Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer,

I LOVE My Instant Pot! But Here’s What I Wish I’d Known when I First Got ItI LOVE my Instant Pot! But I will be the first to admit that it can be a little intimidating at first, and it can feel like it has a steep learning curve (and I’m a tech reviewer and tech lawyer, and one of those people who generally just jumps in and figures things out without reading the manuals (“Manuals? We don’t need no stinkin’ manuals!”), so for me to feel like I’m not ‘getting’ something ..well, yeah. So if you are feeling a little bewildered by your new Instant Pot, *you’re not alone*!) Plus, the manual does *not* include certain information that I, at least, was looking for. Such as, how long is each pre-programmed cooking cycle? Exactly what temperature do the various sauté settings heat to? Things like that.So, here are a few tips that have really helped me to finally ‘get’ it, plus instructions for two things that you can make in your Instant Pot that will change your life: incredibly easy perfectly poached eggs in 2-3 minutes, and baked potatoes in 12 minutes.First, it is almost impossible to mess up with this thing to a point of being dangerous, so if you’re concerned about the exploding pressure cookers of yore, you needn’t be (I said “almost”, don’t go overriding your pot’s safety features and then blame me when you poke an eye out). The lid audibly tells you when its sealed (when you turn it clockwise), and the pot won’t even build up much pressure if you haven’t properly closed the steam release handle by turning it, too, clockwise. The most likely point at which a problem could arise would be if you try to open the lid (by turning it counter-clockwise) before all of the pressure has been released and normalized (so don’t do that). The pot visually lets you know when it’s safe to open the pot, by the float valve (the little silver post that pops up when the pot is pressurized) dropping back down flush with the lid instead of being popped up. Think of the float valve as the reverse of a turkey pop-up button, in the case of the float valve it’s done when the button pops *in*, instead of out.The sauté function has three temperature settings: ‘Normal’ heats to 320 degrees, ‘More’ heats to 338 degrees, and ‘Less’ heats to 221 degrees (all in Fahrenheit)For pressure cooking, you will probably use ‘manual’ nearly all the time (nearly every Instant Pot cookbook I’ve read relies on the manual setting almost exclusively). So *don’t* feel badly for not using all of those other buttons very much, if at all (I’ve never used any of the preprogrammed buttons).The preprogrammed settings each have their own timing, and *variable* pressure, which the pot manipulates by manipulating the temperature of the contents (the higher the temperature, the higher the pressure). That is primarily what makes them different from manual, which provides one consistent pressure (either high or low). However they *generally* bring the contents to high pressure, fluctuating the temperature a little so that the pressure fluctuates a little too, for a set period of time (the main exceptions to this are the rice button, and the multigrain button). Personally I just find it easier to use ‘manual’ and set the time that I want.After you hit ‘manual’ to start cooking, you then set the amount of time you want it to cook at pressure, after which you will have a 10-second grace period (for example to add more time, etc.), after which the display will switch to displaying the word “on”. Then it will be a while before the display switches to the timer countdown. This is *normal*. The amount of time you enter is for how long it will cook *after it reaches full pressure* (either high or low pressure, depending on what you selected), and so the timer will switch on when it reaches full pressure.The cooking time in any recipe is the time *at full pressure*, not in total. So you need to take into account the time it will take to reach full pressure (which depends on many variables, including what is in the contents of the pot, what temperature they started at, and your altitude), *and* how long it will take for the pressure to be released and normalized (i.e. for the float valve to pop in, which of course is really “dropping in”, but you get the point). And this brings us to the two different types of pressure release.All Instant Pot recipes will include (or *should* include) either one of these terms: natural pressure release (also known as NPR), or quick pressure release (QPR or QR). What these mean is simply either “let the pressure dissipate on its own” (natural pressure release), or “force the pressure to escape immediately by turning the steam release handle counter-clockwise to the open position (quick release). The reason for using quick release (QR) is not because you are too impatient to wait for natural release, but because your food will be over cooked if you don’t get it the heck out of dodge once it’s done cooking at pressure. A really good example of a food needing quick release is poached eggs (which come out *perfectly* in the Instant Pot (see how to poach eggs in the Instant Pot below)). On the other hand, lots of (if not most) foods need the natural release – it’s part of their cooking process and processing time.Natural pressure release generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes.Quick pressure release takes about a minute, plus the hours spent in the ER if you forget to KEEP YOUR HANDS, FACE, AND ALL OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY FROM THE STEAM VALVE WHEN YOU DO IT!! Many people put a towel over the valve before they turn it, to help suppress the steam, which you may want to do (I don’t because then I just end up with a scalding hot towel – but I also rarely need to do QR, and those times that I do, I’m sufficiently respectful of the power and heat of that steam to keep my distance).Finally, in my experience, unless you are doing a “dump everything in at once and turn it on” recipe, you will definitely want to have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking. For example, for any recipe that includes sautéing in the pot first, then adding ingredients and then starting pressure cooking, you definitely want to have everything lined up before you start.Oh, wait, *this* is actually the final note: the stainless steel inner pot can take a real beating, and cleans up just fine..BUT…after the first use or so (it was after my first use) you will see little “stains” (not sure what else to call them) and, if you are anything like me, you will think “Oh no! I have ruined the beauty of this pot! How can I fix it?” It turns out that this is *very* normal (at least the ‘staining’, not sure about my reaction being normal 🙂 ). In my case I had made beans, and my pot now still bears the “imprints” of beans, even though it is completely clean..it’s sort of like the chalk outlines from a little bean murder scene. 😉 I’m in an Instant Pot forum on Facebook where many IP cookbook authors are members (including JL Fields and Jill Nussinow) and they have all said that this is perfectly normal and just what happens (in fact they said it in response to my “Oh no, I’ve ruined my beautiful pot” post).Ok, I think that those are about all of the things that I had wished that I had fully understood on my first day with my Instant Pot.Oh, actually there’s one more thing. I didn’t fully appreciate, until several days in, just how amazing this aspect of the Instant Pot is: you can start something cooking in it, and then *walk away* – even leave the house, and it will finish cooking just like you instructed, and be *perfectly done*, and then it will *keep it warm for up to 10 hours*! Not keep cooking it, just *keep it warm*. For up to 10 hours! You can put something in there in the morning, leave for the day, and come back to a perfectly cooked whatever, just waiting for you! Booyah! (I think this is the thing that pressure cooker purists who try to talk people out of getting an Instant Pot, rather than a stovetop pressure cooker, fail to understand. You can’t just walk away from a stovetop pressure cooker after the stuff starts cooking.)Now, here are the *the best* accessories (in my opinion) that you will want for your Instant Pot.You definitely will want 

