What To Do When Instant Pot Says Burn
Here are 6 steps to follow when your Instant Pot says Burn:
Insufficient Liquid In The Pot
The most common reason for the burn warning message is insufficient water or liquid in the pot to begin with. You need to add at least once cup of liquid in an instant pot before you start cooking. The minimum amount, however, may vary across different models and sizes. So make sure you consult the user manual for the required amount of water before you start. Also, if you are new to instant pots or pressure cooking, then perhaps you should stay on the safe side and start your culinary journey preparing meals that have good amount of liquid in them. This will not only build up your confidence but also help you estimate the amount of water lost in the cooking process.
What Causes The Burn Message
When you see a burn message, it means that the internal pot is reaching a super high temperature. Instant Pots are designed with the mantra set it and forget it in mind. The overheat protection setting is there to put you at ease and help prevent burning. So if you see one, you should still be in good shape. Although there are a ton of reasons this could happen, the most common is a simple one. The Instant Pot runs on steam, and steam comes from two things: heat and water. If there isnt enough liquid in your inner pot, the machine wont pressurize properly and will start to burn.
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What To Do When Your Instant Pot Says Burn
So you got that dreadful burn sign and now chills are creeping down your spine. If youre wondering what to do when your Instant Pot says burn, read on. It can be a bit scary at first, but theres no need to panic. Weve got all the answers to why you might be getting a burn notice, what you should do to resolve it, and how to avoid getting the burn notice in the future.
Instant Pots can surely be intimidating for new users, but the burn sign can worry seasoned users as well. Ive been using my pressure cooker for years now and I still get a little anxiety when the burn notice goes off.
After all, pressure cookers do hold a tremendous amount of power that can be devastating and possibly cause serious harm. They must be handled with caution.
The good news it that burn alert on your Instant Pot is meant to be a safety precaution and when dealt with quickly, it is nothing to be frightened of.
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.
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How Do I Stop My Instant Pot From Burning
Its rather simple. If the pot doesnt have any defects then you just have to follow the specifications.
It also helps if you only work with tested recipes and follow the ingredients and temperatures exactly. When you experiment, things can go a bit wild.
Lastly, if you usually cook with starchy foods , put them last in the pot and dont stir them in. This way, they will cook without reaching the bottom of the inner pot and stick to it.
What Is The Burn Message
If youve received a burn message on your Instant Pot, dont panic! The machine has a total of 13 safety mechanisms to keep you and your food safe. The Instant Pot burn message is there to warn you when the bottom of your pot is getting too hot. Keep in mind that the warning is just that, a cautionary message to let you know that things are heating up, not a declaration that your meal is ruined. Theres still time to fix it!
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Can You Put Butter In Pressure Cooker
Add butter to the jar with the lid loosely closed. Place it back in the Instant Pot with the remaining 2 cups of water and cook on the high pressure setting for 30 minutes. When its done, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure, remove the jar, open its lid and let the contents cool for about 30 minutes.
The Instant Pot Keeps Beeping
Its normal for the pot to beep as it starts to heat, beep when its starting the timer, and beep when the timer is done. If its beeping otherwise, that usually means something is wrong, and you should look to see if theres a code flashing on the screen. This most often indicates an overheating issue that your Instant Pot wants you to know about ASAP.
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Issue #: Steam Is Escaping Your Instant Pot Via The Knob Or Your Sealing Ring
If your instant pot knob is turned to venting instead of sealing, it will release the steam instead of building the pressure it needs to build. This can dry out the water in your pot necessary for proper pressure cooking, as well cause the bottom of the pot to get too hot, triggering the burn notice.
Also, if your sealing ring is not properly in place, or if its damaged or has food stuck on it, this could also trigger a burn warning for the same reason as the knob.
How To Fix Burn Messages On Pressure Cookers:
Heres a general process you can use to fix your recipe and finish cooking after you see a burn message on your pressure cooker.
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What Is Instant Pot Burn Message
The Burn Message on Instant Pot simply means theres an Instant Pot Overheat Error.
Instant Pot has a built-in burn-protection mechanism that prevents users from burning food in the Instant Pot.
So, when it detects a high temperature at the bottom of the inner pot, the burn-protection mechanism suspends heating. This often means the bottom layer is overcooked and getting dry.
This is when you would see the Burn Message or Ovht Error on the screen display.
Burn Notice: How To Avoid It And What To Do When You Get It
One of the hardest recipes that I have converted to the Instant Pot has to be my familys Arroz con Pollo. Not because its complicated or has extravagant ingredients, but because it was the frist time I ever came upon the dreaded and infamous BURNnotice.
When it first happened to me, I remember getting so scared that I had just ruined dinner and all that work and money I put into ingredients was now trashed. I wish I could say that was the last time it happened, but the truth is my Arroz con Pollo recipe took 7 tries and 6 struggles with the BURN notice, to finally get it right.
