Whats Up With All Those Knobs And Buttons
I know, there are so many. Good news! You can ignore most of them. I use my Instant Pot nearly every day, and Ive never touched the Rice, Porridge, or Soup buttons. I do, however, make rice, porridge and soup in my IP all the time, just by programming it manuallywhich you need to know in any case.
For now, were focusing on the buttons you need for most pressure cooking recipes. If it helps, just get masking tape and cover up those other buttons so that you only focus on the buttons needed for our test drive:
- On the Instant Pot Duo: the Low Pressure and High Pressure buttons, the +/- Cooking Time buttons, the Manual button, and the Keep Warm/Cancel button.
- On the Instant Pot Ultra: Cancel and Start buttons and the central knob
Alison Conklin
Instant Pot Duo Vs Duo Nova: Which One Should You Choose
Since the release of Instant Pot Duo, you may be wondering what is the difference between the two models? In this blog post, we will compare and contrast both Instant Pot models.
Instant pot duo is a 7-in-1 multi-purpose pressure cooker that can do just about anything. The only thing it doesnt have is a yogurt function which has been added to its newer counterpart, the Duo Nova model. With 6 cooking functions and 10 built in safety features, this versatile appliance has everything from slow cookers to rice makers. Not only does it come with 14 preprogrammed settings but also includes an automatic steam release setting for quick temperature reduction so your food isnt overcooked.
Is This Thing Safe
Its actually safer than conventional cooking or stovetop pressure cooking. Everyone has heard stories about old-time pressure cookers exploding. Your Instant Pot wont do that because the temperature and pressure inside the pots is carefully monitored and regulated through its internal programming.
Remember: Its your trusty cooking robot.
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The Practical Guide You’ve Always Wanted For Those Confusing Instant Pot Buttons And Settings
Your dreams have officially come true! You finally got that Instant Pot and its time to start whipping up a few delicious meals. Buthow, exactly, do you work this thing?
People rave about how easy and quick it is to use, but looking at all the Instant Pot buttons, it seems that only a genius could actually figure out what all of them mean. Which button do I choose for what? Whats the difference between the NormalMore and Less settings? And should I cook on Low Pressure or High Pressure?
These questions instantly come to mind, but dont sweat, we got you covered. Heres a full guide to all of your Instant Pots buttons. So make sure to bookmark this for later!
How To Make Instant Pot Yogurt Cups
Yogurt cups are a convenient way to portion out your yogurt into individual or smaller servings. After adding the starter culture to the pasteurized or warm milk, carefully pour the milk into your yogurt cups and seal them tightly. Clean the inner pot thoroughly and place the steam rack/trivet on the bottom of the inner pot. Place the sealed yogurt cups on the steam rack and add water to the inner pot until the cups are submerged halfway. Follow steps in Fermenting Yogurt above.
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Things To Know About Your New Instant Pot
July 28, 2016 by Amy Vig
Congratulations! Im guessing youre here because you recently made the decision to finally get one of those fancy pressure cooking machines that everyones been talking about.
Usually, this is the point at which I see lots of people say I got my Instant Pot, but Im too afraid to take it out of the box.
No longer! Were going to do this together. Lets get started with 10 things to know about your new Instant Pot.
Or maybe youre looking for something specific:
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Recommended Reading: Right Rice Instant Pot
Youre Going To Find More Uses For It Than You Thought
I must admit that I havent fully ventured into this space yet, but I love the idea of getting creative and using it in new ways. Here are a few Im vowing to try:
- Steaming frozen salmon filets
- Cheesecake!! Im deeming this salted caramel version from Cookies and Cups healthy because its good for the soul
A Few Tips For Making Yogurt At Home
- I use 1 tablespoon prepared yogurt for every quart of milk. Therefore for ½ gallon of milk, I whisk in 2 tablespoons of already prepared yogurt into my milk.
- You can cut this recipe in half if you would like. If you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can also double this recipe for homemade yogurt.
- Do NOT try to make homemade yogurt with flavored yogurt as your starter. You need to either use a yogurt starter or plain yogurt with active live cultures. How do you know if you store-bought yogurt has live cultures? The label on the yogurt will say Lactobacillus bulgaricus or Streptococcus thermophilus.
