How To Set Instant Pot

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How To Do A 10 15 Minutes Natural Pressure Release

How to Set up an Instant Pot — so Easy the Kids Can Do It

After the cooking cycle finished, wait 10 15 minutes before moving the Venting Knob from Sealing Position to Venting Position to release the remaining pressure.

Always make sure the Floating Valve completely drops before opening the lid.

Whats the advantage?

  • Compare to Quick Release: Significantly reduces the chance of food splattering out from the Pressure Release Valve.
  • Compare to Natural Release: Faster release method when the pressure cooker is full of food with high liquid volume.

Keep Warm / Cancel Button

Once the Instant Pot is done cooking, you can use the Keep Warm / Cancel function to keep food hot or to cancel the pressure cooking mode.

Keep Warm ButtonWhen pressure cooking is done, the Instant Pot will beep and automatically go into the Keep Warm function. It will display an L in front of a number to indicate how long its been warm e.g. L0:30 for 30 minutes. Its a great feature to keep food warm for up to 99 hours, 50 minutes. Its perfect for pot lucks.

Cancel ButtonAt any time, you can cancel cooking and return to standby mode by pressing the Keep Warm / Cancel button. This is a great option if you selected the wrong time for pressure cooking and need to stop to make adjustments to the pressure or time.

Instant Pot Steam Setting

The Steam setting on the Instant Pot is perfect for cooking vegetables, fish and seafood, tofu and any other food that is suitable to steaming. This function uses Low pressure, which helps to avoid overcooking the food and means that the Instant Pot will come to pressure quicker. You need to use the trivet/steam rack provided to elevate food from cooking liquid. Always use QR to prevent food from overcooking. Below is how to use the Steam setting on Instant Pot.

  • Turn the Instant Pot on, it will say OFF to indicate the Stand-By mode. Add a cup of water to the inner pot and place the trivet on top. You can place the vegetables or a piece of fish or thinly sliced chicken on top of the trivet OR you can use an additional steam basket or a round pan with holes that fits inside the pot. A steamer basket might be useful for smaller-sized vegetables or cut-up vegetables to prevent them from falling into the water.
  • Secure and lock the lid. Press the Steam button. The default setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at Low pressure for 10 minutes. If you press the Steam button again, you can adjust the mode from Normal to Less or More.

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I Get The Sense The Instant Pot Has Become Really Popular I Feel A Little Bit Left Behind

Yes! The Instant Pot has become wildly popular over the past five years, thanks to great deals on Amazon, a strong user community, and a company that really listens to its fans. About a fifth of American households own one! Thats wild. In over 10 years online weve never seen anything change the cooking landscape quite like it. But dont worry: Late adopters are welcome! Its never too late to join the Instant Pot cult.

Getting Started With The Instant Pot

Which Instant Pot Buttons to Use

TheInstant Pot is fully programmable, so you can simply set the timer and then do other jobs without having to keep an eye on it. Because its a pressure cooker, it really does work much, much faster than a traditional crockpot. Plus, you can set the Instant Pot timer so it will start and end when you want dinner ready. Pretty convenient.

However, I have to be honest and say it does take a little while to get used to. The cooking times are extremely different, so if youre an avid crockpot/slow cooker user , you may need to adjust with some trial and error.

Plus, lets face it: pressure cooking seems a bit scary. Your first time, you might feel like, What if it explodes and blows up my kitchen?! Fortunately, the Instant Pot is perfectly safe and no scarier than your rice cooker . Follow the instructions exactly and youll be just fine. And if you get stuck, there are tons of resources online including the Instant Pot website, which features a great conversion chart. You can also find a bunch of great YouTube videos that walk you through the process: from the unboxing to making your first meal to serving up an entire dinner party.

Keep in mind, once people start using the Instant Potregularly, they usually LOVE it. It really does save tons of time. Plus, the fact that the Instant Pot does the job of so many small appliances makes it a great space saver and well worth the learning curve. So, if you get frustrated at first keep trying! It just takes some time to learn.

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Cool So Is This Like A Silicon Valley Tech Invention

Absolutely not. Pressure cooking has been around since the late 1600s, when the first stovetop pressure cooker was invented by Denis Papin in France. ,+Queens,+NY+11371/Arts-et-M%C3%A9tiers,+Paris,+France/@43.4301588,-53.6782168,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c25f8983424db5:0x772fc4660e9666b3!2m2!1d-73.8739659!2d40.7769271!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e0ff1338e7d:0x13b01efd405b2749!2m2!1d2.3572703!2d48.8666646!3e4″ rel=”nofollow”> go visit it sometime.)

