This thing is friendly for cooking dummies like myself. There are tons of delicious recipes online that are easy to follow and once everything is in the pot, you simply start a timer and that's it. Once the timer is done, open the valve to release the steam and once the steam has released, dinner is served. There is literally nothing to screw up during the cooking process; it's simple and ingenious.
The Instant Pot works by using pressure from steam to significantly shorten cooking times meaning more time for you to do other fun things like hanging out with your significant other, or watching TV, or both! We've made 'fall off the bone' ribs in about 45 mins (including creating the sauté and taking into account warming up and steam release) that were comparable in taste to ribs that had been slow cooked for 4 hrs. We've also used it to make homemade soups as it takes much less time for the flavour in the ingredients in the soup to trickle into the soup vs traditional boiling over a stove. Chicken in ten minutes? You bet. Perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs in under 5 minutes and delicious cheesecake in under an hour (including steam release) were all no problem for even a simpleton like myself to make, and best of all, everything actually tastes great too!! I've included pictures of a few of the things we've made using the Instant Pot. Yes, all of the food pictures in this review were made using the Instant Pot!
When it comes to cooking, there aren't too many things out there that are game changers, but an air fryer, a sous vide and an Instant Pot are, and if you happen to have all three, congratulations for having the trifecta of cooking greatness in your kitchen!
PROS
* So easy to use that even guys that literally can't cook (me) can look like a rock star. Once everything is in the pot, you set the timer and go. Once it's done, open the valve to release the steam and dinner is served. There literally is nothing to screw up and best of all, the food is delicious!
* The Instant Pot significantly shortens cooking time of most things, freeing up your valuable time to do other fun things! :P
* There are literally tons and tons of delicious recipes online. Guaranteed you will discover there are things that you can make in the Instant Pot that you never knew could be made in an Instant Pot.
* Goodbye slow cooker. That was so the 70's.
* Easy to clean. The pot is stainless steel and the lid can be removed and fully submerged. The seal on the lid comes off and replacement seals for the lid can be purchased when it eventually wears out.
CONS
* Too many models just make for mass confusion. Have a look at my TIPS section for some help.
* Expensive, so wait for a sale if you can as they do on sale, especially for big events like Boxing Day, Black Friday, etc.
TIPS
* Don't get too caught up with the "x-in-1" features. They just add a button for preset cooking time for a particular type of food to the Instant Pot and up the "in-1" number. You can just manually input the cooking time yourself.
* The most important thing is determining the size of the Instant Pot that you need. For our family of 4, we went for the 8 quart esp. since the wife likes to make home made soups.
* The Lux model does not have low pressure cooking while Duo models have both high and low pressure. Low pressure cooking is typically used to make delicate foods like yogurt, eggs and veggies. If you don't think you'll make yogurt, eggs or veggies in the Instant Pot, just get the Lux model which skips the low pressure. Pro tip: Cooking rice uses high pressure.
* Take the Instant Pot outdoors to release the steam when doing a quick release or it will quickly smell up the house of whatever you're making. Use a glove or mitt to be safe.
* When making a lot of food, esp. soups, mind the max line. If you want less chance to have a mess on the bottom of the lid, go an inch under the max line.
* Be careful when releasing the steam. I've included a video of what a fast release of the steam looks like. You don't want your bare hand anywhere close to that hot steam. Read the instruction manual!!! Seriously, read it.