17 ms·

Inside the Home of Instant Pot

151 points by greeneggs 9y ago

pmoriarty 9y ago
I wonder what the statistics for Instant Pot explosions are. Are those independently tracked in any way? I've considered getting one of those, but have serious concerns about their safety.
- linsomniac 9y ago
  They do run at a lower pressure, FYI. Which means you don't get all the benefits of a pressure cooker, but I suspect that drops the explosion danger quite a bit too. The new one we got at work seems a bit touchier than my one at home, it wouldn't come up to pressure on a recipe I always do on my 2.5 year old one. I wonder if there were some problems experienced that they put in fixes for or if they were just being clever. It said "burn" which apparently it says if there isn't enough liquid in there. I added some extra and off it went, I was making chili and probably should have put the tomato paste in after the cook rather than before, it was pretty thick.
- darkstar999 9y ago
  I haven't heard of that happening.
- unmole 9y ago
  This fear of exploding pressure cookers seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. They all come fitted with a 'safety valve' that pops to let out the pressure before it can reach a dangerous point. It also reminds me if this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death
  - 0xcde4c3db 9y ago
    As an American, I've heard that this can happen but have never heard of a specific example of it happening accidentally (sadly, there are multiple examples of them being deliberately used as weapons). I suspect it's an old wives' tale, possibly an exaggeration of poorly-made or damaged cookers somehow being opened at pressure and the "explosion" actually being rapidly venting steam.
    - mythrwy 9y ago
      I once tried to pressure cook a large pot of habanero peppers (to make hot sauce). (While doing this I was drinking with friends... bad idea) I wanted to open the pot and so put it in the sink and ran a little cold water on it until I could just get it open. The resulting steam hit me in the face and hands. My face turned all red and hands swelled up and I could barely see. No real damage but it was very intense pain for a few hours and completely sucked. It also made me not like spicy food for about a year thereafter (fortunately that went away). Off topic but just a word of warning about pressure cookers and hot peppers.
      - TwelveNights 9y ago
        When you do something with the pot in a way it wasn't meant to be used, I guess all bets are off.
        mythrwy 9y ago
        This was actually a normal pressure cooker (early 90's in college, there were no Instant Pots way back in those primitive days). Not sure it was necessarily contrary to "how it was meant to be used".
        throwanem 9y ago
        I don't know. The next pressure cooker cookbook I see with a recipe in it for pepper spray will be the first.
  - swimfar 9y ago
    Western, maybe. But not uniquely American. I've seen references/jokes about it in Europe as well.
  - mc32 9y ago
    Unfortunately the company continues the propaganda: "Mr. Wang credits the device’s technological advances — most notably, a group of sensors that keep the cooker from overheating or exploding under pressure." I guess that helps in converting people hesitant on pressure cookers to consider an instapot. Quora[1] seems to think it could happen under certain special circumstances but not quite "explosion" but rather jettisoning the safety valve. [1]https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressure-cooker-explode-and-what-kind-of-damage-would-it-do https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressu...
  - ggg9990 9y ago
    That's because if a pressure cooker explodes in America (or more generally, the West) and kills someone it's a national news item: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-suffers-second-degree-burns-after-pressure-cooker-explodes/news-story/355d376dcd8442a7f5612b4a8382ea53 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-... You haven't heard about Indians killed by pressure cookers because it simply doesn't make the news.
    - wglass 9y ago
      Speaking as one who is American born married to a woman from the subcontinent ... We’ve had accidents involving traditional pressure cookers 2 or 3 times. It’s not really an explosion though we’ve called it that. There’s a rubber emergency valve that pops out and a jet of high pressure steam rockets up. Usually our ceiling gets coated with gravy or orange colored lentils. Once this happened 5 minutes before dinner guests arrived so we all just went out to eat instead! With more experience we’ve avoided the issue (don’t cook lentils that clog up the outflow tube). But it’s still a worry. Incidentally we’ve been using the instant pot for the last year now and it’s great. Bought them as presents for various members of the extended family too. It plays s cute little song when t starts and stops. No psuedo-explosions or orange colored ceilings either.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        Interesting. My family cooks lentils on a pressure cooker quite frequently, and that never happened to us. Maybe you were filling it too much?
        peatmoss 9y ago
        Or maybe not including some sort of fat to prevent foaming...
  - umeshunni 9y ago
    >> Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. Growing up in India in the 80s, there were occasional news articles about exploding Prestige and Hawkins pressure cookers. Looks like they're not unheard of even in recent times (e.g. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-in-pressure-cooker-blast/articleshow/9941174.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-i... )
  - tecleandor 9y ago
    Pressure cookers are quite common in Spain, and most fear from exploding pressure cookers comes from the 70s and 80s, when they had less security features, valves could get stuck, and people were careless ( i.e: opening the lid before pressure venting, forced cooling under the water tap...) I've checked on Google News for accidents in Spain, and haven't found anything more recent than 2012. Using modern pressure cookers is quite safe. Just check your valve works, that your ring seal is in proper condition, and close the lid properly. AND NEVER TRY TO OPEN IT IF PRESSURE HASN'T VENTED
    - ferongr 9y ago
      My Fissler pressure cooker recommends forced cooling under a stream of water for precise control of cooking time, as an alternative to venting steam through the valve, to prevent loss of flavor.
  - AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
    I mean, incidents do happen: https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-anymore-photo-by-3186316.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-...
- pcurve 9y ago
  Electric ones are safer than stove top ones that are manual. I've had the latter explode in my kitchen way back in 80s due bad luck. Food particle got lodged in pressure vent inside and its lit exploded open destroying overhead vent. Loudest bang ever and haven't used it much since. But electric ones are much weaker and have so many safety I would trust it.
exabrial 9y ago
Just bought my mom one. Timely article!
hirundo 9y ago
Nomnompaleo clued me into the Instant Pot about 3 years ago and I've used it at least weekly since. Most appliances go to the graveyard cabinet, not this. Just polished off a turkey stew: Pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms, bacon & 4 turkey drumsticks. 1 hour to cook 40min to cool 20m prep yields 4 or five great meals. Umpteen substitutions and variations of the above keep bringing me back. The device is still working flawlessly. Glad I bought a second pot and lid.
- linsomniac 9y ago
  I've also had one for a while, coming up on 3 years. I went through a phase where we didn't use it much, but I'm back to using it at least weekly. It makes amazingly tender meats, in an hour instead of 3 like I would normally do for stew beef. I have a selection of easy meals do all the time. One thing I really like is that I can put chicken, veggies, and some rice in it, set it on 35 minutes, and when it's done I just stir and have shredded chicken. The meat just falls apart.
- lighttower 9y ago
  Why do you need two lids and pots? I understand the pot, you can store it in the fridge. But why the lid?
  - pimlottc 9y ago
    Um, to seal the pot that's in the fridge?
    - Gnewt 9y ago
      The lid seals the entire Instant Pot, not the insert (which is the thing that would go in the fridge).
      - ensignavenger 9y ago
        They make one to seal the pot that goes in the fridge, too. I don't think it is used for cooking at all. I havn't bought one yet, but it is on my list.
kitcar 9y ago
I was under the impression that instant pot was not the inventor of the electric slow cooker / rice maker / pressure cooker hybrid, they were just the ones to import the concept from China and market it to North American audiences. Can anyone who lived in China in the late 90s confirm - was the instant pot style of pressure cooker popular back then, or is the instant pot brand truly the original I nventor of the hybrid pressure cooker concept? Speaking As a (very satisfied) owner of an instant pot, when I first received it I recall noticing it looked very similar to devices I would see for sale at my local east Asian grocery store
- forkLding 9y ago
  The makers are Chinese Canadian, I would say they were inspired by Asian designs but probably have a better product in terms of internals and externals as is normally expected.
- hobaak 9y ago
  I think you are talking about Korean electric pressure rice cooker. They have various cooking mode but more geared for rice. But people found a way to make cakes etc. This is North America version of them.
- Andrenid 9y ago
  We've used a Japanese multi cooker for years. Tiger brand. Does rice, steaming, slow cooked stews and soups, even cakes and yoghurt. I'm very surprised at everyone talking as though the Instant Pot invented it.
  - jpatokal 9y ago
    The key difference is that the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, which ordinary rice/multi-cookers are not, they just heat the pot to boil water until the temperature reaches a cutoff point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_cooker#/media/File:Electric_Rice_Cooker.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_cooker#/media/File:Electr...
    - 9y ago
tdburn 9y ago
Does anyone else think the instant pot puts out weird smelling food sometimes? Like almost sour
- avtar 9y ago
  I had to soak the silicone ring in white vinegar for a couple hours to make it lose its awful out-of-box odour. I also ran it on the two minute steam setting with white vinegar. It's been great since then.
  - contingencies 9y ago
    High pressure and heat capable seals in either rubbers or silicones do leach chemicals when new. Once 'cured' they are OK.
