warning me. Dinner was just fine and in the entire year, that was the only incident.
I'm still reading messages in the forums from people who are staring at their new Instant Pots and are too afraid to plug them in. I say, do the seal test, as described in the manual, and the cook yourself a perfect egg or two, just so you will get the idea how to use it without worrying about wasting too much money on some more expensive food that you are so convinced you will ruin. Then use actual Instant Pot recipes as this method of cooking is definitely different from what you are used to. Over time you will learn the tricks and come to understand just how this gadget works. After that, you may start to develop ways to use the Instant Pot to cook some of your old favorites.
It was so good, and full bodied. We really enjoyed it. So, besides already getting a couple of meals out of my cooked dinners, I will get a couple more out of the simple water that was required to cook them. You can't beat that kind of savings, especially since it was so good. The juices can, of course, be used in your other cooking as well. I may cook some rice in it next time.
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