Is The Instant Pot Worth It? | Gear Heads
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 гру 2020
- Multicookers and slow cookers both take up a good amount of kitchen real estate. If you can only have one in your kitchen, should you go for the set it and forget it slow cooker, or the multi-use Instant Pot?
Buy our winning multicooker: bit.ly/3QWEix0
Buy our Best Buy multicooker: bit.ly/4bvOLba
Buy our co-winning slow cooker: bit.ly/3Kd1QtS
Buy our other co-winning slow cooker: bit.ly/3QTJd1K
Buy our winning slow cooker with searing capabilities: bit.ly/4bNH3sD
Follow Hannah on Instagram: / hannah_crowley8
Follow Lisa on Instagram: / lisam_atk
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America's Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
If you like us, follow us:
americastestkitchen.com
/ americastestkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen
Total instant pot lover. Use it all time. I am a night shift nurse, boom food ready fast while VERY tired especially nowadays
Deep respect and gratitude to you!
Thank you for your service April!
My hero! Thank you!
Thank you for fighting the fight right now!🙌🏼
Thank you for what you do.
In my mind, the biggest value of the Instapot is how it changes dried beans to delicious creamy beans in such a short time. Beans are such a cheap source of protein. The Instapot rocks. :)
I like to do the 5 minute cook 1 hr sit pre-cook before draining and putting in instapot. Then I thought it could be ready in the Instapot sometime between 30 minutes to an hour. I just hit the dried bean option and left it alone. Cooking dried beans on the stove top could take hours! 1 hour 20 minutes isn't too bad if you like how it turned out. :)
I agree! I'm a vegetarian and much prefer dried beans over canned, but it would take me 24 hours to make them in a slow cooker (including overnight soak time). The pressure cooker is SOOOO much faster!
It’s not called an instapot Kim
@@HeyNowMal Hi! Ms. Word Police,
Google instapot and you'll even see an Amazon ad for it. It seems to be a generic slang term to encompass all the different brand names of the product like Instant Pot. Have a great day!
P.S. I tried to copy paste the results but it wasn't allowed in this reply.
Dried beans and peas contain anti-nutrients, which are naturally-occurring plant compounds (i.e., phytates) that can limit the body's absorption of nutrients from these foods. Soaking beans overnight, discarding the water, then cooking them in fresh water can help reduce the amount of anti-nutrient compounds.
I soak my beans for 2 days it cooks quick too
The Instant Pot has seriously changed mine and my husband’s lives. We follow a low carb lifestyle and with my two Instant Pots, I can cook a variety nutritious food well in advance and I don’t have to spend all day in the kitchen. He is diabetic and his A1C went from off the charts (14.5 was the highest it would measure) to 6.5 in 3.5 months. I’ve lost 56# and still losing. I haven’t used my slow cooker once since buying my IPs and I rarely use the stove anymore, either.
Please let us know what the meal and ingredients were. That is great and surely a lot of people could use the help. Thanks.
Congratulations to both of you. I'm type 2 diabetic as well as having to lose 25kg, 50 pounds. I'd have to order an Instant Pot from overseas but I think it's worth it because I've been thinking about it for about 6 months, and I hate spending all day in the kitchen as well. I know the key is to have nutritious low carb food on hand because it's almost impossible to eat low carb spontaneously.
I do keto and I use my instant pot for everything. It's great!
Awesome A1c!
@@StephBer1 Whereabouts are you, Steph? You'll need to be careful to order the right electrical system for your country. I'm in France, so it's nice to see that I now have a choice of all the models.
works great. i love that it has stainless steal pot inside ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxG-7WiT7ocumjytOpHDFt632PL0pxXRAg and not the one with coating. we used to have a coated pot before, and the coating slowly peels, and i am sure went into the food that we cooked. Absolutely love stainless steel, and will not use a coated product again.This pot has many settings and many buttons, and i need to sit down with a manual to figure out which setting to use. I used the basic functions, and even though i am not technologically skilled, i turned it on and assembled it without any help.Very satisfied with this product overall.
The one killer feature of an instant pot for me is the yogurt cycle. I put a gallon of whole milk in, pasteurize it, let it cool for a couple of hours, stir a cup of the last batch into a cup of the pasteurized milk, stir that mixture into the pot, and incubate for 10-12 hours. As long as the pot is left sealed, I can leave it until I'm ready to put it into the fridge. The yogurt is thick, sweet, and you get nearly a gallon of fresh yogurt.
You are so right on! It pays for itself in yogurt making alone. A second inner container and it can go right in the fridge with glass lid. Cheapest largest bulk yogurt maker made!
You know, you can just heat milk to 180°, add your starter culture, and put it in a cooler for 5-10hrs, right?
@@ShavinMcCrotch I've made yogurt using the stove top/oven method. I've also made yogurt using the stove top/yogurt maker method. The instant pot makes larger batches with less effort, less energy used, and no need to add powdered milk or gelatin to make it thicker.
The instant pot heats the milk to above boiling which means it kills bacteria more effectively and being sealed means less chance of mold spores dropping into the milk. Together, this gives the yogurt a significantly longer shelf life.
But thanks for your condescending response.
@@jimhunt1592 I make a gallon at a time and it’s thick and perfect, but you’re welcome.
@@jimhunt1592This is really late to the party in so many ways! I'm just tagging along to your excellent comment. But this may be helpful for someone.
