Jump to content

Menu

Instantpot Questions


sweet2ndchance
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've tried searching for old Instant Pot threads but didn't have much luck. If I'm just blind as a bat, feel free to point me in the direction of the Instant Pot threads, lol.

I have several chronic conditions that are making it hard for me to stay in the kitchen to cook anymore. We are starting to rely way to much on processed food nowadays because of it (whereas I used to cook everything from scratch and nothing was processed) and we need to put a stop to it.

I was never interested in the InstantPot threads before because it just seemed like a fad and I was already used to cooking using the stove and crockpot so it seemed like a waste. Now that chronic pain is limiting what I can and can't do, I'm starting to look into it.

So, I don't know anyone IRL that owns one, so I can't borrow one and try it sadly. How does the meat come out in the InstantPot? I mean I know you can use the saute function and it is like cooking it on the stove but when you used the pressure cook option, how is the texture? It seems to me, through watching videos, that the texture is similar to cooking in the crockpot. Is that a correct assessment?

I love rice but I don't like it sticky (except in applications where it has to be at least a little sticky like sushi and onigiri). All the videos I've watched about rice cooking, the rice comes out sticky even when they rinse the rice. Is that just how Instant Pots cook rice or is it possible to get non-sticky rice from the Instant Pot?

How does pasta come out? Is it chewy, mushy, al dente? We like it just past al dente but definitely not mushy? Is it possible to cook it that way in the Instant Pot?

That's all the questions I can think of for now that I haven't found an answer for yet. Thanks for any insight you can give me!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t like the sauté function. I think more often than not the cook cycle ends up getting canceled with a burn error if you start with sauté.

You can make the rice as creamy as you want if you add extra water.  I use a 1 part dry rice to 3 parts water ratio. It’s a bit wet when I first open the pan but the extra water absorbs or evaporates in a few minutes after stirring it & letting it cool enough to serve. 

The only time I tried pasta it burned before it cooked and I couldn’t rescue it.

I think generally instant pots are great for rice and beans without other sauces. My health has much improved but at one point I was so sick with autoimmune issues I had energy for one project a day.  At that point I found crockpot cooking was my best bet.  If you don’t like the texture of slow cooked chicken you can always throw it in a pan or oven the last 30-60 minutes  before you serve. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, you can even make something close to risotto with wine, but be careful adding anything with starch or tomato sauce or paste until the cooking is over, or it will burn to the bottom and never finish.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Katy said:

If you don’t like the texture of slow cooked chicken you can always throw it in a pan or oven the last 30-60 minutes  before you serve. 

It's not so much that we don't like the texture of slow cooker meat, it's just we don't want that texture at every meal, kwim? If the InstantPot creates that same texture as the crockpot that is going change how I use it if we get one.

I have a couple of autoimmune issues, EDS with scoliosis and food allergies to contend with while cooking. Right now, it is mostly the scoliosis that is keeping me from spending as much time in the kitchen as I would like. Used to, I could get by with anti-fatigue mats and proper shoes in the kitchen when I cook. But now that my scoliosis is getting worse and pretty severe, even sitting on a stool while I cook has a time limit before I need something with more back support.

Oh and no worries about tomato sauces in the Instant Pot. I'm allergic to tomatoes lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I have never had this happen. I saute my onions really well, golden brown and beyond. Sometimes the 30 minutes goes over by the time I finish sauteing everything.  Never had a burn

Two things prevent this

1. Deglaze often. No burnt bits at the bottom at all. Not by pouring lots of liquid, but little by little.

2.  Change the temperature setting. You can go from Low to High. I always saute between low and medium, never high.

I don’t think that’s the issue.  Mostly because I never had that issue with my old instant pot (which I loved) and the new ones both do it, no matter how careful I am to deglaze. I have a couple friends that loved their old instant pots, but when the springs at the bottom wore out, the replacement ones switch to burn with any complex dish.  I even have a distant relative who trained at Cordeon Bleu and hers did the same thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Dreamergal said:

Mine are barely a year used. How old are yours ?

I have the 6q duo and the 3Qt, not sure what it is called.

I have to leave now, first time dinner out since March 2020. Will be back in the immortal words of the Terminator. 

I bought them when I moved here, so about two years old. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

2.  Change the temperature setting. You can go from Low to High. I always saute between low and medium, never high.

How do you do this?  Or is it just on a certain model?  My sauté seems to have only one heat to it- high.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love my instant pot but I don't do  alot of meats in it.  

I love it for beans and rice and Mac&cheese and veggies, potatoes, etc.

Honestly I still use my crock pot a great deal as I know how to my "my" recipes in the crock pot and don't want to mess around with trying to adjust them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sweet2ndchance said:

I've tried searching for old Instant Pot threads but didn't have much luck. If I'm just blind as a bat, feel free to point me in the direction of the Instant Pot threads, lol.

I have several chronic conditions that are making it hard for me to stay in the kitchen to cook anymore. We are starting to rely way to much on processed food nowadays because of it (whereas I used to cook everything from scratch and nothing was processed) and we need to put a stop to it.

I was never interested in the InstantPot threads before because it just seemed like a fad and I was already used to cooking using the stove and crockpot so it seemed like a waste. Now that chronic pain is limiting what I can and can't do, I'm starting to look into it.

So, I don't know anyone IRL that owns one, so I can't borrow one and try it sadly. How does the meat come out in the InstantPot? I mean I know you can use the saute function and it is like cooking it on the stove but when you used the pressure cook option, how is the texture? It seems to me, through watching videos, that the texture is similar to cooking in the crockpot. Is that a correct assessment?