- krrrh 9y ago
  I found that the ring picks up odors from some dishes that travel to the next. Definitely have had yogurt that was inadvertently flavoured with bone broth. I was pretty good!
  - FroshKiller 9y ago
    The manual that came with my Instant Pot recommended buying separate rings for specific strong-smelling recipes.
shostack 9y ago
I'm a massive fan of things that improve my quality of living, save me time, and save me money. This little hunk of magic does all three. I had no patience for my slow cooker, and this lets me experiment with foods I normally would have avoided. Beans? 90 minutes from dry. Real steel cut oats? 20 min. roughly. It has saved countless hours of cooking by letting me make awesome meals for the freezer. Lastly, it has easily paid for itself in the first year of owning it by letting me cook in bulk. The one thing that throws me is it is hard to experiment with when dialing in a recipe. Between pressure build-up time, and figuring out quantities, etc., it can be challenging to say, toss something in for a few more minutes, because you can't watch the food while it cooks, so you don't really know when it is fully done short of cooking it more, testing it, cooking it more, testing it, etc. And that can take a good 10 minutes per test. Now I just need to find better recipes.
- sliverstorm 9y ago
  Real steel cut oats? 20 min. roughly. They're only 20 min on the stove in a pot. What does this do differently?
  - ratacat 9y ago
    Pressure cooks everything faster. You can literally take frozen stew meat and have it tender in an hour.
  - balazer 9y ago
    You throw the food in the cooker, press a button, walk away, and it will be ready and hot for you whenever you decide you are hungry. There's no temperature adjustment, no watching, and no stirring. When I cook grains in the Instant Pot, I pressure steam them in a bowl, which means the pot doesn't need to be cleaned (and the bowl is easy to clean). The Instant Pot isn't much faster than a pot on the stove for many grains, but it's a heck of a lot easier and more consistent.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Pressure cookers are pretty great, but I don't get why Americans got hooked on the Instant Pot specifically. We just use a stove-top model.
CalChris 9y ago
This is the complete opposite of Juicero.
- fermienrico 9y ago
  I am confused. How so?
  - GuiA 9y ago
    One interpretation: Juicero is about making you reliant on them (the machine is useless without their packets), whereas this is about expanding what you can do as a home cook. Technological inventions that fall in this latter category are where the real value for people is, even though the press and investors are a little too obsessed with the former at times.
  - RickS 9y ago
    Cheap, unproprietary, broadly-applicable utility. Exactly none of those words apply to juicero.
  - j_s 9y ago
    Juicero Is Shutting Down | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15151012 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15151012 (Sep2017)
  - throwanem 9y ago
    AvE hasn't torn one down yet. (Strongly recommend his Juicero teardown, by the way: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ)
jaytaylor 9y ago
Great in theory, but I've just been reminded that I haven't liked anything that comes out of it. Things turn out kind of weird imho. For example, carrots we're too soft, spinach was completely crushed and an ugly green. The texture always put me off. Anyone else have a similar experience?
- xyzzyz 9y ago
  You were probably just overcooking things. Try setting up shorter time.
- callmeed 9y ago
  I use my Instant Pot several times a week. I do not cook vegetables in it, with the exception of artichokes (18-20 mins for that is a game changer). Use it for meats, chili, rice, steel cut oats, soups, beans. Give it a try for one of those.
- naner 9y ago
  Most meals with varied ingredients you shouldn't just throw everything in at once. Also it's not uncommon to add things at the end (sliced almonds, french fried onions, scallions, etc) to vary up the texture. There are 'one pot' set it and forget it meals you can make if you want but you'll get more out of it if you use a variety of techniques for the different ingredients used.
- TheRealPomax 9y ago
  That's a typical description for "set it to run for way too long" that comes with using any make/model pressure cooker. Remember that the time it takes to pressurize the vessel is not dead time, if you tell it to run for 5 minutes, it's going to run for 5 minutes plus the several minutes it needs to reach pressure, plus however long you leave it before releasing the pressure valve. Halve the time you typically use (seriously) and see whether that results in better texture for you.
- runj__ 9y ago
  I'd argue that's just how stews are. It's quite rare that they have an interesting mouthfeel or look particularly appetizing. I can understand making a stew out of tough beef but I'd rather rather spend money on a nice cut of meat or just eat chicken. This is of course 100% subjective, sautéing is to me a much more interesting way to cook food (boiling things that needs to be boiled beforehand), I'll probably get cancer before the stew-heads though.
spodek 9y ago
I use a Cuisinart pressure cooker like a chain smoker. I cook a vegetable stew that lasts 4 or 5 meals, then cook my next vegetable stew for the next 4 or 5 meals, and so on. No recipes. Basically what's fresh and in season from the farmers market with legumes (lentils, beans, peas, et), nutritional yeast, herbs or flavoring (usually ginger or jalepenos) and water. Then salt to taste, topped with nuts, and crispy vegetables like onion or pepper. Actually, here's a video of it -- http://joshuaspodek.com/20-minute-vegetable-stew http://joshuaspodek.com/20-minute-vegetable-stew. It's 20 minutes and not that exciting, but it shows how to make a delicious stew from entirely fresh ingredients with zero planning. I make bread starting with wheat berries in it (grinding them into flour in the blender first). Also fruit stews that are incredible desserts. Total life changer. Restaurants are disappointing in comparison and I live in Manhattan. It paid for itself in the first use.
- deleted 9y ago
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- spraak 9y ago
  I'd be glad to know how to make bread in a pressure cooker!
  - thinkMOAR 9y ago
    There are youtubes for that :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks40XzQtyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks40XzQtyU
  - spodek 9y ago
    First the caveats: My pressure-cooked bread tastes delicious to me, but I experiment so my results vary. Most batches wouldn't make it into a bakery. For one thing, I start with wheat berries that I turn into flour in my blender. I blend some to fine flour so it gets doughy, but some course, which gives more texture and, I hear, lowers the glycemic load or something like that. For another, I add flavors. I started with garlic and onions, then moved to banana, carrot, apple, cocao powder, etc, and various combinations, usually based on what's in season at the farmers market. The one I made over the weekend had banana, cranberry, and ginger. Here's the recipe I started with, though I use water instead of milk to keep it vegan. - 2 cups (250g) all purpose flour - 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate baking soda (not baking powder) - 1 teaspoon salt - 1 1/4 cup (270g)whole milk plain yogurt (or sour milk, or milk with 1¼ tablespoons of vinegar) - water in pressure cooker under the metal container the dough goes in Instructions: 1. Oil metal container so bread doesn't stick 2. Mix everything 3. Pressure cook high presser 15-20 minutes with 1/2 cup water under the metal container I've only done soda bread, working my way to yeast. My metal container happens to be my rice cooker bowl. I don't use the rice cooker any more, but the bowl fits perfectly in the pressure cooker. To keep the metal bowl from touching the pressure cooker's teflon, I cut some potatoes and put them in the water, so I get a few pressure-cooked potatoes in the process. These pages have pictures that helped, although my bread is much more grainy and brown: - https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-bread-less-energy-less-time-real-bread https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-bread-les... - http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Bread-Anywhere%3A-%22Baking%22-bread-in-a-pressure- http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Bread-Anywhere%3A-%22Ba...
jstewartmobile 9y ago
We received one last Christmas. Use it regularly for beans and pot roast. The suggested cook times in the manual were a little too long though--and that matters in a pressure cooker. A couple minutes can make the difference between success and slop. 25 minutes for dry beans and 30 minutes for a decent-sized roast is more than enough time to get the job done. Fantastic job, Mr. Wang! edit: I'm just doing black beans. Larger ones may need more time.
- dd36 9y ago
  Also depends on altitude.
  - jstewartmobile 9y ago
    I read something along the lines of +5% cook time for every 1,000 ft above 2,000 ft. Apparently it's adjustable in their Ultra model: https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/ultra-2/#toggle-id-15 https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/ultra-2/#toggle-id-15
  - jemfinch 9y ago
    Why would it depend on the altitude? It's a sealed vessel that holds (iirc) 7 psi on low, and 11 psi on high. It seems like these pressures should remain the same regardless of altitude, unless the outside atmosphere is somehow involved in the pressure release valve, which is hard to imagine.
    - jstewartmobile 9y ago
      Traditional pressure cookers with weighted regulators would need different weights for different altitudes for consistent cook times. The sensors/mechanics of the InstantPot are a black box to me, so I'll just have to assume that it makes some kind of difference since they added an altitude setting to one of the models.
brunoqc 9y ago
I own an Instant Pot and I wasn't impressed. The rice sticks unlike a real rice cooker and the pressure cooking was slow. I followed some normal pressure cooker recipes and I had to double or triple the time.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  >> The rice sticks unlike a real rice cooker Rice doesn't stick only in rice cookers that don't have a non-stick interior pot. My parents have some older generation rice cookers that still work, and they have aluminum interior pots and the rice sticks to them. The only problem is that the stuck rice doesn't burn a little at the bottom. That is the best part of the rice when mixed with soup.
wheresmyusern 9y ago
