Kitchen

[wildcat fan]

I received one last year as a gift.  The things I've made were tasty.  But I'm not thrilled with amount of space it takes up, and I have a hard time with all the buttons on the front.  The recipes I've seen say do this or do that, but there aren't buttons on the front to match those commands.  I saw a recipe recommending buying a stainless colander to put inside for steaming vegetables.  I like that, but realize I can use the colander in another pot and get the same results.  I will keep looking for ways to use it.  Guess it takes time for someone with my skill level to get used to it.

[Warrior2022]

IMO, you have to look up a recipe to get started.  Once you learn the ins and outs, it is great.  DH uses it for keto recipes all the time.

[Annabellethecat66]

I was going through a bunch of unopened QVC boxes and found I had one.  I have no idea why because I really don't cook....at all anymore.

Anyway, the reason I'm mentioning it is because I was looking at the books at Costco and saw a cookbook called "The Instant Pot Cookbook".  Who'd have thought they have a cookbook just for that machine?  Ha!

I used to collect cookbooks and had some amazing ones.  When my husband died I gave them all away.  I can't imagine why anyone would need a cookbook for that pot, but then what do I know?

I guess there are cookbooks for everything.  I'll probably give it to a friend who still cooks a lot.  It did seem like a neat kinda pot though.

I think my problem is I'm too optimistic.  I see these things and think, "I'll start cooking".  Then I forget all about it (and cooking).  Ha!

I know many of you understand it's such a pain to cook for oneself and then sit and eat it alone.  I'd just as soon eat some soup or something.

I am getting ready to make some vegetable soup like I used to.  I'm working up to making it....maybe this weekend....

[Tyak]

I thought I needed one and it's in a closet.  It's wonderful for cooking eggs, they peel so easily it's amazing but, that's one heck of an expensive egg maker.  I've ruined chicken and some other kind of meat (don't remember what) but I'm not impressed with pressure cookers.  I don't want to have to experiment with an appliance, I just want to cook in it and know that the food will come out good.  I'm thinking of donating it to a womans shelter  if I can't get enthused about the thing pretty soon.  It's taking up valuable closet space.

[AuntMame]

I've heard people say they make wonderful cheesecakes and other deserts in the Instant Pot, but it takes a lot of work. What's wrong with the oven? From the directions I've read it seems a whole bunch easier to bake a cheesecake in the traditional manner than to make one in an Instant Pot. 

I bought one for the yogurt-making feature and I love it. Roasts come out good too, but they're just as good coming from the Dutch oven or the slow-cooker. Only difference is that it takes only 1.5 hours for a roast in an Instant Pot versus 2-3 hours in the oven for a tender roast. For years DH was begging me to pressure-cook roasts like his mom did so now he has his wish fulfilled.

I've heard that it's a necessity if you love Indian food. Indian cooking is built around pressure cookers. 

Otherwise there's nothing you can make in an Instant Pot that you can't cook in a traditional fashion. The IP also carries the danger that you'll get the timing or the moisture wrong and ruin the food. I love how the IP makes rice but I have ruined several pots of it. Ditto for beans. It takes only about an hour to go from dried beans to cooked beans in an IP, but I have ended up with mush beans even when strictly following the directions. Other times the beans have been perfect. Go figure. 

[AuntMame]

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@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

I was going through a bunch of unopened QVC boxes and found I had one.  I have no idea why because I really don't cook....at all anymore.

Anyway, the reason I'm mentioning it is because I was looking at the books at Costco and saw a cookbook called "The Instant Pot Cookbook".  Who'd have thought they have a cookbook just for that machine?  Ha!

I used to collect cookbooks and had some amazing ones.  When my husband died I gave them all away.  I can't imagine why anyone would need a cookbook for that pot, but then what do I know?

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The pots are actually rather complicated to use, and there is a learning curb (I think). I can see why a cookbook would be in order. But they're also a Big Fad right now. The Crockpot for millenials. When Crockpots became the rage 20-some years ago there was a flood of slow-cooker cookbooks. Even Q sold several. 

I also think that the inventors of the Instant Pot have been very savvy marketers. They entered into a marketing agreement early on with Amazon for Amazon to promote the pots, and the IPs have proved very lucrative for Amazon. They've also been paying bloggers and cookbook authors to write books and recipes, and promote them on their cooking blogs, etc. Seems like you can't read a cooking blog without finding it bloated with IP recipes. 

They've become a cash cow for many companies. 

[suzyQ3]

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@AuntMame wrote:

I've heard people say they make wonderful cheesecakes and other deserts in the Instant Pot, but it takes a lot of work. What's wrong with the oven? From the directions I've read it seems a whole bunch easier to bake a cheesecake in the traditional manner than to make one in an Instant Pot. 

I bought one for the yogurt-making feature and I love it. Roasts come out good too, but they're just as good coming from the Dutch oven or the slow-cooker. Only difference is that it takes only 1.5 hours for a roast in an Instant Pot versus 2-3 hours in the oven for a tender roast. For years DH was begging me to pressure-cook roasts like his mom did so now he has his wish fulfilled.

I've heard that it's a necessity if you love Indian food. Indian cooking is built around pressure cookers. 

Otherwise there's nothing you can make in an Instant Pot that you can't cook in a traditional fashion. The IP also carries the danger that you'll get the timing or the moisture wrong and ruin the food. I love how the IP makes rice but I have ruined several pots of it. Ditto for beans. It takes only about an hour to go from dried beans to cooked beans in an IP, but I have ended up with mush beans even when strictly following the directions. Other times the beans have been perfect. Go figure. 

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@AuntMame, I wouldn't say that it's a necessity. But one of our favorite cookbooks by Madhur Jaffrey is "Quick and Easy Indian Cookery," and many of the recipes call for a pressure cooker.

We use a stainless steel, high-quality stove-top PC, but you could easily adapt the recipe for conventional cooking.