Bob Marino
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- Jan 16, 2007
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Any foodies out there using the Instapot or Ninja Foodi? Worth it, useful or a waste of $$?
Any Instapot or Ninja Foodi fans?
- Thread starter Bob Marino
- Start date
Dogberryjr
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- Mar 5, 2015
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The Instant Pot is the best kitchen money I've ever spent.
GoingMyWay
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I have a 6qt Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker. It probably sat in the box for the first year before I even opened it. We use it quite frequently now. The Cuisinart has a non stick interior, which might be a good and a bad thing. Things don't stick, but like all nonsticks, the finish is peeling away.
I've been thinking of upgrading lately for 2 reasons:
[list type=decimal]
[*]The nonstick coating is peeling.
[*]I find the 6qt size to be a little too small, especially when you're supposed to leave sufficient head space at the top.
[/list]
Instant Pot may well be the best known brand of electric pressure cookers. My mom got my mother in law this 14qt GoWISE electric pressure cooker:https://www.amazon.com/GoWISE-USA-GW22637-4th-Generation-measuring/dp/B01LVZY19H/ref=sr_1_1 because it was the largest one we could find.
It seems like fundamentally most pressure cookers are basically the same. Some just have some preset cook settings. I think the one thing to look out for is the specific amount of pressure that each cooker cooks at as there isn't an industry standard for what exactly high vs low pressure translates into in terms of bars of pressure.
We like to make soup broth, Japanese curry, seafood boil, rice porridge, and some other things in there. We already have a Japanese rice cooker, but I've heard you can make great rice - especially sushi rice in an Instant Pot.
You should definitely buy one Bob!
I've been thinking of upgrading lately for 2 reasons:
[list type=decimal]
[*]The nonstick coating is peeling.
[*]I find the 6qt size to be a little too small, especially when you're supposed to leave sufficient head space at the top.
[/list]
Instant Pot may well be the best known brand of electric pressure cookers. My mom got my mother in law this 14qt GoWISE electric pressure cooker:https://www.amazon.com/GoWISE-USA-GW22637-4th-Generation-measuring/dp/B01LVZY19H/ref=sr_1_1 because it was the largest one we could find.
It seems like fundamentally most pressure cookers are basically the same. Some just have some preset cook settings. I think the one thing to look out for is the specific amount of pressure that each cooker cooks at as there isn't an industry standard for what exactly high vs low pressure translates into in terms of bars of pressure.
We like to make soup broth, Japanese curry, seafood boil, rice porridge, and some other things in there. We already have a Japanese rice cooker, but I've heard you can make great rice - especially sushi rice in an Instant Pot.
You should definitely buy one Bob!
chrisrosenb
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- Sep 1, 2007
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- 1,265
My wife has an Instapot & loves it.
Another vote for Instant pot. We make yogurt by the gallon in it with the yogurt setting as well as many other things.
Ours is the Duo 6 quart 7 in 1 version. Did not think we needed the one that connects to your phone but some people love that option.
Ours is the Duo 6 quart 7 in 1 version. Did not think we needed the one that connects to your phone but some people love that option.
I’m not allowed to use it, but I hear it’s great. Other than the toaster oven an coffee maker, it’s the only other appliance dedicated to the counter. The pressure cooker and slow cooker haven’t been seen since it arrived. The rice cooker wasn’t even taken out of its box and it’s future is now resigned to a garage sale. My wife likes it not only because it can reduce clean up times (one pot), but because it doesn’t need to be babysitted.
And I hear there is a whole world of possibilities with certain protein-based dishes, but she is a strict vegetarian, therefore, I’m forbidden from testing those possibilities!
And I hear there is a whole world of possibilities with certain protein-based dishes, but she is a strict vegetarian, therefore, I’m forbidden from testing those possibilities!
Bob Marino
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- Jan 16, 2007
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- 3,263
Thanks All.
Well, last night I went to my nearby Williams Sonoma store and bought the Instapot Max. One of the reasons I went with this particular model is that it can do Sous Vide cooking. I am not used to this type of product (though my wife has a crockpot and she got rid of the pressure cooker and was very sceptical about this pot.)
Anyhow, I also bought a bottle of their Chicken Orange Sauce just to do something super easy but at $16.00 a bottle that will be the last time I buy any of those WS Instant Pot sauces. I did a quick saute in the pot and added the sauce and the chicken was excellent. Before I cooked the chicken, I tried the easiest of things - rice, actually Basmati rice and it came out the way it's supposed to cooked so the the grains are loose, not all stuck together and starchy.
