- 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker--Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute/Browning, Yogurt Maker, Steamer & Warmer. Please refer the user manual before use.
- Large, easy to use control panel with 14 Micro-Processor controlled programs, Dual pressure, Automatic keep-warm and 3 temperatures for saute and slow cook
- UL and ULC certified with 10 proven safety mechanisms; Highly energy efficient and kitchen friendly
- Includes 3-ply bottom stainless steel cooking pot, stainless steel steam rack with handle & manual and recipes in English, Spanish, Chinese and French
- Note: New Anti-Block Shield is used and the actual component may not match images shown in manuals. For pressure cooking programs, do not fill the inner pot over 2/3 full. For non-pressure cooking programs, do not fill the inner pot over the MAX line.
- 14 Micro-Processor controlled programs: Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté, Steam, Rice, Porridge, Multigrain, Slow Cook, Keep-Warm, Yogurt, Pasteurize and Fermented Rice (Jiu Niang)
- Dual pressure settings for fast and flexible cooking. Cooking with the high pressure reduces cooking time by up to 70% and the low pressure avoids overcooking delicate food.
Instant Pot is a smart Electric Pressure Cooker designed by Canadians aiming to be Safe, Convenient and Dependable. It speeds up cooking by 2~6 times using up to 70% less energy and, above all, produces nutritious healthy food in a convenient and consistent fashion.
IP-DUO is a 7-in-1 programmable cooker, building on our best-selling IP-LUX series, with the functions of pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker & warmer. 14 built-in smart programs (Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté, Steam, Rice, Porridge, Multigrain, Slow Cook, Keep-Warm, Yogurt, Pasteurize & Jiu Niang) cook your favorite dishes with the press of a button.
A 24-hour timer allows for delayed cooking. Automatic keep-warm holds the temperature of the food until you serve it. Instant Pot generates almost no noise and leaks no steam. It traps all the aromas in the food without heating up the kitchen. The 3-ply bottom stainless steel inner pot is extremely durable and leaves no health concerns of non-stick coating residual. The new slim body design has smaller foot print and lid holders for both left and right handed users. The brushed stainless steel exterior is finger print resistant. Its elegant and durable design makes it easy to clean and pleasurable to use for the years to come.
IP-DUO uses the latest 3rd generation technology with an embedded microprocessor, which monitors the pressure and temperature, keeps time and adjusts heating intensity. The cooking programs have been lab-tested hundreds of times for optimal effect. These greatly improve cooking result and maintain consistence.
Instant Pot is carefully designed to eliminate many common errors from causing harm or spoiling food. It passed the stringent UL certification giving you uncompromised safety and peace of mind and protects you with 10 proven safety mechanisms and patented technologies.
IP-DUO is a 7-in-1 programmable cooker, building on our best-selling IP-LUX series, with the functions of pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker & warmer. 14 built-in smart programs (Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté, Steam, Rice, Porridge, Multigrain, Slow Cook, Keep-Warm, Yogurt, Pasteurize & Jiu Niang) cook your favorite dishes with the press of a button.
A 24-hour timer allows for delayed cooking. Automatic keep-warm holds the temperature of the food until you serve it. Instant Pot generates almost no noise and leaks no steam. It traps all the aromas in the food without heating up the kitchen. The 3-ply bottom stainless steel inner pot is extremely durable and leaves no health concerns of non-stick coating residual. The new slim body design has smaller foot print and lid holders for both left and right handed users. The brushed stainless steel exterior is finger print resistant. Its elegant and durable design makes it easy to clean and pleasurable to use for the years to come.
IP-DUO uses the latest 3rd generation technology with an embedded microprocessor, which monitors the pressure and temperature, keeps time and adjusts heating intensity. The cooking programs have been lab-tested hundreds of times for optimal effect. These greatly improve cooking result and maintain consistence.
Instant Pot is carefully designed to eliminate many common errors from causing harm or spoiling food. It passed the stringent UL certification giving you uncompromised safety and peace of mind and protects you with 10 proven safety mechanisms and patented technologies.
By Anne P. Mitchell
I LOVE my Instant Pot! But I will be the first to admit that it can be a little intimidating at first, and it can feel like it has a steep learning curve (and I'm a tech reviewer and tech lawyer, and one of those people who generally just jumps in and figures things out without reading the manuals ("Manuals? We don't need no stinkin' manuals!"), so for me to feel like I'm not 'getting' something ..well, yeah. So if you are feeling a little bewildered by your new Instant Pot, *you're not alone*!) Plus, the manual does *not* include certain information that I, at least, was looking for. Such as, how long is each pre-programmed cooking cycle? Exactly what temperature do the various sauté settings heat to? Things like that.
So, here are a few tips that have really helped me to finally 'get' it, plus instructions for two things that you can make in your Instant Pot that will change your life: incredibly easy perfectly poached eggs in 2-3 minutes, and baked potatoes in 12 minutes.
First, it is almost impossible to mess up with this thing to a point of being dangerous, so if you're concerned about the exploding pressure cookers of yore, you needn't be (I said "almost", don't go overriding your pot's safety features and then blame me when you poke an eye out). The lid audibly tells you when its sealed (when you turn it clockwise), and the pot won't even build up much pressure if you haven't properly closed the steam release handle by turning it, too, clockwise. The most likely point at which a problem could arise would be if you try to open the lid (by turning it counter-clockwise) before all of the pressure has been released and normalized (so don't do that). The pot visually lets you know when it's safe to open the pot, by the float valve (the little silver post that pops up when the pot is pressurized) dropping back down flush with the lid instead of being popped up. Think of the float valve as the reverse of a turkey pop-up button, in the case of the float valve it's done when the button pops *in*, instead of out.
The sauté function has three temperature settings: 'Normal' heats to 320 degrees, 'More' heats to 338 degrees, and 'Less' heats to 221 degrees (all in Fahrenheit)
For pressure cooking, you will probably use 'manual' nearly all the time (nearly every Instant Pot cookbook I've read relies on the manual setting almost exclusively). So *don't* feel badly for not using all of those other buttons very much, if at all (I've never used any of the preprogrammed buttons).
