- 6-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker--Pressure Cooker, Saute/Browning, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer & Warmer
- Large, easy to use control panel with ten built-in Smart Programs, automatic keep-warm, and 3 temperatures for saute/browning and slow cook
- Delay cooking time up to 24-Hours; Manual setting up to 120 minutes of cook time, UL and ULC certified with 10 proven safety mechanisms; Highly energy efficient
- Includes 3-ply bottom stainless steel cooking pot, stainless steel steam rack, rice paddle, soup spoon, measuring cup, instructions, recipes, and cooking time tables
- Capacity: 6L/6.33 Qt, Power rating: 1000W, Voltage: 110v/60Hz, Gross weight: 14.57 pounds ; Refer User Manual page -17 for Trouble shooting steps
Instant Pot is the next generation Electric Pressure Cooker designed by Canadians specifically for North American consumers. It speeds up cooking by 26 times using up to 70-percent less energy, and, above all, produces nutritious healthy food in a convenient and consistent fashion.Instant Pot IP-LUX60 is a 6-in-1 programmable cooker combining the functions of a pressure cooker, saute/browning, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer and warmer. The latest 3rd Generation technology with an embedded microprocessor greatly improve cooking result, maintain consistence and enhance safety. Your favorite dishes are within the reach of pressing a button with 10 built-in programs and 3 adjustable modes. 3 temperatures in Saute for browning or thickening, and 3 temperatures in Slow Cook to complete the tasks of a common slow cooker. It also works as a perfect porridge maker allowing you wake up with a fresh made porridge.Instant Pot cuts the cooking time and energy consumption by up to 70-percent. It also preserves the nutrition and flavors in natural ingredients. Instant Pot produces almost no noise nor steam, and is truly a kitchen-friendly appliance. The stainless steel inner pot leaves no health concerns of non-stick coating residual. The brushed stainless steel exterior is finger print proof. Instant Pot is the must-have cooking appliance in your fast-paced, health-oriented and green-conscious life style. Instructions, Recipe and Cooking time table in English, Spanish, French and Chinese are included.
By Brian Blum
***Update*** March 12, 2016...we've now had the unit for four and a half years, and it still works perfectly. Virtually no issues at all. Cheers!
I cannot say enough about the Instant Pot. My wife and I owned another unit from a different company, but it's pot was made of aluminum (tied to Alzheimer's issues) and had a non-stick coating on it besides. We wanted a stainless steel pot to avoid all this...enter Instant Pot.
This unit works awesome, and we are fully qualified to say so. Not only do we have an "Amazon Verified Purchase" label on our review, but we use the Instant Pot 4-5x a week, literally. Probably 7-8x if you count making baked/sweet potatoes for lunches too. (Just a note...always look for "Amazon Verified Purchase" on reviews, and if you don't see it, take the review with a grain of salt. Very few reviews of the Instant Pot were negative, and almost all of them didn't buy the unit, so their reviews are nonsense.)
My wife and I have chosen to make almost all of our dinners with the Instant Pot...it is easy to clean, easy to use, and requires virtually NO oversight. It is inexpensive to use as well...when using your stove and/or oven, you will notice a marked increase in the temperature of your kitchen, and with the oven, it will be very noticeable indeed. The Instant Pot doesn't do this because it operates in a sealed environment, thus using far less energy as well. Because you can saute in this newest model, you can do almost all the cooking in this one pot, thus making cleanup far easier, as the inner stainless steel pot (but NOT the unit or it's lid) are dishwasher safe. Also, once one is accustomed to using this unit, you can bring it with you on trips, and use it to cook food in a hotel room or a friend's house.
The Instant Pot is wonderful for this one fact if nothing else...once the food is in and the unit is pressurized, you can walk away...no stirring, no tending whatsoever. There is ONE time when you might have to pay attention. IF your Instant Pot is warm from previous cooking, i.e. you just used the saute function to brown something, or maybe you bought an extra inner pot (more on this below) and are cooking meals back to back....you may have to pay attention to make sure the unit seals properly. Sometimes, and this is NOT unique to the Instant Pot, if the unit is already warm, it may get confused and think that it has pressurized. I think you'll find that you used the saute feature before turning it on. So...if the unit is warm/hot from any previous cooking, try this. Watch to see if the unit pressurizes (you'll see the valve pop up)...if the unit starts counting down the cook time BEFORE it has sealed, hit cancel, and start your unit over. It should work the second time. If the unit is completely cool and your recipe requires no sauteing, it will almost always work the first time, but if not, this will work. This is the ONLY "issue" that I've encountered, and since it happened with another manufacturer's model as well, I can only assume this is common for electric cookers. All in all, a small compensation to make. Compared to normal cooking where one has to constantly hover over the stove, this is minor indeed.