this steamer basket

 for your Instant Pot (the Instant Pot comes with a little steaming trivet, but this steamer basket is *way* more useful – in fact it’s how you make both poached eggs and baked potatoes). Actually you will want *a* steamer basket, but trust me, this is the one you want, both because of the big handle, the fact that the handle telescopes, and, most importantly, you can use it with or without the little legs flipped down, and when you flip the little legs down, they give you plenty of space for as much water for steaming as you could ever need without worrying about the water touching the food that’s in the basket.Or, instead of, or in addition to, the above steamer, you can get 

this steamer basket and steaming rack / trivet set

. The legs on this trivet are an inch and a half high (the rack that comes with your Instant Pot only gives 3/4 of an inch of clearance). and the flat-bottomed steamer is very versatile.Personally, I have both, as they each serve their own purpose, and the trivet that comes with the set is really useful for pot-in-pot cooking, at which you may also want to try your hand. Pot-in-pot (or “PIP”) is where you put a second, smaller vessel inside your Instant Pot’s main internal pot. There are different reasons for doing this, ranging from “I only want to cook a small amount of something like oatmeal” to “I want to cook a cheesecake in my Instant Pot” to “I want to cook two different things at the same time in my Instant Pot (like cooking beans, and having a bowl of rice on a trivet (see why you want a good trivet?) above the beans, steam cooking at the same time).For pot-in-pot cooking, I recommend any stainless steel vessel that is no greater in diameter than 7.5 inches, and no taller than 4 or so inches (your internal pot has a diameter of just over 8.5 inches and a height of about 6 inches). Lots of people use glass vessels such as Pyrex or Corningware, but I personally prefer to use stainless steel because if you drop it you’ll just have a mess, rather than a mess plus broken glass.If you’re really keen on making cheesecakes, steamed puddings, flans, and that sort of thing in your Instant Pot, you may also want to grab this stainless steel 

pot-in-pot ‘dessert insert’ pan set

, which includes two stacking pans. and a rack to set them on which has handles that close up over the pans to secure them.You will also want this separate 

glass lid

 that is sold by the Instant Pot people. This lid fits on your *inner metal pot*, and this way when you are using your Instant Pot for *non-pressurized* cooking, such as when using it as a slow cooker, or with the sauté function, you will be able to see what is going on in there. Basically, in these usages, you can think of your Instant Pot as a counter-top stove burner (albeit one with really cool bells and whistles) – that may help you to understand why you want a (see-through!) lid for that inner pot. Plus, once you are done cooking in any mode, you can use the inner pot to store the leftovers in your fridge, and use this lid to cover it.In terms of Instant Pot cookbooks to get you started, they are a relatively new genre, and a *lot* of them are only available as Kindle or other digital format books. Personally, I like to have a physical book when it comes to cookbooks, and so I like this one…you can’t go wrong with America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks, and their pressure cooker cookbook is no exception:

Pressure Cooker Perfection

I also happen to be a strict vegetarian, and for vegetarian and vegan Instant Pot cooking, this book by J.L. Fields is considered the best book out there (it’s pretty darned good!):

