Why Does Instant Pot Say Burn

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How To Avoid The Instant Pot Burn Message

How to Deglaze Your Instant Pot – What to do When it Says Burn

Always remember to add the recommended amount of liquid for the size of your Instant Pot.

Secondly, ensure all Instant Pot accessories such as the steam release valve and sealing ring are not damaged and are correctly secured.

Make use of accessories such as the pressure cooker trivet stand to keep food off the bottom of the pot.

Finally, try to add any starchy or creamy products toward the end of your cooking process so they dont stick to the bottom and cause the pot to overheat.

Lauren Farrell is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

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Instant Pot Burnwhat To Do And How To Avoid It

  • 7 minute read

The dreaded Instant pot burn message is something nobody wantsit can cause a real panic. Is it something I have done, has the Instant pot broken downor is my food burning inside?

Let me reassure you that the solution is not that complicated and a few little changes to what you do can stop this happening in the future.

In this article, I will tell you why your Instant Pot says burn and how to deal with the Instant Pot burn message. If you do get this Instant Pot burn error, it does not necessarily mean that your meal is ruined, I will look at how you can save your meal from disaster.

The Food In Your Instant Pot Is Actually Burning

Okay, this is the last reason your Instant Pot says burn

Because the food in it is actually burning.

What a bummer.

Sometimes it happens to the best of us.

And really, there isnt a super simple way to fix a meal thats been burned.

So order up a pizza and remember that this will be a super funny story further down the road

And try one of these tried and true easy instant recipes next time to avoid a burnt meal!

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Why Does The Instant Pot Burn Message Happen

Usually, the Burn message occurs when food becomes stuck to the bottom of the cooker.

Other reasons include:

  • You haven’t added enough water or thin liquid to your dish.
  • You’ve placed solid foods such as meat directly onto the bottom of the pot.
  • Your sealing ring is not in place.
  • You didn’t deglaze your cooker after using the Sauté function.

Choose An Elevated Metal Plate

Why Does My Instant Pot Say Burn?

Are you using the accessories that came with your pressure cooker? You may notice that there was an elevated metal plate included. If not, this is something that you want to purchase. It could be the answer to all of your problems.

What this plate does is that it fits at the bottom of the pressure cooker. It allows your food to sit above the liquid so that it can cook evenly. In the process, it prevents the food from sticking to the bottom of the pressure cooker.

Also Check: What To Do If Your Instant Pot Says Burn

What To Do If Your Instant Pot Says Burn

  • Dont panic. The burn message simply means that the Instant Pot has detected that the inner pot has gotten too hot, so it stops heating to prevent your food from burning.
  • Press Cancel to turn the pot off.
  • Quick release the steam and pressure from the pot by carefully turning the steam valve to the venting position.
  • Check that the sealing ring is clean, fitted in place properly, and not damaged. Check that the float valve is clean.
  • Stir to check if there is food stuck to the bottom of the inner pot. Scrape up and remove any burnt food from the pot. If a large area of the pot has burnt food, transfer the food that is not burnt to another container, clean the inner pot, and return the food to the pot. Add more liquid as needed, to make sure you have at least one cup of liquid in the pot.
  • Check that the heating element in the cooker base is clean. Also check that the underside of the inner pot is clean.
  • Return the inner pot to the Instant Pot base, close the lid, and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. Restart the pressure cooking cycle. Your meal should now cook just fine!
  • What Cooking Strategies Can Help Prevent Triggering The Burn Message

    One strategy is to make sure that your pot is not full when you cook. The maximum amount of food you should put in an Instant Pot is about 2/3 full. Once the lid is on and the lid is sealed, the food will compress and you can add more.

    Another strategy is to make sure your food isnt piled too high. You want to avoid creating a food tower situation since the liquid from inside the food will overflow onto the base during cooking.

    Make sure that your food is spread out and that canned foods are not stacked on the base.

    Especially at higher altitudes, you may have to adjust some of your cooking times and settings, especially for foods that you have trouble cooking with other methods.

    The Instant Pot is a valuable tool that can be used on a daily basis and to cook some really delicious food. Just know that some experimentation may be needed to get the most out of your new cooking tool.

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    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.