The preprogrammed settings each have their own timing, and *variable* pressure, which the pot manipulates by manipulating the temperature of the contents (the higher the temperature, the higher the pressure). That is primarily what makes them different from manual, which provides one consistent pressure (either high or low). However they *generally* bring the contents to high pressure, fluctuating the temperature a little so that the pressure fluctuates a little too, for a set period of time (the main exceptions to this are the rice button, and the multigrain button). Personally I just find it easier to use 'manual' and set the time that I want.
After you hit 'manual' to start cooking, you then set the amount of time you want it to cook at pressure, after which you will have a 10-second grace period (for example to add more time, etc.), after which the display will switch to displaying the word "on". Then it will be a while before the display switches to the timer countdown. This is *normal*. The amount of time you enter is for how long it will cook *after it reaches full pressure* (either high or low pressure, depending on what you selected), and so the timer will switch on when it reaches full pressure.
The cooking time in any recipe is the time *at full pressure*, not in total. So you need to take into account the time it will take to reach full pressure (which depends on many variables, including what is in the contents of the pot, what temperature they started at, and your altitude), *and* how long it will take for the pressure to be released and normalized (i.e. for the float valve to pop in, which of course is really "dropping in", but you get the point). And this brings us to the two different types of pressure release.
All Instant Pot recipes will include (or *should* include) either one of these terms: natural pressure release (also known as NPR), or quick pressure release (QPR or QR). What these mean is simply either "let the pressure dissipate on its own" (natural pressure release), or "force the pressure to escape immediately by turning the steam release handle counter-clockwise to the open position (quick release). The reason for using quick release (QR) is not because you are too impatient to wait for natural release, but because your food will be over cooked if you don't get it the heck out of dodge once it's done cooking at pressure. A really good example of a food needing quick release is poached eggs (which come out *perfectly* in the Instant Pot (see how to poach eggs in the Instant Pot below)). On the other hand, lots of (if not most) foods need the natural release - it's part of their cooking process and processing time.
Natural pressure release generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
Quick pressure release takes about a minute, plus the hours spent in the ER if you forget to KEEP YOUR HANDS, FACE, AND ALL OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY FROM THE STEAM VALVE WHEN YOU DO IT!! Many people put a towel over the valve before they turn it, to help suppress the steam, which you may want to do (I don't because then I just end up with a scalding hot towel - but I also rarely need to do QR, and those times that I do, I'm sufficiently respectful of the power and heat of that steam to keep my distance).
Finally, in my experience, unless you are doing a "dump everything in at once and turn it on" recipe, you will definitely want to have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking. For example, for any recipe that includes sautéing in the pot first, then adding ingredients and then starting pressure cooking, you definitely want to have everything lined up before you start.
Oh, wait, *this* is actually the final note: the stainless steel inner pot can take a real beating, and cleans up just fine..BUT...after the first use or so (it was after my first use) you will see little "stains" (not sure what else to call them) and, if you are anything like me, you will think "Oh no! I have ruined the beauty of this pot! How can I fix it?" It turns out that this is *very* normal (at least the 'staining', not sure about my reaction being normal :-) ). In my case I had made means, and my pot now still bears the "imprints" of beans, even though it is completely clean..it's sort of like the chalk outlines from a little bean murder scene. ;-) I'm in an Instant Pot forum on Facebook where many IP cookbook authors are members (including JL Fields and Jill Nussinow) and they have all said that this is perfectly normal and just what happens (in fact they said it in response to my "Oh no, I've ruined my beautiful pot" post).
Ok, I think that those are about all of the things that I had wished that I had fully understood on my first day with my Instant Pot.
Oh, actually there's one more thing. I didn't fully appreciate, until several days in, just how amazing this aspect of the Instant Pot is: you can start something cooking in it, and then *walk away* - even leave the house, and it will finish cooking just like you instructed, and be *perfectly done*, and then it will *keep it warm for up to 10 hours*! Not keep cooking it, just *keep it warm*. For up to 10 hours! You can put something in there in the morning, leave for the day, and come back to a perfectly cooked whatever, just waiting for you! Booyah! (I think this is the thing that pressure cooker purists who try to talk people out of getting an Instant Pot, rather than a stovetop pressure cooker, fail to understand. You can't just walk away from a stovetop pressure cooker after the stuff starts cooking.)
Now, here are the *the best* accessories (in my opinion) that you will want for your Instant Pot.
You definitely will want this steamer basket for your Instant Pot (the Instant Pot comes with a little steaming trivet, but this steamer basket is *way* more useful - in fact it's how you make both poached eggs and baked potatoes). Actually you will want *a* steamer basket, but trust me, this is the one you want, both because of the big handle, the fact that the handle telescopes, and, most importantly, you can use it with or without the little legs flipped down, and when you flip the little legs down, they give you plenty of space for as much water for steaming as you could ever need without worrying about the water touching the food that's in the basket.
Or, instead of, or in addition to, the above steamer, you can get this steamer basket and steaming rack / trivet set. The legs on this trivet are an inch and a half high (the rack that comes with your Instant Pot only gives 3/4 of an inch of clearance). and the flat-bottomed steamer is very versatile.
Personally, I have both, as they each serve their own purpose, and the trivet that comes with the set is really useful for pot-in-pot cooking, at which you may also want to try your hand. Pot-in-pot (or "PIP") is where you put a second, smaller vessel inside your Instant Pot's main internal pot. There are different reasons for doing this, ranging from "I only want to cook a small amount of something like oatmeal" to "I want to cook a cheesecake in my Instant Pot" to "I want to cook two different things at the same time in my Instant Pot (like cooking beans, and having a bowl of rice on a trivet (see why you want a good trivet?) above the beans, steam cooking at the same time).
For pot-in-pot cooking, I recommend any stainless steel vessel that is no greater in diameter than 7.5 inches, and no taller than 4 or so inches (your internal pot has a diameter of just over 8.5 inches and a height of about 6 inches). Lots of people use glass vessels such as Pyrex or Corningware, but I personally prefer to use stainless steel because if you drop it you'll just have a mess, rather than a mess plus broken glass.
