Most people who are familiar with the InstaPot know it can make great stews, rice and stuff like that. But are there unusual things you can do with an InstaPot that most people might not think of?
One unusual use is to make safe water if your area is under a boil-water notice. This often happens when the water supply gets contaminated and you need to boil water first for things like washing and brushing teeth. Obviously it’s easy to boil water many different ways, but the InstaPot is nice since you can fill it and it does the rest automatically.
Are there other things like that? Practical uses for the InstaPot that may not be obvious?
I haven’t done it, but my brother has, and it apparently makes a fantastically textured cheesecake, but requires you buying some kind of small springform pan for it (since I think it only fits six or seven inches).
I don’t know that has quite the practical quality you’re looking for, but it’s a non-obvious use of the cooker, I think.
Yeah, non-obvious cooking things are fine as well. One unusual thing I do is make hard-boiled eggs. I put them on a rack above some water in the bottom and set the timer for 0 so it just comes up to pressure. I unplug it as soon as it beeps and then when the pressure releases, I put the eggs in cold water. They come out perfect and peel super easily.
Maybe not unconventional, but I’ve found that it does a really good job with broccoli (and likely cauliflower as well). Add however much broccoli you want and a half cup of water. Then the trick is to set it to 0 minutes and quick release when it’s done. I’ve only made it a few times, but it’s worked very well.
This will likely be a unpopular opinion, but my answer is: “None.” Not a single unconventional use. I use it to make oatmeal and that’s about it. I’ve made other things, i.e. chicken breasts, wings, etc. At the end of the day it’s a pain to get out and use.
See, ours just sits on the kitchen counter, always ready to be used, and used it is, like at least three times a week. Now my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, that’s an item that lives downstairs and is a pain in the ass to get out and use.