Instant Not
I got an Instant Pot for Christmas from Katie, which was great. I've heard a lot about how versatile and great these appliances are, and I was really looking forward to trying it out. I mean, you can cook a tender roast in less than an hour, cook easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs, and supposedly make a million other one-pot meals.
So I unboxed it immediately and started looking at the instructions. With all the controls and settings it seemed a little intimidating, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
The first thing I saw was four pages of safety warnings. Okay, that's a little weird. But I guess it cooks things under high pressure, so it's good to be safe. Then after giving it a wash, the first thing I was supposed to do is put some water in it and let it get up to pressure. Okay, it's a good idea to make sure it works properly.
So I put water in, and carefully followed the instructions to boil some water. And it worked. But I quickly realized that this pot is anything but instant. First of all, you have to have the lid vent thingie turned to the right setting (venting or sealing), and then the pot has to head up to the point at which the other valve closes automatically. Then when the head and pressure is correct your timer starts based on what you set it for. So the 3-minute water boiling test took a good 10 minutes. And once the cooking is done you have to either let the pressure gradually release on its own (which can take 10 to 40 minutes), or slowly release it yourself using a spoon or something to keep your hand away from the steam. This can also take a couple of minutes, depending on how much steam you want to eject into the stratosphere.
Next I decided to try making an actual meal with the Instant Pot. I wanted chicken teriyaki, so I searched for a recipe specifically for the Instant Pot. I followed the recipe and turned it on the pressure cook setting for 10 minutes. But for a few minutes I was getting the lid vent mixed up, until I finally got it right with the sealing setting (it kind of sits under my cabinets and isn't easy to read). So maybe too much moisture escaped before I got it right, or the recipe didn't call for enough liquid, but after a few minutes I saw a "burn" notification on the display. I had to empty the food into a bowl and scrape a burned layer of rice from the bottom before cooking it again with more water. This time it worked, but the rice was almost a paste when it was done. So maybe having to partially cook it twice was bad, or I added too much water, or maybe I just can't cook chicken and rice together.
One recipe I've noticed is that for mashed potatoes. I don't understand the advantage of cooking this in the Instant Pot.
Conventional mashed potatoes recipe:
1. Peel potatoes; cut into pieces.
2. Boil for 10 minutes (probably takes 20 with heating time).
3. Drain and mash; add butter and milk.
Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe:
1. Peel potatoes.
2. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes (probably takes 20).
3. Drain and mash; add butter and milk.
The only real difference is I think you can leave them whole in the Instant Pot and have them cook in the same amount of time. But maybe I will try it and become a convert.
I'm not trying to be negative here. I truly believe I will enjoy the appliance once I get more experienced with it. But for now, it's anything but "instant" and there is still some learning to do.
So I unboxed it immediately and started looking at the instructions. With all the controls and settings it seemed a little intimidating, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
The first thing I saw was four pages of safety warnings. Okay, that's a little weird. But I guess it cooks things under high pressure, so it's good to be safe. Then after giving it a wash, the first thing I was supposed to do is put some water in it and let it get up to pressure. Okay, it's a good idea to make sure it works properly.
So I put water in, and carefully followed the instructions to boil some water. And it worked. But I quickly realized that this pot is anything but instant. First of all, you have to have the lid vent thingie turned to the right setting (venting or sealing), and then the pot has to head up to the point at which the other valve closes automatically. Then when the head and pressure is correct your timer starts based on what you set it for. So the 3-minute water boiling test took a good 10 minutes. And once the cooking is done you have to either let the pressure gradually release on its own (which can take 10 to 40 minutes), or slowly release it yourself using a spoon or something to keep your hand away from the steam. This can also take a couple of minutes, depending on how much steam you want to eject into the stratosphere.
Next I decided to try making an actual meal with the Instant Pot. I wanted chicken teriyaki, so I searched for a recipe specifically for the Instant Pot. I followed the recipe and turned it on the pressure cook setting for 10 minutes. But for a few minutes I was getting the lid vent mixed up, until I finally got it right with the sealing setting (it kind of sits under my cabinets and isn't easy to read). So maybe too much moisture escaped before I got it right, or the recipe didn't call for enough liquid, but after a few minutes I saw a "burn" notification on the display. I had to empty the food into a bowl and scrape a burned layer of rice from the bottom before cooking it again with more water. This time it worked, but the rice was almost a paste when it was done. So maybe having to partially cook it twice was bad, or I added too much water, or maybe I just can't cook chicken and rice together.
One recipe I've noticed is that for mashed potatoes. I don't understand the advantage of cooking this in the Instant Pot.
Conventional mashed potatoes recipe:
1. Peel potatoes; cut into pieces.
2. Boil for 10 minutes (probably takes 20 with heating time).
3. Drain and mash; add butter and milk.
Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe:
1. Peel potatoes.
2. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes (probably takes 20).
3. Drain and mash; add butter and milk.
The only real difference is I think you can leave them whole in the Instant Pot and have them cook in the same amount of time. But maybe I will try it and become a convert.
I'm not trying to be negative here. I truly believe I will enjoy the appliance once I get more experienced with it. But for now, it's anything but "instant" and there is still some learning to do.
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