If you're really keen on making cheesecakes, steamed puddings, flans, and that sort of thing in your Instant Pot, you may also want to grab this stainless steel pot-in-pot 'dessert insert' pan set, which includes two stacking pans. and a rack to set them on which has handles that close up over the pans to secure them.
You will also want this separate glass lid that is sold by the Instant Pot people. This lid fits on your *inner metal pot*, and this way when you are using your Instant Pot for *non-pressurized* cooking, such as when using it as a slow cooker, or with the sauté function, you will be able to see what is going on in there. Basically, in these usages, you can think of your Instant Pot as a counter-top stove burner (albeit one with really cool bells and whistles) - that may help you to understand why you want a (see-through!) lid for that inner pot. Plus, once you are done cooking in any mode, you can use the inner pot to store the leftovers in your fridge, and use this lid to cover it.
In terms of Instant Pot cookbooks to get you started, they are a relatively new genre, and a *lot* of them are only available as Kindle or other digital format books. Personally, I like to have a physical book when it comes to cookbooks, and so I like this one:
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Top 50 Original Instant Pot Meals-Speed Up Cook Time And Use Up To 70% Less Energy
I also happen to be a strict vegetarian, and for vegetarian and vegan Instant Pot cooking, this book by J.L. Fields is considered the best book out there (it's pretty darned good!):
Vegan Pressure Cooking: Delicious Beans, Grains, and One-Pot Meals in Minutes
And if you also are vegetarian or vegan, you'll appreciate the recipes in this one:
O M Gee Good! Instant Pot Meals, Plant-Based & Oil-free
Finally, you can't go wrong with America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, and their pressure cooker cookbook is no exception:
Pressure Cooker Perfection
And speaking of recipes - here is how to make those poached eggs, and baked potatoes.
Poached Eggs: Lightly grease 1 to 4 (depending on how many poached eggs you want) Pyrex custard cups with butter or oil. Put a cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, put a steamer basket or trivet in the pot (making sure that the water doesn't come over the top), and set your Pyrex cups in the steamer basket or on the trivet. I use my Oxo steamer basket for this, and I love that when they are done I can just grab the handle and pull the whole shebang out (remember the handle will be HOT, be sure to wear an oven mitt). Use Manual setting, low pressure, for 2 to 3 minutes. 2 minutes will probably be enough unless you're at a high altitude.
Baked Potatoes: Remember how I said you could make baked potatoes in 12 minutes? And remember how I said that the recipe times are for the time *at pressure*? ;~) Still, even given the time to come to pressure, and to have the pressure come back down, you can have perfectly steam-baked potatoes in under half an hour, and the best part is that you can start them, and then *walk away*! When you are ready for your potatoes, they will be perfectly done and waiting for you, even if you have abandoned them for hours! Just put water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, flip the legs down on your Oxo steamer, put the steamer in the pot and then dump your potatoes in on top of the steamer. Using the Manual setting, set the cooking time for 12 minutes, using high pressure. Then walk away! Now, because these are 'steam baked' (i.e. cooked whole over steam, but not in water), the skins will not be crisp, but these are otherwise exactly like the baked potatoes you know and love - they're great with butter, sour cream, etc.! This works with new potatoes, and regular potatoes!
Happy Instant Potting!
So, here are a few tips that have really helped me to finally 'get' it, plus instructions for two things that you can make in your Instant Pot that will change your life: incredibly easy perfectly poached eggs in 2-3 minutes, and baked potatoes in 12 minutes.
First, it is almost impossible to mess up with this thing to a point of being dangerous, so if you're concerned about the exploding pressure cookers of yore, you needn't be (I said "almost", don't go overriding your pot's safety features and then blame me when you poke an eye out). The lid audibly tells you when its sealed (when you turn it clockwise), and the pot won't even build up much pressure if you haven't properly closed the steam release handle by turning it, too, clockwise. The most likely point at which a problem could arise would be if you try to open the lid (by turning it counter-clockwise) before all of the pressure has been released and normalized (so don't do that). The pot visually lets you know when it's safe to open the pot, by the float valve (the little silver post that pops up when the pot is pressurized) dropping back down flush with the lid instead of being popped up. Think of the float valve as the reverse of a turkey pop-up button, in the case of the float valve it's done when the button pops *in*, instead of out.
The sauté function has three temperature settings: 'Normal' heats to 320 degrees, 'More' heats to 338 degrees, and 'Less' heats to 221 degrees (all in Fahrenheit)
For pressure cooking, you will probably use 'manual' nearly all the time (nearly every Instant Pot cookbook I've read relies on the manual setting almost exclusively). So *don't* feel badly for not using all of those other buttons very much, if at all (I've never used any of the preprogrammed buttons).
The preprogrammed settings each have their own timing, and *variable* pressure, which the pot manipulates by manipulating the temperature of the contents (the higher the temperature, the higher the pressure). That is primarily what makes them different from manual, which provides one consistent pressure (either high or low). However they *generally* bring the contents to high pressure, fluctuating the temperature a little so that the pressure fluctuates a little too, for a set period of time (the main exceptions to this are the rice button, and the multigrain button). Personally I just find it easier to use 'manual' and set the time that I want.
After you hit 'manual' to start cooking, you then set the amount of time you want it to cook at pressure, after which you will have a 10-second grace period (for example to add more time, etc.), after which the display will switch to displaying the word "on". Then it will be a while before the display switches to the timer countdown. This is *normal*. The amount of time you enter is for how long it will cook *after it reaches full pressure* (either high or low pressure, depending on what you selected), and so the timer will switch on when it reaches full pressure.
The cooking time in any recipe is the time *at full pressure*, not in total. So you need to take into account the time it will take to reach full pressure (which depends on many variables, including what is in the contents of the pot, what temperature they started at, and your altitude), *and* how long it will take for the pressure to be released and normalized (i.e. for the float valve to pop in, which of course is really "dropping in", but you get the point). And this brings us to the two different types of pressure release.
