What Does Burn Message Mean On My Instant Pot
If you see burn display on your Instant Pot, do not panic. The IP detected a high temperature at the bottom of the stainless steel insert and because this appliance has a burn-protection sensor, it turned off heating of the pot which means it stopped cooking. This is a very smart feature and it will prevent your whole dish from burning and smoking up your kitchen, as it would happen in a regular saucepan or pot on the stove.
Why Am I Getting The Instant Pot Burn Error
To know why the burn on instant pot is triggered, we need to understand the principle behind pressure cooking food. It is the same principle whether you are using a electric pressure cooker like an instant pot or your regular stovetop pressure cooker. The liquid added to the food creates steam when it is heated to a high temperature. Since the steam has nowhere to go in a sealed pot, pressure builds up quickly which cooks the food faster.
The important thing to note here is that pressure cookers require a certain amount of thin liquid like water or stock to come to pressure. If there is less liquid or no liquid, the food at the bottom of the pot will get scorched because there isnt enough steam and you cant stir it once the pot has been sealed.
Lack of sufficient liquid is the number one underlying reason why you might get the burn message. Your instant pot is warning you that theres something wrong. Cool, no?
How To Prevent A Burn Notice In The Future
- Scrape before you seal: Scrape up all the browned bits left in the pot after sautéing food and before closing the lid.;
- Double-check your parts before you close up the pot for cooking. An improperly sealed lid can cause the Instant Pot to just cook and cook your contents as it attempts to reach pressure. This will lead to scorching and then a burn notice.;
- Make sure that youre using enough liquid.;Our recipes take the amount of liquid necessary for the machine to function into account, but someone else’s recipe might not.;
What Does The Instant Pot Burn Message Actually Mean
Well, if youve just encountered the burn code on your pot, it doesnt necessarily mean that your food is burnt and that now youll have to prepare dinner all over again.
The message means that there is an overheat error and is triggered when the pot detects higher temperature than normal at the bottom of the inner pot.
The instant pot burn message is actually a safety feature which is very important as it helps avoid the pressure cooker from burning your food when the inner pot becomes too hot.
So how does this error occur?;Simply explained, Instant Pot has this built-in advanced burn-protection safety mechanism that prevents your delicious meals from getting burnt.
This safety mechanism is designed to detect high temperatures at the bottom of the inner pot . The mechanism instantly triggers the warning and immediately stops the instant pot from heating anymore.
Like I stated earlier, if the instant pot says burn, dont freak out. Your food is perfectly safe! Usually, the food at the bottom layer of the inner pot may be getting a little bit dry or overcooked. Obviously, when this happens, the temperature may end up rising, thus triggering the warning.
If you have an older Instant Pot model, you might see an Ovht warning message on the display screen. For newer models, youll see a Burn message on the screen.
Now lets move on to the next burning question:
If Your Instant Pot Says Food Burn Dont Stress
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.
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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.
Food Gets Stuck On The Bottom Of The Container
This is one of the most unexpected and popular reasons why your instant pot shows that burn sign. Now you dont need to get irritated. We will tell you why this happens. This is because when the food gets stuck at the bottom of the pot, it automatically triggers the sign as it thinks the food is burning because of the immobility.
But that is an elementary problem and such an issue has a straightforward solution too. You only have to cancel cooking and release the pressure. Once that is done, stir your ingredients with a wooden spatula and scrape the bottom part. Then you can begin cooking again!
Help Why Does My Instant Pot Say Burn
When I got my;Instant Pot I was so excited to get started.
I mean, its this magical appliance where I put all my ingredients in, press a button, and in like 10 minutes, I have a delicious meal, right?
Well.
I put all my ingredients in, I pushed the button, and then a few minutes later, my Instant Pot said: burn.
What the heck? Thats not how this thing is supposed to work!
So I started investigating
And I found the four major reasons that an Instant Pot says burn.
Spoiler alert It doesnt always mean your food is burning!
Reason #4: Cooking With Ingredients That Burn Easily
Some ingredients just tend to burn easily. They either have a high sugar content or they are dense and stick to the bottom. Ingredients like diced tomatoes, tomato paste and sauce, etc. are notorious for causing you to get the BURN message, but there are tricks to keep that from happening and things you can do if it does happen, mid cook.
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Recipe includes diced tomatoes. | Add the diced tomatoes on top of the rest of the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Do not mix them in. |
| Recipes include tomato paste or sauce. | Before adding any liquid to the Instant Pot, mix the paste or sauce into the liquid and whisk well. Then pour this mixture into the Instant Pot. |
| Get a BURN message while cooking a recipe with tomatoes. | Press cancel and slowly release the pressure. Open the lid and use a spatula to scrape the burnt ingredients off of the bottom of the liner. Try and place the tomato on the top of the the rest of the ingredients, then continue cooking. |
What To Do When The Burn Sign Comes On
Once the burn sign is on, you need to press the cancel button, then switch the Instant Pot to venting mode so that it releases the pressure. You should first check that there is no burned food stuck to the inner pot which caused the pot to overheat. Simply scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to remove any burnt pieces, but make sure its completely free of debris before using the pot again. If there are none, it means the sauce for your dish is too thick. As Anna points out, the Instant Pot needs a thin sauce to come up to pressure.