I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a second stainless steel inner pot...
see http://www.amazon.com/Instant-6-33qt-Stainless-Pot-Bottom/dp/B008BKHGX0 -----my wife and I bought one at the time of purchase, and we've never regretted it once. Since we use our cooker constantly, we are always putting the pot into the fridge with leftovers. With an extra inner pot, you can cook another dish while the other waits for you in the fridge. When you want the leftovers, just place them in the Instant Pot and warm them on the low setting of saute, and then put on keep warm once they've heated up a bit, until you're ready to eat. Accordingly, we'd suggest the lid custom made for these pots at http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Tempered-Electric-Pressure-Cookers/dp/B008FUJ2LK
I also HIGHLY recommend that you purchase the book "Everything Pressure Cooker Cookbook" from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Pressure-Cooker-Cookbook-Series/dp/1440500177 ------we use recipes from this all the time, and although they are designed for a stove top pressure cooker, they basically translate over perfectly. The only consideration is the cooking instructions...because the author is using a stove top cooker, she references a low/medium/high setting which does not apply on the Instant Pot, or on any other electric pressure cooker I've seen. Just use the appropriate setting for the Instant Pot, i.e. if you're cooking beef, use the meat/stew setting. If chicken, use the poultry setting. I usually add about 20% more time as well, so e.g. if a recipe says put your beef stew on high for 30 minutes, put it on the meat/stew setting of the Instant Pot, and take 30 minutes x 1.2 = 36 minutes for your time. With pressure cookers, you can't "dry out" your meat, and the reverse rules apply...i.e. if you're meat seems dry, cook it LONGER. None of the moisture can escape because it's in a sealed environment.
Enjoy! This appliance has changed our lives, and I don't say that lightly. Once you get good at using it and have recipes you like, it's an awesome little appliance which we use CONSTANTLY.
Cheers!
I cannot say enough about the Instant Pot. My wife and I owned another unit from a different company, but it's pot was made of aluminum (tied to Alzheimer's issues) and had a non-stick coating on it besides. We wanted a stainless steel pot to avoid all this...enter Instant Pot.
This unit works awesome, and we are fully qualified to say so. Not only do we have an "Amazon Verified Purchase" label on our review, but we use the Instant Pot 4-5x a week, literally. Probably 7-8x if you count making baked/sweet potatoes for lunches too. (Just a note...always look for "Amazon Verified Purchase" on reviews, and if you don't see it, take the review with a grain of salt. Very few reviews of the Instant Pot were negative, and almost all of them didn't buy the unit, so their reviews are nonsense.)
My wife and I have chosen to make almost all of our dinners with the Instant Pot...it is easy to clean, easy to use, and requires virtually NO oversight. It is inexpensive to use as well...when using your stove and/or oven, you will notice a marked increase in the temperature of your kitchen, and with the oven, it will be very noticeable indeed. The Instant Pot doesn't do this because it operates in a sealed environment, thus using far less energy as well. Because you can saute in this newest model, you can do almost all the cooking in this one pot, thus making cleanup far easier, as the inner stainless steel pot (but NOT the unit or it's lid) are dishwasher safe. Also, once one is accustomed to using this unit, you can bring it with you on trips, and use it to cook food in a hotel room or a friend's house.
The Instant Pot is wonderful for this one fact if nothing else...once the food is in and the unit is pressurized, you can walk away...no stirring, no tending whatsoever. There is ONE time when you might have to pay attention. IF your Instant Pot is warm from previous cooking, i.e. you just used the saute function to brown something, or maybe you bought an extra inner pot (more on this below) and are cooking meals back to back....you may have to pay attention to make sure the unit seals properly. Sometimes, and this is NOT unique to the Instant Pot, if the unit is already warm, it may get confused and think that it has pressurized. I think you'll find that you used the saute feature before turning it on. So...if the unit is warm/hot from any previous cooking, try this. Watch to see if the unit pressurizes (you'll see the valve pop up)...if the unit starts counting down the cook time BEFORE it has sealed, hit cancel, and start your unit over. It should work the second time. If the unit is completely cool and your recipe requires no sauteing, it will almost always work the first time, but if not, this will work. This is the ONLY "issue" that I've encountered, and since it happened with another manufacturer's model as well, I can only assume this is common for electric cookers. All in all, a small compensation to make. Compared to normal cooking where one has to constantly hover over the stove, this is minor indeed.