All Instant Pot recipes will include (or *should* include) either one of these terms: natural pressure release (also known as NPR), or quick pressure release (QPR or QR). What these mean is simply either "let the pressure dissipate on its own" (natural pressure release), or "force the pressure to escape immediately by turning the steam release handle counter-clockwise to the open position (quick release). The reason for using quick release (QR) is not because you are too impatient to wait for natural release, but because your food will be over cooked if you don't get it the heck out of dodge once it's done cooking at pressure. A really good example of a food needing quick release is poached eggs (which come out *perfectly* in the Instant Pot (see how to poach eggs in the Instant Pot below)). On the other hand, lots of (if not most) foods need the natural release - it's part of their cooking process and processing time.
Natural pressure release generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes.
Quick pressure release takes about a minute, plus the hours spent in the ER if you forget to KEEP YOUR HANDS, FACE, AND ALL OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY FROM THE STEAM VALVE WHEN YOU DO IT!! Many people put a towel over the valve before they turn it, to help suppress the steam, which you may want to do (I don't because then I just end up with a scalding hot towel - but I also rarely need to do QR, and those times that I do, I'm sufficiently respectful of the power and heat of that steam to keep my distance).
Finally, in my experience, unless you are doing a "dump everything in at once and turn it on" recipe, you will definitely want to have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking. For example, for any recipe that includes sautéing in the pot first, then adding ingredients and then starting pressure cooking, you definitely want to have everything lined up before you start.
Oh, wait, *this* is actually the final note: the stainless steel inner pot can take a real beating, and cleans up just fine..BUT...after the first use or so (it was after my first use) you will see little "stains" (not sure what else to call them) and, if you are anything like me, you will think "Oh no! I have ruined the beauty of this pot! How can I fix it?" It turns out that this is *very* normal (at least the 'staining', not sure about my reaction being normal :-) ). In my case I had made means, and my pot now still bears the "imprints" of beans, even though it is completely clean..it's sort of like the chalk outlines from a little bean murder scene. ;-) I'm in an Instant Pot forum on Facebook where many IP cookbook authors are members (including JL Fields and Jill Nussinow) and they have all said that this is perfectly normal and just what happens (in fact they said it in response to my "Oh no, I've ruined my beautiful pot" post).
Ok, I think that those are about all of the things that I had wished that I had fully understood on my first day with my Instant Pot.
Oh, actually there's one more thing. I didn't fully appreciate, until several days in, just how amazing this aspect of the Instant Pot is: you can start something cooking in it, and then *walk away* - even leave the house, and it will finish cooking just like you instructed, and be *perfectly done*, and then it will *keep it warm for up to 10 hours*! Not keep cooking it, just *keep it warm*. For up to 10 hours! You can put something in there in the morning, leave for the day, and come back to a perfectly cooked whatever, just waiting for you! Booyah! (I think this is the thing that pressure cooker purists who try to talk people out of getting an Instant Pot, rather than a stovetop pressure cooker, fail to understand. You can't just walk away from a stovetop pressure cooker after the stuff starts cooking.)
Now, here are the *the best* accessories (in my opinion) that you will want for your Instant Pot.
You definitely will want this steamer basket for your Instant Pot (the Instant Pot comes with a little steaming trivet, but this steamer basket is *way* more useful - in fact it's how you make both poached eggs and baked potatoes). Actually you will want *a* steamer basket, but trust me, this is the one you want, both because of the big handle, the fact that the handle telescopes, and, most importantly, you can use it with or without the little legs flipped down, and when you flip the little legs down, they give you plenty of space for as much water for steaming as you could ever need without worrying about the water touching the food that's in the basket.
Or, instead of, or in addition to, the above steamer, you can get this steamer basket and steaming rack / trivet set. The legs on this trivet are an inch and a half high (the rack that comes with your Instant Pot only gives 3/4 of an inch of clearance). and the flat-bottomed steamer is very versatile.
Personally, I have both, as they each serve their own purpose, and the trivet that comes with the set is really useful for pot-in-pot cooking, at which you may also want to try your hand. Pot-in-pot (or "PIP") is where you put a second, smaller vessel inside your Instant Pot's main internal pot. There are different reasons for doing this, ranging from "I only want to cook a small amount of something like oatmeal" to "I want to cook a cheesecake in my Instant Pot" to "I want to cook two different things at the same time in my Instant Pot (like cooking beans, and having a bowl of rice on a trivet (see why you want a good trivet?) above the beans, steam cooking at the same time).
For pot-in-pot cooking, I recommend any stainless steel vessel that is no greater in diameter than 7.5 inches, and no taller than 4 or so inches (your internal pot has a diameter of just over 8.5 inches and a height of about 6 inches). Lots of people use glass vessels such as Pyrex or Corningware, but I personally prefer to use stainless steel because if you drop it you'll just have a mess, rather than a mess plus broken glass.
If you're really keen on making cheesecakes, steamed puddings, flans, and that sort of thing in your Instant Pot, you may also want to grab this stainless steel pot-in-pot 'dessert insert' pan set, which includes two stacking pans. and a rack to set them on which has handles that close up over the pans to secure them.
You will also want this separate glass lid that is sold by the Instant Pot people. This lid fits on your *inner metal pot*, and this way when you are using your Instant Pot for *non-pressurized* cooking, such as when using it as a slow cooker, or with the sauté function, you will be able to see what is going on in there. Basically, in these usages, you can think of your Instant Pot as a counter-top stove burner (albeit one with really cool bells and whistles) - that may help you to understand why you want a (see-through!) lid for that inner pot. Plus, once you are done cooking in any mode, you can use the inner pot to store the leftovers in your fridge, and use this lid to cover it.
