# Instant Pot - tell me about this trendy new gizmo **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920 "2018-01-18T20:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/81 "2018-03-04T18:00:51Z")
I got the small Instant Pot and love it. Brought it home at 4:00 O’clock and served tender beef stew at 5:15. Like anything, there is a learning curve. Set up the Instant Pot first and use the warm up time for the rest of the meal. Oh yeah, jiggle the pressure valve to make sure it is seated. Otherwise it will vent steam and never switch to pressure. Crane ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/82 "2018-03-04T18:15:38Z")
The November 2017 Consumer Reports reviews insta pots. I nearly threw it away and then remembered this thread. Plan to read it now. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/83 "2018-03-04T21:09:03Z")
Never heard of one till I saw they were being recalled on the new. Seems some of them like to melt, and/or catch fire. Didn’t bother to watch the whole segment to get further details, as I don’t have one. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/84 "2018-03-04T21:47:21Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Never heard of one till I saw they were being recalled on the new. Seems some of them like to melt, and/or catch fire. > > Didn’t bother to watch the whole segment to get further details, as I don’t have one. Same company, different product. > **[Everyone take a deep breath. Your Instant Pot pressure cooker has not been...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2018/03/01/everyone-take-a-deep-breath-your-instant-pot-pressure-cooker-has-not-been-recalled/)** > > Reports of melting appliances are limited to some batches of the brand's Gem Multicooker. > [@](#): > > The affected appliance, the Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker, does not have a pressure-cooking function (it does, however, have settings for baking, steaming, roasting and slow-cooking, among others). > > Owners are asked to look on the silver label on the underside of the cooker; if the batch code is 1728, 1730, 1731, 1734 or 1746, you should stop using the appliance and unplug it. The recalled units can be returned for a replacement at Walmart, which was the exclusive seller online and in stores from August 2017 through January 2018. If you don’t live near a Walmart, Instant Pot parent company Double Insight will provide a return shipping label and instructions on what to send. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/85 "2018-03-05T17:07:10Z")
Well, this is interesting. This just came out on [Inc.com](http://Inc.com) Since I hate it when posters link to something but don’t tell me what I’m about to open… The author talks about the Instant Pot and it’s many uses… including making wine! 🙂 [https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/the-instant-pot-has-a-stunning-new-recipe-that-nobody-thought-of-before-and-explains-why-its-most-successful-product-on-amazon.html](https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/the-instant-pot-has-a-stunning-new-recipe-that-nobody-thought-of-before-and-explains-why-its-most-successful-product-on-amazon.html) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/86 "2018-03-05T18:17:43Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > It sounds like a variant on the Thermomix, which is [comprehensively reviewed on this Australian cooking show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yr_etbfZtQ). > [@jz78817](#): > > that’s not an instant pot, but they’re hilarious and now I have to watch all of their videos. Ditto, I am totally obsessed now - those ladies are hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/87 "2018-03-05T20:44:51Z")
Unless you’re running a chinese restaurant needing mass quantities, you shouldn’t need anything special like this to make rice. It’s literally as simple as boiling water on a stovetop. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/88 "2018-03-05T22:34:11Z")
> [@](#): > > As usual, there’s an [XKCD](https://what-if.xkcd.com/40/) for this. And Randall refers to research chemist Derek Lowe’s blog in that article – Derek was best friends with one of my freshman roommates in college, and (as you might imagine from his blog) responsible some of the more imaginative pranks I’ve ever been involved in (mostly as a collateral victim). ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/89 "2018-03-09T18:23:00Z")
So I saw a recipe online for cooking frozen fish. I put in 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 3/4 cup of water. Set the frozen fish (some white fish, cod maybe?) on the rack, and cooked it on manual for 5 minutes. It tasted OK, but it wasn’t very flaky; it was slightly tough in texture. Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/90 "2018-03-09T21:58:05Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Hey, it also makes rice. My going to college next year kidlet will have one in tow for her dorm room. You had better make sure you check that they’re allowed first. When I was in college you couldn’t even have a stand-alone microwave (just a bizarre fridge/microwave combo leased from the college), let alone a crock pot, pressure cooker, or hot plate. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/91 "2018-03-09T22:17:37Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > So I saw a recipe online for cooking frozen fish. I put in 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 3/4 cup of water. Set the frozen fish (some white fish, cod maybe?) on the rack, and cooked it on manual for 5 minutes. It tasted OK, but it wasn’t very flaky; it was slightly tough in texture. > > Suggestions? My only suggestion is that does not _seem_ like something that would cook well in a pressure cooker. I wouldn’t cook it that way, but I’d be somewhat interested to hear if anyone had good results (although, to me, it’s just as fast to fry it up or steam it the conventional way.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/92 "2018-03-10T15:39:23Z")
