Talk to me about: electric pressure cookers

[texsuze]

DH wants to get one of these appliances, based on rave recommendations from his brother. My only experience with pressure cookers are living with the antiquated, stove-top, noisy, scary ones that mom used to cook strange food in that I never liked My own brother does a hilarious imitation of the pressure cooker of our childhood days, complete with sound effects....

Anyway, having googled the new-fangled ones, I suppose it becomes a matter of which features, size needed, and reliability (i.e. which ones last more than a year). We are a 2-person household who does not do 'fancy'. And I presume they don't get hot enough to melt a Silestone countertop

Any thoughts, recommendations, things to consider would be appreciated!

[heddylamar]

tl;dr: Get one. They're pretty awesome!

I grew up with pressure cookers too, and loved them

Now I have a electric Instant Pot 7-in-1 6qt, plus two stove top pressure cookers (16qt canner and 5qt regular) for a 2-person household. The IP will not melt your counter top. I use it on ancient formica, and it doesn't even make it warm.

The first time we used the IP, it was me, husband, and my mother — all experiences stovetop PC users. I plugged it in, turned it on, and it didn't make any noise. They fled the kitchen claiming the lack of noise was a bit disconcerting.

I know a ton of people use pressure cookers to make whole entire meals. I only do so judiciously. Mom never did. I think that may be part of why I really like the results? (This is also the reason I cannot stand slow cookers — everything is mushy and the same flavor.)

Anyway, we're a vegan/vegetarian household, and I use the IP (and stovetop pressure cookers) for the following:
- macaroni and cheese (used my own cheese combo; no mozzarella)
- dals, pulses, and all sorts of Indian dishes
- chili
- perfect hard boiled eggs (when I'm making a LOT)
- lentil- or bean-based soups (so quick after work — saute in pot, add dry beans, broth/water, walk away and relax until dinner)
- risotto that cooks in 5-7 minutes
- polenta
- steel cut oats
- potatoes (for mashed potatoes)

My go-to resources:
Serious Eats
Dad Cooks Dinner
Two Sleevers

[goldhorse]

Instant Pot! That thing rocks!!! I thought it would be one of those frivolous kitchen items but ours gets used about twice a week (2 person household). I mainly rely on serious eats and nomnompaleo for recipes. DH makes all sorts of braised meat dishes in it. And the world's best chicken soup. I even made cheesecake for Xmas dinner. Yummy! Get one!!!! (Maybe check Amazon Prime day for a deal)

[Koolkat]

Join the cult. I got one after posting here about rice cookers. It's fabulous and also has a stainless steel liner (no Teflon, etc. ingestion).

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-39058736

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1843&p=29675&hilit=rice+cookers#p29675

[StraightForward]

6 quart Instant Pot. I have the 7 in 1 and love it. I think the fancy LED screen ones have more incidence of problems. I have a 3 quart too, but the 6 is most versatile.

[StraightForward]

A new Instant Pot use for me this week: pasta.

Water, salt, pasta, 2-3 minutes on pressure, let steam out. Perfect al dente pasta.

[Canyon]

I love my Instant Pot 6 qt 7-in-1; we bought it almost 3 years ago during a Black Friday sale. We use it most often for artichokes. I've made several wonderful cheesecakes in it. I'm always impressed with how quiet it is, after using a stove-top, rocker pressure cooker for years!

[texsuze]

OK, just ordered the 6 qt Instant Pot cooker, plus an "official" cookbook Will probably order a set of "official" extra gaskets and a second "official" s.s. bowl. DH's birthday comes up in a few weeks, so this will be his gift appliance. He is a meat + potatoes type of guy, and also likes curries, so hopefully we'll find recipes we both like and can get the hang of using it once it arrives.

I have a stew cooking in the Crock Pot as we speak. This might be one of the last times that cooker gets used...hmmm....

[Larbear]

I have an electric pressure cooker (the Instant Pot) and I love it! It is soooo handy and not only is good for making cheesecakes but can do a whole bunch of other stuff with it. Lately I tend to do a lot of hard boiled eggs and chicken. Typically though I'm not organized enough to thaw stuff but I can chuck in the frozen chicken breast no problem. This past Thanksgiving I did a 6 lb frozen turkey breast in my Instant Pot and was done in an hour. I stuffed the bottom of the pot with rosemary, thyme and sage and you could taste the herbs (not strong) throughout the meat.

I bought mine just before Ultimate Dressage closed down based on all the reports. After reading them all I decided I had to have one

[StraightForward]

OK, just ordered the 6 qt Instant Pot cooker, plus an "official" cookbook Will probably order a set of "official" extra gaskets and a second "official" s.s. bowl. DH's birthday comes up in a few weeks, so this will be his gift appliance. He is a meat + potatoes type of guy, and also likes curries, so hopefully we'll find recipes we both like and can get the hang of using it once it arrives.

I have a stew cooking in the Crock Pot as we speak. This might be one of the last times that cooker gets used...hmmm....

Just made a tofu green curry. Sauteed vegetables then added everything else and pressure cooked for 2 minutes. Perfect rice in the 3 quart to go with it.

[Canyon]

Last night, I used my Instant Pot to hard boil a dozen (fresh from the store, so not truly fresh) eggs. I used the directions from Epicurious, and the eggs turned out perfectly and peel easily. I did add 1 minute to the time, to compensate for living at 4500 feet.

[goldhorse]

My favorite chicken curry recipe for the IP. I read the comments and substitute canned tomatoes for the chopped ones.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/101 ... ry-chicken

[Moutaineer]

So, I bought one too...

I have my very first item cooking in it right now. Beef bourguignon.

I will report back.

If it doesn't work out, the collective you are responsible for ruining Sunday Dinner

[heddylamar]

:D So, I bought one too...

I have my very first item cooking in it right now. Beef bourguignon.

I will report back.

If it doesn't work out, the collective you are responsible for ruining Sunday Dinner

Haha. You'll love it! I've got quite a few relatives living at elevations (other than sea level, hey there DC) who live by their PC/IPs.

It can take some trial and error, so please ask!

[Moutaineer]

It was OK, not stellar, but OK. I think it could have used another 10 minutes or so cooking to tenderize the beef a bit more.

I will have a go at a chicken curry next, I think.