In terms of Instant Pot cookbooks to get you started, they are a relatively new genre, and a *lot* of them are only available as Kindle or other digital format books. Personally, I like to have a physical book when it comes to cookbooks, and so I like this one:
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Top 50 Original Instant Pot Meals-Speed Up Cook Time And Use Up To 70% Less Energy
I also happen to be a strict vegetarian, and for vegetarian and vegan Instant Pot cooking, this book by J.L. Fields is considered the best book out there (it's pretty darned good!):
Vegan Pressure Cooking: Delicious Beans, Grains, and One-Pot Meals in Minutes
And if you also are vegetarian or vegan, you'll appreciate the recipes in this one:
O M Gee Good! Instant Pot Meals, Plant-Based & Oil-free
Finally, you can't go wrong with America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, and their pressure cooker cookbook is no exception:
Pressure Cooker Perfection
And speaking of recipes - here is how to make those poached eggs, and baked potatoes.
Poached Eggs: Lightly grease 1 to 4 (depending on how many poached eggs you want) Pyrex custard cups with butter or oil. Put a cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, put a steamer basket or trivet in the pot (making sure that the water doesn't come over the top), and set your Pyrex cups in the steamer basket or on the trivet. I use my Oxo steamer basket for this, and I love that when they are done I can just grab the handle and pull the whole shebang out (remember the handle will be HOT, be sure to wear an oven mitt). Use Manual setting, low pressure, for 2 to 3 minutes. 2 minutes will probably be enough unless you're at a high altitude.
Baked Potatoes: Remember how I said you could make baked potatoes in 12 minutes? And remember how I said that the recipe times are for the time *at pressure*? ;~) Still, even given the time to come to pressure, and to have the pressure come back down, you can have perfectly steam-baked potatoes in under half an hour, and the best part is that you can start them, and then *walk away*! When you are ready for your potatoes, they will be perfectly done and waiting for you, even if you have abandoned them for hours! Just put water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, flip the legs down on your Oxo steamer, put the steamer in the pot and then dump your potatoes in on top of the steamer. Using the Manual setting, set the cooking time for 12 minutes, using high pressure. Then walk away! Now, because these are 'steam baked' (i.e. cooked whole over steam, but not in water), the skins will not be crisp, but these are otherwise exactly like the baked potatoes you know and love - they're great with butter, sour cream, etc.! This works with new potatoes, and regular potatoes!
Happy Instant Potting!
By Sandy Nannen
Over the years, I have purchased hundreds of items from Amazon, and for the most part, got what I expected. I never reviewed any of them. But from the moment I received my Instant Pot, I felt that I had purchased something that not only exceeded my expectations, but will make my life easier (and more delicious)!
I am a holistic nutritionist and a follower of a lower carb/paleo/primal lifestyle (and yes, it is not only a food regimen, but a lifestyle). Many of the meals I prepare require advance planning and preparation, and I am OK with that, realizing that it is an investment in my family's health and wellbeing. I was looking for something that would support my food choices and perhaps make it a little less time-consuming. I have used a crockpot extensively over the past years and while I appreciate the ease of use and the ability to put a meal on the table soon after I got home in the evening, there is that "everything tastes the same" factor I was running into with my family.
So I began thinking about ways to cook my meals faster and realized that a pressure cooker may be the answer. But, I am scared of pressure cookers. Even though my head tells me that people have been using them for many years with no problems, my heart said there was a strong chance I could blow up the entire kitchen, myself included. I had no idea there were electric, programmable pressure cookers out there that would virtually eliminate that worry until I began researching them, first on Amazon, and then on other websites. I eventually purchased the Instant Pot over the others because of the stainless steel insert (no aluminum), the size of the pot (I wanted a larger capacity), and the ease of use.
The day it arrived, I plugged it in and began reading the manual. The manual was very helpful, even included a suggested trial run to familiarize one with the basics. My first meal was potato soup (I know potatoes are not low carb or paleo, but once in a while you gotta have potato soup). I was amazed at how easy and delicious it was to make this soup that would normally take a couple of hours. I just coarsely chopped the vegetables, threw those in the pot, added the seasonings and the liquid, started the pressure cooker option, and in 20 minutes all I had to do was use my immersion blender to puree the soup, add some cheese, stir and it was ready to eat. AND the soup was every bit as good as my slower version that keeps me tied to the kitchen to stir and monitor until it's done. That is the hidden beauty of this appliance, that while it's cooking your food, you are free to do other things such as harass your kids to get their homework done. No more watching over a pot!
My second recipe was lemon pepper chicken wings. There is a searing option, so first I browned the wings in a bit of butter, then added lemon pepper, salt, and 2 more tablespoons of butter. Put on the lid, set the pressure cooker for 25 minutes, and out came the most delicious, fall-of-the-bone wings just loaded with flavor. The family went wild!
I also made mushroom gravy (no flour) pork chops in 30 minutes in the pressure cooker - the gravy was so good my son ate in on top of some gluten free noodles the next day for lunch - and a breakfast meat loaf in the slow cooker, also a winner.
I am also using this to reheat food since we don't use the microwave anymore and I'm finding that it seems easier and makes less of a mess than going stovetop.
That's a pretty long review for a first-timer but I am so enthusiastic about this product that I just had to share.
I am a holistic nutritionist and a follower of a lower carb/paleo/primal lifestyle (and yes, it is not only a food regimen, but a lifestyle). Many of the meals I prepare require advance planning and preparation, and I am OK with that, realizing that it is an investment in my family's health and wellbeing. I was looking for something that would support my food choices and perhaps make it a little less time-consuming. I have used a crockpot extensively over the past years and while I appreciate the ease of use and the ability to put a meal on the table soon after I got home in the evening, there is that "everything tastes the same" factor I was running into with my family.
So I began thinking about ways to cook my meals faster and realized that a pressure cooker may be the answer. But, I am scared of pressure cookers. Even though my head tells me that people have been using them for many years with no problems, my heart said there was a strong chance I could blow up the entire kitchen, myself included. I had no idea there were electric, programmable pressure cookers out there that would virtually eliminate that worry until I began researching them, first on Amazon, and then on other websites. I eventually purchased the Instant Pot over the others because of the stainless steel insert (no aluminum), the size of the pot (I wanted a larger capacity), and the ease of use.