I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a second stainless steel inner pot...
see http://www.amazon.com/Instant-6-33qt-Stainless-Pot-Bottom/dp/B008BKHGX0 -----my wife and I bought one at the time of purchase, and we've never regretted it once. Since we use our cooker constantly, we are always putting the pot into the fridge with leftovers. With an extra inner pot, you can cook another dish while the other waits for you in the fridge. When you want the leftovers, just place them in the Instant Pot and warm them on the low setting of saute, and then put on keep warm once they've heated up a bit, until you're ready to eat. Accordingly, we'd suggest the lid custom made for these pots at http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Tempered-Electric-Pressure-Cookers/dp/B008FUJ2LK
I also HIGHLY recommend that you purchase the book "Everything Pressure Cooker Cookbook" from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Pressure-Cooker-Cookbook-Series/dp/1440500177 ------we use recipes from this all the time, and although they are designed for a stove top pressure cooker, they basically translate over perfectly. The only consideration is the cooking instructions...because the author is using a stove top cooker, she references a low/medium/high setting which does not apply on the Instant Pot, or on any other electric pressure cooker I've seen. Just use the appropriate setting for the Instant Pot, i.e. if you're cooking beef, use the meat/stew setting. If chicken, use the poultry setting. I usually add about 20% more time as well, so e.g. if a recipe says put your beef stew on high for 30 minutes, put it on the meat/stew setting of the Instant Pot, and take 30 minutes x 1.2 = 36 minutes for your time. With pressure cookers, you can't "dry out" your meat, and the reverse rules apply...i.e. if you're meat seems dry, cook it LONGER. None of the moisture can escape because it's in a sealed environment.
Enjoy! This appliance has changed our lives, and I don't say that lightly. Once you get good at using it and have recipes you like, it's an awesome little appliance which we use CONSTANTLY.
Cheers!
By Jack London
Pressure cooker veteran here - thumbs up on this one!
I have owned 8 different pressure cookers over the years, including an earlier version of the Instant Pot as well as the now-ancient oval (90 degree insert inside, pull up, turn back and clip-lock) lid with weight back in Europe in the 70's.
This, so far, is the best pressure cooker I have yet seen.
It functions as a slow cooker, as an above-average quality rice cooker and -let's not forget- a really good pressure cooker.
Disclaimer: we do still use our trusted Zojirushi rice cooker when a lot of things are cooking at the same time (and as far as stand-alone rice cookers go, Zojirushi makes the best, btw.)
Back to the pressure cooker... Some of the software limitations of the previous Instant Pot were fixed (namely, having to push the button for each and every minute, with only a 60 minute maximum timer - that was maddening). This control panel lets you click&hold and very quickly fly through the times, up until 120 minutes. It does fly through 0, so you can go up or down the shortest path to your desired time.
Pluses of this particular pressure cooker:
Much, much, MUCH more convenient to use than the "manual" type pressure cookers where you have to stand by until you hear the pressure has built up, then start the counter, then turn it off when it is done. This thing does everything on it's own. Put the food in, set the desired cooking time, press start. Leave for work, come home and it is done (with stand-by heat so as to avoid spoilage).
Quality, pretty thick stainless steel pot (stay away from coated pots, aluminum pots, etc. as they leach bad stuff into food)
Virtually silent, you also have almost no food smell coming into your home during cooking, thanks to the internal pressure sensor. Psst, psst, psst sound gone.
Extremely energy efficient (much more so than the stove-top models, as you are heating only the inside, not the surrounding area. Energy savings multiplier during the summer, as you don't have to cancel out the cooking heat with air conditioning the way you would with gas stove types that heat up the kitchen.
Very easy to clean - since only the pot has to be cleaned, it fits in the dishwasher better than the stove-top type with handles.
Very good quality, overall.
Ladies and gentlemen - this thing is officially awesome.
ps: also get "Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes"... This is the pressure cooker book to get.
Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes
If you search the title on the web, her website also has a ton of the cooking times listed for free.
"missvickie.com" (not a tie-in, I have no connection to them)
or search "site:missvickie.com " followed by whatever food you need the cooking time for.
Examples of Google Searches (the the lines below exactly as they are, including spacing):
site:missvickie.com rice
site:missvickie.com broccoli
site:missvickie.com ribs
I search for times of misc. food to cook on my smartphone like this, too. Very useful...
I have owned 8 different pressure cookers over the years, including an earlier version of the Instant Pot as well as the now-ancient oval (90 degree insert inside, pull up, turn back and clip-lock) lid with weight back in Europe in the 70's.