    What Cause The Burn Message

    10 WAYS to Avoid Instant Pot BURN | How to save “burning” food

    Now you know why it says burn, but what causes it? There are some recipes that are prone to this message.

    • Any recipe with thick sauce
    • Pasta dishes
    • Chili
    • Tomato based dishes

    It is caused because the liquid is too thick or there are pieces that are actually burning. What should you do next? Dont freak out, follow a few simple steps.

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    Issue #: You Have A Very Sensitive Pot

    Guys, I can count on one hand how many times I have gotten the burn message after using my Instant Pot like DAILY for three years. It shouldnt happen all the time.

    If you are finding that your pot is giving you the burn message over and over, and you have tried the tips above, something might be wrong with your pot.

    Instant Pot Too Hot After Sauting

    If you have just sautéed some meats or onions, your inner pot will be very hot. You can reduce the chances of the Instant Pot burn message by letting it cool down before you start the pressure-cooking phase.

    Often people will move quickly between sauté and pressure cookinglet it cool and you should see less error messages.

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    Instant Pot Burn Message

    See my guide on how to use an Instant Pot.

    The Instant Pot Burn Message What it means, and how to prevent getting a burn warning when you use your Instant Pot. Plus what to do if your Instant Pot says Burn.

    If you get the dreaded burn message on your Instant Pot, it can be frustrating and possibly even frightening. First I want to reassure you that if your Instant Pot says burn, you should not panic or worry that your meal will be ruined.

    What Is The Burn Message On The Instant Pot

    Instant Pot Burn Message

    All Instant Pot models come with an LED display that keeps users updated on various functionalities and warnings. The Instant Pot has thermal sensors that regulate and automatically adjust its temperature to keep cooking consistent. When those sensors detect that the temperature is getting too hot, youll see the Burn message.

    This smart functionality keeps your dishes from burning, and it also keeps your appliance safe from damage due to overheating.

    Depending on the model of Instant Pot you have, the message may vary. For example, on the older Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer Pressure Cooker it displays as “OvHt.” On newer models such as Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus, it displays as either “Burn” or “Food Burn.”

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    Not Enough Liquid In Your Instant Pot

    The next time my Instant Pot said burn, it was because there wasnt enough liquid in my Instant Pot.

    See, you need liquid to make sure that your Instant Pot has enough to come to pressure.

    And even if you add liquid, you may not have enough.

    Especially if you are cooking foods that typically absorb liquid!

    Thankfully, theres a super easy fix for this one too.

    First, you cancel cooking and release pressure.

    Then you add more liquid.

    Then you can start cooking again.

    And thats it. I told you its super easy!

    Read Also: Instant Pot Burn Message

    What To Do If Your Instant Pot Is Displaying The Burn Message

    Don’t panic, even though the Instant Pot says “burn”, this doesn’t mean that the pot is on fire. It simply means that your food could be burning. Keep calm, and do this:

  • Turn the Instant Pot off.
  • Quick release the pressure by either pressing down the venting valve button, or by turning it to the venting position.
  • Open the lid on the Instant Pot.
  • Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to check if any food is stuck.
  • If no or little food is stuck: Scrape off the stuck pieces with a wooden spoon, then add more liquid to your dish and proceed to cook it.
  • If a lot of food is burnt or stuck: If there is a significant amount of stuck food at the bottom, you might be better off removing the food that’s fine from the top, and placing this in a separate container. Scrape the bottom and clean out the pot, and discard any burnt food. Then, either finish cooking the dish in a pot on the stove top, or add more liquid to the Instant Pot and try again.
  • More INSTANT POT RECIPES From Hint of Healthy

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    What Is The Instant Pot Burn Message

    If you have encountered the Burn message on the display screen, it certainly doesnt mean that your food is burnt or ruined or you need to make something else now.

    It simply means that the Instant Pot has detected that a very high temperate at the bottom of the pot and thus the burn warning.

    The Instant Pot comes with a lot of safety mechanisms. The burn warning is one of them. The Instant Pots thermal sensors are automatically monitored and controlled. Thus when the inner pot reaches temperatures that are very high, the sensors sense the high temperature and shut off the heat displaying a burn message.

    Once things cool down, the heating element turns back on and tries to complete the cooking program however, this burn warning is displayed 5 mines max before the cooker shuts down and returns to standby.