I love rice but I don't like it sticky (except in applications where it has to be at least a little sticky like sushi and onigiri). All the videos I've watched about rice cooking, the rice comes out sticky even when they rinse the rice. Is that just how Instant Pots cook rice or is it possible to get non-sticky rice from the Instant Pot?

How does pasta come out? Is it chewy, mushy, al dente? We like it just past al dente but definitely not mushy? Is it possible to cook it that way in the Instant Pot?

That's all the questions I can think of for now that I haven't found an answer for yet. Thanks for any insight you can give me!


I love my IP and find it very helpful for chronic conditions coping.

I love the way it makes rice - experiment with water , rice, oil balance for exactly how you want it. It’s capable of perfect rice IME more or less sticky as desired - write what u do so once u have it as desired you can repeat it

I am gluten free so can’t speak to pasta 

I like the sauté function especially using liberal avocado oil on bottom and way shorter cooking times than it’s set for automatically 

And it does most meat well enough IMO for most of the time.  some tough cuts, briskets, London broil, roasts...  it is outstanding for on pressure, but it can also cook up a small steak or burger meat on sauté.   And can brown stew meat, start onions etc on sauté that then go into a stew on pressure — with no pot change needed.  It handles small chickens well in terms of texture and taste imo, though I miss a sense of browned look and perhaps crispier skin that an oven can do 

I make a lot of vegetable soups, stews, and so on. I gave away my crockpot since having IP as I find IP superior. 
 

it’s also excellent for fast nutritional afaik cooking of potatoes, eggs, beans, and so on.  and I don’t have a microwave so use IP now for a lot of reheating also

 

I got more than one inner pot and also covers making it easier to put a whole pot of food from it away in refrigerator while having another still available. I also got it a steamer an inner stacking pots so that two different items can be cooked at once

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Btw for issues like non mushy it can be set at 0 cooking time or even opened sooner than 0–we do that for non mushy vegetables (still bright green and only a little soft broccoli for example) and same would likely apply to pasta 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

I have the Instant Pot Duo.

So dh and I talked it over and it sounds like an Instant Pot might be a helpful addition to the kitchen rather than just another appliance for the appliance cabinet lol.

So which one should we get? We feed three of us here daily. Four of us a couple times a week. As many as 10 once every few months or so. I'm thinking maybe the 6 quart so I can make enough for leftovers most of the time? Would that work? Or should I get the 8 quart?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right, so dh and I were at the store and happened to find a 6 qt Instant Pot on sale for $65. The catch? It's the Mickey Mouse one lol! I'm a cheapskate that can live with a Mickey Mouse Instant Pot. 😉

So far I've made Jasmine rice in it. It was acceptable, a little sticky for my liking but within acceptable range. It's now in the fridge to make rice pudding in the morning.

I'm in the process of making vanilla yogurt at the moment. It's taking a little more standing around checking the temperature as it cools than I would like but I'll try the cold water cooling method next time and see if that helps.

Ds has already declared that we are making his favorite, refried beans, in it tomorrow. I usually make them in the crockpot but I told him we could make them faster in the Instant Pot lol.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

Yeah ! glad you got it. We have the 3 QT star wars one. I could not even pretend I am a cheapskate because DH loves starwars and he has passed on that love to the kids. Ours is BB8. DH would try to change out our regular 6Qt if he could. 

lol, yeah none of us are particular Disney fans. But it was over $20 cheaper than the regular IP. It was purely monetary for me. 😉

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

Jasmine rice I think the time is 3-4 minutes. Do try to do something called a quick pressure release (where you release the pressure by moving the knob to venting after a while) vs natural pressure release. That does have an effect on the texture of the rice. It is a matter of experimenting.

Also, try using the pre-set rice button and see how that works. I prefer the manual button more as I had friends and YT who guided us about time, but rice button is something I have wanted to try.

Basmati rice will give you separate grains cooked as it is a long grained rice. I like aged rice better.

I can't remember what the time was on the rice, but we did do the quick release. Ds was fascinated watching it lol. From a safe distance away of course. 😉 

I bought some Basmati rice. I haven't ever made Basmati. I've made Jasmine, long grain, short grain sushi rice and arborio rice but not Basmati. I did the Jasmine first in the IP just because I knew what to expect based on how I make it on the stove. It's the kind I make most often.

I really do love experimenting and cooking in the kitchen. It's just my back has gotten to the point where standing over stove and constantly stirring something or making an intricate meal just can't happen any more. 😞

That's one reason I haven't made rice pudding in a long time. The constant stirring over the pot and then tempering the egg and then stir stir stir some more... Making IP rice pudding this morning was soooo easy by comparison. No egg tempering and no strands of scrambled egg in the pudding lol.

My son however was not impressed when he saw me add sugar to an egg like that lol. My older kids grew up on rice pudding at least a couple of times a month. I had not even realized I had not made rice pudding that youngest ds could remember. 😞

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

Glad you are making yogurt in it too. I also make something called ghee in it. I would suggest buying extra pots (they call it inserts) so you can have more than one at a time. They have a ceramic coated non-stick version as well as the stainless steel one. Amazon has accessories. I would also suggest buying a steamer basket if you steam veggies. 

I told Dh this morning to ignore the Amazon Cart. Anything Instant Pot related that looked interesting or useful or just fun I threw in there last night lol! I'm excited to maybe be able to start actually cooking again. 😄

I made IP salisbury steaks for dinner. Yum! That's going to be a new regular I think with some tweaking. The refried beans turned out ok, also needs some tweaking. The yogurt was not as tangy as I like but dh likes it. Again, more tweaking. lol I have so many tabs of recipes to try open right now, it's not funny, lol.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...