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Inside the Home of Instant Pot

nytimes.com

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Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#91

Post by jpatokal »

Andrenid wrote: post #27
kitcar wrote: post #11

I was under the impression that instant pot was not the inventor of the electric slow cooker / rice maker / pressure cooker hybrid, they were just the ones to import the concept from China and market it to North American audiences. Can anyone who lived in China in the late 90s confirm - was the instant pot style of pressure cooker popular back then, or is the instant pot brand truly the original I nventor of the hybr…

We've used a Japanese multi cooker for years. Tiger brand. Does rice, steaming, slow cooked stews and soups, even cakes and yoghurt. I'm very surprised at everyone talking as though the Instant Pot invented it.

The key difference is that the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, which ordinary rice/multi-cookers are not, they just heat the pot to boil water until the temperature reaches a cutoff point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_cooker#/media/File:Electr...

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#92

Post by runj__ »

jaytaylor wrote: post #17

Great in theory, but I've just been reminded that I haven't liked anything that comes out of it. Things turn out kind of weird imho. For example, carrots we're too soft, spinach was completely crushed and an ugly green. The texture always put me off. Anyone else have a similar experience?

I'd argue that's just how stews are. It's quite rare that they have an interesting mouthfeel or look particularly appetizing. I can understand making a stew out of tough beef but I'd rather rather spend money on a nice cut of meat or just eat chicken.

This is of course 100% subjective, sautéing is to me a much more interesting way to cook food (boiling things that needs to be boiled beforehand), I'll probably get cancer before the stew-heads though.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#93

Post by madengr »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #69
leoedin wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your recipe only applies to certain types of robust rice. Basmati rice is not simple - if you just boil it for 15 minutes, you'll destroy it. At the very least, good basmati is steamed - you only add enough water to cook the rice (you don't drain it afterwards), then bring it to the boil before simmering it at a very low heat. It's pretty hard to reliably get right - every time I use a new stove or pan or try to cook…

This is so true. I usually only buy the one type of rice, a short grain brown rice from SunRice in Australia, and usually only when it's on special. Anyway, point being: I know I can cook this one particular type of rice to perfection in a saucepan with 1 volume-unit rice to 1.5 volume-units water. Bring it to a rapid boil for one minute, then wrap the whole pot in two dry cotton bath towels (hotbox), leave it for ~4…

Is that the same as Korean sweet brown rice? That is my favorite (it's not sweet). 1 cup rice 1-3/4 cups water.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#95

Post by hudibras »

DanBC wrote: post #82
wheresmyusern wrote: post #42

another cool kitchen appliance with a cult following is the panasonic flashxpress. its a toaster oven that uses ir light instead of typical heating elements and convection. there are really good, cult-worthy toaster ovens and pressure cookers but unfortunately there are no such bread makers. we really need a better bread maker on the market.

What features would turn a bread maker from an ordinary appliance to an extra-ordinary appliance?

Built-in bread slicer is the holy grail of bread machines.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#96

Post by jstewartmobile »

jemfinch wrote: post #85
dd36 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also depends on altitude.

Why would it depend on the altitude? It's a sealed vessel that holds (iirc) 7 psi on low, and 11 psi on high. It seems like these pressures should remain the same regardless of altitude, unless the outside atmosphere is somehow involved in the pressure release valve, which is hard to imagine.

Traditional pressure cookers with weighted regulators would need different weights for different altitudes for consistent cook times.

The sensors/mechanics of the InstantPot are a black box to me, so I'll just have to assume that it makes some kind of difference since they added an altitude setting to one of the models.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#97

Post by baldfat »

TheRealPomax wrote: post #56

If you actually read this article, there's barely any information in it that warrants that many words. It's basically just an advertisement that goes "lots of people have bought this thing!" with the automatic effect that readers will then go "wow sounds popular I should think about getting one".

When anything doubles in sales for 6 straight years I think this kind of article is warranted. When it is a top 5 item across stores on Black Friday. The story is how a small Canadian company has such religiously loyal customers and evangelist. I think it is a far article.

I bought myself one in September. I love to cook and cook 70% of meals. Almost everything is from scratch and takes over an hour. I now use this Instant Pot 3 or 4 days a week. I owned a non-electric pressure cooker my whole life and find this makes it so convenient to just get good tasting food done quickly and with much less prep work.

Also this is about Tech Startup inventor making such a strong impact on appliances. No advertising just Amazon and Internet Word of Mouth.

Edit: Also it is virtually sold out across the internet. Bought one for my parents and it was only found by stopping in at stores and looking for the last one not inventories.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#98

Post by Kurtz79 »

b1gtuna wrote: post #75

I don't know why Instant Pot became such a sensation when pressure cookers have been around for ages....

In sparse order:

- Increased popularity of homecooking/healty eating over the last years (celebrity chefs shows, websites,youtube, etc...), over take out or frozen stuff.

- Ease of use. The IP has a premade setting for all its major functions. It can be left unattended, keeps the food warm automatically, etc.

- Flexibility. It can work also as a steamer, slow cooker or yogurt maker.

- Compactness. It is kind of bulky, but since it´s electrical you don´t need a stovetop to use it. You can use it easily in a small studio with a very basic kitchenette, for example.

My only beef with it (heh) is that the UI tries to be too idiot-proof and ends up being kind of a mess, otherwise it is a fairly well designed and funcional piece of hardware.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#99

Post by ilamont »

kitcar wrote: post #11

I was under the impression that instant pot was not the inventor of the electric slow cooker / rice maker / pressure cooker hybrid, they were just the ones to import the concept from China and market it to North American audiences. Can anyone who lived in China in the late 90s confirm - was the instant pot style of pressure cooker popular back then, or is the instant pot brand truly the original I nventor of the hybr…

Lived in Taiwan 93-99. Electric rice cookers and steamers were very common in home and restaurant/street stand use, as were bamboo steamers. Never saw a pressure cooker. Dishes like 粥 or 滷味 or meat braises were cooked stove-top in pots, although I think it's possible to do 粥 (congee) in an electric rice cooker, too.

Re: Inside the Home of Instant Pot

#100

Post by baxtr »

I love this thing. I feel like the whole family is eating healthier since we have it. My favorite food is Risotto, which comes out really great. Has anyone a very good resource for some other great recipes?
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