What Does It Mean When Instant Pot Says Burn

How To Saut In An Instant Pot

The basic steps to using Instant Pot sauté to brown meat, vegetables, etc. are:

Ever Got The Instant Pot Burn Message

Newbie or not, dread the Burn message? Yes, we understand how frustrating it is when you are cooking a meal and your get the burn message. You have a hungry family waiting or you were cooking for a party or may be just used up the last set of ingredients you had for the recipe. We know, exactly how it feels, its happened to us too. Mind you its not uncommon and it happens to every Instant Pot use at some point or the other.

Guess what, you dont need to panic!!!

How To Save A Dish That Gets A Burn Message

Once the overheat protection setting is triggered, the machine will shut off, cool itself down and start up again. The good news is no matter what youre making, you can fix it. Your best bet is to cancel the program, quickly release the steam, then remove the inner pot. Take a look at your food and remove anything that looks scorched or burnt. Check to make sure there isnt anything on the heating element and that the machine is working properly, then add some extra liquid and get cooking again. Here are other Instant Pot mistakes you can avoid, too.

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Instant Pot Burn Error Paint The Kitchen Red

Mar 9, 2018 Sometimes the Instant Pot says burn or food burn and then changes to On. If this happens to you, just say thank you and let it keep cooking. You Rating: 5 · 7 votes

Apr 30, 2019 First of all, you should know that when your Instant Pot reads burn it means that your dish is, well, burning. According to Anna the food

My Instant Pot Says Burn On The Display What Do I Do Now

First off dont panic. Most likely your dinner can be salvaged.

What are you cooking and how long does it take? If its something that cooks quickly, like oatmeal, you can ignore the message and let the Instant Pot finish cooking.

If youre cooking something that takes longer like chili or roast then youll need to fix the problem on why you got the burn message in the first place.

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The Food Youre Cooking Is Too Thick

Your Instant Pot can also say burn when the food youre cooking is too thick

Think like, a roast or something similar.

Its actually best to use a different setting on foods that are thick.

So heres the solution for when your Instant Pot says burn because your food is too thick

First, cancel pressure cooking and release pressure.

Then, you can cook on saute or slow cook.

Those settings are designed to handle thicker foods to make sure everything gets cooked thoroughly!

Instant Pot Burn Error

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Published: by Paint the Kitchen Red |

The Instant Pot burn error is a common problem that many Instant Pot users come across, so youre not alone! Find out why youre getting the burn message, how to avoid the problem in the future, and what to do when the Instant Pot says Burn, and in the process, save dinner. See special instructions at the bottom to find out how to deglaze your inner pot and clean the burnt food easily.

If youre new to the Instant Pot and arent familiar with how to use it, here are my guides on how to use some popular Instant Pot models:

Recommended Reading: How To Convert Slow Cooker Recipes To Instant Pot

How To Avoid Burn Messages:

There are a few ways you can avoid the Instant Pot burn issue.

• Pot in Pot cooking with the Instant Pot is just putting another container inside the pressure cooker to contain your food. As long as there is enough water in the pot, you cant get a burn notice with pot in pot cooking because theres no food touching the inner pot or the heating element underneath.
• You wont get a burn warning when using pot in pot cooking methods. Recipes like my lasagna, breakfast casserole, hard boiled eggs for egg salad, and even Starbucks egg bites are all examples of pot in pot cooking.

• Another way you can avoid the burn Instant Pot warning is by adding extra liquid. If your recipe consistently gives you a burn warning, you should adjust it to include more thin cooking liquid.
• Low pressure cooking is another way to keep the Instant Pot from saying burn. You can use low pressure cooking for just about anything, its just a matter of adjusting the time to compensate. The Pressure Level button on your Instant Pot will let you select your desired pressure level.
• The heating temperature is also reduced when you cook on low pressure on an Instant Pot so make sure you double check the internal temperature of your food when adjusting the pressure settings.

What Does The Instant Pot Burn Notice Actually Mean

According to the official instant pot website, the appliance has built in sensors that can detect high temperatures in the pressure cooking mode. As soon as the temperature crosses a certain threshold, the pot flashes a burn warning message across the LED display. Further heating is suspended to give you a chance to fix whatevers wrong.

This is actually a great safety feature if you think about it! While you do have the inconvenience of uncooked food, the food is NOT going to catch fire and burn as it would on the stovetop if you left it unattended.

And whats more, youll see when you open the pot that most of the food can be salvaged. It is not burnt yet because the cooker has cut off further heating automatically.

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You Didnt Add Enough Water

As Ive specified time and time again, the Instant Pot doesnt work without liquid in the inner pot. It needs at least 1 cup of liquid to build pressure based on steam.

Keep in mind that size does matter! In this case, an 8qt pot will need more starter liquid than a 6qt.

Another factor that influences the way the IP reacts is the thickness of the liquid. While the specifications mention that the liquid doesnt need to be plain water, its important to know that it needs to be thin so it can get to a boil in the estimated time.

Even more, the thin liquid needs to be at the bottom of the inner pot, so the food doesnt burn. If you mix thick sauces such as tomato paste or tomato sauce , they will settle at the bottom of the pot and may trigger the error. As such, if you work with thick sauces, its best to add them after the pressure cooking step.

You should also avoid cooking milk or heavy cream directly in the inner pot. These liquids create a film on the wall of the container and that film scorches easily. You can still make recipes that involve creamy sauces by employing the pot-in-pot method.

Whats the minimum amount of water for Instant Pot?

For 3-quart Instant Pot 1 cup of water or other liquid.

For 6-quart Instant Pot 1 cup of water or other liquid.

For 8-quart Instant Pot 2 cups of water or other liquid.

