Instant pot is it worth it?

PollyWollyDoodle

You may find it’s the silicone ring, rather than the pot. Try bicarbonate as suggested above - if you have a dishwasher, then the whole lid can be put through that, or you might take apart the valve and wash it all by hand. 

I don’t often cook sweet stuff in mine, but I bought a spare sealing ring quite cheaply so that I can have one that isn’t used for curry, onions etc. 

Rosa_Damascena

PollyWollyDoodle said:

You may find it’s the silicone ring, rather than the pot. Try bicarbonate as suggested above - if you have a dishwasher, then the whole lid can be put through that, or you might take apart the valve and wash it all by hand. 

I don’t often cook sweet stuff in mine, but I bought a spare sealing ring quite cheaply so that I can have one that isn’t used for curry, onions etc. 

I did read this but am very wary of doing so!

I am minded to buy a second ring and pot for sweet recipes.

Mamabear

I recently read (on Reddit iirc) that popping the silicone ring in the oven for half an hour gets rid of pervasive whiffs.

I haven't tested it out yet but a number of people replied positively enough that I'm going to try it out when the need arises. 

Rosa_Damascena

Rosa_Damascena said:

PollyWollyDoodle said:

You may find it’s the silicone ring, rather than the pot. Try bicarbonate as suggested above - if you have a dishwasher, then the whole lid can be put through that, or you might take apart the valve and wash it all by hand. 

I don’t often cook sweet stuff in mine, but I bought a spare sealing ring quite cheaply so that I can have one that isn’t used for curry, onions etc. 

I did read this but am very wary of doing so!

I am minded to buy a second ring and pot for sweet recipes.

I bit the bullet and did this over the Black Friday weekend - just as well because my beloved PKP has been discontinued / upgraded to the Clever Chef 14-in-1.

Rosa_Damascena

A quick report back on my CleverChef 14-in-1: so far I have only used it to make plain basmati rice and although it did a good job it made an almighty starchy mess of the machine. The same is likely for pasta so that is 2 of the 14 functions I won't be using. I shall stick to the Instant Pot PKP for both in future.

I have since looked at various YouTube videos and people seem quite attached it so I shall persist with other functions. I must say that I love being able to have hot meals on tap during this cold snap!

Rosa_Damascena

Last night I made some vegetable stock using clean scraps that I had frozen over the course of a month. The process itself was simple enough in the PKP, but I'm not convinced that it actually tastes of much? I may have to resort to adding a spoonful of Marmite into the pot when I use it.

Rosa_Damascena

Another PKP report - I used it to make a cauliflower cheese risotto last night and packed it into the fridge and freezer. I used a ratio of 1:2.5 liquid and it was a big mush rather than an al dente soupy consistency, so I got both the liquid quantity and timing all wrong  I think an Italian might be offended if claimed it to be an actual risotto!

I heated some for lunch earlier and drizzled it with flavoured oil and it tastes really good! All the same, I wouldn't want to serve it to anyone. In future I'll just stand and stir when I next make it.

Cherryfudge

The latest from my IP - after owning at least a couple of years, I finally dared to use the pressure cooker facility, and it was easy! Nothing exploded. No one got scalded.

It did send me running for the instructions as the recipe wasn't very clear about what went in at what stage so after a few minutes it went beep beep beep beep beep burn. I thought it probably wanted liquid so I added that and I think I satisfied it.

There are things I don't understand, though. The recipe asked for the pressure cooker to be used at 15lbs pressure, but I've not found that bit in the book so I just put on 'high'. And how do I know how long to allow for it to get up to cooking pressure?

Rosa_Damascena

@Cherryfudge - I think a bit of guesswork is required but a bit of trial and error offers a rapid learning experience.

Eg for beans / chickpeas I go for the "meat" option rather than stew/soup, on the basis that is the toughest protein it is going to have to deal with. Often leaving it alone on the pot for a time after will soften the contents up further. You know you have gone too far when you end up with a sludge, but as long as it can be souped nothing is a disaster.

Cherryfudge

Thank you @Rosa_Damascena, now that I've tried it, I have the confidence to try again and maybe I'll develop a feel for it. Good job I like my soups blended, that should hide any sludginess!