thats so funny, i was just considering buying one of these after learning about their existence earlier today. these things are great because you can make rice, beans and baked potatoes. if you buy a nice bread machine too, all the essentials are covered and you are all set up to save a whole lot of money. after reading this article and these comments, i will definitely pull the trigger on one of these. the only problem is that there are so many models, i dont know which one to get.
wheresmyusern 9y ago
another cool kitchen appliance with a cult following is the panasonic flashxpress. its a toaster oven that uses ir light instead of typical heating elements and convection. there are really good, cult-worthy toaster ovens and pressure cookers but unfortunately there are no such bread makers. we really need a better bread maker on the market.
- DanBC 9y ago
  What features would turn a bread maker from an ordinary appliance to an extra-ordinary appliance?
  - hudibras 9y ago
    Built-in bread slicer is the holy grail of bread machines.
  - wheresmyusern 9y ago
    automatic ingredient dispensing is the biggest one. the second biggest is automatic removal of the bread from the pan. the other comments are wrong, bread machines make very good bread. ive been basically living off of bread machine bread for months so i happen to know. the idea of a bread machine is to render bread-making easy. so you can set a timer on the machine and have it start the mixing and baking process whenever you want. however, the bread must be removed from the pan as soon as its done baking or else it will become soggy. this is a pain and almost completely nullifies the overall convenience of the machine because yes you can set a timer but you have to make sure to be around when its done -- this is highly, extremely annoying and also dramatically reduces your ability to make bread spontaneously. automatic removal would be very easy to implement, i have a few ideas myself on how to do it. but nobody does it. the automatic dispensing of ingredients would be the final key stone is the whole arch of bread making convenience. for simple whole wheat bread, like the bread i make, there arent very many ingredients and all but one are dry. so automatic dispensing is conceivable. i would love to be able to fill a few hoppers with cheap, healthy ingredients and then be able to simply push a button and later on find a fresh loaf of bread waiting for me. but apparently im the only one. also a bread machine with a nice display and ui would be nice. nobody seems to be able to do it.
thisisit 9y ago
> It is also a testament to the enormous power of Amazon, and its ability to turn small businesses into major empires nearly overnight. Lot of people say that Amazon tends to move in on a product which they think has been doing well and start selling Amazon branded stuff. Is there a reason why Amazon hasn't done the same to Instant Pot? > Sensing viral potential, Instant Pot sent test units to about 200 influential chefs, cooking instructors and food bloggers. Reviews and recipes appeared online, and sales began to climb. I wonder why does the article keeps framing the company's growth as something which spent almost nothing on advertising, and achieved enormous size primarily through online word-of-mouth?
- deleted 9y ago
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- sageabilly 9y ago
  Question #2: Because they didn't spend any money buying ads, and instead sent test units out to influencers?
TheRealPomax 9y ago
If you actually read this article, there's barely any information in it that warrants that many words. It's basically just an advertisement that goes "lots of people have bought this thing!" with the automatic effect that readers will then go "wow sounds popular I should think about getting one".
- Lxr 9y ago
  http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- baldfat 9y ago
  When anything doubles in sales for 6 straight years I think this kind of article is warranted. When it is a top 5 item across stores on Black Friday. The story is how a small Canadian company has such religiously loyal customers and evangelist. I think it is a far article. I bought myself one in September. I love to cook and cook 70% of meals. Almost everything is from scratch and takes over an hour. I now use this Instant Pot 3 or 4 days a week. I owned a non-electric pressure cooker my whole life and find this makes it so convenient to just get good tasting food done quickly and with much less prep work. Also this is about Tech Startup inventor making such a strong impact on appliances. No advertising just Amazon and Internet Word of Mouth. Edit: Also it is virtually sold out across the internet. Bought one for my parents and it was only found by stopping in at stores and looking for the last one not inventories.
  - mattmaroon 9y ago
    I think to OPs point, is not that articles in general aren't warranted. It's just that this one was useless. It doesn't tell me what instant pot did to make it beat out rivals other than some nonsense about sensors. And sending units to reviewers is paid advertising. I'd like to hear more about that. Was that his plan from the beginning? Make the same device everyone else does at the same price but get blog reviews?
    - ghaff 9y ago
      The article does get into the viral marketing etc. but, like you, I would like to hear more. I'm honestly not sure why the Instant Pot took off when (admittedly mostly much more expensive) electric pressure cookers have been around for ages. Though, reading the article, it's also not clear to me if the founder really knows why it became so successful either.
mrarjen 9y ago
Been using a rice cooker for some years now, it's already a huge step up from cooking it in a pot. And it seems almost nobody uses rice cookers here (NL). Fun fact, people from Asian countries are rather unlikely to know how to cook rice in a pan. I'll very likely get one of the IP's, as cooking ribs and other slow cooked meats do take a lot of time now, and pressure cookers are like playing with a bomb.
- gambiting 9y ago
  I just don't understand the point of a rice cooker, I really really don't. Cooking rice is the simplest thing in the world - throw rice in a pan with water and some salt, turn the gas on, wait 10-15 minutes. Done. Why would I buy a separate device taking precious space in my kitchen for what has to be the easiest cooking task imaginable? When you say "people [..] are rather unlikely to know how to cook rice in a pan" I just don't understand. It's like saying that someone doesn't understand how to make a cup of instant coffee. The only way to fuck it up is to put it on gas and then forget, but that would ruin any dish.
  - Isn0gud 9y ago
    It's not just about cooking the rice...
  - leoedin 9y ago
    Your recipe only applies to certain types of robust rice. Basmati rice is not simple - if you just boil it for 15 minutes, you'll destroy it. At the very least, good basmati is steamed - you only add enough water to cook the rice (you don't drain it afterwards), then bring it to the boil before simmering it at a very low heat. It's pretty hard to reliably get right - every time I use a new stove or pan or try to cook a quantity I don't often do is a gamble. If you mess up it's either crunchy or squishy.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
      This is so true. I usually only buy the one type of rice, a short grain brown rice from SunRice in Australia, and usually only when it's on special. Anyway, point being: I know I can cook this one particular type of rice to perfection in a saucepan with 1 volume-unit rice to 1.5 volume-units water. Bring it to a rapid boil for one minute, then wrap the whole pot in two dry cotton bath towels (hotbox), leave it for ~45 minutes. Voila! Also works with some short grain white rices, with 1:1 ratio and many fewer minutes in the hotbox. Personally, I can't stand any long grain rice (Basmati, Jasmine, etc).
b1gtuna 9y ago
I don't know why Instant Pot became such a sensation when pressure cookers have been around for ages....
- chadcmulligan 9y ago
  it's the combined saute function that got me, also the ability to slow cook. I don't know if it was the first electric one, but its the one I heard of. I remember my grandparents had a stove top pressure cooker and it was a pita to run. The instant pot just push a button, it's very easy, and all in one pot.
- felipeerias 9y ago
  While you can't leave a traditional pressure cooker unattended, with the IP you just put the ingredients in, select the time, and forget about it. Once the timer goes off, the IP will lower the temperature and keep the food warm. I often prepare stews right before I leave the house, so I can come back to a hearty lunch/dinner a few hours later.
- codingdave 9y ago
  Because older pressure cookers explode if used improperly.
- Kurtz79 9y ago
  In sparse order: - Increased popularity of homecooking/healty eating over the last years (celebrity chefs shows, websites,youtube, etc...), over take out or frozen stuff. - Ease of use. The IP has a premade setting for all its major functions. It can be left unattended, keeps the food warm automatically, etc. - Flexibility. It can work also as a steamer, slow cooker or yogurt maker. - Compactness. It is kind of bulky, but since it´s electrical you don´t need a stovetop to use it. You can use it easily in a small studio with a very basic kitchenette, for example. My only beef with it (heh) is that the UI tries to be too idiot-proof and ends up being kind of a mess, otherwise it is a fairly well designed and funcional piece of hardware.
baxtr 9y ago
I love this thing. I feel like the whole family is eating healthier since we have it. My favorite food is Risotto, which comes out really great. Has anyone a very good resource for some other great recipes?
- DonHopkins 9y ago
  Wikileaks published a great Risotto recipe last year -- hopefully Mueller will published some email with Trump's secret taco bowl recipe soon.
cabaalis 9y ago
I love my instant pot. I don't do anything artisanal as I'm not fancy enough for that. Some chicken breast with some teriyaki sauce and water for 20 minutes comes out great.
bigtex 9y ago
If you get the bluetooth enabled version, you can have delicious steel cut oats ready for breakfast. You just set the time you want it finished and wallah! https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/smart-bluetooth/ https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/smart-bluetooth/
- jcoder 9y ago
  The non-bt version does this too
- berberous 9y ago
  Pet peeve: it’s voilà (a French word), not wallah.
- kitcar 9y ago
  Another tip - if you just let the steel cut oats soak overnight they will cook in ~50% of the time the "old fashion" way
- mason55 9y ago
  Is the bluetooth enabled version actually for sale? I don't see it in their store or on Amazon
mattmaroon 9y ago
