I forget how I learned about the Instant Pot. I suppose I saw an ad somewhere. I did a lot of reading online (checking out reviews, videos, and competing products). I was excited by the thought of a multifunctional device (it can make yogurt! it can hardboil eggs!), by the promise of dry beans cooked quickly without soaking, and by the option of sous vide (available with the Ultra model that I decided to purchase) (even though I still haven't attempted it).
I've owned the Instant Pot for around 15 months, and it has become one of the most heavily used appliances in my kitchen. I don't use it daily, but there are few weeks that it doesn't get set on the counter and plugged in.
The most frequent use, which I had not anticipated, is the preparation of vegetable broth. I save vegetable scraps in the freezer and whenever I run out of fresh vegetable broth I throw the scraps into the Instant Pot with some herbs and spices and three quarts of water. Set some dials and push a button, and forget about it. Whenever I get back to it, there's at least three quarts of broth, ready for use in soups and other recipes. Cleanup is easy, but my favorite part is that the pot doesn't have to be watched. I can go out and do errands; the Instant Pot finishes cooking and then keeps the contents safely warm until I get back.
The next most frequent use is for beans. We eat mostly vegetarian at home, which means beans are a significant part of our diet. They turn out well in the Instant Pot, though I still try to soak beforehand if possible, because everybody says this helps the beans cook more evenly. Even without soaking, though, you can get a good result.
The third most frequent use is for soups and stews. The Instant Pot has a saute feature, so you can saute aromatics and other ingredients before the pressure cooking step if needed (it's not necessarily dump and cook). But once that's done, I love locking the top and pushing the button and not having to futz. You can give your attention to other parts of the meal, or just take a rest.
Finally, I've found the Instant Pot is a great partner for Indian food. Maybe the Instant Pot presses the spices into the food with more force? I don't know, but the Indian food I've made in the Instant Pot (saag, chickpea masala) turns out especially tasty. I've used recipes from the Internet as well as Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot Cookbook.
One really helpful resource for vegetarian cooking with the Instant Pot has been Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. This was written before the Instant Pot craze, but Sass has been a pressure cooker proponent for many years. Most of her recipes include instructions for both pressure cooker and conventional equipment. I have found the recipes pretty reliable and tasty.
The Instant Pot has turned out to be one of my favorite purchases for the kitchen.
I've owned the Instant Pot for around 15 months, and it has become one of the most heavily used appliances in my kitchen. I don't use it daily, but there are few weeks that it doesn't get set on the counter and plugged in.
The most frequent use, which I had not anticipated, is the preparation of vegetable broth. I save vegetable scraps in the freezer and whenever I run out of fresh vegetable broth I throw the scraps into the Instant Pot with some herbs and spices and three quarts of water. Set some dials and push a button, and forget about it. Whenever I get back to it, there's at least three quarts of broth, ready for use in soups and other recipes. Cleanup is easy, but my favorite part is that the pot doesn't have to be watched. I can go out and do errands; the Instant Pot finishes cooking and then keeps the contents safely warm until I get back.
The next most frequent use is for beans. We eat mostly vegetarian at home, which means beans are a significant part of our diet. They turn out well in the Instant Pot, though I still try to soak beforehand if possible, because everybody says this helps the beans cook more evenly. Even without soaking, though, you can get a good result.
The third most frequent use is for soups and stews. The Instant Pot has a saute feature, so you can saute aromatics and other ingredients before the pressure cooking step if needed (it's not necessarily dump and cook). But once that's done, I love locking the top and pushing the button and not having to futz. You can give your attention to other parts of the meal, or just take a rest.
Finally, I've found the Instant Pot is a great partner for Indian food. Maybe the Instant Pot presses the spices into the food with more force? I don't know, but the Indian food I've made in the Instant Pot (saag, chickpea masala) turns out especially tasty. I've used recipes from the Internet as well as Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot Cookbook.
One really helpful resource for vegetarian cooking with the Instant Pot has been Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. This was written before the Instant Pot craze, but Sass has been a pressure cooker proponent for many years. Most of her recipes include instructions for both pressure cooker and conventional equipment. I have found the recipes pretty reliable and tasty.
The Instant Pot has turned out to be one of my favorite purchases for the kitchen.
No comments:
Post a Comment