Understanding Instant Pot Timing: What 'Instant' Really Means and Tips for New Users

@simonwallace I agree, especially when they talk about sous vide for 3 hours then 3 minutes each side in a pan to brown, when a couple minutes more in my old cast iron skillet and I've got a perfect steak.
Sous vide was created for restaurants that cook a lot of steaks in a day, they put them in in the morning and when someone orders all they have to do is brown it, it makes zero sense for cooking at home.
 
I agree but please take note that you can't cook everything in the instant pot some things are still better cooked with the original methods and quicker.
 
Once you get beyond being intimidated by the IP you will enjoy using it. After 18 months in a cupboard I watched a couple of YouTube videos & said I can do this. Started with the water test first with success & been using the pot often. Check out Jeffrey Eisner’s cookbooks. Some great pasta dishes in there. 🍀🍀🍀👍👍👍
 
The beauty is not in the “instant” but the fact that it is much faster in my opinion than stove and oven cooking and so handy to have everything in one pot that is super easy to clean. Also you can easily cook from frozen. I love all 3 of mine.
 
Also whether it’s a IP recipe or another, prep time is ALWAYS miscalculated unless you have a sous chef to chop all the vegetables, etc😳🤔
 
I appreciate the encouragement - I have only used mine s few times - but have had it for several years
 
If trying a new recipe I look for one having a consensus of people who report success with the same trusted recipe. Some recipes are not so great because they lack complete information newbies need unique to necessary pot techniques to achieve success.
Also some people's tastes are different than others. We don't choose to eat super spicy stuff or ooey, gooey, creamy, cheese-loaded dishes. But we do like flavor! One can easily adjust flavors by the amount of seasonings, whether more or less salt, herbs, etc.
 
Karen Madrone I agree with you. If you are baking you need to pay attention to correct measurements like Chemistry class. When you are cooking in the ip it is all about physics and raising what you are cooking to the 212deg temp to make steam as in BTU's to raise water 1 degree per pound. Nothing starts until the unit seals and is under pressure. Then the timer starts. If you have an 8 quart full of liquid and a frozen chicken part it may take a some time until your timer and recipe start.
 
There are a few things, like spaghetti, that take about the same amount of time to do on stovetop, but they taste so much better out of an IP.
 
@jeanbaptized the first time I used mine (... okay, maybe the first two times) I sat in the closet for a while in case it blew up.
(look, at my age I've heard too many horror stories of the old-fashioned stove pressure cookers, what can I say! 😅
 
@ntao LOL...I get that!! My mother never used a pressure cooker, but my daughter uses the Instant Pot with ease. I'm intimidated, but I'm willing to learn. That made me LOL...thank you.😉
 
Right, I learned from experience that I need to add extra time both before and after the cooking process is done to allow for those things. However, I love the hand-off meals!
 
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