This, so far, is the best pressure cooker I have yet seen.
It functions as a slow cooker, as an above-average quality rice cooker and -let's not forget- a really good pressure cooker.
Disclaimer: we do still use our trusted Zojirushi rice cooker when a lot of things are cooking at the same time (and as far as stand-alone rice cookers go, Zojirushi makes the best, btw.)
Back to the pressure cooker... Some of the software limitations of the previous Instant Pot were fixed (namely, having to push the button for each and every minute, with only a 60 minute maximum timer - that was maddening). This control panel lets you click&hold and very quickly fly through the times, up until 120 minutes. It does fly through 0, so you can go up or down the shortest path to your desired time.
Pluses of this particular pressure cooker:
Much, much, MUCH more convenient to use than the "manual" type pressure cookers where you have to stand by until you hear the pressure has built up, then start the counter, then turn it off when it is done. This thing does everything on it's own. Put the food in, set the desired cooking time, press start. Leave for work, come home and it is done (with stand-by heat so as to avoid spoilage).
Quality, pretty thick stainless steel pot (stay away from coated pots, aluminum pots, etc. as they leach bad stuff into food)
Virtually silent, you also have almost no food smell coming into your home during cooking, thanks to the internal pressure sensor. Psst, psst, psst sound gone.
Extremely energy efficient (much more so than the stove-top models, as you are heating only the inside, not the surrounding area. Energy savings multiplier during the summer, as you don't have to cancel out the cooking heat with air conditioning the way you would with gas stove types that heat up the kitchen.
Very easy to clean - since only the pot has to be cleaned, it fits in the dishwasher better than the stove-top type with handles.
Very good quality, overall.
Ladies and gentlemen - this thing is officially awesome.
ps: also get "Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes"... This is the pressure cooker book to get.
Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes
If you search the title on the web, her website also has a ton of the cooking times listed for free.
"missvickie.com" (not a tie-in, I have no connection to them)
or search "site:missvickie.com " followed by whatever food you need the cooking time for.
Examples of Google Searches (the the lines below exactly as they are, including spacing):
site:missvickie.com rice
site:missvickie.com broccoli
site:missvickie.com ribs
I search for times of misc. food to cook on my smartphone like this, too. Very useful...
By Shopper
I eat plain white rice every day and always use a Japanese rice cooker ($150). For years I have wanted to try the famous Japanese "Pressure" rice cooker ($450), but could not bring myself to spend that much on just plain white rice (how good can plain rice be that is worth $450?). I bought this one because it is a pressure rice cooker and could do other dishes like a regular pressure cooker (I figure if the rice coming from this pressure cooker does not taste better than my regular cooker, at least, I can use it as a regular pressure cooker, so no waste here.). The pros of this cooker are:
1. As a regular pressure cooker, it is much better than the conventional stove-top one. Very easy to use. Seals very well, no food smells before you open the lid. Turn off automatically, so if you forget and leave the house before it is done, there will be no explosion.
2. As a pressure rice cooker, this cooker is better than my $150 regular rice cooker. The white rice coming out of this cooker definitely is stickier than that from the regular cooker. It tastes as if you mixed sticky sweet rice into regular white rice. If anyone has tried the $450 Japanese pressure rice cooker (Zojirushi Induction Heating Pressure rice cooker), I still want to know if there is a difference (if there are people willing to spend $450 on a rice cooker, there must be a good reason.).
I would have given this cooker 5 stars if I had not found out the following:
The white rice cooked by this cooker looks grey. It seems that there is something coming off the stainless steel pot. You would not notice it unless you cook something white, like white rice. I have no prior experience on stainless steel pots. I am not sure if the problem is universal to all stainless steel pots. The grey color is annoying, but tasteless. I wonder if it is bad for health....
Updated -7-11-12:
Per suggestion of one viewer of my review, I contacted the company in Canada. Their customer service is excellent. The person who returned my call did some experiments with his Instant Pot cooker as well as a regular Japanese rice cooker using his white rice (a different brand from mine) and found no color difference. He then contacted his factory in China and sent me the following answer:
"All rice cooked with pressure over 70kpa (10psi) appears to be a little grey. This has nothing to do with stainless steel or taflon cooking pot, or bleaching impurities from the pot. Under high powered microscope, the cooked rice has pin holes which make them appears a little grey. The number of pin holes vary by the type of rice. Some rice appears to be more grey than others. To avoid rice being slightly grey, some Japaneses/Korean rice cookers use less than 70kpa pressure. We will also investigate introducing models allows lower pressure for rice cooking. Hope this assures you of the health concern."
