Nearly a year ago, I posted my thoughts about whether or not I really needed another small kitchen appliance – specifically, an Instant Pot. I held off for many months, but finally bought one. And, now, I wonder why I waited so long.
Since I bought my Instant Pot, I’ve made so many tasty meals, quickly. It makes short work sweet potatoes, pressure cooking them to perfection; instead of spending an hour plus baking sweet potatoes for pie in the future, I’ll be doing a 45-minute Instant Pot (IP) cook!
And rice? No more 40 minute cook times in the rice cooker – 3 minutes is all it takes in the IP.
Now, to be completely forthcoming, the “cook time” is not the total time it takes food to cook in the IP because it takes time for proper pressure to build, and then for pressure to release after cooking. Overall, though, it takes much less time, in general, to cook in the IP than on the stove or in the oven.
Nothing (and I’ve tried many different methods) cooks hard-boiled eggs as nicely as the IP, and I would probably have bought it just for that function, had I known how well it performed.
In addition the hard-boiled eggs, I’ve made many frittatas – delightfully stuffed with veggies like kale, mushrooms, onions, summer squash, peppers…so many possibilities!
I also just tried poaching eggs in the IP, and while the yolks weren’t as runny as I like, that’s easily remedied by adjusting the cook time; lowering the cook time to 3 minutes resulted in a runny yolk, though the whites were also a bit runny. Overall, though, way better than fishing out a yolk from a pan of water and essentially losing most of the whites.
And, if you can believe it, you can “bake” in the IP, too. I’ve made some very tasty breads and cakes, and I see the potential to make a great figgy pudding in the IP. Since the IP steams the bread/cake, it ends up very moist…good in some applications and potentially not in others. I’ll keep baking in it because I really appreciate how the appliance doesn’t heat up the kitchen the way that an oven does.
A few other IP creations:
I find myself using the IP nearly every day – sometimes even more than once a day. Did I mention that it cooks dry beans to plump softness without presoaking..! And clean-up is a breeze: just wipe out the lid, including the sealing ring, and clean the stainless pot. And the stainless pot, free of non-stick coatings, is surprisingly easy to clean out.
I’ve also purchased some accessories to make cooking in the IP even better, like a small ring pan (for cakes and breads), a steamer basket (to hard boil greater quantities of eggs), and, most recently, a Mealthy CrispLid. The CrispLid allows me to air fry food right in my IP – no separate appliance needed! I’m looking forward to frying some tofu filets in the CrispLid, and will post a review once I’ve put it through its paces.
In case you’re wondering if this is an unbiased review, I purchased my own Instant Pot and all accessories mentioned. Call me a “Pothead” if you must, but I’m a happy IP convert, and there’s no looking back!
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