This article glosses over the real story which is how did Instant Pot win when their product is functional similar to ones that have existed for a long time? (And no, it's isn't sensors, they all regulate heat and have a valve that prevents explosion.) This is the same as when people write articles about AirBnB and act as if they invented the space when VRBO was there for years. I have no problem with stories about an upstart toppling the existing players (in fact I love em) just tell me how it happened.
- bunderbunder 9y ago
  I only skimmed, but I don't think it does. As an owner of an Instant Pot that gets regular use, and another pressure cooker that lives in storage now, I think I can take a stab at it: Compared to stove top pressure cookers, it's just easier. Stove top ones require constant attention and fiddling to manage the heat an pressure properly. With the Instant Pot, put food in, close lid, set time, go watch One Life to Live reruns until you hear beeping. Compared to other electric models, it's either cheaper, or easier to use, or both. Many comparable models are prohibitively expensive, while the Instant Pot is $100. And the interface is dead simple. Push button, adjust time, walk away. I haven't used another electric model, but a couple friends have them, and, to hear them talk, theirs aren't quite as simple to operate. (That first step might be more confusing before, probably by the 3rd usage, you realize that all the buttons labeled 'bean', 'soup', 'veggies', etc. all do basically the same thing and are really just there for show.)
  - saltmanisacuck 9y ago
    I bought one last year, when my slow cooker died, thinking it would be similarly useful. I did so mostly because I'd had a few friends who raved about theirs. It turned out that it was better at pressure-cooking than my pressure-cooker, and the bluetooth model (which I assumed would be a dumb gimmick) was actually helpful. Turns out it was handy to be able to check on dinner while hanging out with the family. My only wish is that they were a little more straight forward about how simple it really is. I'd love a variant that just had pressure and temperature controls, instead of the dozen named preset buttons. Or if they put the presets in a distinctly separate section of the panel or something.
billfruit 9y ago
Does it deal with power failures, as in it remembers it's state and then properly adjusts for delayed start and stop considering the duration of power failure and adjusting process considering the cooking due to already generated heat when power was gone?
- chrisgd 9y ago
  How often do you experience power outages? I don't think it does, but I don't think it needs to either
  - billfruit 9y ago
    In the third world, an awful lot of times. But being an automated device, if doesn't deal with power outages, then I can't dependent on it to do cooking overnight, while I am asleep. Waking up and finding that machine didn't do its job, because power failed for a few minutes in the middle of the night, is not an ideal situation at all.
    - gruez 9y ago
      Use a UPS?
- gamblor956 9y ago
  If your electric power is as flaky as described, this product, and indeed all other electric pressure cookers, are not for you.
  - billfruit 9y ago
    But it only requires a few minor design changes to make it robust against power failure, and then these could be viable devices in most of the world.
truffle_pig 9y ago
Also the most recommended pressure cooker on reddit: https://redditfavorites.com/products/slow_cookers https://redditfavorites.com/products/slow_cookers When I made that site I remember finding it surprising that it was the top slow cooker and rice cooker.
- draw_down 9y ago
  Does anyone check what reddit’s favorite is before buying something? I don’t think I would do that, personally.
syntaxing 9y ago
I think the best part of the instant pot is how affordable it is. My mom had a pressure cooker for about 10 years now. It finally broke and we saw these huge sales during black Friday so we couldn't resist. It's crazy how useful these things are. We use it for soup, congee, and yogurt on top of the standard pressure cooking functions! Making your own yogurt is great because you can change the consistency and taste to your liking! You save a couple bucks too. We prefer the stainless pot rather than the non-stick pots that most pressure cooker have.
anonu 9y ago
I thought this was going to be an article about the marijuana industry and the rise of e-cigs. In fairness, there's an interesting article to write there too.. EDIT: Great idea to write an article like this right before the holidays. Sometimes I wonder if the author owns stock in the companies they are basically promoting...
- mason55 9y ago
  The link is already posted elsewhere in this thread but PG wrote about this a long time ago. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
My only complaint about my Instant Pot is the plastic sealing ring's tendency to retain smells. At this point I gave up on trying to clean it and just bought a second sealing ring that I use only for Indian food.
- Kurtz79 9y ago
  Agreed, I will probably end up doing the same. I swear I can taste thai curry in the last batch of yogurt I made.
- Zelphyr 9y ago
  We read that this is a common problem when we bought our Instant Pot so we went ahead and bought a couple of extra rings. One thing I've noticed though is that the black ring tends to not seal as well as the semi-clear ring that comes with the IP for some reason. I suspect other colored rings may have the same problem. That said, it's nice to have different colored rings so that you know "red ring for spicy", etc...
Rezo 9y ago
Lots of people seem to be wondering why Instant Pot has become a hit while electronic pressure cookers have existed as a category for quite some time. I personally think it's a great case of tipping points, networking effects and branding all working together. The Instant Pot is a genuinely good product, so it didn't have a trouble finding early users. These people then produced recipes, books and videos not for pressure cookers, but for the Instant Pot specifically. There's 1600+ books for Instant Pot on Amazon, everything from how to cook Keto meals to Indian food. If you have a Breville Fast Slow, and I have a Cuisinart CPC-600 pressure cooker, the cooking times, settings and pressure levels aren't transferable between the two, and may produce quite different results. Hence the networking effect of everyone having the same brand and model of cooker, combined with the tipping point of reaching a certain mass of Instant Pot users, causing an explosion of recipes and guides, which again drives further adoption. So why don't people create "Breville Fast Slow Pressure Cooker" recipes in the first place? I think it's because of the branding. The Instant Pot name itself is already fun and self-describing, and the marketing downplays the pressure cooking aspects. Pressure cooking has a negative association historically from a safety point of view. So while everyone tries to sell electronic pressure cookers, I think most people who buy this product aren't interested in pressure cookers at all, instead they're specifically getting an Instant Pot. And while technically they may be the same, the customers don't necessarily perceive it that way.
- ghaff 9y ago
  >I think most people who buy this product aren't interested in pressure cookers at all, instead they're specifically getting an Instant Pot. And while technically they may be the same, the customers don't necessarily perceive it that way. I don't know how deliberate it was but de-emphasizing its pressure cookerness was a smart move. A lot of people still associate "pressure cooker" with "explosions" and, even if they know intellectually they're not really dangerous, they'll still move on to the next item. As others have said, the price is also quite reasonable--in fact, a lot of stovetop pressure cookers cost more. $100-ish is around the point where a lot of people will take a flyer on something and won't be too put out if it starts gathering dust after a few months.
  - 9y ago
JoeAltmaier 9y ago
Don't understand. Friend brought theirs over yesterday, we made tamales and then they cooked them in the pot. Took only 20 minutes! But hey, steaming them in a double boiler takes 40 minutes so that was a savings I guess. If you include the time to pack the tub carefully and program it, maybe it was slower. And it didn't really 'steam' the tamales. They came out pretty gummy and a little dry. So no fan here. I'll stick to actually cooking my food thanks.
slantyyz 9y ago
FWIW, Instant Pot now makes a sous vide circulator too. I bought one on Black Friday, and it works pretty well (although that's from the perspective of a n00b). It's cheaper than the Anova and other big names.
- ghaff 9y ago
  It looks to be about the same price as Anova. They're both in the $120-$130 range. It's amazing how these circulators have come down in price. Wasn't that long ago your choices were DIY or about $800 for a Polyscience.
  - jsight 9y ago
    I think it is amazing that so many are still so expensive. It is just a heater, a little motor turning a fan, and a thermostat/timer. There seems to be less involved in most of them than a $30 toaster oven.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      I'll not try to justify the pricing, but they're still relatively low volume niche products. It's also not really accurate to compare the thermostat to a toaster oven. For many applications, sous vide depends on very accurate (less than one degree deviation) temperature control. When I bought a PID temperature controller to do the standard DIY slow cooker thing before the less expensive circulators existed, I paid close to $100.
  - slantyyz 9y ago
    The Instant Pot models are on sale regularly. I paid $90 Canadian for mine.
poulsbohemian 9y ago
Help the uninitiated out here -- what's the difference between an Instant Pot and a generic slow cooker? Looks like this thing just has more heat settings?
- lyime 9y ago
  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Slow+cooker+vs+pressure+cooker http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Slow+cooker+vs+pressure+cooker
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- mikestew 9y ago
  They are kind of the opposite of each other. Slow cookers are just that: set it in the morning before work, come home to a slow-cooked bit of meat and veggies. Instant Pot and pressure cookers in general rely on the fact that water under pressure boils at a higher temperature than at sea level pressure, so it cooks things faster. For example, lentils might take 45 minutes on the stove, 10 minutes in a pressure cooker. In summary, slow cooker->I’ve got time to wait, make the meat fall off the bone; pressure cooker->45 minutes for lentils? Who’s got that kind of time?
ckdarby 9y ago
Thought the author's name was Kevin Rose.

