Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is the kitchen star of the year. There are 434,000 members of the Instant Pot Facebook community: 119,00 on the Facebook instant Pot Recipe page, millions of Instant Pot views on YouTube and several new cookbooks focused on this small appliance.
So, what is it? Well, as we see it, it is our mom’s pressure cooker reimagined into a 21st century multifunctioning, electric wonder. It can slow cook, sauté, steam, make rice and yogurt within minutes. Since in our 21st century lives we are all in a hurry all of the time, the Instant Pot fits into our lifestyle. Its booming community of devotees are committed to their IP’s. and many have tagged themselves “potters”.
The Instant Pot was introduced in the U.S in 2009, and millions have been sold since then. It is one of the top sellers on Amazon in the kitchen category and has attracted over 17,000 thousands reviews. . . mostly passionate, positive and helpful. Not only do people love their IP, but they reach out to share that love. Dr.Robert Wang, the CEO of the Instant Pot company, says “We are now in the era of smartcookers equipped with microprocessors and an array of sensors, and are wirelessly connected to cook meals and dishes intelligently.” So Wang and his company have engineered their products to address these goals. “User ease is number one, and..safety is our absolute top priority.”
So what do we think?
With memories of my mom’s stovetop pressure cooker and stories about soup and ceiling explosions, I was dubious about testing this appliance. However, readers nudged me to do so. I certainly am not technical, nor am I diligent or patient when it comes to reading manuals. So, when my Instant Pot arrived, I found it intimidating. However, that passed quickly-- very quickly. I decided to follow some recipes by experienced users and some recipes in the accompanying instruction manual.
I made brisket, chuck roast, ribs, rice. beans. meatballs and soup. Results? Unbelievably quick and delicious. Although the IP is certainly very technically sophisticated, it is simple for the user. I joined the online communities, so now have a "support team" when questions arise. For the kosher user: I have made my IP fleish, so I won’t be making yogurt in it… Due to the fact that it heats in many areas, as we see it, it cannot be kashered. So, if you become a devotee, you’ll have to buy 2 or 3 if you want one for Passover.
The bestselling model, and the one we used was Instant Pot IP-DUO60. Instant Pots are available for purchase HERE: Instant Pot
We are sharing some of our favorite Instant Pot recipes:
Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Instant Pot CopyCat Kosher Rice-a-Roni
Instant Pot "Melt in your mouth" Short Ribs
Instant Pot Mississippi Roast