I think this addresses my concern, so I have changed my rating to 5 stars.
Updated - 7-10-2015:
I bought a Korean pressure IH rice cooker for $350 last week. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WTJNWWS/ref=pdp_new_dp_review
1. As a regular pressure cooker, it is much better than the conventional stove-top one. Very easy to use. Seals very well, no food smells before you open the lid. Turn off automatically, so if you forget and leave the house before it is done, there will be no explosion.
2. As a pressure rice cooker, this cooker is better than my $150 regular rice cooker. The white rice coming out of this cooker definitely is stickier than that from the regular cooker. It tastes as if you mixed sticky sweet rice into regular white rice. If anyone has tried the $450 Japanese pressure rice cooker (Zojirushi Induction Heating Pressure rice cooker), I still want to know if there is a difference (if there are people willing to spend $450 on a rice cooker, there must be a good reason.).
I would have given this cooker 5 stars if I had not found out the following:
The white rice cooked by this cooker looks grey. It seems that there is something coming off the stainless steel pot. You would not notice it unless you cook something white, like white rice. I have no prior experience on stainless steel pots. I am not sure if the problem is universal to all stainless steel pots. The grey color is annoying, but tasteless. I wonder if it is bad for health....
Updated -7-11-12:
Per suggestion of one viewer of my review, I contacted the company in Canada. Their customer service is excellent. The person who returned my call did some experiments with his Instant Pot cooker as well as a regular Japanese rice cooker using his white rice (a different brand from mine) and found no color difference. He then contacted his factory in China and sent me the following answer:
"All rice cooked with pressure over 70kpa (10psi) appears to be a little grey. This has nothing to do with stainless steel or taflon cooking pot, or bleaching impurities from the pot. Under high powered microscope, the cooked rice has pin holes which make them appears a little grey. The number of pin holes vary by the type of rice. Some rice appears to be more grey than others. To avoid rice being slightly grey, some Japaneses/Korean rice cookers use less than 70kpa pressure. We will also investigate introducing models allows lower pressure for rice cooking. Hope this assures you of the health concern."
I think this addresses my concern, so I have changed my rating to 5 stars.
Updated - 7-10-2015:
I bought a Korean pressure IH rice cooker for $350 last week. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WTJNWWS/ref=pdp_new_dp_review
By DnA
Hi. I've had this for at least 3 years and it's been awesome. Today I noticed that there is no cover for the little screw hole on top. Can't remember if this is normal or if I've lost something. Can't find the manufacturer website. Can anyone advise?
By hilly
I got this after hearing a buzz about it in the vegan community, and boy am I glad I did. Creamy mashed potatoes in 6 minutes, perfectly cooked white rice in 4 minutes, delicious spicy red lentil chili in 10 minutes, potato and vegetable curry in 8 minutes... If I chop and peel my vegetables in the morning, I can have dinner on my plate 20 minutes after I get home from work. I've found that a few things in the instant pot need trial and error as far as timing goes, and a few things I've tried weren't as good as I'd hoped they would be. (I much prefer my sweet potatoes baked, and it's almost impossible to steam broccoli in the instant pot without it turning to mush) but otherwise I use my instant pot almost every day. I discovered the best way to clean and deodorize the interior of the instant pot after cooking something fragrant, like chili or spaghetti sauce, is to add a cup and a half of water with a good splash of white vinegar and turn on the steam cycle for 2 minutes. Afterward, wipe down the inside of the lid with a clean towel and voila! Good as new. The instant pot as changed the way I cook, and has found a permanent home on my kitchen counter. I would recommend this product to anyone, especially if they are interested in an easy way to make healthy recipes.
By Amazon Customer
I just got this for Christmas and have only tried it once, but I can already see the versatility. And the soup tasted so good! I wrote a blog post about using it the first time and included a couple frustrations about it. I didn't realize that the cook time in the recipes didn't include the time it took for the pot to get to pressure. So, the soup that I thought would take 10 minutes to cook actually took 27 minutes to be done. But now that I realize that, I will adjust my time accordingly. I'm looking forward to eating food that is healthier from this pot!
By Ray Bellotti
After excited anticipation, the last thing I wanted to see was a C6 error and all the lights flashing. Nothing on the web about this error. Nothing in the INSTANTPOT FAQ. Called Customer Service and they assured me it is a KNOWN PROBLEM, easy to fix, and I could do it myself. Based on their statistics, about 500 people should have seen the same error. But there was nothing published. HMMMM!!! The Customer Service rep would not tell me the fix (two steps) over the phone. Go to the INSTANTPOT.COM customer support page and open a ticket. Next day a detailed full color email came. The problem was not the same, but I managed to determine the leads for the pressure sensor were not connected. And I got an look at the insides, in my opinion, it is not robust.