Whats The Difference Between An Instant Pot And A Slow Cooker

The Instant Pot is a pressure cooker that can be a slow cookertoo. The Instant Pot is a multi-cooker, which means that it can be used either as a pressure cooker or a slow cooker. When used as a pressure cooker, it cooks food extra-fast. A slow cooker cooks slowly! Usually over several hours or a full day. A traditional slow cooker only functions as a slow cooker. An Instant Pot can take the place of a traditional slow cooker and pressure cooker in one small appliance.

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How To Use An Instant Pot: What You Need To Know To Get Started With Instant Pot Cooking

There are a few basic things that you need to know when using an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. Once you use yours a few times, these will be like second nature. Depending on which Instant Pot model you own, the buttons may be labeled slightly differently. Consult the manual that came with your Instant Pot.

Minimum Liquid Required: As a general rule, you want to use at least 1 cup of liquid in your Instant Pot every time you cook with it. The Instant Pot uses steam and pressure to cook food, and you need liquid to create the steam and pressure. Some recipes may call for more or less liquid. I recommend following recipes from a trusted source while you are learning to use your Instant Pot.

Fill Level: Inside the Instant Pot inner pot, you will see a 1/2 and a 2/3 line marked. Never fill the Instant Pot higher than the 2/3 line with food or liquid . If you are cooking food that will expand during the cook time such as rice, quinoa or beans, do not fill the Instant Pot higher than the 1/2 line.

Pressure Cook or Manual Button: Depending on which Instant Pot model you own, the Pressure Cook button is sometimes labeled Manual and sometimes Pressure Cook. This is the button that you will press to start a pressure cooking cycle. Its your basic pressure cooking button.

+/- Buttons: Use these buttons to adjust the cook time.

Keep Warm/Cancel Button: Use this button to end a cooking program or turn on/off the keep warm function.

How To Use Your Instant Pot As A Slow Cooker

How to Use Your Instant Pot | A First Timers Guide | Well Done
  • Prep your food. Cut, chop, or season the ingredients according to the recipe.
  • Place the lid on the pot. Again, a tempered glass lid will work best for this purpose but you can use the standard lid if that’s all you have available.
  • Press the Slow Cook button. If you have the 3-quart version, it’s on the bottom right side, under the Steam button.
  • Set the time. Set the cooking duration between 30 minutes and 20 hours with the + and buttons under the time display.
  • Press the Adjust button. It’s in the bottom center section on the 3-quart version, next to Timer and above Manual. You can choose “Normal,””More,” and “Less.” These correspond to medium, high, and low on a traditional Crock-Pot.
  • Cook. Cooking will start automatically 10 seconds after the last button is pressed. When your recipe is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will beep and transition automatically to “Keep Warm” for 10 hours.
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    Get To Know The Design

    Electric pressure cookers come with an inner pot and an outer pot , as well as a lid that creates an airtight seal.

    The airtight seal is what creates the pressure, which will eventually need to be released, and to do so safely, youll need to read the directions that come with your pot. But generally speaking, youll either use the quick-release method , or the natural-release method .

    Test Kitchen tip: A cool, wet towel placed on the lid can help speed up the release process.

    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.

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    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

    Instant Pot Porridge Setting

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    The porridge setting on the Instant Pot can be used to cook oatmeal using old-fashioned oats and steel-cut oats, rice porridge and congee or porridge-like dishes that use a mixture of grains that expand in liquid. Ideally, you should use natural release when cooking high-starch foods that expand or a combination of 5-10 minutes natural release and quick release to follow. Below is how to use the Porridge setting on Instant Pot.

    • Turn the Instant Pot on, it will say OFF to indicate the Stand-By mode. Add the grains, liquid and spices or fat if you wish. Secure and lock the lid. Press the Porridge button. The default setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at High pressure for 20 minutes. If you press the Porridge button again, you can adjust the mode from Normal to Less or More.
    • Less mode 5 minutes at High pressure this is suitable for cooking rolled oats and risotto-like porridge or rice porridge with slightly firmer to bite texture.
    • Normal mode 20 minutes at High pressure use for steel-cut oat porridge or rice porridge with a slightly softer texture and for making congee.
    • More mode 30 minutes at High pressure use for a porridge/congee that contains a mixture of beans or tougher grains.

    If desired, use the / + buttons to further customize the time. The cooking time may be adjusted at any time during pressure cooking.

    Here are some suggested water to rice/oats ratios for porridge and oatmeal dishes:

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    Setting Up Your New Instant Pot

    How to set up your new instant pot! We are setting up the Duo Plus 60.

