What Extras And Accessories Can You Buy For An Instant Pot
Since each Instant Pot model is a little different, its important to read the manual and learn about the various features and settings of your Instant Pot. Generally, every model will include an outer body with a display panel and buttons, a lid, a pressure valve, a steam release valve, a plastic collector cup to catch any condensation released during slow cooking, a stainless-steel or nonstick inner pot, a sealing ring that surrounds the lid and helps absorb odors, and a steamer rack or basket that sits in the inner pot and keeps food raised.
Any accessories you may choose to buy to bulk up your Instant Pots functionality are just a bonus. Depending on what you plan to make with your Instant Pot, extras range from practical and essential to plain old fun. Some people buy extra sealing rings so they can use one for meat and one for baked goods. Some invest in egg trivets if they cook a lot of hard-boiled eggs. Some look into springform pans to make cheesecake and quiche. Theres even a special air fryer lid that is compatible with 6-quart Instant Pots that allows you to air-fry straight from your pressure cooker if you dont have a model that already features that program.
Is your mind still scrambled by all the choices? The buying guide below will help you compare Instant Pot models and figure out the best Instant Pot for you.
The Best Instant Pot For You: A Comprehensive Guide To Every Size And Model
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Youve heard the hype, read the articles, perused the recipes, and come to the conclusion that you absolutely need an Instant Pot . But finding the best Instant Pot model for your unique cooking needs is a more involved task than it may seem. This buying guide for the beloved kitchen appliance has the answer to every anxious Instant Pot question you may have and will help you determine which of the many varieties is right for you.
Though every Instant Pot model has the same basic multi-cooking functionality that made it a household favorite, some are more versatile than others. Most of the models are very similar in terms of pot size, wattage, and voltage where they differ is mostly in the softwarehow many smart programs are built in with preset heat, time, and pressure levels.
What Is Best To Cook In A Pressure Cooker
So wondering what are the best instant pot recipes you can make?
The list of delicious foods you can cook in an Instant Pot range the gamut: rice, stew, chili, soup potatoes, oats, mac and cheese. You can even bake bread in an Instant Pot. Plus, weve got a round-up here of the Best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes and the Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes you can make.
There are loads of accessories available like trivets, pans, egg cookers, and specialty steamers and slings that open up your options even more! Additionally, just about any oven safe pot or pan can also be used in your appliance as long as it fits securely inside the sealed pot. Basically, the options for cooking in your Instant Pot are endless.
The best foods to cook in your Instant Pot will be those that are boiled, steamed, or simmered.
Here are a few things that would usually take hours that the multi-cooker cooks up in less than an hour:
- Braised Meats Full of flavor as if its been braising for hours.
- Whole Chicken You can even cook this from frozen!
- Beans No need to soak them overnight.
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Manual Pressure Cook With Quick Release Or Npr
Many Instant Pot users almost always use manual settings. While Smart Program buttons are handy, cooking instructions can vary for different types of rice, smaller or larger beans, and soup with or without meat. With manual settings, you have more control over the time and pressure level. Here is how to use the Instant Pot with manual pressure cooker settings.
Step 1. Star the Instant Pot as mentioned above.
Step 2. Add food, seasoning and liquid to the pot. The liquid can be cold or hot hotter liquids take less time to heat up so the Instant Pot comes to pressure quicker. Stir if needed.
Note on stirring: If adding tomato sauce or paste, keep them on the top and dont stir too much as these foods can sometimes thicken and burn during cooking again, this depends if water and stock are also added as when diluted, its less of a problem.
Step 3. Get your lid and quickly check that the sealing ring on the inside is in place. If its loose or sticks out, the pot might not seal properly and it will not be able to come to pressure. Place it on top and twist it until it locks in place.
Step 4. On older models like Duo Classic, check that the steam release handle on top of the lid is pointing to Sealing. On the more advanced models of the Instant Pot, the vent will automatically seal when the cooking process begins. On the Duo Nova the quick release button should be popped up and not pressed down.
Page : Important Safeguards
Read Also: How Long Does It Take To Cook A Sirloin Tip Roast In A Pressure Cooker
What Does The Instant Pot Poultry Setting Do
Like the other Instant Pot Smart Programs, the poultry smart program presets the cooking pressure, heat intensity, temperature, and time.
