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How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

bbc.co.uk

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Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#131

Post by smanatstpete »

shostack wrote: post #115

Have had one since Black Friday. I feel generally competent in the kitchen to the point where assembling a nice meal (dare I say gourmet?) from scratch without a recipe is relatively easy for me. That said, I've found the Instant Pot to have a steep learning curve. For starters, you can't easily check on the food while it cooks, so if you are experimenting with large batch sizes and timing you are kind of gambling an…

It works well with dishes dealing with tough cuts of meat, soups and bean based dishes. Yes, you cannot check the progress. But that has been the nature of any pressure based cooking. They key benefit in electric pressure cooking imo is that once the dish is in with spices, you can forget about it till it is done. Most electric pressure cookers have a saute mode, so you can quarter cook the dish, taste for spices and then switch to pressure mode.

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#132

Post by wlll »

criddell wrote: post #102
always_good wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nespresso machine I got one of these as a gift and ended up giving it away after realizing how much garbage I was generating from it with those disposable one-use cups. I don't mind the 30 seconds of ritual to enjoy a cup of coffee/espresso.

30 seconds? My machine takes 30 minutes just to heat up. I bought my grinder (Baratza Vario) and machine (an E61 based heat exchanger) in 2012 and they are getting to the end of life. I'm seriously thinking about switching to a Nespresso setup because it's way more convenient and the coffee is still pretty good. We have a k-cup machine at work and it's drinkable, but not great.

There was a nespresso machine at the office where I used to work. The coffee it produced was tolerable and nothing more. I recommend an Aeropress if you want something quick that makes good coffee.

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#133

Post by M_Grey »

alphakappa wrote: post #75
rnernento wrote: post #65

It's great to see the Instant Pot on Hacker News. A couple of key takeaways: - There's no marketing magic here, this is just a great product. - It's ugly, and the interface is weird. Doesn't matter, it gets the job done. - Pressure cookers have been around for a long time, they're a really great cooking technology marred by some serious safety and inconvenience issues. There are a bunch of companies competing in Sous…

Use the Breville version, and you will not complain about the user interface. The whole thing is gorgeous.

Do you have a model number, or a link?

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#134

Post by giarc »

canes123456 wrote: post #80
jasonellis wrote: post #76

I bought an Instant Pot about 5 years ago because I saw some good recipes and a suggestion on a Paleo blog. The price on Amazon seemed reasonable at the time, so I figured "why not." It turned out to be an incredible purchase. I've grown to hate single use devices that take up space in my kitchen (ugh, blenders, crock pots), but the Instant Pot is so versatile that it earns its keep. I've long since abandoned that wh…

Ahh blenders are not single use. I make mayo, soups, sauces, ice, hummus

You make ice with a blender? :)

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#135

Post by weaksauce »

imglorp wrote: post #15
mynegation wrote: post #12

I am part of the cult. We bought after the recommendation of a friend. What I liked: nice set of presets, comes with a cookbook with quite a few recipes, very easy to operate. Some time ago, when Apple bailed out of self-driving car business, my friend and I discussed what would be the good category for Apple to try next and I suggested advanced kitchen devices. Seriously though: instant pot with Nespresso machine ar…

I find some basic knife skills to be a huge labor saver. I've had the same decent (ie, not serrated) $25 chef's knife for decades and can plow through basic veg prep in a few minutes. I don't like all the extra gadgets except a peeler. When I factor in setting up and washing some chopping or slicing machine, I'm way faster with just a knife and board. Two things to wash. And the board is also used to hold stuff on it…

There's a great, free, video series online that teaches you how to cut[1]. Also, misen knives are excellent for the money.[2]

1. http://www.thekitchn.com/brendan-mcdermotts-knife-skills-cla...

2. Misen.co and http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/09/best-cheap-chefs-knives-m...

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#136

Post by jjaredsimpson »

shostack wrote: post #115

Have had one since Black Friday. I feel generally competent in the kitchen to the point where assembling a nice meal (dare I say gourmet?) from scratch without a recipe is relatively easy for me. That said, I've found the Instant Pot to have a steep learning curve. For starters, you can't easily check on the food while it cooks, so if you are experimenting with large batch sizes and timing you are kind of gambling an…

I really find I like it best when I've done stews, pork shoulder, red sauces, and stocks.

It pretty much works the same for all of them. I get all my aromatics roughly chopped, saute for a couple minutes just to brown them up, then I put them in the blender and transfer to the IP for an hour or so. I just submerge the meat and guess at a time that matches a stove top pressure cooker.

So I get what you mean about the hassle of multiple steps. I feel like I save time on the prep and stove managing. I only chop roughly and I'm not obsessing over doneness on the stove.

I mostly do it, because the results are just better. Stews really are better under pressure imo.

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#137

Post by criddell »

dvcc wrote: post #104
AlexC04 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My girlfriend bought me a sous-vide stick for christmas https://anovaculinary.com/ I'm loving it, and was just trying to figure out how to make yoghurt in it. I was thinking a pot inside a cambro container or a bunch of mason jars in the cambro. An instant pot is an interesting choice. We have an old-fashioned pressure cooker at home, which doesn't get nearly enough use.

ChefSteps has a ton of helpful sous-vide recipes that really help build out a skill-set. They also have a yogurt one! ( https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/easy-delicious-sous-vid... )

I bought a sous vide set up a couple of years ago and I've been very underwhelmed with it. Are there any recipes that you think are especially good?

I think my favorite is probably turkey breast just because it doesn't get dry. Everything else I've made in it (mostly different meats) has been okay, but nothing special. My family and I generally prefer things cooked on our grill.

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#138

Post by fr0sty »

jeromenerf wrote: post #41

I bought one to replace a rice cooker which had (aging) teflon coating. The instantpot is a bit slower but it has a stainless steel pot and can do a lot more than just cooking rice and steam vegetables. Moreover, it's actually cheaper and sturdier than the alternatives I considered. Good product, would recommend. I try to stay away from pressure cooking, coffee brewing and knife sharpening communities though, maybe d…

> The instantpot is a bit slower

Are you pressure cooking your rice or using the "rice" setting? I've found rice to cook faster in this vs. my old Aroma rice cooker...

Re: How the Instant Pot cooker developed a cult following

#139

Post by hsod »

literallycancer wrote: post #73
masklinn wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> just as the pressure cooker started to go from "geek" to "mainstream" in its adoption curve. It's really really weird to read that, in europe pressure cookers have been mainstays of most every kitchen for decades, especially after SEB's "super cocotte" (released in '53, they'd sold 10 million by '69).

Exactly. "Most people have some concept of urban legends of exploding pressure cookers in their grandmother's kitchens," says Mr Qin. Am in Europe, literally everyone has a pressure cooker, never heard about them actually exploding.

I'm an American and I just bought one and I've been kind of wary around it, even going into the other room while it cooks. I know it's irrational, but I find I keep thinking about the Boston bombings.
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