151 points by greeneggs 9y ago

I wonder what the statistics for Instant Pot explosions are. Are those independently tracked in any way? I've considered getting one of those, but have serious concerns about their safety.

linsomniac 9y ago
They do run at a lower pressure, FYI. Which means you don't get all the benefits of a pressure cooker, but I suspect that drops the explosion danger quite a bit too. The new one we got at work seems a bit touchier than my one at home, it wouldn't come up to pressure on a recipe I always do on my 2.5 year old one. I wonder if there were some problems experienced that they put in fixes for or if they were just being clever. It said "burn" which apparently it says if there isn't enough liquid in there. I added some extra and off it went, I was making chili and probably should have put the tomato paste in after the cook rather than before, it was pretty thick.
darkstar999 9y ago
I haven't heard of that happening.
unmole 9y ago
This fear of exploding pressure cookers seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. They all come fitted with a 'safety valve' that pops to let out the pressure before it can reach a dangerous point. It also reminds me if this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death
- 0xcde4c3db 9y ago
  As an American, I've heard that this can happen but have never heard of a specific example of it happening accidentally (sadly, there are multiple examples of them being deliberately used as weapons). I suspect it's an old wives' tale, possibly an exaggeration of poorly-made or damaged cookers somehow being opened at pressure and the "explosion" actually being rapidly venting steam.
  - mythrwy 9y ago
    I once tried to pressure cook a large pot of habanero peppers (to make hot sauce). (While doing this I was drinking with friends... bad idea) I wanted to open the pot and so put it in the sink and ran a little cold water on it until I could just get it open. The resulting steam hit me in the face and hands. My face turned all red and hands swelled up and I could barely see. No real damage but it was very intense pain for a few hours and completely sucked. It also made me not like spicy food for about a year thereafter (fortunately that went away). Off topic but just a word of warning about pressure cookers and hot peppers.
    - TwelveNights 9y ago
      When you do something with the pot in a way it wasn't meant to be used, I guess all bets are off.
      - mythrwy 9y ago
        This was actually a normal pressure cooker (early 90's in college, there were no Instant Pots way back in those primitive days). Not sure it was necessarily contrary to "how it was meant to be used".
        throwanem 9y ago
        I don't know. The next pressure cooker cookbook I see with a recipe in it for pepper spray will be the first.
- swimfar 9y ago
  Western, maybe. But not uniquely American. I've seen references/jokes about it in Europe as well.
- mc32 9y ago
  Unfortunately the company continues the propaganda: "Mr. Wang credits the device’s technological advances — most notably, a group of sensors that keep the cooker from overheating or exploding under pressure." I guess that helps in converting people hesitant on pressure cookers to consider an instapot. Quora[1] seems to think it could happen under certain special circumstances but not quite "explosion" but rather jettisoning the safety valve. [1]https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressure-cooker-explode-and-what-kind-of-damage-would-it-do https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressu...
- ggg9990 9y ago
  That's because if a pressure cooker explodes in America (or more generally, the West) and kills someone it's a national news item: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-suffers-second-degree-burns-after-pressure-cooker-explodes/news-story/355d376dcd8442a7f5612b4a8382ea53 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-... You haven't heard about Indians killed by pressure cookers because it simply doesn't make the news.
  - wglass 9y ago
    Speaking as one who is American born married to a woman from the subcontinent ... We’ve had accidents involving traditional pressure cookers 2 or 3 times. It’s not really an explosion though we’ve called it that. There’s a rubber emergency valve that pops out and a jet of high pressure steam rockets up. Usually our ceiling gets coated with gravy or orange colored lentils. Once this happened 5 minutes before dinner guests arrived so we all just went out to eat instead! With more experience we’ve avoided the issue (don’t cook lentils that clog up the outflow tube). But it’s still a worry. Incidentally we’ve been using the instant pot for the last year now and it’s great. Bought them as presents for various members of the extended family too. It plays s cute little song when t starts and stops. No psuedo-explosions or orange colored ceilings either.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Interesting. My family cooks lentils on a pressure cooker quite frequently, and that never happened to us. Maybe you were filling it too much?
      - peatmoss 9y ago
        Or maybe not including some sort of fat to prevent foaming...
- umeshunni 9y ago
  >> Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. Growing up in India in the 80s, there were occasional news articles about exploding Prestige and Hawkins pressure cookers. Looks like they're not unheard of even in recent times (e.g. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-in-pressure-cooker-blast/articleshow/9941174.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-i... )
- tecleandor 9y ago
  Pressure cookers are quite common in Spain, and most fear from exploding pressure cookers comes from the 70s and 80s, when they had less security features, valves could get stuck, and people were careless ( i.e: opening the lid before pressure venting, forced cooling under the water tap...) I've checked on Google News for accidents in Spain, and haven't found anything more recent than 2012. Using modern pressure cookers is quite safe. Just check your valve works, that your ring seal is in proper condition, and close the lid properly. AND NEVER TRY TO OPEN IT IF PRESSURE HASN'T VENTED
  - ferongr 9y ago
    My Fissler pressure cooker recommends forced cooling under a stream of water for precise control of cooking time, as an alternative to venting steam through the valve, to prevent loss of flavor.
- AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
  I mean, incidents do happen: https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-anymore-photo-by-3186316.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-...
pcurve 9y ago
Electric ones are safer than stove top ones that are manual. I've had the latter explode in my kitchen way back in 80s due bad luck. Food particle got lodged in pressure vent inside and its lit exploded open destroying overhead vent. Loudest bang ever and haven't used it much since. But electric ones are much weaker and have so many safety I would trust it.

exabrial 9y ago

Just bought my mom one. Timely article!

hirundo 9y ago

Nomnompaleo clued me into the Instant Pot about 3 years ago and I've used it at least weekly since. Most appliances go to the graveyard cabinet, not this. Just polished off a turkey stew: Pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms, bacon & 4 turkey drumsticks. 1 hour to cook 40min to cool 20m prep yields 4 or five great meals. Umpteen substitutions and variations of the above keep bringing me back. The device is still working flawlessly. Glad I bought a second pot and lid.

linsomniac 9y ago
I've also had one for a while, coming up on 3 years. I went through a phase where we didn't use it much, but I'm back to using it at least weekly. It makes amazingly tender meats, in an hour instead of 3 like I would normally do for stew beef. I have a selection of easy meals do all the time. One thing I really like is that I can put chicken, veggies, and some rice in it, set it on 35 minutes, and when it's done I just stir and have shredded chicken. The meat just falls apart.
lighttower 9y ago
Why do you need two lids and pots? I understand the pot, you can store it in the fridge. But why the lid?
- pimlottc 9y ago
  Um, to seal the pot that's in the fridge?
  - Gnewt 9y ago
    The lid seals the entire Instant Pot, not the insert (which is the thing that would go in the fridge).
    - ensignavenger 9y ago
      They make one to seal the pot that goes in the fridge, too. I don't think it is used for cooking at all. I havn't bought one yet, but it is on my list.

kitcar 9y ago

I was under the impression that instant pot was not the inventor of the electric slow cooker / rice maker / pressure cooker hybrid, they were just the ones to import the concept from China and market it to North American audiences. Can anyone who lived in China in the late 90s confirm - was the instant pot style of pressure cooker popular back then, or is the instant pot brand truly the original I nventor of the hybrid pressure cooker concept? Speaking As a (very satisfied) owner of an instant pot, when I first received it I recall noticing it looked very similar to devices I would see for sale at my local east Asian grocery store

forkLding 9y ago
The makers are Chinese Canadian, I would say they were inspired by Asian designs but probably have a better product in terms of internals and externals as is normally expected.
hobaak 9y ago
I think you are talking about Korean electric pressure rice cooker. They have various cooking mode but more geared for rice. But people found a way to make cakes etc. This is North America version of them.
Andrenid 9y ago
We've used a Japanese multi cooker for years. Tiger brand. Does rice, steaming, slow cooked stews and soups, even cakes and yoghurt. I'm very surprised at everyone talking as though the Instant Pot invented it.
- jpatokal 9y ago
  The key difference is that the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, which ordinary rice/multi-cookers are not, they just heat the pot to boil water until the temperature reaches a cutoff point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_cooker#/media/File:Electric_Rice_Cooker.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_cooker#/media/File:Electr...
  - 9y ago

tdburn 9y ago

Does anyone else think the instant pot puts out weird smelling food sometimes? Like almost sour

avtar 9y ago
I had to soak the silicone ring in white vinegar for a couple hours to make it lose its awful out-of-box odour. I also ran it on the two minute steam setting with white vinegar. It's been great since then.
- contingencies 9y ago
  High pressure and heat capable seals in either rubbers or silicones do leach chemicals when new. Once 'cured' they are OK.
krrrh 9y ago
I found that the ring picks up odors from some dishes that travel to the next. Definitely have had yogurt that was inadvertently flavoured with bone broth. I was pretty good!
- FroshKiller 9y ago
  The manual that came with my Instant Pot recommended buying separate rings for specific strong-smelling recipes.