Vegan Pressure Cooking: Delicious Beans, Grains, and One-Pot Meals in Minutes

And if you also are vegetarian or vegan, you’ll appreciate the recipes in this one:

O M Gee Good! Instant Pot Meals, Plant-Based & Oil-free

..and this one:

Vegan Under Pressure: Perfect Vegan Meals Made Quick and Easy in Your Pressure Cooker

And speaking of recipes – here is how to make those poached eggs, and baked potatoes.Poached Eggs: Lightly grease 1 to 4 (depending on how many poached eggs you want) Pyrex custard cups with butter or oil. Put a cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, put a steamer basket or trivet in the pot (making sure that the water doesn’t come over the top), and set your Pyrex cups in the steamer basket or on the trivet. I use my Oxo steamer basket for this, and I love that when they are done I can just grab the handle and pull the whole shebang out (remember the handle will be HOT, be sure to wear an oven mitt). Use Manual setting, low pressure, for 2 to 3 minutes. 2 minutes will probably be enough unless you’re at a high altitude.Baked Potatoes: Remember how I said you could make baked potatoes in 12 minutes? And remember how I said that the recipe times are for the time *at pressure*? ;~) Still, even given the time to come to pressure, and to have the pressure come back down, you can have perfectly steam-baked potatoes in under half an hour, and the best part is that you can start them, and then *walk away*! When you are ready for your potatoes, they will be perfectly done and waiting for you, even if you have abandoned them for hours! Just put water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, flip the legs down on your Oxo steamer, put the steamer in the pot and then dump your potatoes in on top of the steamer. Using the Manual setting, set the cooking time for 12 minutes, using high pressure. Then walk away! Now, because these are ‘steam baked’ (i.e. cooked whole over steam, but not in water), the skins will not be crisp, but these are otherwise exactly like the baked potatoes you know and love – they’re great with butter, sour cream, etc.! This works with new potatoes, and regular potatoes!Happy Instant Potting!