The day it arrived, I plugged it in and began reading the manual. The manual was very helpful, even included a suggested trial run to familiarize one with the basics. My first meal was potato soup (I know potatoes are not low carb or paleo, but once in a while you gotta have potato soup). I was amazed at how easy and delicious it was to make this soup that would normally take a couple of hours. I just coarsely chopped the vegetables, threw those in the pot, added the seasonings and the liquid, started the pressure cooker option, and in 20 minutes all I had to do was use my immersion blender to puree the soup, add some cheese, stir and it was ready to eat. AND the soup was every bit as good as my slower version that keeps me tied to the kitchen to stir and monitor until it's done. That is the hidden beauty of this appliance, that while it's cooking your food, you are free to do other things such as harass your kids to get their homework done. No more watching over a pot!
My second recipe was lemon pepper chicken wings. There is a searing option, so first I browned the wings in a bit of butter, then added lemon pepper, salt, and 2 more tablespoons of butter. Put on the lid, set the pressure cooker for 25 minutes, and out came the most delicious, fall-of-the-bone wings just loaded with flavor. The family went wild!
I also made mushroom gravy (no flour) pork chops in 30 minutes in the pressure cooker - the gravy was so good my son ate in on top of some gluten free noodles the next day for lunch - and a breakfast meat loaf in the slow cooker, also a winner.
I am also using this to reheat food since we don't use the microwave anymore and I'm finding that it seems easier and makes less of a mess than going stovetop.
That's a pretty long review for a first-timer but I am so enthusiastic about this product that I just had to share.
By David A.
I am a senior non-cook male who was suddenly faced with feeding myself after my wife passed away. The Instant Pot has been a marvelous help. With it I can cook meat (poultry, beef, pork), potatoes, carrots, corn all together with excellent results. Everything cooks to perfection within about 30-40 minutes. All I have to do is put the ingredients in the pot, push a button, and leave for about 30 minutes. Voila! Instant dinner. I have also cooked rice as a kind of breakfast porridge. No problem. Clean up is very easy. Construction appears solid (stainless steel pot). Would buy again without hesitation.
By Jacqueline Jingc
By Karen B
I have been terrified of pressure cookers for so long. I've heard horror stories of how they explode and food gets all over the kitchen or, worse, people getting injured. I am terrified no more. The first use was to cook up some spaghetti squash which is typically an hour to an hour and a half of roasting time. Not in this baby. 7 minutes on high pressure and it's done. Last night I put it through it's paces and cooked a pork shoulder roast. 90 minutes of actual cooking time (once it came to pressure) and then another 30 minutes to let the pressure go down naturally. Fork tender and perfect for shredding. Tastes great too. I am not hounding the interwebs for more Paleo type recipes to do in this thing. I typically cook for the week on the weekends and this will really come in handy. I love my Instant Pot! (now to buy a spare sealing ring). Yes, I made that cheesecake in it ...
I have made a number of things in it now and I LOVE this item.
I have made a number of things in it now and I LOVE this item.
By Gadget Dad
So many other positive reviews on here that I feel mine is just an echo. But I will say this from an absolute rookie in the kitchen...this little gadget is worth almost triple the price to me. I lost my wife to cancer about 10 months ago. While I've always been able to cook, and indeed did most of the family cooking the last 18 months of her time with us, I was never what I would call a "variety" cook. I was the backup to my wife's cooking, the "Mom isn't feeling well so dad is cooking for you tonight" kind of guy. Or if the weather was nice, I was the grill/smoker kind of cook. Dinner nights with dad usually meant spaghetti, chili, taco's or some other very simple dish. About 2 years ago, I went mostly paleo and organic, trying to give my wife some comfort food that she could handle in her late stages of liver cancer. So while I upped my repertoire a bit, it was still pretty basic. After her death, I was left cooking all meals for two kids every night, or up to five people on the weekends with visits from daughters' boyfriends and such. I had to really step up my game. But I'm a working executive also and planning meals is hard enough, let alone having a free hour every night to actually cook them. That's where this little guy comes into play beautifully.
Grab this, go grab Bob Warden's two cookbooks and you simply have almost 100+ fast cooking, easy prep, very common ingredient meals to choose from. Most of them are kid friendly, and with very little changes, you can make many of them 100% paleo compliant if you want.
Literally the best money I've spent in my life. Time saving, easy to use, easy to clean (love the stainless steel removable pot), usually able to sear and cook without even removing drippings. Pork loins come to life, chicken has never been more tender, beef is fork tender and even seafoods come out perfect.
While nothing helps soothe the pain of loss, gadgets like this help to give you back some time to deal with the struggle of bereavement. I just bought two more for holiday gifts for family members who are now raving about my cooking.
Grab this, go grab Bob Warden's two cookbooks and you simply have almost 100+ fast cooking, easy prep, very common ingredient meals to choose from. Most of them are kid friendly, and with very little changes, you can make many of them 100% paleo compliant if you want.
Literally the best money I've spent in my life. Time saving, easy to use, easy to clean (love the stainless steel removable pot), usually able to sear and cook without even removing drippings. Pork loins come to life, chicken has never been more tender, beef is fork tender and even seafoods come out perfect.
While nothing helps soothe the pain of loss, gadgets like this help to give you back some time to deal with the struggle of bereavement. I just bought two more for holiday gifts for family members who are now raving about my cooking.