    Here are step-by-step instructions, from taking your new pot out of the box, to making shredded chicken breasts!

    We definitely think every home cook should own an Instant Pot for a variety of reasons, but what happens after that box arrives at your door?

    Some people are a little intimidated to take the Instant Pot out of the box for fear its going to be difficult to setup.

    Well, fear not! We are here to help you set up your very first Instant Pot!

    We will go step-by-step to show you how easy it is to set up your Instant Pot and have it working and ready to go in about 20 minutes!

    Learn How To Boil Water

    Whichever electric pressure cooker you end up with, your first time using it should involve literally learning to boil water. You do this by adding a cup or so of water to the inner pot , sealing the lid, and selecting a short cook time. Within five minutes, the water should heat up and build pressure, at which point the pressure is released via the natural method, or you can use the quick-release method. .

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    Lock And Seal The Instant Pot

    So you have your pot filled. Now is a good time to confirm the rubber seal inside your lid is properly place. It should fit snugly and tightly inside the lid this will ensure you get a good seal and thus retaining moisture and pressure.

    Now you have to lock it. The lid should slide from left to right so it locks in place. You should feel it and you should hear a beeping sound from the Instant Pot alerting you it’s closed properly.

    My Instant Pot Came With A Steamer Basket How Do I Use It

    How to Use an Instant Pot – Instant Pot 101 – Beginner? Start HERE!

    Use your steamer basket whenever you dont want the water to directly touch the food, or want to steam-cook something. Just like you would on the stove, place a cup of water in the bottom of the pot, put your ingredients in the steamer basket, and set it in the pot as well. Then use the Steam button! And forget fogging up your glasses watching the stove the Instant Pot contains all of this craziness inside the lid!

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    What Is Quick Release

    If you are in a hurry, Quick Release can bring the pot down off pressure much faster. You can quick release a dish by carefully flipping the knob to vent.You will need to stay clear of all of the steam coming out of the pot as it will be very hot. Do not mess with the pot or cover the vent while quick releasing the pressure.

    • Oftentimes, recipes will suggest that you let a dish naturally release for 15 minutes before switching to quick release to give you the benefits of natural release but speed up the process.
    • Do not move your pot or mess with the lid while quick releasing.
    • The lid can safely be removed once the pin in your lid has dropped. However, still be very careful because there will be a lot of steam and it will be hot.

    Wondering How To Use Your Instant Pot

    If youve hopped on the Instant Pot train and still have it collecting dust in your pantry, you are not alone.

    Yes, there is a learning curve. But once you start learning how to use Instant Pot, youll never look back.

    If youre still not sure what an Instant pot is its an all in one kitchen appliances that works as a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, and a rice cooker.

    Once you learn how to use the pressure function, youll never go back to slow cooking!

    Ive put together a list of questions with pointed resources for Instant Pot beginner tips. I hope it helps!

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    How To Start The Instant Pot

    Step 1. Place the Instant Pot on a sturdy countertop or a table close to a power socket. Make sure there is plenty of open space above the pot as you will have steam eject from the lid up in the air if you quick release the pressure.

    Step 2. Make sure the inner pot is inside the cooker base and is clean. Plug the power cord in. Instant Pot will switch on and the OFF status symbol will appear on the control panel. This is called a standby mode.

    Step 3. Decide on which cooking method you want to use from the below scenarios. This will depend on what you want to cook. Usually, recipe instructions will guide you along here.

    In general, your choices will come down to whether you want to Sauté food first and then whether you want to use a manual setting or one of the smart programs.

    When To Use High Or Low Pressure On Instant Pot

    All About Your Instant Pot: How To Use All The Buttons ...

    The adjustment of pressure on the instant pot while cooking food is as much as important as the temperature adjustment. Most of the recipes call for high-pressure settings while there are a few recipes that call for low-pressure settings. The recipes that call for low-pressure settings can be prepared by applying high-pressure, but the time to cook the recipe is reduced. Therefore, a high-pressure setting is the only option for pressure settings on the instant pot.

    The high-pressure setting on the instant pot reaches a maximum of 12-12.5 psi . This is a lower psi than stovetop pressure cookers, which reach about 15psi. At 12 psi, the fibers in vegetables and meat break down quickly, allowing foods to be cooked in a short amount of time. Meat, beans, and certain vegetables are cooked at high pressure in quite less time. So, high pressure serves you with a quick-cooking of your meal.

    The low-pressure setting on the instant pot cooks at between 4psi to 7psi. On a low-pressure setting, eggs come out perfectly when cooked. You can also try the occasional recipe for vegetables and fish at low pressure.

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