- A huge tip for making yogurt in the future is to FREEZE your starter immediately after fresh yogurt is made. I recommend using an ice cube tray. Each ice cube holds 1 tablespoon of yogurt so you will know exactly how much yogurt to defrost when making a new yogurt batch. Just be sure to thaw your yogurt cubes in the fridge to not alter the cultures in the yogurt.
- If you would like tangier yogurt, set an incubation period to 10 hours instead of 8 hours.
- If you need more tips on how to use your instant pot or are confused about some of the functions or pieces I mentioned, check out my Instant Pot 101.
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What Is An Instant Pot
An instant pot is a multifunctional appliance for your kitchen. When you have invested in a quality instant pot, you dont need to worry about cooking healthy food anymore. Instant pot makes the use of steam to cook your food. The water inside the pot takes some time to preheat, and after that, releases steam. Since your food is cooked with steam and not oil, cooking in an instant pot is good for your health.
The Instant Pot is a kitchen appliance that is more than a multi-cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and pressure cooker in one. It also has a handy preheating feature. It is particularly useful if you want to start cooking right away.
If you have recently purchased an instant pot, chances are that you are not yet accustomed to how the pot operates. On the body of the pot, you can see a number of buttons, and all of them have a different function to fulfil. It may often happen that your recipe requires you to cook your food for 30 minutes, but even after the stipulated time, the food is not done. This is where preheating comes into play. You need to understand the process of preheating, and how long it takes to preheat your instant pot. We will be discussing everything related to instant pot preheating in this article, so read on to know more.
How To Use A Mixer To Shred Chicken
Once your chicken is cooked and cool enough to handle, you can dice it up or shred it for use in your recipe.
- For easy shredding, you can place the chicken in a bowl and use a hand mixer like this one to shred the chicken. If you have a hand mixer or stand mixer, you need to try this trick!
- You can also shred the chicken with two forks by hand.
Heres what the above looks like as a quick step-by-step.
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Crockpot Temperatures: How Hot Does A Slow Cooker Get
In this article, Ill tell you about oven temperatures and slow oven temperatures how much do they get hot?
If youve ever used a crocodile, you know all too well about its benefits. By cooking in a pot, you will not only get delicious meals, but also get the most nutritional value from this method as most of the nutrients are locked in.
Depending on the model, most slow cookers have a lower temperature range of 190 degrees Fahrenheit and a higher end temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit .
The optimal cooking temperature for cooking is between 200 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit and it takes around 4 hours at the highest setting and around 8 hours at the low setting to reach this value.
Once this temperature is reached, it is kept for many hours until the cooking time is reached.
Is Pressure Cooked Chicken Healthy
The point is, science shows that pressure cooking is healthy because it can contain more heat-sensitive nutrients than any other cooking method because of its shorter cooking times. The point is that the difference in boiling point of water is well within the range of a normal difference on this planet.
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Using Saute Function After Cooking
The Sauté function is also useful for finishing the dish after pressure cooking is done. Once the pressure has been completely released, open the lid and then press Sauté button again. Press the button again to cycle through Less or More for lower or higher temperature.
Use it for:
- Simmering the sauce or broth in the dish that needs to evaporate and reduce or thicken.
- Adding more fragile or no-cooking-required ingredients like baby spinach, fresh tomatoes, fruit, cheese, milk or cream.
- Thickening sauce with butter, cream or flour.
How Does Instant Pot Work
So the working principle of the instant pot is somewhat the same as that of the regular pressure cooker. The lid seals the air inside the pot and when the air does not find a way to escape from the pressure cooker, the steam builds the pressure inside the pot. Thus, with the rise in the pressure inside the instant pot, the temperature also rises. Due to the steam, high pressure, and subsequently high temperature the food present inside the instant pot gets cooked.
You can read about pressure cooking here.
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How Long Does It Take For An Instant Pot To Preheat
It takes about 10-15 minutes for the instant pot to preheat. This time varies depending upon the quantity of food that is added to it. If you have only water added to your instant pot, it takes about 5 minutes for the instant pot to preheat but as the quantity of the food increases the time it takes for the instant pot to preheat also increases. The time can even scratch for 20-25 minutes if you are cooking a really large quantity of food in it.
Instant Pot Or Pressure Cooker
Before we dive right into the instant pot, let me clarify the difference between it and the pressure cooker.
The instant pot is an evolutionary step in the pressure cooker line. As the nickname suggests, the main difference is in control and handling, as the 2nd generation of pressure cookers is almost exclusively manual.