A month later, and about 100 meals, I am a satisfied owner.
I was concerned about the size, but it was needless. I'm actually kind of glad because it's so good I am eating too much! (leftovers to the neighbors who think it's all good) I've cooked 5# chickens, 6# roasts, perfection every time. Seafood and Soups are the best I've ever had. Every cooking cycle has been used many times. When using a recipe book, I use that, even if it's almost double; for example, the corned beef 3# went 50 mins, but it was moist and tender. PERFECT! My four favorites; Miss Vicky's Rice Pudding, Bob Warden's Whole Bird, Bob Warden's two cola pork roast. and Chicken Stock (because it improves everything you cook in it). Hot pork sandwiches from the two cola pork roast are addicting! Be sure to double the gravy, it's that good. BTW, Steamed veggies only take three minutes, crispy crunch 2, and use the quick cool down, then into ice water. More, or using the natural cool down method, and you get veggie mush. Red beans and rice, so good you'll go into a coma
I am on the fence about the Slow Cooker cycle. I made eggplant Lasagna where the top 1/3 was not hot. Granted it was a little above the 2/3 level, after 4 hours the noodles were done, veggies done, cheese melted, but overall it was warm. I am going to try again with a smaller batch, and will post my results
I have never done pressure cooked desserts before, but my results have been excellent. Moist Brownies, Cheesecakes, cakes, Puddings, all were off the chart. Even a coconut creme pie. I do suggest using the pot in pot method (creates a ban' Marie) or the bottom will probably scorch. I put water in both places
Why 5 stars? It cooks better than excellent. Haven't used my oven in a month (no more oven cleaning!!!)where cleaup on the stainless steel cooking pot is a breeze. The Customer Service issue was resolved quickly and the others may be due to user error. I will buy another if this one fails. And your friends will get tired of you always praising your InstantPot!
A month later, and about 100 meals, I am a satisfied owner.
I was concerned about the size, but it was needless. I'm actually kind of glad because it's so good I am eating too much! (leftovers to the neighbors who think it's all good) I've cooked 5# chickens, 6# roasts, perfection every time. Seafood and Soups are the best I've ever had. Every cooking cycle has been used many times. When using a recipe book, I use that, even if it's almost double; for example, the corned beef 3# went 50 mins, but it was moist and tender. PERFECT! My four favorites; Miss Vicky's Rice Pudding, Bob Warden's Whole Bird, Bob Warden's two cola pork roast. and Chicken Stock (because it improves everything you cook in it). Hot pork sandwiches from the two cola pork roast are addicting! Be sure to double the gravy, it's that good. BTW, Steamed veggies only take three minutes, crispy crunch 2, and use the quick cool down, then into ice water. More, or using the natural cool down method, and you get veggie mush. Red beans and rice, so good you'll go into a coma
I am on the fence about the Slow Cooker cycle. I made eggplant Lasagna where the top 1/3 was not hot. Granted it was a little above the 2/3 level, after 4 hours the noodles were done, veggies done, cheese melted, but overall it was warm. I am going to try again with a smaller batch, and will post my results
I have never done pressure cooked desserts before, but my results have been excellent. Moist Brownies, Cheesecakes, cakes, Puddings, all were off the chart. Even a coconut creme pie. I do suggest using the pot in pot method (creates a ban' Marie) or the bottom will probably scorch. I put water in both places
Why 5 stars? It cooks better than excellent. Haven't used my oven in a month (no more oven cleaning!!!)where cleaup on the stainless steel cooking pot is a breeze. The Customer Service issue was resolved quickly and the others may be due to user error. I will buy another if this one fails. And your friends will get tired of you always praising your InstantPot!
By Jennifer Loring
This thing has changed my life. Sure, that probably sounds a bit dramatic, but it's mostly true. I don't know about you, but after cooking dinner almost every night for the last 25 years, I'm over it. What I really want is in-home room service, but Amazon hasn't figured that out yet. Forget drones - put a delivery restaurant in my basement. But back to the pressure cooker...
I originally bought it to cook beans a lot faster than on the stove top, and it definitely does that. But then I started throwing whatever I wanted to in it - stuff I normally cook on the stove or in the oven, just to see how it would come out.