By Sree
We use manual pressure cooker a lot in our Indian Cuisine. I don't care for electric stove because I think gas stove cooking taste much better and very convenient BUT this electric cooker changed my opinion :). I found not only food tastes delicious but making food in this appliance is super convenient! I pretty much use this cooker 4-5 times a week
By Enzo Brindisi
I add this appliance to one of the best purchases I've ever made. There is a concern over the safety of pressure cooking, but there are so many safety features built into this appliance that to me it's not an issue. You will learn to use this intuitively in no time. Just like the microwave, use it enough and the time and programming features will become second nature. I can make a pot of vegetable or chicken stew, or pasta with home-made sauce and vegetables, etc. in a big batch in 20 minutes or less that is infused with rich flavor from the pressure cooking. It gives me a week's worth of very nutritious, healthy meals. Happily, it has already paid for itself in less than a month. Not only does it not heat up the kitchen or require my gas stove to inefficiently heat the outside of a pot to cook the contents for a much longer time, it reduces the need for air conditioning formerly needed to compensate for using the gas stove in the summer. It also cut my food bill in 1/2 because I am not buying any more pre-packaged, processed meals. Even after a busy, tiring day of work I can make a quick meal in it and eat for a week. There is no need to purchase quick ready-made meals any more. The food I make in this tastes better and is better for me with no preservatives or additives. Tips:
1. The manual suggests steaming hot water in it when you first use it. DO IT. You will sanitize the inside that will be touching your food from the factory/manufacturing process as well as get you used to the controls. 2. Remember to use your left hand to open the steam valve. If you use your right hand, the palm of your hand will get the first hot steam release when you open the valve which also likely contains drops of hot water. 3. After the first sanitizing cycle, wash the interior of the stainless steel inner pot with soap and rinse thoroughly. Wipe the interior dry with a white paper towel. I found the stainless steel pot left a slight coloration on the paper towel. I washed and repeated with dish soap until the towel remained white. Otherwise this coating from manufacturing will end up in your first few meals. 4. Always wash the pot with a paper towel, dish soap and water or soft sponge. Let it soak if needed. Don't wash in a dishwasher or use harsh abrasives. Use Barkeepers Helper powder lightly, only when needed. Most food remnants just wipe out when cleaning because of the steaming process during cooking. 5. Don't underestimate the natural release method for continuing to cook food while the unit is completely off. Consider planning it into your cooking time to save on energy. 6. Take the inner pot out of the cooker to reduce the heat to the food when it's done, especially pasta, so your food doesn't continue to cook in the pot, even when the lid is off. 7. Read the manual and recipe book given with the unit to learn the tips, and cooking methods pre-tested and tried with the appliance. It will help you when you need to adapt/adjust and use the cooker with your own recipes. 8. After you wipe down or rinse the lid, store it upside down on top of your pot so the seal breathes and releases some of scent it picked up from your last meal. 9. Invest in some glass containers with silicone lids to save/refrigerate your food. I am uncomfortable putting hot food in plastic to cool and store my food for a week because it stains, warps, and could leach chemicals into the food. I use Anchor Hocking True Seal Storage containers. 10. Before you put on the lid, check that the seal is seated correctly. Give it a slight turn (it should turn freely) or run your finger around the top of the seal to insure it's properly seated. Wipe the tops of the inner and outer pots to be sure no food or spices have landed on them. 11. If the steam button hasn't popped up and sealed the pot after a reasonable amount of time (you'll see steam coming out of the steam button but it isn't lifting to the lock position), steam may have lifted the whole lid up slightly with pressure and not the button. It happens. Just push down on the handle of the lid at the center of it, you'll hear a slight whoosh and the button will close. 12. After every use, remove the pressure release knob located on top of the lid. Turn the lid upside down. Let water fill up the underside of the lid until you feel a stream of water running out of the short pipe where the pressure release knob normally sits. Slightly press up the steam button enough to let water run through it. This will insure you don't have any starches or food in those important areas which could prevent the proper seal from occurring. 13. Rule of thumb for actual cooking time, not heating, but actual steam cooking time: 1/3 of your recipe's cooking time using conventional recipes. 14. In order for steam to occur and the pot to seal, you have to have at least 1 1/2 cups of water or water-like liquid (wine, chicken broth, etc) or more. Enjoy!
1. The manual suggests steaming hot water in it when you first use it. DO IT. You will sanitize the inside that will be touching your food from the factory/manufacturing process as well as get you used to the controls. 2. Remember to use your left hand to open the steam valve. If you use your right hand, the palm of your hand will get the first hot steam release when you open the valve which also likely contains drops of hot water. 3. After the first sanitizing cycle, wash the interior of the stainless steel inner pot with soap and rinse thoroughly. Wipe the interior dry with a white paper towel. I found the stainless steel pot left a slight coloration on the paper towel. I washed and repeated with dish soap until the towel remained white. Otherwise this coating from manufacturing will end up in your first few meals. 4. Always wash the pot with a paper towel, dish soap and water or soft sponge. Let it soak if needed. Don't wash in a dishwasher or use harsh abrasives. Use Barkeepers Helper powder lightly, only when needed. Most food remnants just wipe out when cleaning because of the steaming process during cooking. 5. Don't underestimate the natural release method for continuing to cook food while the unit is completely off. Consider planning it into your cooking time to save on energy. 6. Take the inner pot out of the cooker to reduce the heat to the food when it's done, especially pasta, so your food doesn't continue to cook in the pot, even when the lid is off. 7. Read the manual and recipe book given with the unit to learn the tips, and cooking methods pre-tested and tried with the appliance. It will help you when you need to adapt/adjust and use the cooker with your own recipes. 8. After you wipe down or rinse the lid, store it upside down on top of your pot so the seal breathes and releases some of scent it picked up from your last meal. 9. Invest in some glass containers with silicone lids to save/refrigerate your food. I am uncomfortable putting hot food in plastic to cool and store my food for a week because it stains, warps, and could leach chemicals into the food. I use Anchor Hocking True Seal Storage containers. 10. Before you put on the lid, check that the seal is seated correctly. Give it a slight turn (it should turn freely) or run your finger around the top of the seal to insure it's properly seated. Wipe the tops of the inner and outer pots to be sure no food or spices have landed on them. 11. If the steam button hasn't popped up and sealed the pot after a reasonable amount of time (you'll see steam coming out of the steam button but it isn't lifting to the lock position), steam may have lifted the whole lid up slightly with pressure and not the button. It happens. Just push down on the handle of the lid at the center of it, you'll hear a slight whoosh and the button will close. 12. After every use, remove the pressure release knob located on top of the lid. Turn the lid upside down. Let water fill up the underside of the lid until you feel a stream of water running out of the short pipe where the pressure release knob normally sits. Slightly press up the steam button enough to let water run through it. This will insure you don't have any starches or food in those important areas which could prevent the proper seal from occurring. 13. Rule of thumb for actual cooking time, not heating, but actual steam cooking time: 1/3 of your recipe's cooking time using conventional recipes. 14. In order for steam to occur and the pot to seal, you have to have at least 1 1/2 cups of water or water-like liquid (wine, chicken broth, etc) or more. Enjoy!
