Pro Tips to Get The Most Out of Your Instant Pot
If you are new to Instant Pot, adopt these tips for a better Instant Pot experience. While Instant Pots are versatile and multifunctional, they can also be complicated and daunting for a newbie in the kitchen. Luckily for you, I’ve mentioned some of the best tips and tricks to get the most out of your Instant Pot.
Clean the Nooks and Crannies Frequently
After a few uses, the brim of the Instant Pot (where the lid sits) will get very dirty. Rice, gravy and juices will pile up, making your Instant Pot appear pretty disgusting. After each use, clean out all the nooks and crannies to keep your Pot looking and running at its finest.
Use a Steam Rack for More than Just Veggies
Most Instant Pot versions come with a steam rack. And yes, the rack fits well for steaming vegetables. Yet you can still use the rack for countless other purposes—basically, at every moment you don’t want the foods to come into touch with so much of the liquid at the bottom of the Pot. It’s especially useful when you decide to make cakes that you want to keep whole and not shredded.
Take Advantage of Aluminum Foil
You will find a range of attachments for your Instant Pot—springform pans, silicone muffin cups, safety gloves for your hands, colanders, and more. But one of the best tools for your Instant Pot is already in your kitchen: a plain old aluminum foil. You can use it to make a sling to help you get something out of your Pot; you can use foil to create packets for your food, and so many more.
Use Multiple Apps When Cooking
Don’t assume you need to use only one button in each cooking session. You may begin with the Sauté button to help you caramelize your onions at the start of the cooking cycle and use the Pressure Cooking button when it’s time to introduce the remaining Ingredients. When the meal is about to be served, you can maintain the Pot on Keep Warm mode until everybody in the family is ready to eat together.
Be Cautious With Dairy Products
Though many Instant Pots have a yogurt-making feature which works extremely well, this cooker does not often make creamy and cheesy sauces quite well. It’s because the milk can scald easily, and the cheese will become watery and even congeal.
If you’re trying to prepare a cheese sauce, it will spill and escape from the vent as you relieve the pressure. If milk items are used to produce a creamy or cheesy dish, add the milk ingredients after the cooking phase is over. You’ll be left with a creamier dish that isn’t watery and curdled. Plus, you’re not going to get a big mess in your kitchen if the cheese sauce spill out of the Sealing value.
The Thickness Trick
One thing the Instant Pot does very well is to hold liquid. However, that will potentially turn into something unpleasant when you wind up with dishes that have a bit too much liquid. If this occurs, apply a little cornstarch combined with water to help thicken the dish. During the cooking process, make sure to add the thickener, but not at the beginning. It is because cornstarch or other thickening agents can interfere with the steam produced by the Instant Pot.
Get the Temperature Right
You might assume that once you have selected a cooking method, that’s it. But by utilizing the Sauté or Slow Cooker modes, you can adjust the temperature. This helps to ensure that the optimal cooking temperature is customized precisely to every dish you make. Some dishes will require a slightly higher temperature, whereas others will want to turn the heat down.
Add 10-15 Minutes to the Meal Planning Timeline While Using Pressure
The Instant Pot should take around 10 minutes to create the requisite pressure within the Inner Pot. So whenever you use one of the pressure buttons, you’ll want to add around 10-15 minutes of cooking time to allow the Pot to pressurize enough. For example, if your Pot roast dish recipe mentions 30 minutes of cooking time, you’ll want to let your family know that dinner will be ready in around 45 minutes.
Don’t Place Your Face over the Steam
Though the Instant Pot is a really healthy kitchen gadget to use, you’ll want to take common-sense protection precautions while utilizing pressure modes. When you manually loosen the pressure using the Sealing valve, hot steam begins to flame out of the valve. Don’t peep down at the valve, or you’re going to get a face full of steam. We saw it happen, and it’s no fun at all!
Use At Least Half a Cup of Liquid While Pressure Cooking
A Pressure Cooker utilizes steam to build up a pressure that eventually cooks the food. The Inner Pot must have at least half to 1 cup of liquid to build the pressure. That is the only way to pressurize the machine, and that is a key trick that you’ll want to note while you use the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker settings.
Use Liquids Other Than Water to Add Flavor
Using flavored liquids such as broths, juices, and stocks will bring a lot of flavor to your dishes. You may transform simple rice into a delicious side by simply replacing the water with a mixture of tomato and vegetable broth, and then incorporating a bit of Sautéed onions and garlic.
Don’t Overcook
Your Instant Pot will cook your meal very rapidly. You can cook most vegetables in less than five minutes (with the exception of onions, artichokes, beets, and a few others). If you, out of fear of consuming undercooked foods overcook your food; your meal won’t turn out as good. Keep in mind that if you need to, you can add extra cooking time, but you can’t go back in time and cook the food less.
Keep an Additional Inner Pot On Hand
The Instant Pot comes with an Inner Pot that you use to cook your food, although other Instant Pot owners prefer to have several Inner Pots at their fingertips. This helps you to prepare several dishes in one cooking session without needing to wash the Pot in between. It makes it easy to prepare several dishes in a single Instant Pot.
Buy Extra Sealing Rings
You can buy a pair of extra Sealing rings, one ring for savory dishes and one ring for sweet dishes. That is because the Sealing rings tend to lock on to the tastes of previously made food, and I don’t think you’ll want your Khichdi that you prepared yesterday swimming in the perfect cheesecake that you’re baking today.
Use the Dishwasher
Most of the non-electronic parts of the Instant Pot, like the Inner Pot and the steam rack, should be included in the dishwasher, making the washing cycle very simple and timesaving. You can quickly dry the exterior of the Instant Pot with a wet towel. Just keep in mind that your lid has to be washed by hand.