One Sunday I wanted to cook a chicken but of course, as usual, didn't think of it until 4pm and still had to go to the store to get a chicken. So I put the whole chicken in there, with potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic & herbs and a little white wine and chicken broth - I did not go to the trouble to first saute or brown the bird, then remove and sweat the veg, then put the rack in blah blah blah - too much work. This thing needs to work for me. And it came out wonderfully. I may have even thrown in some basmati rice too - I forget now. It was (as you might expect) super moist, flavorful, and the whole thing was done in about 30 minutes. A whole chicken. Everything - all done and in one pot while I did something other than cook.
If you've ever used a Romertopf, it's like a Romertopf on crack. but no soaking and starting in the cold oven and all that crap. Just pile it all in there and push Go.
I've also done curry chicken and rice, with carrots & potatoes. Again, just throw it all in there - chicken breasts, the rinsed rice, coconut milk - all the usual stuff - Go. Done and delicious in about 15 minutes. I'm probably over-cooking everything because I can't quite believe it cooks that quickly, but it does.
I did a stew in it the other night - a weeknight - loosely following the cook's illustrated recipe in that I did saute the meat first (after trimming into more uniform sizes), then added the flour & made the roux, and all that took about 5-10 minutes. The saute function really works - it's hot. Once the roux was done I threw in all the veg with some red wine, seasonings and stock and again, pushed Go. I think it was done in 20 minutes. Start to finish, probably 30 minutes. I left it on the "keep warm" setting for about an hour or so after serving and it was even better the next day. The oven-method cook's illustrated stew recipe runs 2-3 hours. Please.
So, if you enjoy having more time in your day and only one cooking pot to clean up afterwards, this is the magic pot for you. The stainless steel insert is solid - no teflon (hate teflon/similar coatings).
It's been well worth the money. I love it.
I originally bought it to cook beans a lot faster than on the stove top, and it definitely does that. But then I started throwing whatever I wanted to in it - stuff I normally cook on the stove or in the oven, just to see how it would come out.
One Sunday I wanted to cook a chicken but of course, as usual, didn't think of it until 4pm and still had to go to the store to get a chicken. So I put the whole chicken in there, with potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic & herbs and a little white wine and chicken broth - I did not go to the trouble to first saute or brown the bird, then remove and sweat the veg, then put the rack in blah blah blah - too much work. This thing needs to work for me. And it came out wonderfully. I may have even thrown in some basmati rice too - I forget now. It was (as you might expect) super moist, flavorful, and the whole thing was done in about 30 minutes. A whole chicken. Everything - all done and in one pot while I did something other than cook.
If you've ever used a Romertopf, it's like a Romertopf on crack. but no soaking and starting in the cold oven and all that crap. Just pile it all in there and push Go.
I've also done curry chicken and rice, with carrots & potatoes. Again, just throw it all in there - chicken breasts, the rinsed rice, coconut milk - all the usual stuff - Go. Done and delicious in about 15 minutes. I'm probably over-cooking everything because I can't quite believe it cooks that quickly, but it does.
I did a stew in it the other night - a weeknight - loosely following the cook's illustrated recipe in that I did saute the meat first (after trimming into more uniform sizes), then added the flour & made the roux, and all that took about 5-10 minutes. The saute function really works - it's hot. Once the roux was done I threw in all the veg with some red wine, seasonings and stock and again, pushed Go. I think it was done in 20 minutes. Start to finish, probably 30 minutes. I left it on the "keep warm" setting for about an hour or so after serving and it was even better the next day. The oven-method cook's illustrated stew recipe runs 2-3 hours. Please.
So, if you enjoy having more time in your day and only one cooking pot to clean up afterwards, this is the magic pot for you. The stainless steel insert is solid - no teflon (hate teflon/similar coatings).
It's been well worth the money. I love it.
By Frank Frank
For those that question whether reviewers are "real" you will see that I have done 100 reviews and have bought 90% of those items including this item.
I am not much of a chef, but I am a wannabe. I wanted to be able to cook beans without having an open flame for hours (I also tend to be forgetful and overcook and destroy food). I did a TON of research before I picked this one. I wanted the smallest option possible AND I wanted a STAINLESS STEAL Insert. Which is VERY rare, but much healthier.
I loved my pot for a couple of weeks. Making Quinoa in 8 minutes (plus pressure time), beans, sweet potatoes steamed, and even rice.
But then something went wrong. The steam kept releasing from the valve. I was kinda ticked. I called the 800# afterhours even, and the rep thought it was a faulty valve. She then sent me a new one, which stunk since I needed to wait a couple of weeks and I wasn't going to go back to 2-3 hour cooktop cooking.
