Jenny Dorsey - Mastering the Instant Pot: An Unofficial Guide with 125 Essential, Quick, and Easy Tips

PRAISE FOR

MASTERING THE INSTANT POT

This pressure cooker enthusiast just learned more about the super powers of the magical machine! Dorsey explains the nuts and bolts succinctly with news-you-can-use detailed cook times and charts. The stuff you may have known is a much-needed refresh, reorienting how to effectively and creatively wield the power of the Instant Pot.

Melissa Hom , food photographer

A concise yet thorough education in not only the Instant Pot but the essential fundamentals of cooking itself.

Brooke Siem , cookbook author and co-founder of Prohibition Bakery

This is the perfect Instant Pot book for beginners and everyday users! Jenny does a thorough job of breaking down the different functionalities of the Instant Pot for beginners and home cooks alike. A must-read for anyone with an Instant Pot!

Nanette Wong , food photographer

Copyright 2019 by Jenny Dorsey

Illustrations by iStock

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Qualcom

Cover photograph by Jenny Dorsey

Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-452-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-453-7

Printed in China

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO THE INSTANT POT

What Is the Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot is a brand of tabletop appliance that includes multiple cooking modes, more colloquially known as a multicooker . It is the main appliance manufactured and designed by the corporation Double Insight, and it was officially released in 2010. Since its release, the Instant Pot has generated fans worldwide, with tens of thousands of five-star reviews of each model on Amazonit sold more than 300,000 units in just one day during Amazons famous Prime Day in 2018. The main draw of the Instant Pot is its pressure cooker technology, with its other functionalities offering helpful supporting uses. There are now multiple series within the Instant Pot family, all with slightly different offerings across the product line, which we will go into detail below.

What Are the Different Types of Instant Pots Available?

Name: Max

Sizes: 6 Quart

Price: $200

The most advanced version of the Instant Pot showcases two of its new technological developments: NutriBoost, which creates a boiling motion inside the chamber to extract more nutrients from ingredients such as bones and accurate temperature control within +/- 0.9F (0.5C). This allows for sous vide cooking, or cooking foods in plastic or glass while under water at precise temperatures. Another notable feature in the Max is pressure canning, or using the pressure cooker functionality of bringing the chamber temperature above the boiling temperature of water (212 F) to safely destroy bacteria that often grow in foods being preserved for the long term (see more on pressure canning starting on ). The full set of features includes Pressure Cook, Pressure Can, Sous Vide, Slow Cook, Rice Cook, Saut/Brown, Steam, Yogurt Maker, and Warm.

Name: Ultra 10-in-1

Sizes: 3 Quart, 6 Quart, 8 Quart

Prices: $120, $145, $180

This version of the Instant Pot offers the widest variety of functions across its product lines, including Pressure Cook, Slow Cook, Rice Cook, Cake Maker/Egg, Yogurt Maker, Saut/Brown, Steam, Warm, Sterilize, and Ultra. The most notable addition to this model is the Ultra mode, which offers complete control across all functions for advanced cooks to create custom Instant Pot programs. There is also a useful Altitude Adjustment preset for those living in high altitude climates.

Name: Duo Plus 9-in-1

Sizes: 3 Quart, 6 Quart, 8 Quart

Prices: $100, $130, $160

The latest in Instant Pots Duo series was officially released in 2017 with the functions Pressure Cook, Rice Cook, Slow Cook, Cake Maker, Yogurt Maker, Steam, Saut/Brown, and Sterilize. The most notable additions to this model are the Cake Maker specifically for baking, which also doubles as an Egg program for cooking whole eggs, and Sterilize for those interested in pickling, fermenting, and canning at home. Earlier versions of the Duo, titled the Duo 7-in-1, does not include the Sterilize function or Cake Maker setting.

Name: Lux 6-in-1

Sizes: 3 Quart, 6 Quart, 8 Quart

Prices: $60, $80, $110

The most basic version of the Instant Pot originally offered the Pressure Cook, Slow Cook, Rice Cook, Saut/Brown, Steam, and Warm functions but now also has the Cake Maker setting included.

What Does the Instant Pot Do?

The Instant Pot offers a range of functionalities, from Rice Cook to Yogurt Maker to Sterilize. Its main function, which is present in all models, is the pressure cooker. We will go into further detail on each of its functions in later chapters, but a brief overview and some key examples are below.

Pressure Cook: This is Instant Pots claim to fame function. In this function, the Instant Pot builds up intense pressure inside its main chamber, which allows any liquid to be heated to a temperature past the standard boiling temperature of 212F (100C) and effectively cook food much faster than traditional moist cooking methods like braising or poaching. This typically speeds up cook times by anywhere from 2 to 10, making it a great way to quickly prepare tough cuts of meat or ingredients like dry beans that would otherwise take many hours to cook. Examples: brisket, beef stew, ham.

Rice Cook: This is a derivative function of the Instant Pots Pressure Cook function. In the Rice or Multigrain setting, the Instant Pot is cooking the ingredients inside the chamber using its Pressure Cook system, building up pressure to raise the temperature in which water boils past 212 F (100C) to cook the grains much faster than they ordinarily would in a rice cooker or stovetop.

Slow Cook: In this function, the Instant Pot maintains a steady temperature to cook the components inside the chamber for a long period of time. This will maintain liquid in the final product, such as a soup, and is different from the Pressure Cook function, as there is no pressure inside the chamber, so it can be used for more delicate ingredients such as vegetables or smaller cuts of meat. Examples: lentil soup, eggnog, rice pudding.