By Kevin L
I recently purchased the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker after doing some research and so far I'm very pleased with its capabilities. I've never cooked with a pressure cooker before but I have fond memories as a young boy watching & hearing my Grandma's pressure cooker hissing and steaming on top of the stove and the aroma of pot roast filling the house. Now, I feel like I've found a great SECRET COOKING DISCOVERY!
I'm not much of a cook...and I don't cook very often, but now I feel like I'm a cross between Wolfgang Puck and Chef Gordon Ramsey! So far I've made beef stew, lemon pepper chicken, St Louis style spare ribs and my last masterpiece was BBQ baby back ribs. If you like fall off the bone ribs like I do, then this is your secret weapon! Only takes about an hour with prep and your dinner guests will think you've slow cooked those ribs all day. Just marinate the ribs for a couple hours in your favorite BBQ sauce, I like Bulls Eye, 1 1/2 cup beef broth or water, and pressure cook for 40 minutes on high pressure. Be careful to remove the ribs, they will be falling apart, baste with more BBQ sauce, then grill them on a BBQ or under the broiler at 450 degrees until nice and brown! See photo's...
This pressure cooker makes great meals fast! I really like the sauté function because you can make the whole meal in one pot with less clean up. With most pressure cooker recipes just sauté onions and fresh garlic on normal sauté setting and remove from pot, then throw your meat in and brown it in the pot, add back in the onions, broth or water, seasonings and put the veges on top (put whole carrots and half cut potatoes because if you cut the veges up into small pieces, they will overcook). Press Meat/Stew and go with the default (high pressure) and default time. Do a natural pressure release (I put a wet kitchen towel over the top of the cooker for about 8 to 10 minutes to speed up the cooling) then release the rest of pressure with the steam release knob.
All and all, I am very pleased with the Instant Pot. The stainless steel 6 qt. pot is heavy and durable and cleanup is easy just make sure to remove the silicone seal and wash after ever meal. Also make sure the seal is on properly, it should spin inside the lid if properly fit. Do a search on the internet for pressure cooking recipes and just follow and experiment with different recipes, you'll be amazed! I hope this review helped make your decision easier like some of the other Instant Pot reviews, you won’t be disappointed with this purchase!
I'm not much of a cook...and I don't cook very often, but now I feel like I'm a cross between Wolfgang Puck and Chef Gordon Ramsey! So far I've made beef stew, lemon pepper chicken, St Louis style spare ribs and my last masterpiece was BBQ baby back ribs. If you like fall off the bone ribs like I do, then this is your secret weapon! Only takes about an hour with prep and your dinner guests will think you've slow cooked those ribs all day. Just marinate the ribs for a couple hours in your favorite BBQ sauce, I like Bulls Eye, 1 1/2 cup beef broth or water, and pressure cook for 40 minutes on high pressure. Be careful to remove the ribs, they will be falling apart, baste with more BBQ sauce, then grill them on a BBQ or under the broiler at 450 degrees until nice and brown! See photo's...
This pressure cooker makes great meals fast! I really like the sauté function because you can make the whole meal in one pot with less clean up. With most pressure cooker recipes just sauté onions and fresh garlic on normal sauté setting and remove from pot, then throw your meat in and brown it in the pot, add back in the onions, broth or water, seasonings and put the veges on top (put whole carrots and half cut potatoes because if you cut the veges up into small pieces, they will overcook). Press Meat/Stew and go with the default (high pressure) and default time. Do a natural pressure release (I put a wet kitchen towel over the top of the cooker for about 8 to 10 minutes to speed up the cooling) then release the rest of pressure with the steam release knob.
All and all, I am very pleased with the Instant Pot. The stainless steel 6 qt. pot is heavy and durable and cleanup is easy just make sure to remove the silicone seal and wash after ever meal. Also make sure the seal is on properly, it should spin inside the lid if properly fit. Do a search on the internet for pressure cooking recipes and just follow and experiment with different recipes, you'll be amazed! I hope this review helped make your decision easier like some of the other Instant Pot reviews, you won’t be disappointed with this purchase!
By Chelsea Trone
I bought the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 in the beginning of December. It was on sale for $124 and I have heard nothing but amazing things about it so I jumped and purchased it. I am incredibly impressed with this kitchen tool, as it does virtually everything. The first thing I made was an entire chicken in 20 minutes, which was fall of the bone tender. Next I made hard boiled eggs, which peeled easier than any other hard boiled eggs I've ever made. Since then, I have made over 50 meals in this pot, and it works perfectly every single time.
The pot is built to last, and it is very heavy duty. The buttons are very self explanatory but I would recommend looking up recipes online to figure out how to use the built in functions to their maximum abilities.
I would recommend buying an extra inner pot because it is a hassle to cook a main dish and then clean the pot and then cook the side dish and I would also recommend buying an extra silicone sealing ring because it catches smells easily and it can make lighter foods such as yogurt smell funny.
I tell everyone I know how amazing the Instant Pot is, and how everyone should have it. This pot is truly a kitchen miracle once you learn how to properly use it. It is worth every single penny, and I promise you won't regret your purchase!
The pot is built to last, and it is very heavy duty. The buttons are very self explanatory but I would recommend looking up recipes online to figure out how to use the built in functions to their maximum abilities.
I would recommend buying an extra inner pot because it is a hassle to cook a main dish and then clean the pot and then cook the side dish and I would also recommend buying an extra silicone sealing ring because it catches smells easily and it can make lighter foods such as yogurt smell funny.
I tell everyone I know how amazing the Instant Pot is, and how everyone should have it. This pot is truly a kitchen miracle once you learn how to properly use it. It is worth every single penny, and I promise you won't regret your purchase!
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