Hey guys, I am writing this post after getting a lot of requests to do one. So many of you reach out to me frequently on so many questions related to the Instant Pot so I thought it’s about time I do this post.
While I can’t promise that this post answers all the questions, I hope this will be of some help if you are new to it.
I have structured this post by answering questions which I most commonly get. But before I answer those, there has to be some introduction to the Instant Pot, right?
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Buttons on the Instant Pot
The Instant Pot does have a lot of buttons on it and it can get confusing. Different models may have slightly different buttons but I will like to talk about the ones which we most commonly use.
These are also the ones that I have used for most of my recipes in my cookbook and on the blog.
Keep Warm/Cancel: This button is used to cancel the current program and choose the next one. You would use this button all the time to end the sauté function before choosing the next cooking program like manual or rice.
Once the food is cooked, the Instant Pot goes into this mode and keeps the food warm.
Sauté: The sauté button as the name suggests is to sauté things in the pot. 90% of the recipes on my blog and book would use this function.
Using the adjust button, adjust the sauté to “less” or “more” depending on how much heat you want for a particular recipe.
It can also be used to get rid of excess water from the pot.
Manual: The manual button which is also the pressure cook button on some models is the one you will be using all the time.
It lets you pressure cook at high or low pressure and this is the button that you will be using all the time.
Most recipes would call for cooking on high pressure but few might need the low-pressure cooking. You can use the adjust or pressure level button (depending on your model) to adjust the pressure to high or low.
Steam: This function has a default setting of 10 minutes on high pressure. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button. It’s great for steaming veggies or dumplings. Remember to use a steamer basket with this function.
Rice: Pre-set cycle of 12 minutes on low pressure for cooking rice.
Beans/Chili: Pre-set cycle of 30 minutes on high pressure for cooking beans/legumes. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button.
Yogurt: Pre-set cycles of 8 hours. Depending how tart you want your yogurt to be, you can increase or decrease this time. You can adjust yogurt to low or high which is “boil”.
Slow Cooker: Used for slow cooking the food. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button.
Soup: Pre-set cycle of 15 minutes on high pressure. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button.
Porridge: Pre-set cycle of 20 minutes on high pressure. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button.
Meat/Stew: Pre-set cycle of 35 minutes on high pressure. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button. I have never used this button for obvious reasons.
Multigrain: Pre-set cycle of 40 minutes on high pressure. Time can be adjusted using the adjust button. I don’t use this one much either.
And now coming to the frequently asked questions and some tips!
What Is An Instant Pot
Instant Pot is an electric multi cooker. It is a pressure cooker which also is as a rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker and so much more. You can even sauté in your Instant pot! It’s also a food warmer.
In a nutshell it’s one cool gadget to have in your kitchen. Super useful, easy to use and there’s so much that you can do with just 1 pot.
The instant pot makes cooking convenient with its pre-set cycles. These cycles have been designed to especially cook lentils/beans/rice/yogurt/poultry/porridge etc. and that makes it very user friendly.
Since its electric so you can set the exact time and not have to do any guess work. It gives consistent results compared to a traditional pressure cooker.
Instant pot allows you to have hands-free cooking time. I think that’s one great advantage of this gadget. The fact that you can put your food inside the pot and then walk away from it while it gets done is a huge plus.
Once the food is cooked, the instant pot goes into warm mode, which means that it keeps the food warm until you want to eat it. Another plus especially during winters.
You can keep the food to cook in the morning before going to work and you will come back home to warm homemade meal.
And it’s one pot – less mess, less dishes and you gotta love that!
Less, Normal, More… What the Heck?! // Instant Pot 101
Can you put water in Instant Pot before cooking?
First, you must add liquid to the Instant Pot before cooking. Without sufficient liquid, pressure won’t build — and you’ll likely get the dreaded “burn” error. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, you’ll need just enough liquid (usually water or broth) to bring the cooker to pressure.
Does the Instant Pot need liquid to come to pressure?
The short answer is yes, the Instant Pot does need liquid to come to pressure. This is because the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, and pressure cookers work by heating up a liquid until it boils and creates steam. The steam then builds up pressure inside the pot. The amount of liquid needed depends on the model of Instant Pot you have.
How much liquid does an Instant Pot need?
The steam then builds up pressure inside the pot. The amount of liquid needed depends on the model of Instant Pot you have. The Instant Pot Duo requires at least 1 cup of liquid to come to pressure, while the Instant Pot Ultra requires at least 1.5 cups of liquid.
How much water do you need to cook in an Instant Pot?
Instant Pots work by converting the water into steam to generate pressure. As a result, at least one cup of liquid is always required when cooking any meal in an Instant Pot. Side note: Instant Pot used to recommend at least two cups, however, they since updated to just one cup.