The electric generation introduced features as automatic heat control, pre-defined cooking times, and settings based on heating intensity, temperature, pressure, and duration.
It seems almost natural, right? Well, in the past, it was not the case. The pressure cooker had to be controlled by a person. You had to make sure that the temperature is constant. Too low and it would take a long time to cook anything, too high, and you might end up either burning the food or creating too much pressure.
These days most of the electric pressure cookers or instant pots do this for you.
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What Is An Instant Pot Exactly
The Instant Pot is simply an electric pressure cooker with multiple functions, which sets it apart from many kitchen appliances with a single purpose like a rice cooker or slow cooker.
If youre brand new to the concept, a pressure cooker electric or stovetop version creates a pressurized environment inside the pot, which cooks food much quicker than the oven or a regular pot on the stove. You can learn about how the Instant Pot works in more detail here.
The Instant Pot is also multi-cooker so in comparison to a gadget like a rice cooker, it has multiple functions instead of a single function. There have been dozens of models since it was first introduced, but they all possess similar features that make the Instant Pot what it is.
So, what does this multi-cooker entail? Well, it has functions of a simple pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, and yoghurt machine in one. While previously all of these appliances were sold separately, you can now have them all in one. You can also sauté foods in the Instant Pot, which is done without pressurizing and uses a heating element that sits just underneath an inner pot. It will even keep your food warm once it stops cooking.
The Instant Pot is a self-regulating machine in many ways. You dont have to be watching over it to make sure it turns off when its done cooking. Gone are the days of exploding pressure cookers on the stovetop! The Instant Pot is super safe, efficient and economical.
Five: Whisk In A Yogurt Starter
- Use either prepared yogurt or a yogurt starter and whisk into your prepared milk.
- It is important to note that if using prepared yogurt you need to be sure it is plain yogurt with live and active cultures.
- If your starter is sweetened or does not have live cultures, making yogurt at home will NOT work!
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What Foods Are Best For A Pressure Cooker
Pressure cooking uses wet heat only. You gotta have liquid in the cookerthe steam creates the pressure. No liquid, no steam, no pressure.
Pressure cooking is for boiling, steaming, and braising. For example, you wouldnt cook French fries or make a crusty loaf of bread from start to finish by pressure cooking.
But anything boiled or steamed or simmered is ace in your Instant Pot.
Coco Morante
The Lid Wont Come Off
If youre trying to take it off after the Instant Pot has been sitting on your countertop, give it a minute. The pressure inside will need time to dissipate before you can remove the lid from its chamber.
You might also be tempted to grab a knife or rubber mallet and try to wedge open that lid yourself. But dont. The lid is locked shut with a special sealing mechanism that will not budge without the release of pressure from insidethe kind you get when opening your Instant Pot after it has finished cooking or releasing steam manually by turning the knob to a venting position.
Just wait until all of that steam has escaped naturally. The lid will pop right off after the pressure is released.
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The First 10 Meals You Should Make
So, you just got an Instant Pot. Whats next? Dont be that person who bought the pot but hasnt opened it, letting it sit in the box for months. Part of this is lack of time or just the intimidation factor. It can be a little scary when you keep hearing about the first time someones released the pressure valve.
How To Make Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt
Step One: Clean your Instant Pot.
- This sounds like a no-brainer. But I am not talking about simply washing your Instant Pot–you need to sanitize your inner pot.
- You can prepare your inner pot for making yogurt by pouring boiling water in the inner pot and then discard the water.
- This step can be skipped, but it helps drastically in the flavor of your yogurt–especially if you have been making a lot of Instant Pot Chili.
Step Two: Heat your Milk in your Instant Pot.
- Pour ½ gallon milk into the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker, put the lid on the Instant Pot . Hit yogurt function and then the adjust button until it says Boil.
- When the Instant Pot beeps that it is done, remove the lid and test the temperature to be sure the milk has reached 180 degrees.
- I like to leave the inner pot in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes before removing it. This helps the yogurt thicken up a bit better.
Step Three: Cool the milk to approximately 105-115 degrees.
- Cooling the milk to this temperature takes about 1 hour if placed on the counter.
- I like to speed the process up by placing the inner pot into a large mixing bowl in ice water. This takes about 15-20 minutes.
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