    Burnt Rice in Instant Pot

    How To Correct The Instant Pot Burn Message

    Instant Pot Burn Message | 5 Reasons Why and How to Avoid the Burn Notice
    • Check out my comprehensive guide to using the Pot-in-Pot pressure cooking method.
    • This is a great alternative if you want to avoid any further hassles with the Instant Pot food burn error.
    • Just transfer all ingredients to a separate oven-proof dish that will fit in your inner pot and use PIP to finish pressure cooking.

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    How To Clean The Burnt Inner Pot On Your Instant Pot

    If you do get the Instant Pot burn error message, chances are that there is burning on the bottom of your inner pot. Now, you can wash and clean this using water but there is another method you can use. This will get it clean easily and quickly.

    This method actually utilizes the remains of the inner pot. The first thing we will do is to press the Saute button on the front panel. This will start to heat up the base of the Instant Pot.

    We will then add some hot water to the inner pot. Using a silicone or wooden spoonideally one with a flat bottom, we will scrape the bottom of the pan.

    The heat from the bottom as well as the hot water should make removing the residue at the bottom very easy.

    Essentially, this process is called deglazing and is something that is referred to a lot on Instant Pot cooking. Under normal circumstances, you would use the deglazing process to add to the flavor of the dish. In this case, the food is burnt so we need to remove it out of the inner pot.

    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!

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    Why Did My Pressure Cooker Turned Black

    The inside of canners turning dark or black up to the water line is a pretty common occurrence and has to do with a reaction of the aluminum to the water content. From my understanding its just like a patina that any other metal would create with oxidation, and actually forms a little bit of a protective barrier.

    When The Instant Pot Is Too Hot

    Why Does Instant Pot Says Burn &  How to Avoid it ...

    Thankfully, your Instant Pot tends to alert you immediately if the bottom of the inner pot is so hot that the food is either burning, or likely to burn. This usually happens in two ways:

    • By displaying a message saying burn or OvHt
    • By alerting you with a beeping sound to draw your attention if youre not looking at the display

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    Why Does My Instant Pot Smell Like Burning Plastic

    Another possible reason for your Instant Pot smelling like burnt plastic is an unburnt protective layer. The smell normally goes away when the additional covering burns with the first use. The company puts in a protective layer to ensure that you know you are buying a brand-new Instant Pot.

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    Solution: Get To Know Your Instant Pot And When In Doubt Add Extra Water/thin Liquid If You Feel Your Pot Is Going To Need It

    After being an Instant Pot owner for a few years now, this particular issue can be tricky, because what works in my pot might not work perfectly for yours. I want to be able to tell everyone EXACTLY how much liquid to use, but for a small percentage of you, it might need to be trial and error. So when in doubt, add the extra liquid the first time around and see how it goes.

    Also, looking for tried and true recipes that have good reviews or are shared in Instant Pot groups is always a good idea!

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    What Should I Do When I Get An Instant Pot Burn Notice

    You may notice at some point that your Instant Pot is trying to warn you that your food is about to burn. This is a good thing! It doesnt mean your food is burnt. The burn notice is your friend and is there to prevent your meal from tasting like charcoal!

    Once your pressure cooker reaches the Burn notice temperature, the Burn sign will display and your Instant pot burn message will let you know that something needs to be done. This is a good thing!

    Instant Pot Burn Notice Step One:

    You need to turn your Instant Pot off right away and release the steam. Any further cooking and your food will burn inside the Instant Pot.

    Pay attention to how many minutes your food has been cooking so you know how long to reprogram your recipe once you restart the cooking process.

    You should pay close attention to your Instant Pot display as it cooks. Error messages and the Burn Notice can help you.

    Its easy to set it and forget it but you do need to check in every few minutes just incase you get that dreaded Instant Pot burn notification.

    Instant Pot Burn Notice Step Two:

    Once the steam has dissipated, you will need to investigate your meal. This may mean checking to see if any food has stuck to the bottom of your pot and giving the food in your recipe a good stir.

    Also check you have enough water or liquid in the pot for your Instant Pot recipe to continue cooking without a further burn notice.

    Instant Pot Burn Notice Step Three:

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