InstantPot IP-Duo60 versatility is hard to beatThis is a 6 month update – Have used the product now for about 6 months and feel it proper to update some of my former comments as I have become more familiar with it’s features. (I don’t shill for Amazon or InstantPot, this is an independent appraisal)A lot of 5 star ratings. My initial rating was four stars. After a fair amount of use I decided to upgrade it to five. I really like InstantPot and would recommend it to others. I do a lot of soups and stews, a meal in a bowl; I dislike washing dishes! After many years of cooking for a crowd 3 times a day, my wife does not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. She is a good cook when in the mood, but is the undisputed speed-queen in fixing a meal. She opens 5 cans, dumps them into a large saucepan, a little water and seasoning; 5 minutes later on High heat – Voila! – almost scorched Dinner. For gals who have cooked over 10,000 meals, this may be just the ticket! I enjoy cooking! My preferred menu utilizes pressure cooking to large extent because I live at 5,000 ft. elevation. A must if you live in Leadville Colo.My instant pot occupies a small unused ledge in the corner of the kitchen. Two instant pots together would nicely fill the space. Main reason I bought the InstantPot Duo 60 is the removable Tri-clad bottom mirror-finish all stainless steel liner (looks like chrome), along with the delay and cooking timer auto-shutoff. This sets it apart from old-time swisher type 1st Gen P.C.’s. An added lower pressure setting extends its ability to more tender foods. Tender vegetables and yogurt making features are what differs it from the non-duo 60. I haven’t made Yogurt yet, but as a Diabetic, crisp veggies are a priority. Sometime soon I’m gonna try making some Yogurt. I’ve used it in several different modes, enough to feel comfortable about offering my little opinion. To make a stew, you can brown the meat, pressure cook it until tender, quickly de-pressurize, add some beans or veggies, put on the glass lid, set the timer for 2 or 3 hours and slow cook until done. Eat the meal, put the entire steel pot of leftovers with glass lid, (must be ordered separately), in the fridge for tomorrow or day after, all using a single container using only one very safe, quiet, clean appliance. For Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls I cook a whole chicken on the Poultry setting for 35 minutes and let it depressurize on its own. Still under pressure it actually cooks for another 15 minutes. Remove the Chicken, de-skin and de-bone all those little bones and cartilage. Set the pot outside on top of the Barbecue for a few hours, (when it’s cold out), to solidify and remove all but some of the surface layer of fat. Put the shredded chicken pieces back in, add the veggies and seasonings, another 6 minutes low pressure cooking or slow cook ’till done; add the freshly cooked, hot Matzo Balls when serving. Others have said they have purchased an extra liner and glass lid so you can see how that would extend its usability. The liner really is easy to clean. Rinse it out under the hot water, a soapy sponge, re-rinse and set it in the sink basket to dry. It’s operation is really quiet and there is not any visible steam whooshing through the air. You could very easily cook on the dining room table, or a small adjacent table. Making a pot of beans outdoors next to the barbecue is easy too.Lack of a 15 lb setting poses a problem for some potential buyers as it does add somewhat to the overall cooking time. Some P.C. reviewers have remarked that is a big problem for them. The actual high pressure setting is 11 psi which drops the cooking temp for 260 to 240 degrees. The low pressure is 7 psi. I’m sure it must add to cooking time, but for me, it is not a consideration. In some instances I find it preferable to use my second electric 15 psi P.C. tucked away in another kitchen corner using my stove to steam some Broccoli, using my Barbeque as a convection oven for a Casserole in the summer so I don’t heat up the house, If I have two electric pressure cookers going at once it’s getting a big Sunday meal done in even less time! During the week I just nuke leftovers.Initially, at the start you can program it just about any way you like over a wide range of different settings and presets. After 10 seconds has elapsed, it starts whatever you have programmed and cannot be changed without stopping and resetting it. In my initial review I complained a little about the Manual setting. I have come to realize that a good percentage of negative comments (aside from shipping damage or DOA out of the box) are because the person does not understand the operation of the device. Well… I guess I am no different than anyone else in that I misunderstood the purpose of the Manual Program. Manual is a pressure cook only setting and it allows you to vary the P.C. time. No need to change temp, just time and pressure. If you can’t find any of the preset times to suit you. Manual will allow you to choose either pressure, or any time from 1 – 120 minutes. Most will not really need to use Manual, but they added it just in case someone finds it useful I guess. Except for the Rice setting you can use almost any setting any way you want, OR you can do it by the book. You can pretty much do whatever you want. You could cook a Chicken using the Bean/Stew setting. Pssst! there aren’t any InstantPot police! Because it has so many settings, it takes a while to find all the various available combinations. I’ve found combinations that cover all the bases. However It is very easy to just stop the running program and switch to a different program to enter a new or different time, pressure, or temp. It takes maybe ten seconds to do this. The only thing keeping you from thinking outside the box is you. Go crazy! Be creative! No Rules! For most, this probably would never even be an issue. I’m kinda finicky, (just ask my wife). For someone who just wants to have a pot of beef stew ready when they get home, no sweat, Read the manual, you won’t encounter any problems, the standard settings will work fine). My initial rating was four stars because I thought I was limited by the presets. It turns out that is not really the case. With the InstantPot you really can do just about anything you want. It’s just a matter or re-evaluating how you perceive you are able to use it. At first, the presets