shostack 9y ago

I'm a massive fan of things that improve my quality of living, save me time, and save me money. This little hunk of magic does all three. I had no patience for my slow cooker, and this lets me experiment with foods I normally would have avoided. Beans? 90 minutes from dry. Real steel cut oats? 20 min. roughly. It has saved countless hours of cooking by letting me make awesome meals for the freezer. Lastly, it has easily paid for itself in the first year of owning it by letting me cook in bulk. The one thing that throws me is it is hard to experiment with when dialing in a recipe. Between pressure build-up time, and figuring out quantities, etc., it can be challenging to say, toss something in for a few more minutes, because you can't watch the food while it cooks, so you don't really know when it is fully done short of cooking it more, testing it, cooking it more, testing it, etc. And that can take a good 10 minutes per test. Now I just need to find better recipes.

sliverstorm 9y ago
Real steel cut oats? 20 min. roughly. They're only 20 min on the stove in a pot. What does this do differently?
- ratacat 9y ago
  Pressure cooks everything faster. You can literally take frozen stew meat and have it tender in an hour.
- balazer 9y ago
  You throw the food in the cooker, press a button, walk away, and it will be ready and hot for you whenever you decide you are hungry. There's no temperature adjustment, no watching, and no stirring. When I cook grains in the Instant Pot, I pressure steam them in a bowl, which means the pot doesn't need to be cleaned (and the bowl is easy to clean). The Instant Pot isn't much faster than a pot on the stove for many grains, but it's a heck of a lot easier and more consistent.
icebraining 9y ago
Pressure cookers are pretty great, but I don't get why Americans got hooked on the Instant Pot specifically. We just use a stove-top model.

CalChris 9y ago

This is the complete opposite of Juicero.

fermienrico 9y ago
I am confused. How so?
- GuiA 9y ago
  One interpretation: Juicero is about making you reliant on them (the machine is useless without their packets), whereas this is about expanding what you can do as a home cook. Technological inventions that fall in this latter category are where the real value for people is, even though the press and investors are a little too obsessed with the former at times.
- RickS 9y ago
  Cheap, unproprietary, broadly-applicable utility. Exactly none of those words apply to juicero.
- j_s 9y ago
  Juicero Is Shutting Down | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15151012 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15151012 (Sep2017)
- throwanem 9y ago
  AvE hasn't torn one down yet. (Strongly recommend his Juicero teardown, by the way: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ)

jaytaylor 9y ago

Great in theory, but I've just been reminded that I haven't liked anything that comes out of it. Things turn out kind of weird imho. For example, carrots we're too soft, spinach was completely crushed and an ugly green. The texture always put me off. Anyone else have a similar experience?

xyzzyz 9y ago
You were probably just overcooking things. Try setting up shorter time.
callmeed 9y ago
I use my Instant Pot several times a week. I do not cook vegetables in it, with the exception of artichokes (18-20 mins for that is a game changer). Use it for meats, chili, rice, steel cut oats, soups, beans. Give it a try for one of those.
naner 9y ago
Most meals with varied ingredients you shouldn't just throw everything in at once. Also it's not uncommon to add things at the end (sliced almonds, french fried onions, scallions, etc) to vary up the texture. There are 'one pot' set it and forget it meals you can make if you want but you'll get more out of it if you use a variety of techniques for the different ingredients used.
TheRealPomax 9y ago
That's a typical description for "set it to run for way too long" that comes with using any make/model pressure cooker. Remember that the time it takes to pressurize the vessel is not dead time, if you tell it to run for 5 minutes, it's going to run for 5 minutes plus the several minutes it needs to reach pressure, plus however long you leave it before releasing the pressure valve. Halve the time you typically use (seriously) and see whether that results in better texture for you.
runj__ 9y ago
I'd argue that's just how stews are. It's quite rare that they have an interesting mouthfeel or look particularly appetizing. I can understand making a stew out of tough beef but I'd rather rather spend money on a nice cut of meat or just eat chicken. This is of course 100% subjective, sautéing is to me a much more interesting way to cook food (boiling things that needs to be boiled beforehand), I'll probably get cancer before the stew-heads though.

spodek 9y ago

I use a Cuisinart pressure cooker like a chain smoker. I cook a vegetable stew that lasts 4 or 5 meals, then cook my next vegetable stew for the next 4 or 5 meals, and so on. No recipes. Basically what's fresh and in season from the farmers market with legumes (lentils, beans, peas, et), nutritional yeast, herbs or flavoring (usually ginger or jalepenos) and water. Then salt to taste, topped with nuts, and crispy vegetables like onion or pepper. Actually, here's a video of it -- http://joshuaspodek.com/20-minute-vegetable-stew http://joshuaspodek.com/20-minute-vegetable-stew. It's 20 minutes and not that exciting, but it shows how to make a delicious stew from entirely fresh ingredients with zero planning. I make bread starting with wheat berries in it (grinding them into flour in the blender first). Also fruit stews that are incredible desserts. Total life changer. Restaurants are disappointing in comparison and I live in Manhattan. It paid for itself in the first use.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
spraak 9y ago
I'd be glad to know how to make bread in a pressure cooker!
- thinkMOAR 9y ago
  There are youtubes for that :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks40XzQtyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks40XzQtyU
- spodek 9y ago
  First the caveats: My pressure-cooked bread tastes delicious to me, but I experiment so my results vary. Most batches wouldn't make it into a bakery. For one thing, I start with wheat berries that I turn into flour in my blender. I blend some to fine flour so it gets doughy, but some course, which gives more texture and, I hear, lowers the glycemic load or something like that. For another, I add flavors. I started with garlic and onions, then moved to banana, carrot, apple, cocao powder, etc, and various combinations, usually based on what's in season at the farmers market. The one I made over the weekend had banana, cranberry, and ginger. Here's the recipe I started with, though I use water instead of milk to keep it vegan. - 2 cups (250g) all purpose flour - 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate baking soda (not baking powder) - 1 teaspoon salt - 1 1/4 cup (270g)whole milk plain yogurt (or sour milk, or milk with 1¼ tablespoons of vinegar) - water in pressure cooker under the metal container the dough goes in Instructions: 1. Oil metal container so bread doesn't stick 2. Mix everything 3. Pressure cook high presser 15-20 minutes with 1/2 cup water under the metal container I've only done soda bread, working my way to yeast. My metal container happens to be my rice cooker bowl. I don't use the rice cooker any more, but the bowl fits perfectly in the pressure cooker. To keep the metal bowl from touching the pressure cooker's teflon, I cut some potatoes and put them in the water, so I get a few pressure-cooked potatoes in the process. These pages have pictures that helped, although my bread is much more grainy and brown: - https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-bread-less-energy-less-time-real-bread https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-bread-les... - http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Bread-Anywhere%3A-%22Baking%22-bread-in-a-pressure- http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Bread-Anywhere%3A-%22Ba...

jstewartmobile 9y ago

We received one last Christmas. Use it regularly for beans and pot roast. The suggested cook times in the manual were a little too long though--and that matters in a pressure cooker. A couple minutes can make the difference between success and slop. 25 minutes for dry beans and 30 minutes for a decent-sized roast is more than enough time to get the job done. Fantastic job, Mr. Wang! edit: I'm just doing black beans. Larger ones may need more time.

dd36 9y ago
Also depends on altitude.
- jstewartmobile 9y ago
  I read something along the lines of +5% cook time for every 1,000 ft above 2,000 ft. Apparently it's adjustable in their Ultra model: https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/ultra-2/#toggle-id-15 https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/ultra-2/#toggle-id-15
- jemfinch 9y ago
  Why would it depend on the altitude? It's a sealed vessel that holds (iirc) 7 psi on low, and 11 psi on high. It seems like these pressures should remain the same regardless of altitude, unless the outside atmosphere is somehow involved in the pressure release valve, which is hard to imagine.
  - jstewartmobile 9y ago
    Traditional pressure cookers with weighted regulators would need different weights for different altitudes for consistent cook times. The sensors/mechanics of the InstantPot are a black box to me, so I'll just have to assume that it makes some kind of difference since they added an altitude setting to one of the models.

brunoqc 9y ago

I own an Instant Pot and I wasn't impressed. The rice sticks unlike a real rice cooker and the pressure cooking was slow. I followed some normal pressure cooker recipes and I had to double or triple the time.

slantyyz 9y ago
>> The rice sticks unlike a real rice cooker Rice doesn't stick only in rice cookers that don't have a non-stick interior pot. My parents have some older generation rice cookers that still work, and they have aluminum interior pots and the rice sticks to them. The only problem is that the stuck rice doesn't burn a little at the bottom. That is the best part of the rice when mixed with soup.

wheresmyusern 9y ago

thats so funny, i was just considering buying one of these after learning about their existence earlier today. these things are great because you can make rice, beans and baked potatoes. if you buy a nice bread machine too, all the essentials are covered and you are all set up to save a whole lot of money. after reading this article and these comments, i will definitely pull the trigger on one of these. the only problem is that there are so many models, i dont know which one to get.

wheresmyusern 9y ago

another cool kitchen appliance with a cult following is the panasonic flashxpress. its a toaster oven that uses ir light instead of typical heating elements and convection. there are really good, cult-worthy toaster ovens and pressure cookers but unfortunately there are no such bread makers. we really need a better bread maker on the market.