However, all the frustration and redos was 100% worth it because it made me an expert when it comes to the BURN message. Every time I had to try again, I learned a new lesson and I decided to write a post to share them with you.
In this tutorial you will learn
- 5 main reasons why youll get the BURN message.
- Tips to keep you from getting the BURN notice.
- What to do if you get the BURN notice and how to fix it.
The following is a video tutorial taking you step by step through everything I will go through in this post.
link for video if it does not show below Youtube Video on Burn Notice
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Not Deglazing The Base After Sauting
This is another common mistake people make that can lead to a burn message. Usually, when you sauté small amounts of food gets stuck at the inner pots bottom. The mistake most of us make is that we straight switch to the pressure cooking program without deglazing the pots base. For deglazing, all you need to do is add some hot water onto the base and scrape it clean. This will not only prevent your food from burning but will also add to its taste.
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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More Instant Pot Tips
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My Pot Is Kind Of Stinky
The rubberized sealing ring of the Instant Pot can absorb odors easily, especially when pressure cooking. If you are cooking a particularly pungent meal, the ring may retain the smell, which is annoying when making a different meal. Garlic smells may be the most common, but it can happen over time with a variety of odors.
If the odor is causing problems, take your sealing ring out and try washing it in the dishwasher. This can remove some of the worst of the smell and get the ring back into working order. You may also want to try soaking it in a pan of warm water mixed with baking soda to absorb as much of the odor as you can. Some people even choose to purchase a spare sealing ring and use one for meals and one for desserts.
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Deglaze Inner Pot After Sauteing
After sauteing and before pressure cooking you need to deglaze the inner pot. Deglazing involves adding a thin liquid like wine, water or broth to the hot surface and scraping the bottom with a silicone scraper or wooden spatula to remove the caramelized and brown bits that are stuck.
Deglazing adds wonderful flavor to your dish, but more importantly, it cleans the inner pot. So any liquid that you add will make full contact with the bottom of the inner pot and that allows the sensor in the Instant Pot to properly register temperature and pressure.
Pressure Cooking Cooking Cream Or Milk Directly
A general rule of thumb is to never add milk or cream directly to the pot before pressure cooking. When boiled, milk leaves a thin layer behind. Dairy cooking cream is worse- it leaves a thick layer that may cause the bottom of the instant pot to become hotter, thus triggering the burning warning.
Solution:
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What To Do If Your Instant Pot Says Burn
Not Deglazing After Your Saut
This is another novice mistake that can lead to an Instant Pot burn message. When you sauté, you will leave small amounts of food stuck onto the bottom of the inner pot.
The mistake people make is that they go straight to the pressure cooking without deglazing the base. This can be done easily by adding a small amount of hot water into the hot base and scraping it clean. This actually adds to the taste of the food.
This confuses the sensors in your Instant Pot and can lead to the burn error.
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There Is Not Enough Liquid
Just like an open steam release valve can stop the pot from pressurizing, not enough liquid can also prevent pressure from building up. The Instant Pot requires at least 1 cup of water to create the steam necessary for pressurizing. Less than a cup of liquid or thick liquids such as spaghetti sauces or thick soups can cause the burning sign.
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How To Do A Water Test
If the water test fails, you should file a support ticket with Instant Pot support.
I hope this article has helped you learn about the burn message and how you can avoid it and fix the problem. Please share on social media using the links at the top and bottom of this article. Thanks so much!
What Should I Do When I Get The Burn Notice On My Instant Pot
Collect yourself! Theres nothing wrong with your Instant Pot. Now that you know what causes an Instant Pot to display the burn message and how to avoid it, you will surely get it less frequently. With that said, if you were to get it again this is how you should handle it.
- 1#Start by releasing the pressure . Do so carefully and make sure that no part of your body is close to the release hole as pressure will escape in the form of super hot steam.Never try to open the lid without releasing pressure first.
- 2# When the Instant Pot has depressurized, open the lid to check if theres food stuck to the bottom. Open the lid carefully, especially if youve got thick sauces in there as they may splash.
- 3#If theres burnt food at the base of the cooker, you need to remove it. There are two ways to do so, which technique is most effective depends on the degree of the burn. Small stains can often be removed by scraping the bottom of the cooker with a wooden spoon or spatula but badly burned food and blackened stains may require that you remove the content of the cooker and soak the inner pot in a mixture of warm water and soap.
- 4# If theres no burnt food at the base of the cooker but theres no liquid left, add more liquid, stir thoroughly, and resume the cooking cycle.
If you opened the cooker only to find that no food has burned to the bottom and that theres still sufficient liquid in the cooker, proceed to:
- 6# Resume the cooking process.
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