seem to be absolutes; they are not. It is all just a matter of perception, a little extra thought, a few more button clicks… or if you find the presets work well, as many reviewers have, you can literally just set it and forget it.The even heating of the Tri-Clad bottom of the stainless steel liner is a best feature for me as it greatly reduces, if not in most instances, eliminates entirely any probability of scorching your food. The 3 preset settings seem to work as advertised for the most part. Suppose you are going to cook a thick sauce. The preset temp is often Med. which might be too high. When you first turn it on, with any of the four top LH settings you are able to increase or decrease temperature, time and pressure, Hi-Lo. For something thick, you may choose to change the temp from Med. to Low which should avoid scorching. What I do when slow-cooking, is select Saute and High temp setting to save time in order to get 3 1/2 quarts of soup mix boiling, then stop it, select Slow Cook and reset the time choosing a low and slow temperature to finish cooking. I find the best way to cook pasta is to fill it two-thirds full of water, Select Saute, high temp to get the water boiling furiously, stop and reset temp to Medium to finish cooking the pasta. It might prove quicker to cook pasta on your stove, but you can also do it with the InstantPot, drain the water, add spices, Italian Sausage and/or Meatballs, Marinara Sauce, Slow cook on low heat and keep warm with the glass lid on beside the dining room table for a leisurely, more pleasurable, (second helpings don’t get cold), dining experience with friends and family. High temp is what you want when pressure cooking meat or poultry with 1 or 2 inches of water which decreases startup time. Cook for 45 minutes using one and a half inches of water because very little water escapes as steam! Just this minute, as I am writing this, (first review), I paused and went into the kitchen to check up on my 5 1/2 quarts of Cowboy Chile that I am slow-cooking. It was almost out of time. I decided it needed another hour, so I stopped it, shut it off, re-selected Slow Cook medium temp, and reset the time for one more hour. The program would have automatically stopped by itself, gone into Keep Warm mode, so you can re-start to cook it longer, anyhoo it’s not a deal-breaker. When slow-cooking on Low, my Chile just gurgles away nicely without any scorching with the pot maxed out to within 1 inch from the top. (DO NOT even think about filling the pot past 2/3 full when pressure cooking!) Once, the pot (stainless steel liner) had been in the freezer half-full of frozen soup. I put the pot liner back in its place, put on the glass lid, turned it on to keep warm for a little over an hour. it fully de-frosted the soup which was nice and warm to boot! Don’t know if any one would ever do that, but you can set the keep warm timer for up to 10 hours and forget about it, Swedish Meatballs served warm, Fondue? No danger of overheating or boiling away. I speed up the bean pre-soak by putting the beans in the pot and setting the keep warm for an hour, and then letting them sit overnight. I find this necessary in the High and dry climate of Northern Nevada. Everything I’ve cooked so far has turned out just the way I wanted it, but not without a little creative fiddling. Every new gadget requires a learning curve. Because of it’s many features, practice makes perfect! I give the InstantPot designers credit as most automatic settings work well, automating it for ease of use and safety. Cooking is part Science, but, I think, more Art than Science. I have the glass lid on for attended operation. A more tactile experience in food preparation. When slow-cooking I can check on it from time to time and make little adjustments, e.g. more time, less heat, add more chicken stock, taste it, more Oregano, a little Paprika, It’s done when it’s done, however long that takes.Most programs work just fine on full automatic, but some small exceptions may demand more online flexibility. I must admit that I am biased in that I very often combine pressure cooking with slow cooking. I live at 5,000 feet with 10% humidity in July. I store a lot of beans which dry out after 6 months. To slow-cook those beans from scratch takes hours and they still are not done because water boils here at 201 degrees. It is surprising what a difference that makes. In New Orleans beans have much higher moisture content and at 212 degrees are done in an hour or less. I have to use a rapid boil just to make tea. A pressure cooker is the great equalizer, a must at higher altitudes because 15 lbs is 15 lbs pressure inside the pot regardless of altitude. I take a little extra time with my beans by using the low pressure setting. I especially like the delay start, cook, auto shut-off, keep warm features. The cooking timer and auto shut-off is absolutely essential for peace of mind for unattended operation as I have been known to doze off when cooking late at night. Every electric cooking appliance I own, including my Induction Range, is flameless and has a timed shutoff feature. I am retired and have the time, but, for those busy people on the go, the set-it-and-forget-it, ability of the InstantPot may prove it’s best feature.I very much like my InstantPot and have used it 2 or 3 times a week for one-pot meals. Having used it now for almost half a year, (I’ve got a pot of Navy beans cooking now as I update this review). I would say my initial impression was pretty close. One thing I especially like is I use less pots and pans when I am using the InstantPot, (I dislike washing pots and pans). It has some great features which leads me to believe they are really trying to hit it out of the park with this one. A Canadian Distributor; “Way to go eh! Makes me want to stand up and sing “Oh Canada!”I guess price/point is the big bugaboo with manufacturers. If they added 15 psi I would fork over a little extra cash to get the “totally perfect” all-in-one cooker. They could test market it as their top-of-the-line world-beater Ultra Deluxe 7.6 litre model. I believe people will pay a little more if they know what they are paying for. For those desiring the convenience of an all-in-one cooker, at the price, there is little competition. I think it’s a great value. Bottom line is: “I like it just fine the way it is.” The InstantPot has earned a permanent place in my kitchen.W.O