If Your Instant Pot Says Food Burn Don’t Stress Here’s What It Actually Means

If you use an Instant Pot, you know it can cook delicious meals in record time. While Instant Pots can make cooking easier, they also have special safety features that, while helpful, can be confusing at first. One example of this is when the pot reads “food burn,” which is what happened to me recently. But does that mean your food is actually burning? Turns out, no! It just means that the pot is too hot. The food could potentially burn, but the Instant Pot has the Overheat Protection feature in place, which can help stop that from happening.

Instant Pots are impressively smart with 13 safety mechanisms, including the Overheat Protection feature. Not only does this feature allow the pot to detect when your food is about to burn from the heat, but it also shuts the heat off so your food won’t become ruined and so the pot itself is safe. After taking these precautions, it shows you the “food burn” message. Once the pot cools down, it will heat back up and finish cooking your meal. It can trigger this feature five times before shutting off completely.

If you get a burn warning, don’t feel bad, it happens! If what you’re cooking doesn’t take long, like steel-cut oats, you can usually let the Instant Pot finish its job, knowing it has the overheating feature in place. However, if you’re cooking a recipe that takes longer, you can fix the problem in seven steps.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts

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How To Cook Rice With Instant Pot

Using the instant pot, you can cook perfect fluffy rice. Do the following steps:

• Rinse the rice under cool water until the water is clear.
• Drain all excess water and transfer the rice to the inner pot.
• Add a pinch of salt and a little oil of choice to the rice. This is optional.
• Add water in the ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.1 cups of water.
• Lock the lid by turning it clockwise.
• The steam valve should be set to seal.
• Plugin the power and switch it on.
• Press the rice button on the settings menu.
• Set the timer for 8 minutes or less depending on the quantity of rice you are cooking. Refer to your users manual for the recommend timer for the instant pot model you are using.

• After the timer is over, let it sit for another 10 minutes to allow excess steam to dissipate.
• Turn off the power before opening the lid of the cooker.
• Fluff the rice gently to avoid breaking the grains.
• Your instant pot cooked rice is ready to be served.

Note Make sure that the hot plate, the valves, as well as the seal, are clean and in perfect condition before cooking the rice.

Recipe Was Tested With An Older Instant Pot Model

If youre following a recipe youve found in a cookbook or on the internet, you could be getting the burn message because that recipe was developed using an older Instant Pot model which didnt have the burn error as a safety feature.

Back in the old days of when the Instant Pot was first introduced, if there was an overheat condition, the Instant Pot would countdown as though it were pressure cooking even though the float valve wasnt up and the Instant Pot hadnt sealed.

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Food Is Stuck To The Bottom Of Your Instant Pot

This is the first thing that made my Instant Pot say burn.

I had put my ingredients in, and the chicken got stuck to the bottom of my Instant Pot.

So my Instant Pot said burn but clearly nothing was burning

Thankfully I found a super simple fix that you can use if theres food stuck to the bottom of your Instant Pot.

First, youre going to cancel cooking and release pressure.

Then you use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Then you restart cooking.

Simple as that!

How To Fix Instant Pot Overheating

When my pot flashes the OvHt signal, it is telling me there is a thick layer of food stuck to the bottom of the pot, and it is very close to burning.

The first thing is to un-stick the food. I remove the lid and scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat edged wooden spoon. Since the pot is full, I cant see the stuck food. But I can definitely feel stuck to the bottom of the pot as I scrape the wooden spoon, the bottom feels bumpy and rough. Once I have cleaned the pot, the bottom will feel smooth. Scraping the rough, overheating food can take some elbow grease. Sometimes it is really stuck on there.1Again, like my failed attempts at Jambalaya. Can you tell why Im writing this post?

I keep working it, scraping, spinning the pan, scraping at different angles. Dont give up it might take a while, but eventually the rough feeling will go away, and the bottom of the pot will be clean. If I can scrape the entire bottom of the pot, paying close attention to the edges, and the whole thing feels smooth, then Im ready to move on to the next step trying to prevent the sticking.

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What Does The Instant Pot Burn Message Mean

The burn message, usually displayed as burn,OvHt or Food Burn, is part of the Instant Pots overheat protection system. If your pot displays a burn error, it means that the Instant Pot has detected that the inner pot has gotten too hot. This is an indicator that food may be starting to burn on the bottom of the pot.

The burn warning is a safety mechanism to prevent both the Instant Pot from getting too hot and to keep your food from burning. When it senses overheating, the Instant Pot stops heating and gives you a burn notice to let you know that the cooking process has stopped. Sometimes, if you just leave the pot alone, the Instant Pot will cool for a few minutes and then begin the cooking cycle again. So it is possible that the cook cycle will complete even after a burn error.

However, there are some simple steps that you can take to fix the problem and get your dinner cooking again. Not too worry, a burn message does not mean that your dinner is ruined!

The burn warning can be more common with the 8 quart Instant Pot and also with newer models.

What To Do If You Get A Burn Message On Your Instant Pot

First of all, dont panic. Nothing is on fire, your Pot is still safe, and your meal is more than likely salvageable. Just follow these steps:

• Check to make sure your pot is on sealing and not venting. If its on sealing, then release the pressure using the quick release.

• Remove your lid and check to make sure your sealing ring is in properly and not defective in any way.

• Next check the bottom of the pot to see if anything is stuck.

• If a little bit of food is stuck to the bottom, then use a wooden spatula to scrape it off.
• If there is a lot of food stuck to the bottom, salvage what you can, then remove the rest of the food and soak your pot

• If there is nothing stuck in your Pot, check to see if theres anything stuck in the heating element of your pot.

• If thats clear, then add additional thin liquid to the food you are trying to cook and start the process all over again.

I hope this helps you understand the reason behind the burn message! I hope you feel empowered to not only to troubleshoot if you see it, but prevent the Burn all together!

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