What's the deal with this "Instant Pot"!?!

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #49112
    Donny
    Participant

    I keep reading and running across reviews, articles, etc. about the Instant Pot.  I’d never heard about it until I started traveling around in the RV circles on the web, but it seems to be pretty popular.  What’s so special about this thing?  Does anyone have one?  Is it really the “bees knees”? :unsure:

    #49116
    Ray
    Keymaster

    Funny you should mention that I just ordered one on Amazon a couple days ago to giver it a try, I’m getting the 3 quart model. I kept seeing people ordering them, was curious. Will do a review.

    • Instant Pot Duo Mini, the ideal companion to the Instant Pot Duo, the number # 1 selling multi-cooker, combines 7 kitchen appliances in 1, Rice Cooker, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer.

    #49122
    Donny
    Participant

    It might just be me, but when something says “pressure cooker” and “yogurt maker” in the same machine, I’m skeptical.

     

    However, if it will brown meat and then simmer, I have an excellent soup recipe I will have to share a tasty recipe here that I affectionately refer to as “Hobo Soup” that I think might work well in the RV world.  :good:

    #49140
    Jim Streeter
    Participant

    Best pot we have in the house, soups, broth, rice, beans and meat.  No fuss just put in the ingredients, set the timer and walk away.  Best pressure cooker we have owned, always worried about the manual pressure cooker, watching the heat level.

    #49145
    Donny
    Participant

    Can you can in this thing?

    #49148
    rvplus2
    Member

    We too are about to ‘fork’ out for one of these! Patricia thinks the 3 qt model will be just right for the two of us. Look forward to your review, Ray. I will be curious to see what you think about it’s use while only on solar power. Our 600W pure sine inverter would need to handle it – at least for now as we have plans to upgrade that inverter this winter.

    #49150
    rvplus2
    Member

    https://www.hippressurecooking.com/which-instant-pot-model-is-right-for-you/

    Here seems to be a thorough review of available models – article is dated Nov 2017

    #49161
    Stephen C Keller
    Participant

    We bought a Farberware Instant Pot and really like it. We did a tough roast with potatoes, carrots, onion and cabbage and wow, what a treat.  Wife ordered a cook book off of Barnes and Noble for 2 persons and will know more after we do some of the recipes from it. But so far we like it better than the Crock Pot.  The meat is so done you don’t even need a knife to cut the meat.

    #49171
    Donny
    Participant

    I’m thinking I might have to get one.  Ray said he was going to be doing a review on one.  I might wait for that.  If he likes it and posts it on his Amazon page, then I’ll most likely buy one (he might as well get a cut  😉 )

     

    I haven’t heard one bad thing about these things thus far.  I love crock pot cooking, so I might actually enjoy one.

    #49214
    Curious by Nature
    Participant

    I got one from the kids for my birthday. It’s worked great for rice, roasts, stew and reducing chicken and turkey for stock. It’s kind of large, but we brought it south with us this winter and it has been a great addition to our kitchen.

    #49220
    Frank & Whitney
    Participant

    We have one and my wife loves it.

    #49245
    Kent V. W.
    Member

    I bought one a couple weeks ago.  The 3 Quart Duo Mini.

    I had never cooked a dried bean in my life but tried some Pintos out in the IP.

    They turned out great with no pre-soaking.

    Cooked a 2.5 lb pot roast which turned out great and “fall apart” as well.

    My concern has been in how or if to cut back recipe quantities for the little 3 quart and could not find much info with regard to that.

    I ended up not cooking quite a full pound of beans but it would have handled a pound just fine.

    #49247
    Donny
    Participant

    [quote quote=49245]I bought one a couple weeks ago. The 3 Quart Duo Mini. I had never cooked a dried bean in my life but tried some Pintos out in the IP. They turned out great with no pre-soaking. Cooked a 2.5 lb pot roast which turned out great and “fall apart” as well. My concern has been in how or if to cut back recipe quantities for the little 3 quart and could not find much info with regard to that. I ended up not cooking quite a full pound of beans but it would have handled a pound just fine.[/quote]
    Kent,

    Now recipes are something I can help with!

    For soups and stews, I usually use 2.5 cups as a serving size.  So naturally, 2 of these is going to be just over 1 quart.  So figure that your 3 quart cooker will make about 5 servings (perfect for a dinner and leftovers for next day lunch for 2 people).  I traditionally use a 6 quart crock pot and it works out to about 10 servings.  So if your recipe says 4-6 servings, you are good to go.  Most recipes I have found are in the 4-6 serving area, so I double them for my 6 quart pot and it works out perfect.

    For an easy measurement on the 2.5 cups, I use the Ziploc screw top containers.  They are 2.5 cups each. I use these for the leftovers since they freeze well and are the perfect size for lunches.  Plus, they are BPA free, so they are microwave safe and relatively inexpensive.

    https://ziploc.com/en/products/containers/round/containers-twist-loc-small

    #49249
    Kent V. W.
    Member

    Great info, Donny, thanks much!

    #49299

    I have the 6qt model and it is very versatile but isn’t perfect (as are most multitaskers). The pressure cooker is the most useful mode, especially when running off of battery power as the results are similar to a slow cooker but the cooking time is dramatically less. Yes, more power to run it but for maybe 5% to 10% of the time. It is okay as a rice cooker but the unitasker does a better job. I make yogurt all the time but it needs to be running in a very low power mode for 10 hours. I didn’t have it on our last extended RV trip but it is definitely going on the next trip. To answer an earlier question, yes you can pressure can but it’ll only hold 4 pints. I use canning jars for making yogurt. And would recommend this item to anyone, I have one because we purchased it as a wedding gift but the couple already had one. Instead of returning it, I opted to keep it.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.