Review from a confirmed foodaholicOver the years, I have purchased hundreds of items from Amazon, and for the most part, got what I expected. I never reviewed any of them. But from the moment I received my Instant Pot, I felt that I had purchased something that not only exceeded my expectations, but will make my life easier (and more delicious)!I am a holistic nutritionist and a follower of a lower carb/paleo/primal lifestyle (and yes, it is not only a food regimen, but a lifestyle). Many of the meals I prepare require advance planning and preparation, and I am OK with that, realizing that it is an investment in my family’s health and wellbeing. I was looking for something that would support my food choices and perhaps make it a little less time-consuming. I have used a crockpot extensively over the past years and while I appreciate the ease of use and the ability to put a meal on the table soon after I got home in the evening, there is that “everything tastes the same” factor I was running into with my family.So I began thinking about ways to cook my meals faster and realized that a pressure cooker may be the answer. But, I am scared of pressure cookers. Even though my head tells me that people have been using them for many years with no problems, my heart said there was a strong chance I could blow up the entire kitchen, myself included. I had no idea there were electric, programmable pressure cookers out there that would virtually eliminate that worry until I began researching them, first on Amazon, and then on other websites. I eventually purchased the Instant Pot over the others because of the stainless steel insert (no aluminum), the size of the pot (I wanted a larger capacity), and the ease of use.The day it arrived, I plugged it in and began reading the manual. The manual was very helpful, even included a suggested trial run to familiarize one with the basics. My first meal was potato soup (I know potatoes are not low carb or paleo, but once in a while you gotta have potato soup). I was amazed at how easy and delicious it was to make this soup that would normally take a couple of hours. I just coarsely chopped the vegetables, threw those in the pot, added the seasonings and the liquid, started the pressure cooker option, and in 20 minutes all I had to do was use my immersion blender to puree the soup, add some cheese, stir and it was ready to eat. AND the soup was every bit as good as my slower version that keeps me tied to the kitchen to stir and monitor until it’s done. That is the hidden beauty of this appliance, that while it’s cooking your food, you are free to do other things such as harass your kids to get their homework done. No more watching over a pot!My second recipe was lemon pepper chicken wings. There is a searing option, so first I browned the wings in a bit of butter, then added lemon pepper, salt, and 2 more tablespoons of butter. Put on the lid, set the pressure cooker for 25 minutes, and out came the most delicious, fall-of-the-bone wings just loaded with flavor. The family went wild!I also made mushroom gravy (no flour) pork chops in 30 minutes in the pressure cooker – the gravy was so good my son ate in on top of some gluten free noodles the next day for lunch – and a breakfast meat loaf in the slow cooker, also a winner.I am also using this to reheat food since we don’t use the microwave anymore and I’m finding that it seems easier and makes less of a mess than going stovetop.That’s a pretty long review for a first-timer but I am so enthusiastic about this product that I just had to share.

