Kitchen

[Bridgegal]

My wonderful Williams Sonoma Cuisinart multicooker needs a new insert.   For a little more than that replacement part I can get an Instant Pot.

I'm not looking for speed .  No more full time work for me so I have plenty of time to cook.   I'm looking for taste.    For those of you who have had or currently use both, which do you prefer and why.   Thansks.

[reiki604]

I don’t know about the multi cooker features but the instant pot works as a slow cooker (Crock pot), a pressure cooker, a sous vide, and you can sauté and brown in it. Has all the features I could ever want.

[loriqvc]

@Bridgegal - I'm not sure which features were available on your Cuisinart, but an Instant Pot is a multicooker. Aside from the new(ish) Ninja Foodi that also adds air frying to the list of functions, I don't think there are any multicookers that have more features than an Instant Pot, so if you find a model you like, you should be all set. You can choose to slow cook or pressure cook and get a lot of flavor either way.

[Kachina624]

I have A Ninja multicooker that sits unused because I love my pressure cooker so much.  Yes, it's fast but it also infuses food with wonderful flavor.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I have and recommend a Ninja 4-in-1. I thought I needed an Instant Pot, bought one and it sat there for a few months without even opening it.  Realizing I'm at a point in my life where I don't need anything on the table in a hurry, I decided I didn't need the Instant Pot after all.  I ended up donating it to a fundraising auction.  I admit I have only eaten one entree made with the Instant Pot and I wasn't impressed.  In fact, it wasn't good at all.  The meat and sauce had no flavor and the pasta was mush.  It's a good feeling when you put your ingredients in the multicooker and let the aroma fill the house throughout the day.  I also like it for making a lot of hard-cooked eggs at one time.    

[KaySD]

I may be wrong, but I think an Instant Pot is just one brand of multicookers--appliances that slow cook and pressure cook, and may do other things like sear. Mine is a German brand I can't enter the name of, over ten years old, and doing fine. I mostly pressure cook in it, and make rice. Instant Pot has done a fab marketing and branding job, making people believe it's a category unto itself, but their cooker really isn't much different from other good brands. 

[iwrite]

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@reiki604 wrote:

I don’t know about the multi cooker features but the instant pot works as a slow cooker (Crock pot), a pressure cooker, a sous vide, and you can sauté and brown in it. Has all the features I could ever want.

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hello @reiki604

i was wondering if when the instant pot is in slow cooker mode, can you just open it, like you can a multi cooker or do you have to let the steam out first, like you do when using a pressure cooker?

thank you

[reiki604]

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@iwrite wrote:

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@reiki604 wrote:

I don’t know about the multi cooker features but the instant pot works as a slow cooker (Crock pot), a pressure cooker, a sous vide, and you can sauté and brown in it. Has all the features I could ever want.

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hello @reiki604

i was wondering if when the instant pot is in slow cooker mode, can you just open it, like you can a multi cooker or do you have to let the steam out first, like you do when using a pressure cooker?

thank you

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You can open it as long as you are not using pressure.  In slow cooker mode there is no pressure. They also sell a clear glass top for it, just like the slow cooker has. yw!

[iwrite]

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@reiki604 wrote:

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@iwrite wrote:

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@reiki604 wrote:

I don’t know about the multi cooker features but the instant pot works as a slow cooker (Crock pot), a pressure cooker, a sous vide, and you can sauté and brown in it. Has all the features I could ever want.

---

hello @reiki604

i was wondering if when the instant pot is in slow cooker mode, can you just open it, like you can a multi cooker or do you have to let the steam out first, like you do when using a pressure cooker?

thank you

---

You can open it as long as you are not using pressure.  In slow cooker mode there is no pressure. They also sell a clear glass top for it, just like the slow cooker has. yw!

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thank you for letting me know @reiki604, that the instant pot can be opened in slow cooker mode. would have been nice to have that someplace in the description, as many people like slow cookers, but not pressure cookers because of the pressure.  there i go again, writing descriptive copy for a product. who do i send an invoice to? LOL

i remember reading several messages from people saying that they didn't want a pressure cooker and were NOT going to buy it. perhaps if good details were provided for each function, of the instant pot, more people would have purchased it for the rice or slow cooker functions. don't say it, just let me dream (smile).

[Nataliesgramma]

You have to increased the amount of spices when you cook in the Insta pot....that gives things more flavor...