Yeah, if i had access to an actual stove and a frying pan, I’d saute that in a little butter, and then drizzle lemon juice on top after it was cooked. I’m getting more comfortable with me instant pot. I’ve now done three beef dishes (brisket, short ribs, chuck roast), chicken broth, and rice in it. Making a nicely cooked stew after supper (to serve the next evening) is convenient. Being able to brothify a chicken carcass after supper and be done before bed time was a huge win, and the broth was excellent. Rice is easy, but rice is easy on the stove, too, so that will probably be an occasional thing. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/93 "2018-03-12T19:18:05Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You had better make sure you check that they’re allowed first. When I was in college you couldn’t even have a stand-alone microwave (just a bizarre fridge/microwave combo leased from the college), let alone a crock pot, pressure cooker, or hot plate. What’s this word “allowed” mean? That didn’t stop us from having a full sized refrigerator in the dorm; where we stored a ton of beer which we weren’t allowed to have, and cooked food on a hotplate which we also weren’t supposed to have. Also we rebuilt our beds into bunk beads so we’d have more room in the actual dorm. Yes this was in the early 80s when dorms weren’t private bedroom apartments. If you didn’t pick on, you got assigned a roommate. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/94 "2018-03-12T19:46:51Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Also we rebuilt our beds into bunk beads so we’d have more room in the actual dorm. Bunk beds or lofts? If you mean lofts, they have been ‘legal’ for quite a long time. I first went to college in fall of 1985 and lofting beds was pretty much standard by then. That was also the year full-sized refrigerators became ‘illegal’. They had been ‘legal’ before then. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/95 "2018-03-13T18:29:04Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Bunk beds or lofts? If you mean lofts, they have been ‘legal’ for quite a long time. I first went to college in fall of 1985 and lofting beds was pretty much standard by then. > > That was also the year full-sized refrigerators became ‘illegal’. They had been ‘legal’ before then. Bunk Bed; but what’s the difference? Isn’t a loft bed basically a bunk bed with nothing underneath it? In my old style dorms every room had two twin beds, two tiny desks, and two closets that could be locked. Regardless we built bunk beds in anticipation of moving a sofa into our room, but I don’t remember that ever panning out. This was in 1980-81. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/96 "2018-03-13T18:32:09Z")
[Bunk Bed](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-Leighton-Twin-Over-Twin-Wood-Bunk-Bed-Multiple-Finishes/35031861) [Loft Bed](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dorel-Versatile-Full-Size-Metal-Loft-Bed-Silver-Finish/15701763?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1172&adid=22222222227000650711&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40844515592&wl4=aud-273067695102:pla-78657325592&wl5=9020333&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8453398&wl11=online&wl12=15701763&wl13=&veh=sem) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/97 "2018-03-13T19:10:21Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Bunk beds or lofts? If you mean lofts, they have been ‘legal’ for quite a long time. I first went to college in fall of 1985 and lofting beds was pretty much standard by then. > > That was also the year full-sized refrigerators became ‘illegal’. They had been ‘legal’ before then. Did you two go to the same school or do all college dorms in the country have a uniform set of furniture regulations now? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/98 "2018-03-14T00:47:55Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > What’s this word “allowed” mean? It’s not the 80s anymore. Rooms are inspected every other month or so to make sure you’re not violating the fire/safety rules, and you’re written up if you are. If you’re a repeat offender you can be kicked out of your dorm for having contraband items. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920/99 "2018-03-14T12:03:36Z")
Neither of my kids mentioned that. I will ask, but I don’t think that is generally true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-pot-tell-me-about-this-trendy-new-gizmo/806920.md?page=4)