New one came. Same thing!! I was again frustrated (made this a 1 star).
Called them, and they put their senior engineer on it. Even did Facetime to show them. ... Of course, it worked. Just like any mechanic looking at a broken car.
But then when I tried it on my own, it let off all the steam again and made a mess.
I sent them a video.
Turned out the valve was BACKWARDS. Technically my fault, but design 101 does say that you should make something so it impossible to put it on incorrectly. Like a key put in backwards should either also work or not even let you insert it.
So I made a video. A video showing you which way the valve needs to go. In case somebody else has the same problem.
I would dock the review by 1 star for the imperfect design, but the great customer service makes up for it. And yes I am real and I am from Virginia and have done 100+ reviews.
I recommend this product (I do wish they made it smaller, but then it couldn't be a steamer as easily, since it wouldn't be deep enough).
Frank
I am not much of a chef, but I am a wannabe. I wanted to be able to cook beans without having an open flame for hours (I also tend to be forgetful and overcook and destroy food). I did a TON of research before I picked this one. I wanted the smallest option possible AND I wanted a STAINLESS STEAL Insert. Which is VERY rare, but much healthier.
I loved my pot for a couple of weeks. Making Quinoa in 8 minutes (plus pressure time), beans, sweet potatoes steamed, and even rice.
But then something went wrong. The steam kept releasing from the valve. I was kinda ticked. I called the 800# afterhours even, and the rep thought it was a faulty valve. She then sent me a new one, which stunk since I needed to wait a couple of weeks and I wasn't going to go back to 2-3 hour cooktop cooking.
New one came. Same thing!! I was again frustrated (made this a 1 star).
Called them, and they put their senior engineer on it. Even did Facetime to show them. ... Of course, it worked. Just like any mechanic looking at a broken car.
But then when I tried it on my own, it let off all the steam again and made a mess.
I sent them a video.
Turned out the valve was BACKWARDS. Technically my fault, but design 101 does say that you should make something so it impossible to put it on incorrectly. Like a key put in backwards should either also work or not even let you insert it.
So I made a video. A video showing you which way the valve needs to go. In case somebody else has the same problem.
I would dock the review by 1 star for the imperfect design, but the great customer service makes up for it. And yes I am real and I am from Virginia and have done 100+ reviews.
I recommend this product (I do wish they made it smaller, but then it couldn't be a steamer as easily, since it wouldn't be deep enough).
Frank
By Mad Sweeney
I always thought I'd never get a electric pressure cooker/rice machine, since it does the same job as a pot. Boy was I wrong. I LOVE THIS THING. It is incredibly convenient, especially since I'm always waiting until the last minute to make meals. My husband loves to make rice so this pot get a ton of use as a rice machine, and it always turns out perfectly. It may take a little bit of trial and error to get your water to rice ratio right for that, we personally use one-to-one and it works swimmingly.
We've used the slow cooker to make pulled pork and the "beans" setting to make chili, I've even made bread in it (which only turned out so/so but that's probably really not what this pot is intended for, the recipe search continues!) There are a ton of pressure cooker recipes online, so I just google any normal recipe I'm looking for and just add "pressure cooker" on the end, works every time.
I've had zero problems or difficulties with any of the functions. I can make AMAZING beans in about 30 mins now and all the flavor stays packed in them. Even my technophobe parents were pretty impressed when they saw how well it works, which is saying a lot.
The lid is sturdy and beeps when it's locked in place, and the whole set-up feels very secure. I think it's a good looking piece of equipment too, looks nice sitting on the counter.
It's pretty easy to clean the inner pot, but the lid takes a little more elbow grease. I like to take the rubber seal out to thoroughly wash the lid, and it really hasn't been a problem getting it out or putting it back together.
We've used the slow cooker to make pulled pork and the "beans" setting to make chili, I've even made bread in it (which only turned out so/so but that's probably really not what this pot is intended for, the recipe search continues!) There are a ton of pressure cooker recipes online, so I just google any normal recipe I'm looking for and just add "pressure cooker" on the end, works every time.
I've had zero problems or difficulties with any of the functions. I can make AMAZING beans in about 30 mins now and all the flavor stays packed in them. Even my technophobe parents were pretty impressed when they saw how well it works, which is saying a lot.
The lid is sturdy and beeps when it's locked in place, and the whole set-up feels very secure. I think it's a good looking piece of equipment too, looks nice sitting on the counter.
It's pretty easy to clean the inner pot, but the lid takes a little more elbow grease. I like to take the rubber seal out to thoroughly wash the lid, and it really hasn't been a problem getting it out or putting it back together.
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