DanBC 9y ago
What features would turn a bread maker from an ordinary appliance to an extra-ordinary appliance?
- hudibras 9y ago
  Built-in bread slicer is the holy grail of bread machines.
- wheresmyusern 9y ago
  automatic ingredient dispensing is the biggest one. the second biggest is automatic removal of the bread from the pan. the other comments are wrong, bread machines make very good bread. ive been basically living off of bread machine bread for months so i happen to know. the idea of a bread machine is to render bread-making easy. so you can set a timer on the machine and have it start the mixing and baking process whenever you want. however, the bread must be removed from the pan as soon as its done baking or else it will become soggy. this is a pain and almost completely nullifies the overall convenience of the machine because yes you can set a timer but you have to make sure to be around when its done -- this is highly, extremely annoying and also dramatically reduces your ability to make bread spontaneously. automatic removal would be very easy to implement, i have a few ideas myself on how to do it. but nobody does it. the automatic dispensing of ingredients would be the final key stone is the whole arch of bread making convenience. for simple whole wheat bread, like the bread i make, there arent very many ingredients and all but one are dry. so automatic dispensing is conceivable. i would love to be able to fill a few hoppers with cheap, healthy ingredients and then be able to simply push a button and later on find a fresh loaf of bread waiting for me. but apparently im the only one. also a bread machine with a nice display and ui would be nice. nobody seems to be able to do it.

thisisit 9y ago

> It is also a testament to the enormous power of Amazon, and its ability to turn small businesses into major empires nearly overnight. Lot of people say that Amazon tends to move in on a product which they think has been doing well and start selling Amazon branded stuff. Is there a reason why Amazon hasn't done the same to Instant Pot? > Sensing viral potential, Instant Pot sent test units to about 200 influential chefs, cooking instructors and food bloggers. Reviews and recipes appeared online, and sales began to climb. I wonder why does the article keeps framing the company's growth as something which spent almost nothing on advertising, and achieved enormous size primarily through online word-of-mouth?

deleted 9y ago
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sageabilly 9y ago
Question #2: Because they didn't spend any money buying ads, and instead sent test units out to influencers?

TheRealPomax 9y ago

If you actually read this article, there's barely any information in it that warrants that many words. It's basically just an advertisement that goes "lots of people have bought this thing!" with the automatic effect that readers will then go "wow sounds popular I should think about getting one".

Lxr 9y ago
http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
baldfat 9y ago
When anything doubles in sales for 6 straight years I think this kind of article is warranted. When it is a top 5 item across stores on Black Friday. The story is how a small Canadian company has such religiously loyal customers and evangelist. I think it is a far article. I bought myself one in September. I love to cook and cook 70% of meals. Almost everything is from scratch and takes over an hour. I now use this Instant Pot 3 or 4 days a week. I owned a non-electric pressure cooker my whole life and find this makes it so convenient to just get good tasting food done quickly and with much less prep work. Also this is about Tech Startup inventor making such a strong impact on appliances. No advertising just Amazon and Internet Word of Mouth. Edit: Also it is virtually sold out across the internet. Bought one for my parents and it was only found by stopping in at stores and looking for the last one not inventories.
- mattmaroon 9y ago
  I think to OPs point, is not that articles in general aren't warranted. It's just that this one was useless. It doesn't tell me what instant pot did to make it beat out rivals other than some nonsense about sensors. And sending units to reviewers is paid advertising. I'd like to hear more about that. Was that his plan from the beginning? Make the same device everyone else does at the same price but get blog reviews?
  - ghaff 9y ago
    The article does get into the viral marketing etc. but, like you, I would like to hear more. I'm honestly not sure why the Instant Pot took off when (admittedly mostly much more expensive) electric pressure cookers have been around for ages. Though, reading the article, it's also not clear to me if the founder really knows why it became so successful either.

mrarjen 9y ago

Been using a rice cooker for some years now, it's already a huge step up from cooking it in a pot. And it seems almost nobody uses rice cookers here (NL). Fun fact, people from Asian countries are rather unlikely to know how to cook rice in a pan. I'll very likely get one of the IP's, as cooking ribs and other slow cooked meats do take a lot of time now, and pressure cookers are like playing with a bomb.

gambiting 9y ago
I just don't understand the point of a rice cooker, I really really don't. Cooking rice is the simplest thing in the world - throw rice in a pan with water and some salt, turn the gas on, wait 10-15 minutes. Done. Why would I buy a separate device taking precious space in my kitchen for what has to be the easiest cooking task imaginable? When you say "people [..] are rather unlikely to know how to cook rice in a pan" I just don't understand. It's like saying that someone doesn't understand how to make a cup of instant coffee. The only way to fuck it up is to put it on gas and then forget, but that would ruin any dish.
- Isn0gud 9y ago
  It's not just about cooking the rice...
- leoedin 9y ago
  Your recipe only applies to certain types of robust rice. Basmati rice is not simple - if you just boil it for 15 minutes, you'll destroy it. At the very least, good basmati is steamed - you only add enough water to cook the rice (you don't drain it afterwards), then bring it to the boil before simmering it at a very low heat. It's pretty hard to reliably get right - every time I use a new stove or pan or try to cook a quantity I don't often do is a gamble. If you mess up it's either crunchy or squishy.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    This is so true. I usually only buy the one type of rice, a short grain brown rice from SunRice in Australia, and usually only when it's on special. Anyway, point being: I know I can cook this one particular type of rice to perfection in a saucepan with 1 volume-unit rice to 1.5 volume-units water. Bring it to a rapid boil for one minute, then wrap the whole pot in two dry cotton bath towels (hotbox), leave it for ~45 minutes. Voila! Also works with some short grain white rices, with 1:1 ratio and many fewer minutes in the hotbox. Personally, I can't stand any long grain rice (Basmati, Jasmine, etc).

b1gtuna 9y ago

I don't know why Instant Pot became such a sensation when pressure cookers have been around for ages....

chadcmulligan 9y ago
it's the combined saute function that got me, also the ability to slow cook. I don't know if it was the first electric one, but its the one I heard of. I remember my grandparents had a stove top pressure cooker and it was a pita to run. The instant pot just push a button, it's very easy, and all in one pot.
felipeerias 9y ago
While you can't leave a traditional pressure cooker unattended, with the IP you just put the ingredients in, select the time, and forget about it. Once the timer goes off, the IP will lower the temperature and keep the food warm. I often prepare stews right before I leave the house, so I can come back to a hearty lunch/dinner a few hours later.
codingdave 9y ago
Because older pressure cookers explode if used improperly.
Kurtz79 9y ago
In sparse order: - Increased popularity of homecooking/healty eating over the last years (celebrity chefs shows, websites,youtube, etc...), over take out or frozen stuff. - Ease of use. The IP has a premade setting for all its major functions. It can be left unattended, keeps the food warm automatically, etc. - Flexibility. It can work also as a steamer, slow cooker or yogurt maker. - Compactness. It is kind of bulky, but since it´s electrical you don´t need a stovetop to use it. You can use it easily in a small studio with a very basic kitchenette, for example. My only beef with it (heh) is that the UI tries to be too idiot-proof and ends up being kind of a mess, otherwise it is a fairly well designed and funcional piece of hardware.

baxtr 9y ago

I love this thing. I feel like the whole family is eating healthier since we have it. My favorite food is Risotto, which comes out really great. Has anyone a very good resource for some other great recipes?