The poultry button sets an initial cooking time and you can adjust as needed. By default, the button cooks at high pressure for different lengths of time.
- Normal Setting: 15 minutes by default, is for a very soft texture,
- More Setting: 30 minutes default and is for fall-off-the-bone texture
- Less Setting: 5 minutes by default and is for soft texture
Choose the setting based on the texture you want for your finished dish. Alternatively you can simply adjust the cooking time to achieve the same results.
Traditional Sous Vide Circulators
Most often, sous vide circulators are used to maintain water temperature.
These devices, which look similar to an immersion blender, have a metal coil that heats the water, and they also function to circulate the water, so all of the water is the same temperature. This helps to prevent the water nearest the circulator being hottest, while water away from the circulator could be colder.
Traditional circulators can be attached to a pot of water and programmed to the desired time and temperature.
The Instant Pot company makes an immersion circulator, which can be clipped to any large container or even the insert pot of the Instant Pot, if its 6-quart size or larger.
Anova makes another popular immersion circulator.
Read Also: What To Do If Your Instant Pot Says Burn
Instant Pot Duo Plus Multi
- 9-in-1 pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan, food warmer, sous vide and sterilizer
- 13 customizable programs for quick one-touch meals
- Cooking progress bar shows every step from start to finish
- Innovative auto-sealing lid with switch for easy, stress-free venting
- 18/8 stainless steel inner pot with tri-ply bottom for perfect sautéing
- Cook up to six portions, perfect for growing families, meal prep and batch cooking
- Use it at home and bring it on the road RV trips, sporting events and more
- Up to 70% faster and more energy efficient than other cooking methods
- Dishwasher-safe lid and inner pot for quick and easy clean-up
- 10+ proven safety features, including Overheat Protection and safe locking lid
- Extra sealing ring and stainless steel steamer rack included
- BPA/PFOA/PTFE-free cooking
- Dimensions: 12.2″ L x 13.39″ W x 12.99″ H
- Capacity: 6 qt.
- Watts: 1000W, 120 V~60 Hz
- Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
- Inner pot and lid are dishwasher safe
Instant Pot Parts And Accessories
The first thing youll want to do is wash the parts of your Instant Pot. The Instant Pot lid, steam release valve and stainless steel inner pot are dishwasher safe however, I wash mine by hand. The base unit is not dishwasher safe never immerse the base unit in water.
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Performance And Best Features
The Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus gives you a wide choice of cooking methods to prepare foods just the way you like be it pressure cooking in under 10 minutes or slow cooking over the course of four hours.
The accompanying booklet suggests specific settings in a chart, recommending 15 minutes for potatoes, and 20 minutes for beef stew, for example. With 48 pre-sets we found that it can get a little overwhelming. But, this variety of choice will come in very useful over time as you get to know your machine.
Its important to refer to the cooking chart that comes with the machine to get the best out of ingredients, as we found out when we used it to cook rice. On our first attempt we added too much liquid, which produced soggy unappetising results. On the second attempt however, we added the recommended 1:1 cup ratio of water to rice, and put it on the white rice setting for 12 minutes, which produced fluffy and delicious results.
To make our chicken tagine, we chose the stew setting, which pressure cooked on high for 35 minutes. At first it was hard for us to get our head around the fact that this appliance can cook meat so quickly. But we were very happy with the results the chicken that tasted good, and a sauce had a decent thickness to it.
How To Safely Open Your New Pressure Cooker
Instant Pots are much safer to use than traditional stove top pressure cookers. The lid locks and stays locked until the pressure is released. This process eliminates the safety concerns many previously had with using pressure cookers.
Heres how to safely open your Instant Pot:
- When you release the pressure, the steam will be hot enough to burn you. Make sure the steam release is facing away from you before you press the release button.
- Do NOT remove the lid until all of the pressure from the pot has been released. When the floating valve in the lid drops, youll know it is safe.
- If the lid does not easily twist off, it is not ready to come off. Dont ever force it.
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How To Open & Close The Lid
First Instant Pot setup skill you need to master is opening & closing the Instant Pot Lid with ease.