The only caveat to many of these dishes - especially rice and other starchy items is that the 3 minute cooking time is deceptive; this unit takes about 10 minutes to reach pressure beforehand, cooks for 3 minutes and then takes about 20 minutes to "depressurize."
I think I'm gonna do a sous vide steak and maybe some ribs in the next few days. I am curious how sous vide ribs will compare to using my slow cooking' wood pellet smoker grill.
Well, last night I went to my nearby Williams Sonoma store and bought the Instapot Max. One of the reasons I went with this particular model is that it can do Sous Vide cooking. I am not used to this type of product (though my wife has a crockpot and she got rid of the pressure cooker and was very sceptical about this pot.)
Anyhow, I also bought a bottle of their Chicken Orange Sauce just to do something super easy but at $16.00 a bottle that will be the last time I buy any of those WS Instant Pot sauces. I did a quick saute in the pot and added the sauce and the chicken was excellent. Before I cooked the chicken, I tried the easiest of things - rice, actually Basmati rice and it came out the way it's supposed to cooked so the the grains are loose, not all stuck together and starchy.
The only caveat to many of these dishes - especially rice and other starchy items is that the 3 minute cooking time is deceptive; this unit takes about 10 minutes to reach pressure beforehand, cooks for 3 minutes and then takes about 20 minutes to "depressurize."
I think I'm gonna do a sous vide steak and maybe some ribs in the next few days. I am curious how sous vide ribs will compare to using my slow cooking' wood pellet smoker grill.
Jesse Cloud
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- Jan 23, 2007
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I've had the Instant Pot for a while now and I'm pretty happy with it. Great for braises, particularly Indian food. I use it weekly to cook up a batch of chicken breasts for dogfood (our old dog can't deal with much fat). Just plop them in over the trivet, pour in a cup of water, close the lid and push one button. And I get a cup of great chicken broth to boot!
Didn't know the Instant Pot Max could do sous vide! Frankly I'm a little skeptical. Can't wait to hear how your steak came out! If its good, I may be in the market for an upgrade.
By the way Instapot actually has decent customer service via email.
Only disconcerting thing so far is that after a couple of failures with a recipe using slow cooker mode, customer service advised me that its more of a pressure cooker than a slow cooker and suggested I try the recipe with pressure. Not Festool level quality for sure, but what should I expect for $69?
Didn't know the Instant Pot Max could do sous vide! Frankly I'm a little skeptical. Can't wait to hear how your steak came out! If its good, I may be in the market for an upgrade.
By the way Instapot actually has decent customer service via email.
Only disconcerting thing so far is that after a couple of failures with a recipe using slow cooker mode, customer service advised me that its more of a pressure cooker than a slow cooker and suggested I try the recipe with pressure. Not Festool level quality for sure, but what should I expect for $69?
I like this site for recipes and other info on pressure cookers. Here is their review of the Ultra.
https://www.hippressurecooking.com/instant-pot-ultra-review/
https://www.hippressurecooking.com/instant-pot-ultra-review/
GoingMyWay
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- Oct 11, 2017
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- 3,784
I just bought the 2019 version of the 8 Quart Instant Pot Duo Nova to more or less replace my 6 Quart Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
I had previously mentioned that I thought bigger was better. The Instant Pot is 2 quarts bigger. I ultimately decided on buying an Instant Pot instead of a 14 Quart GoWise for 3 reasons:
[list type=decimal]
[*]There is a lot of availability for Instant Pot accessories and replacement parts - I plan on buying an extra stainless steel liner as well as the ceramic non stick liner.
[*]It seems like most recipes are specifically written for an Instant Pot.
[*]The 14 Quart GoWise has quite a large footprint, much bigger than the 8 Quart Instant Pot.
[/list]
We've made 4 things so far: bun rieu, mam chung, steamed "walking" chicken, and soft/hard boiled eggs. I'll post more about those over in the What's Cooking thread.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
I had previously mentioned that I thought bigger was better. The Instant Pot is 2 quarts bigger. I ultimately decided on buying an Instant Pot instead of a 14 Quart GoWise for 3 reasons:
[list type=decimal]
[*]There is a lot of availability for Instant Pot accessories and replacement parts - I plan on buying an extra stainless steel liner as well as the ceramic non stick liner.
[*]It seems like most recipes are specifically written for an Instant Pot.
[*]The 14 Quart GoWise has quite a large footprint, much bigger than the 8 Quart Instant Pot.
[/list]
We've made 4 things so far: bun rieu, mam chung, steamed "walking" chicken, and soft/hard boiled eggs. I'll post more about those over in the What's Cooking thread.