DonHopkins 9y ago
Wikileaks published a great Risotto recipe last year -- hopefully Mueller will published some email with Trump's secret taco bowl recipe soon.

cabaalis 9y ago

I love my instant pot. I don't do anything artisanal as I'm not fancy enough for that. Some chicken breast with some teriyaki sauce and water for 20 minutes comes out great.

bigtex 9y ago

If you get the bluetooth enabled version, you can have delicious steel cut oats ready for breakfast. You just set the time you want it finished and wallah! https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/smart-bluetooth/ https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/smart-bluetooth/

jcoder 9y ago
The non-bt version does this too
berberous 9y ago
Pet peeve: it’s voilà (a French word), not wallah.
kitcar 9y ago
Another tip - if you just let the steel cut oats soak overnight they will cook in ~50% of the time the "old fashion" way
mason55 9y ago
Is the bluetooth enabled version actually for sale? I don't see it in their store or on Amazon

mattmaroon 9y ago

This article glosses over the real story which is how did Instant Pot win when their product is functional similar to ones that have existed for a long time? (And no, it's isn't sensors, they all regulate heat and have a valve that prevents explosion.) This is the same as when people write articles about AirBnB and act as if they invented the space when VRBO was there for years. I have no problem with stories about an upstart toppling the existing players (in fact I love em) just tell me how it happened.

bunderbunder 9y ago
I only skimmed, but I don't think it does. As an owner of an Instant Pot that gets regular use, and another pressure cooker that lives in storage now, I think I can take a stab at it: Compared to stove top pressure cookers, it's just easier. Stove top ones require constant attention and fiddling to manage the heat an pressure properly. With the Instant Pot, put food in, close lid, set time, go watch One Life to Live reruns until you hear beeping. Compared to other electric models, it's either cheaper, or easier to use, or both. Many comparable models are prohibitively expensive, while the Instant Pot is $100. And the interface is dead simple. Push button, adjust time, walk away. I haven't used another electric model, but a couple friends have them, and, to hear them talk, theirs aren't quite as simple to operate. (That first step might be more confusing before, probably by the 3rd usage, you realize that all the buttons labeled 'bean', 'soup', 'veggies', etc. all do basically the same thing and are really just there for show.)
- saltmanisacuck 9y ago
  I bought one last year, when my slow cooker died, thinking it would be similarly useful. I did so mostly because I'd had a few friends who raved about theirs. It turned out that it was better at pressure-cooking than my pressure-cooker, and the bluetooth model (which I assumed would be a dumb gimmick) was actually helpful. Turns out it was handy to be able to check on dinner while hanging out with the family. My only wish is that they were a little more straight forward about how simple it really is. I'd love a variant that just had pressure and temperature controls, instead of the dozen named preset buttons. Or if they put the presets in a distinctly separate section of the panel or something.

billfruit 9y ago

Does it deal with power failures, as in it remembers it's state and then properly adjusts for delayed start and stop considering the duration of power failure and adjusting process considering the cooking due to already generated heat when power was gone?

chrisgd 9y ago
How often do you experience power outages? I don't think it does, but I don't think it needs to either
- billfruit 9y ago
  In the third world, an awful lot of times. But being an automated device, if doesn't deal with power outages, then I can't dependent on it to do cooking overnight, while I am asleep. Waking up and finding that machine didn't do its job, because power failed for a few minutes in the middle of the night, is not an ideal situation at all.
  - gruez 9y ago
    Use a UPS?
gamblor956 9y ago
If your electric power is as flaky as described, this product, and indeed all other electric pressure cookers, are not for you.
- billfruit 9y ago
  But it only requires a few minor design changes to make it robust against power failure, and then these could be viable devices in most of the world.

truffle_pig 9y ago

Also the most recommended pressure cooker on reddit: https://redditfavorites.com/products/slow_cookers https://redditfavorites.com/products/slow_cookers When I made that site I remember finding it surprising that it was the top slow cooker and rice cooker.

draw_down 9y ago
Does anyone check what reddit’s favorite is before buying something? I don’t think I would do that, personally.

syntaxing 9y ago

I think the best part of the instant pot is how affordable it is. My mom had a pressure cooker for about 10 years now. It finally broke and we saw these huge sales during black Friday so we couldn't resist. It's crazy how useful these things are. We use it for soup, congee, and yogurt on top of the standard pressure cooking functions! Making your own yogurt is great because you can change the consistency and taste to your liking! You save a couple bucks too. We prefer the stainless pot rather than the non-stick pots that most pressure cooker have.

anonu 9y ago

I thought this was going to be an article about the marijuana industry and the rise of e-cigs. In fairness, there's an interesting article to write there too.. EDIT: Great idea to write an article like this right before the holidays. Sometimes I wonder if the author owns stock in the companies they are basically promoting...

mason55 9y ago
The link is already posted elsewhere in this thread but PG wrote about this a long time ago. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

My only complaint about my Instant Pot is the plastic sealing ring's tendency to retain smells. At this point I gave up on trying to clean it and just bought a second sealing ring that I use only for Indian food.

Kurtz79 9y ago
Agreed, I will probably end up doing the same. I swear I can taste thai curry in the last batch of yogurt I made.
Zelphyr 9y ago
We read that this is a common problem when we bought our Instant Pot so we went ahead and bought a couple of extra rings. One thing I've noticed though is that the black ring tends to not seal as well as the semi-clear ring that comes with the IP for some reason. I suspect other colored rings may have the same problem. That said, it's nice to have different colored rings so that you know "red ring for spicy", etc...

Rezo 9y ago

Lots of people seem to be wondering why Instant Pot has become a hit while electronic pressure cookers have existed as a category for quite some time. I personally think it's a great case of tipping points, networking effects and branding all working together. The Instant Pot is a genuinely good product, so it didn't have a trouble finding early users. These people then produced recipes, books and videos not for pressure cookers, but for the Instant Pot specifically. There's 1600+ books for Instant Pot on Amazon, everything from how to cook Keto meals to Indian food. If you have a Breville Fast Slow, and I have a Cuisinart CPC-600 pressure cooker, the cooking times, settings and pressure levels aren't transferable between the two, and may produce quite different results. Hence the networking effect of everyone having the same brand and model of cooker, combined with the tipping point of reaching a certain mass of Instant Pot users, causing an explosion of recipes and guides, which again drives further adoption. So why don't people create "Breville Fast Slow Pressure Cooker" recipes in the first place? I think it's because of the branding. The Instant Pot name itself is already fun and self-describing, and the marketing downplays the pressure cooking aspects. Pressure cooking has a negative association historically from a safety point of view. So while everyone tries to sell electronic pressure cookers, I think most people who buy this product aren't interested in pressure cookers at all, instead they're specifically getting an Instant Pot. And while technically they may be the same, the customers don't necessarily perceive it that way.

ghaff 9y ago
>I think most people who buy this product aren't interested in pressure cookers at all, instead they're specifically getting an Instant Pot. And while technically they may be the same, the customers don't necessarily perceive it that way. I don't know how deliberate it was but de-emphasizing its pressure cookerness was a smart move. A lot of people still associate "pressure cooker" with "explosions" and, even if they know intellectually they're not really dangerous, they'll still move on to the next item. As others have said, the price is also quite reasonable--in fact, a lot of stovetop pressure cookers cost more. $100-ish is around the point where a lot of people will take a flyer on something and won't be too put out if it starts gathering dust after a few months.
- 9y ago

JoeAltmaier 9y ago

Don't understand. Friend brought theirs over yesterday, we made tamales and then they cooked them in the pot. Took only 20 minutes! But hey, steaming them in a double boiler takes 40 minutes so that was a savings I guess. If you include the time to pack the tub carefully and program it, maybe it was slower. And it didn't really 'steam' the tamales. They came out pretty gummy and a little dry. So no fan here. I'll stick to actually cooking my food thanks.

slantyyz 9y ago

FWIW, Instant Pot now makes a sous vide circulator too. I bought one on Black Friday, and it works pretty well (although that's from the perspective of a n00b). It's cheaper than the Anova and other big names.

ghaff 9y ago
It looks to be about the same price as Anova. They're both in the $120-$130 range. It's amazing how these circulators have come down in price. Wasn't that long ago your choices were DIY or about $800 for a Polyscience.
- jsight 9y ago
  I think it is amazing that so many are still so expensive. It is just a heater, a little motor turning a fan, and a thermostat/timer. There seems to be less involved in most of them than a $30 toaster oven.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    I'll not try to justify the pricing, but they're still relatively low volume niche products. It's also not really accurate to compare the thermostat to a toaster oven. For many applications, sous vide depends on very accurate (less than one degree deviation) temperature control. When I bought a PID temperature controller to do the standard DIY slow cooker thing before the less expensive circulators existed, I paid close to $100.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  The Instant Pot models are on sale regularly. I paid $90 Canadian for mine.

poulsbohemian 9y ago

Help the uninitiated out here -- what's the difference between an Instant Pot and a generic slow cooker? Looks like this thing just has more heat settings?

lyime 9y ago
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Slow+cooker+vs+pressure+cooker http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Slow+cooker+vs+pressure+cooker
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
mikestew 9y ago
They are kind of the opposite of each other. Slow cookers are just that: set it in the morning before work, come home to a slow-cooked bit of meat and veggies. Instant Pot and pressure cookers in general rely on the fact that water under pressure boils at a higher temperature than at sea level pressure, so it cooks things faster. For example, lentils might take 45 minutes on the stove, 10 minutes in a pressure cooker. In summary, slow cooker->I’ve got time to wait, make the meat fall off the bone; pressure cooker->45 minutes for lentils? Who’s got that kind of time?

ckdarby 9y ago

Thought the author's name was Kevin Rose.