The solution is easy: Just add more water to your dish , and stir so that it reaches the bottom of the pot. Once the Instant Pot has fully cooled down, you can continue cooking. In fact, Anna recommends avoiding making any thick cream sauces in the Instant Pot, and writes that you should add ingredients like heavy cream and cream cheese after your food is done cooking in the Instant Pot. You can use the sauté mode to thicken your sauce beforehand.
In addition, you should layer the recipes ingredients in the Instant Pot, with the thicker ingredients like tomato sauce going in last, and you should not stir everything together before cooking.
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.
If Your Instant Pot Says Food Burn Don’t Stress
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.
Cancel the cooking and Quick Release the steam.
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.
Why Do We Get The Instant Pot Says Burn
Wondering what am I doing wrong that I keep getting the burn message.
Well, when the temperatures are very hot at the bottom of the pot, and there is loss of moisture, the food starts to stick on the pot, especially when its being pressure cooked when you cant stir or deglaze the pot. Thus the burn display.
You Overfill The Instant Pot
If you add to much liquid, you may get the burn message.
If you add too much food, you may get the burn message.
I really like the Jasmine rice recipe, since its easy and works every time. But after a while I wanted to diversify, so I added bell pepper. And it was great!
So next time I added bell pepper and broccoli. AndI got the burn message. It turned out it was too much for the Instant Pot to handle this amount of food at once.
Make sure you dont overfill the pressure cooker and that the liquid and the ingredients do not;exceed the;MAX PC 2/3;line on the Pot.;
Make sure you add more water if you are adding more food.
Food Or Liquid In Pot Is Too Thick
This is yet another common problem that often triggers the instant pot burn message.
Starchy foods like rice, oats, and pasta can become too thick when they come to a boil. This problem actually happens while using regular pots as well.
Likewise, Some thick sauces or tomato products may trigger a burn warning in the highly sensitive pressure cooking instant pot.
If the liquid is too thick, excessive heat ends up building at the bottom of the inner pot. Therefore, the cooker may not be able to generate enough steam, thus triggering the burn notice.
Solution:
Make Sure There is Enough Thin Liquid in the Pot- Avoid adding thick cooking liquid or thick sauces especially when cooking high starch foods in this pressure cooker. If necessary, always add more thin liquid to the instant pot to avoid problematic thickness.
Layer Thick Sauces at the Top of Ingredients- Thick sauces and tomato products like tomato paste or tomato sauce tend to stick to the bottom of the instant pot. This obviously causes heat to build up at the bottom and your food may end up not cooking properly especially now that there isnt enough steam being generated. The general rule of thumb when using instant pot is to always layer sauces and tomato products above the rest of the ingredients. Do not mix these with the other ingredients whatsoever.
Mistake #4: Did Not Deglaze Inner Pot Bottom
Instant Pot is awesome for allowing users to saute directly in the inner pot.
Take note that after sauteing, there will be some brown bits stuck to the the bottom of the pot.;Dont worry! These are not burnt food debris.
However, when users dont fully scrub these flavorful brown bits off the pot before pressure cooking, itll trigger Instant Pot to think the food content inside is burnt.
What Do I Do If My Instant Pot Says Burn
Your Instant Pot automatically turns off once it detects a burn in the inner pot, immediately taking care of the most pressing issue. Sometimes, your Instant Pot will cool down quickly and resume cooking on its own. But in most cases, it’s good to have a plan with damage control. And remember, there’s no reason to panic.
Not Enough Liquid In The Pot
This is perhaps the biggest cause of a burn message on instant pot.
A pressure cooker needs an adequate amount of liquid in order to generate enough steam and come to pressure.
When the amount of liquid in the pot is not enough, the pressure cooker is therefore unable to generate steam and thus causes the bottom temperature at the bottom of the instant pot to rise instantly.
When the bottom of the instant pot becomes too hot, the burn warning on the pot is instantly triggered.
Typically, Instant Pot requires a 1 cup of liquid. This is usually enough to generate enough steam for cooking various recipes. However, there are certain recipes or ingredients that may require more liquid- otherwise, a burn message is triggered.
For example, food recipes containing high amounts of starch can trigger the instant pot burn message. These may include rice and pasta. These foods typically absorb liquids fast and are generally sticky so youre bound to get the warning if your recipe contains these two ingredients.
Solution:
I recommend using proven instant pot recipes to ensure that 1 cup is
Another problem is that most recipes are created using the most popular instant pot size- the 6-quart port. So if youre still going to add the same amount of liquid in a 6 quart port as you would an 8-quart port, you might end up getting the burn message.
What To Do If You Get A Burn Notice While Cooking
First, see if the key elements of the machine are in working order. Make sure that theres nothing caught between the pot and the burner. Check the silicone ring; make sure that it didnt fall out of place. Check the floating valve; make sure that its clean and moving freely. Check the steam-release switch; is it in the right position for your job? If any of these is out of whack, the machine will just continue to try and build pressure, heating the contents until there isnt enough liquid and it gets too hot, which trips the sensorand then its burn notice oclock.;
If all your gear looks right, check your food. You probably either scorched something on the bottom of the pot when sautéing before sealing or dont have enough liquid in the pot.