A life-changing experience!EDITED 06/07/2016: Sadly, I had to ask the manufacturer for a replacement unit, but I am still happy with the product, and am pleased with the manufacturer’s customer service response.Within two months of using my Instant Pot, I had grown completely dependent upon it for life support. Going back to cooking things on the stove seemed just as preposterous as starting a fire in the middle of my living room and roasting some meat on a spit. Then, tragedy struck. My IP would not come to pressure! Steam leaked constantly from the steam vent, and the countdown would not start. The display just read “on” indefinitely. The food would still cook, but the whole process was noisy and smelly. Also, food at the bottom of the pot would burn due the the lack of a tight seal. I carefully checked the steam vent and all the other components, and could find nothing wrong with any of them. I cooked this way six or seven times, putting up with the noisy steam venting, just to see if I could get it to work. Then, the next time I plugged in the IP, all the lights flashed, there were terrible beeping noises, and the display flashed, “C6.” I immediately consulted the manual, the website and the Internets, and determined that this seems to be a common problem among IP owners, and that I would need to contact support.There are two methods for contacting support, e-mail and their website. I think you may be able to call them on the phone but this is less effective. I created a ticket on the website and waited nervously. They responded in three business days. They asked me to provide the original receipt, a photo of the sticker on the back of the machine, a photo of the C6 error and my mailing address. I provided them the documentation a couple of days later. They quickly responded, and did not ask me any questions or force me to go through any sort of troubleshooting routine. They simply said they would rush mail me a new base right away. I asked about the problem with the steam vent, which preceded the C6 error, and another rep answered within a few minutes that they would also include a new lid in the same box. They also did not say that I had to mail back the first unit.Within a few days I received a box via Fed Ex. I live in Hawaii, so shipping anything large via Fed Ex is very expensive for the company. The thick, sturdy outer cardboard box contained an inner box with the IP marketing printed on it. The inner box had tight styrofoam packaging. When Amazon originally mailed me the IP, they did NOT include an outer box but simply sent the thinner inner box through the mail with the shipping label right on it. This new mailing gave me some initial confidence that maybe this unit was not knocked around in transit as much as the first one. Also, the power cord was different. The first unit did not have a removable power cord, whereas this one’s plugged into the back of the unit. They also included all the accessories – the sealing ring, rice paddle, drip catcher, steam rack, etc. The only thing that was missing from a brand-new purchase was the stainless steel inner pot. The old one still works fine, however.So far, I have only had a chance to test it with water, but the new unit seems to work peachy.I was initially going to change this to a 4-star review, since it is not acceptable for a product to break after only two months of use. I have two rice cookers, both Tiger brand made in Japan, and the first one has lasted nearly TWENTY YEARS and is still going strong! However, I give IP the benefit of the doubt that the first unit could have been somehow damaged in transit, although it worked fine initially. Also, it was a “Warehouse Deal” from Amazon so who knows what happened to it before it embarked upon its journey into my kitchen.I look forward to getting my (new and improved) life back!ORIGINAL REVIEW:Is there an option for TEN stars?! I am thrilled with the Instant Pot – it has changed my life and I have not even gotten started yet.I saw another electric pressure cooker advertised on TV, and it seemed like a miracle based on their glossy video. So I did some research and decided, based on the reviews and features, that I would rather have the Instant Pot than the other brand. However, because I have a very small kitchen that is already crowded with my Vitamix, I was reluctant to add another very large countertop appliance to the mix.In the next few months, I was motivated by two cooking disasters involving my oven. Both times, I wanted to make a special Sunday dinner for my guests. The first time I tried to make baby back ribs in the oven. Hours later the ribs were nowhere near cooked, and with great shame I had to pull salmon out of the freezer and try to cook that from frozen instead. Humiliating and exhausting! After I cooked the ribs for hours more, they were way too soft and didn’t taste right at all.Next disaster – a whole chicken. Same story. My guests were waiting while I desperately tried to get the darn bird up to temperature. No luck! Finally I cut the chicken into pieces and shoved it back in the oven. I was able to finally serve it, but everybody practically gave up by then.I immediately took the plunge and ordered one from Warehouse Deals. It seemed like a decent price and with Prime, items are returnable to Amazon. So I took the risk. The item arrived in its own cardboard box with no outer brown box, and the box was slightly damaged. There was no privacy & everyone in the office knew what I ordered. But no big deal. The problem was – I was a little intimidated about using it at first! In fact, it sat unopened for over a week. However, after I completely read the manual and included cookbook, I found that the operation of the machine was dead easy. The machine and accessories looked like new even though they were marked “used” on Warehouse deals.So far, I have cooked with varying degrees of success: Corned beef brisket (perfect!), white rice (overcooked twice), black-eyed peas (overcooked in 8 minutes, 10 on warm), boneless chicken thighs (okay), boneless pork ribs (okay), custard cooked directly in Mason jars (overcooked twice), and Thai sticky rice (twice with excellent results).The Thai sticky rice was the far and away winner. If you have ever tried to recreate this restaurant staple at home, you know it can be a tricky process. With the Instant Pot, it is so easy you may not even realize you’ve done any work! However, you do have to plan ahead. Here’s how I did it: Purchase Thai sticky rice (I bought it at the local health food store). This is a special variety, so don’t try to substitute another type of rice. Soak for 12 hours. Drain and rinse, and place rice inside of any glass bowl that will fit into the Instant Pot. Mold the wet rice around the sides of the bowl so that it is evenly distributed with a hollow in the middle. Place a steam rack over one inch of water in the inner pot. Place the glass bowl on top. Press Manual (high pressure) and set for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Reheat any leftovers by re-steaming inside the Instant Pot for Manual (high pressure) for 5 minutes. Reheating the rice in the microwave may not produce the same results.Regarding the sealing ring – it definitely retains smells! I had some luck steaming vinegar in the pot but it did not take out all of the strong corned beef smell. I will try some other methods others have suggested. Meanwhile I tried to order an extra ring from Amazon for desserts. The “Prime” option was out of stock so I ordered one from Instant Pot as a third-party seller. When I tried to check out, I realized that Instant Pot was going to charge me $60 to ship the ring alone to Hawaii!!!!! No way!!! I found the ring on Walmart.com, and while I was unable to pick it up in the local store, I was able to get free shipping by adding some other needed items to the order. The new ring has not yet arrived.I have planned out dozens of meals that I can’t wait to try in the Instant Pot! Baby-back ribs of course, sweet-sour spareribs, saag paneer, all kinds of curry, etc. Not only was this purchase so worth it, I am kicking myself for not doing this years ago!