As shown in photo below, the black markings on the lid & pot may not be easy to spot at first.
- Markings on lid: Close Inverted Triangle Open
- Markings on exterior housing: Locked Triangle Unlocked Triangle
- Open Lid : twist counter clockwise until Inverted Triangle is aligned with the Unlocked Triangle sign, then lift the lid.
- Close Lid : align the Inverted Triangle with the Unlocked Triangle, then twist clockwise to lock the lid.
Which Instant Pot Models Have The Porridge Button
Sometimes only a few of the Instant Pot models have a specific smart program, and within the series the 3 quart models may not have the button either. The mini model only has so much space on the control panel.
Before you buy your Instant Pot, double check if the porridge button is on both the model and size. Its also possible that earlier versions of a model dont have a button and its added into new models as they adjust the functions of a specific Instant Pot Model.
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Wondering How To Use Your Instant Pot Sous Vide Smart Program This Easy
Learn how to use your Instant Pot sous vide function with this step-by-step guide.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase, this site may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Although the Instant Pot is most known for its ability to cook food quickly at a high pressure, most Instant Pot models boast additional options beyond pressure cooking.
But one of the newest features available on some Instant Pot models is the Sous Vide function!
What If Your Instant Pot Doesnt Have The Poultry Smart Program
Dont worry. You dont have to miss out on making chicken recipes in your Instant Pot if it doesnt have a poultry button. As youll notice, the vast majority of Instant Pot models dont have the button. Most recipes use manual in the cooking instructions.
Just double-check the recipe to see if there are any additional special instructions on time or ingredients to help you have a great finished dish.
Recommended Reading: Reheating Tamales In Crock Pot
What Is A Trivet
An Instant Pot trivet is a stainless steel rack that holds food or food containers above the liquid in the inner pot.
The instant pot trivet with handles has two metal hinges on the sides. They act as handles for you to lift the trivet with the cooked food or containers out of the Instant Pot.
This tool is particularly useful for steaming, pressure-steaming, and cooking with the Pot-in-Pot method.
Trivet Or Steamer Rack
Almost all Instant Pots come with a stainless steel steamer rack. Some with handles, others may not have handles. Its very helpful for cooking all sorts of food in Instant Pot.
The long handles on both sides make it easy for handling and removal from the pot. Its also compact, easy to store, and easy to clean.
More Info on How to use the Trivet:Instant Pot Trivet
Also Check: Frozen Meatballs Instant Pot
Instant Pot Multigrain Setting
This setting is best suited to cooking tougher, whole grains like brown and wild rice, farro, millet and steel-cut oats it can also be used to cook dry beans and a mixture of grains and legumes. We find that this is one of the most confusing functions for people because some of the recommended manual cooking times for grains dont match the pre-programmed setting times, so its hard to know when to use this function. Below is how to use the Multigrain setting on the Instant Pot.
- Turn the Instant Pot on, it will say OFF to indicate the Stand-By mode. Add the grains, liquid and seasoning if you wish. Secure and lock the lid. Press the Multigrain button. The default setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at High pressure for 40 minutes. If you press the Multigrain button again, you can adjust the mode from Normal to Less or More.
If desired, use the / + buttons to further customize the time. The cooking time may be adjusted at any time during pressure cooking.
If cooking dry beans, ensure they are completely submerged in water the same if youre making a mixture of grains and beans.
Instant Pot Porridge Setting: What Is It Which Models Have It
Instant Pots include smart programs to help you cook conveniently and efficiently. Were you looking at the front panel of the electric pressure cooks and want to know more about the Instant Pot Porridge setting? Here is a preview of the buttons features and which models include the setting.
The Instant Pot electric pressure cookers include smart programs that were created based on extensive testing. Smart programs control multiple aspects of the cooking process including temperature, pressure, heat intensity, and duration all at the push of a button. The Instant Pot Porridge button controls one specific smart program.
One thing to note: Not all of the Instant Pot models and sizes within a series have the same set of smart programs. Always double check the Instant Pot you are thinking of buying to make sure it has the smart programs important to you.
And one more note: this post contains affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission if you buy through my link. You wont pay any more if you use this link.
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