I love my Instant Pots!I expected to say the Instant Pot Duo Nova in the 8 quart version was now my favorite appliance. I love my smaller Instant Pot & use it all the time. I liked the idea of the larger one, although most times there are only two of us for dinner. I do prepare a lot for company, meals to take to the neighbors, for someone who’s sick, funeral meals & pot lucks. I also prepare my own versions of TV dinners so I have something ready on days when I don’t have time or don’t feel like cooking.Some people think pressure cooking isn’t safe, hearkening back to the days when the pots sometimes blew up. Instant Pot is very safe; the Duo Nova has dual-pressure settings, so there’s the option to cook at low or high pressure. High pressure reduces the cooking time & low pressure prevents overcooking. That’s useful for cooking stews or a roast—something you want to cook a little slower. Three temperature settings can be customized for each smart program. For example, with the sauté function, you can set to simmer, sear or thicken for up to 30 minutes then pressure cook the rest of the meal & there’s only one pot to clean. This translates over to many recipes but as I do for a stew, I use the sauté setting & brown the stew meat with onions, add the carrots & potatoes & turn it to pressure cook & set the time for whatever my recipe indicates. After it’s done, I let the steam release naturally for a few minutes then start releasing it manually. I don’t do it manually for the whole time because potatoes & carrots can splatter & clog the vent. When it’s safe to remove the lid, I add whatever vegetables that don’t need a lot of cooking, like green beans, peas, corn, celery or any other, close the lid & set the steam for 1 minutes. Everything will be hot & cooked thoroughly but not mushy.The speed of pressure cooking keeps the food tasting fresher, retains vitamins & when you get used to it, usually the food isn’t over-cooked. It might seem tricky at first to operate as there are 14 programs for seven functions but I find I use the timer more than any of the other settings. I push the button labeled “pressure cook”, enter how long I need it to cook on the touch pad & that’s it. If you want something cooked rare, it can do it, just as it can be set to cook food well-done. When it’s done, the food doesn’t have to be removed instantly; it can be switched to a “keep warm” feature so the food is kept at ready to eat temperature. Other than pressure cooking, it sautés, steams, slow cooks, cooks rice & makes yogurt. Like the smaller pot, enter what you want to have it do, like steam cook, enter the minutes & that’s it. It’s been hard to leave it at that because my instinct is to push a start button after my settings are in place. There isn’t one—what you’ve entered is it & it’ll beep to let you know it’s working.The slow cook function can be set to low, medium and high heat. Dry beans for chili don’t have to be soaked first. Frozen foods don’t need to be thawed first. That’s one of my favorite features.It comes with a booklet that gives times to pressure cook different types of food. There are a lot of cookbooks for cooking with an Instant Pot out there but not included with the pot. It really does help to watch some YouTube videos & learn more about using this to make the most out of the investment. Desserts can even be made in it. It comes with an extra sealing ring so flavors don’t mix from cooking savory to cooking sweet.Most of the time it takes me a while to work out the kinks on something new like this & I thought everything I knew about the small pot would be the same for this pot. In the small pot, there must be at least 1 cup of liquid before pressure cooking. I can’t find anything about how much liquid is needed in the big one. I put some frozen stewed tomatoes in the large pot but didn’t know if there would be enough liquid as they thawed or if I needed to add more. The water test uses 3 cups to test the unit out so I‘m using that as a guide & making sure there’s always 3 cups of liquid when I pressure cook.I also have always been confused when an Instant Pot can be used as a slow cooker. Why aren’t there any lids for slow cooking if that’s the case? You can’t close the lid tightly like you do for pressure cooking so what are you supposed to use? There isn’t an option to buy one for the small cooker but there is for the medium size. I think that if the feature is there, the proper lid should be provided.Another complaint I have is the reading material to tell about the Instant Pot. It came with a getting started guide that tells how to use the pot, venting & a brief run-down of the normal controls then two pages with a chart of the Smart Programs, including the settings & suggest uses. I really got confused such as on the rice instructions. Settings has the choices of less, normal & more steaming. Then there’s the texture of the rice & under “notes” it says, “Depending on the volume of rice, cook time may range from 8-15 minutes.” How much rice? How much water? How do you figure the time? Stove top prep of rice is 20 minutes, why would I take the time to bring the water up to the pressure point to let it pressure cook for 15 minutes? That takes well over the 20 minutes on the stove. My small Instant Pot does rice in about 4 minutes. So I must not be getting it.My next piece of included reading material is the Safety, Maintenance & Warranty booklet. No recipes or cooking hints. There is a single page with the Cooking Time Tables that has a list of the food categories with a few food items. I found my rice & learned that Basmati will take 4 minutes with 1 part water to 1 part rice. I expected a cook booklet of some sort so I could better adapt my recipes. It’s suggested to go on-line at the company’s site for the recipes & additional hints on using the pot. I did & I have to allow cookies to get the info & that’s info that’ll be shared with other companies. I’m not willing to do that. If I didn’t have the experience of my other Instant Pot this one would be relegated to the back shelf in the pantry. I wonder how someone with no experience will do with this pot.The lack of important paperwork and recipe booklet for the Instant Pot as well as the lack of necessary items to use this such as no lid for the slow cooker causes me to deduct 2 stars as it’s virtually impossible to figure out if you don’t have previous experience. If the feature is prominently displayed, the materials to use it should be included. Other than those things, I think this Instant Pot is pretty good although it won’t replace my small one as my favorite after all.I’ll start by saying that I really like my Instant Pot. I do have an issue with it, though, that I didn’t see mentioned in the reviews I read before the purchase. I want to let people know that it doesn’t come with what I think is a necessity & I wouldn’t have invested in this brand if I had known it. The directions clearly say to use the glass Instant Pot lid for slow cooking. What lid? I dug the box out of the trash & double checked. There was no lid. I then read some additional reviews & learned that it doesn’t come with a lid! What??? It’s a slow cooker!! No lid? It works great for pressure cooking but I bought this because it says it’s useful for several things. I intended to get rid of my 3 Crockpots, steamer & 2 pressure cookers but it doesn’t have one of the essential pieces. Yes, you can buy it separately. Oops, nope. Not even the manufacturer carries a lid for it! I I think it needs to be clearly stated that the lid is sold separately. Maybe I’m the only one, but I find that very odd. I planned to purchase the steamer basket, egg cooker (you can use it for potatoes, too) & any other accessories but they just aren’t out there for the 3 quart. I chose the small unit because there’s just two of us. It is the perfect size. If I could buy all of the accessories for it, I would be thrilled. I was able to get a separate pot & silicone lid so I can cook, serve & refrigerate in the same pot & that’s great. I’ve cooked rice in one & then used the other for the entrée & didn’t touch the stove or oven. I do love it but wish the company could come through with the accessories.