We used to have a waterbed. The temperature was always just right for yogurt making. I would just put the scalded milk into quart jars and tuck them into the edge of the waterbed where it met the wood waterbed frame for however long it took. It worked like a charm, and without fooling around with the jars for the yogurt maker.
I started producing antibodies to all milk, unfortunately, and we moved into a place that specifically banned waterbeds, so...
Easy Instant Pot mac n' cheese:
Add 1lb macaroni, 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, 4 cups of water, 2 tsp of dried mustard, 2 tsp kosher salt and a sprinkle of pepper to pot. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, quick release. Add 1 cup of evaporated milk (regular milk is fine too, but thinner), 8 oz shredded monterrey jack cheese (for smoothness), 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (for sharpness), 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (for nuttiness). Stir until creamy, salt and pepper to taste and you're done! Not low-calorie or fat, but amazing taste. You can also then put it in a baking dish, sprinkle it with panko breadcrumbs and broil it in the oven for a 5-10 minutes of that's your style.
Thanks, I'll give this a shot!
I dont do dairy. Any suggestions ??
@@dixieboy5689 I sub with canned high fat coconut cream (Savoy brand).
@@colleenkaralee2280 >> Ok, ... Pro Tip !! Thx. Bon apetit.
I stubbornly didn't want an Instant Pot but my husband got me one anyway and I've never been happier. 🤗💚
I had no interest in getting one either, but one showed up at my door randomly. Correct address but different name. I didn't know what to do so I've kept it since. 😂😂
Man, I hear everything that you're saying... the speed, convenience, etc...but, I'm not sure I'm ready to get rid of Grandma just yet! LOL
I have a slow cooker that I use for caramelizing onions overnight (the most AMAZING smell), making lard, and a hot dog bacon appetizer. I love my IP, but my slow cooker is best for those three jobs so she's not going anywhere.
I'm a Grandma and I like the convenience of all these time savers but I hope more people think like you and keep us Grandmas. We don't eat much or take up much space.😊
@@AdrienneBoswell I have three size slow cookers I had before my instant pot. Keep them as they are still useful for many dishes.
ditto
I use both for different things. Totally worth it in my opinion.
My slow cooker died last week, and I've been contemplating an Instant Pot. My decision has been made. I too am moving on. Thanks ladies!
Hurry, they always have big sales during the holidays
I bought an instant pot. With limited storage space I gave away my slow cooker. My instant pot slow cooks as well as pressure cooks...it does other stuff a crock pot can’t do...like browning/searing, making hard boiled eggs, rice cooker, etc.
You will not be sorry, but pleased :)
I was worried about wasting money, but my first epc, make by GoWise, was the best purchase I've made in years, and I'll never go back. I bought a second 6 qt., and now, the 3 qt, so that I can cook rice or other grains at the same time as I'm making stew, curry, pulled pork, or even cheesecake. (Once you've had cheesecake this way, you'll never do it in the oven again.) Best potato salad I've ever made, and I cook the eggs in with at the same time. (6 minutes)
If any one of them breaks, I'd replace it in a New York minute.
Been thinking of getting an IP and this video and the positive comments is putting me over the edge to buy one. I don't use our crock pot a whole lot so it would be easy to let it go. Main concern is our limited storage and counter space.
My Digital Pressure Cooker (not an actual Instant Pot brand) almost saved my life..... After years of "disordered eating" (can't really label it further, but I was down to eating one take-out meal a week, with mainly snack food and supplements on a daily basis), I am now eating healthily for probably the first time in my life. Every single thing that I eat is healthy and of course cooked in a healthy manner - be it a chunky vegetable soup, risotto, steamed vegetables, bolognese or carbonara (just resting the pasta on top cooks it nicely), curries and a few of my own concocted recipes. I have used it daily for two years now, and finally, just yesterday gave my little-used slow cooker to a elderly man who was unable to go out due to a recent leg amputation and had put out a request on facebook.
Win Win I say ---- apart from his little dog wanting to bite me xx
That was really nice of you to give him the slow cooker for free.
I think a more accurate comparison would have been to use the slow cook feature of the instant pot to see how capable it is. To me slow cook vs pressure cook is like apples and oranges.
It truly is apples to oranges. Slow cooker has more of a savory flavor it’s like it’s been marinating all day and when it comes down to roast or chili it will have a thicker consistency then compared to an instant pot where it cooks the food quickly, not as flavorful, and the liquid to a roast or chili is watery but you get to boil it down when it’s done though but still doesn’t taste as good as slowcook. Also the slow cooker in the instant pot sucks having it on low is like having a slow cooker on warm and the instant pot slowcook option on high is like a slowcook low. The instant pot slowcook option on the instant pot takes longer to cook and it isn’t flavorfulIf you’re into pork or beef slow cooking it is the best and most flavorful but if you’re into chicken the instant pot will do for chicken the flavor is basically the same just add a bit more seasoning in the instant pot. I own an instant pot (pressure cooker) and slow cooker (ninja 3-1) and I just upgraded to an 8qt slow cooker (instant pot aura pro 10-1 mainly a slow cooker without the pressure cook option) for my chili and pot roast and I love it!
I find the pressure cooker really gets the flavour into the centre of the meat and is dynamite, especially with large meat cuts, while still being able to hold the form of the meat. Slow cooker goes from form to mush and the lack of any texture is so “meh” after awhile.
@@rochelleduff9277 I never had that experience I always had the opposite but I’m glad you’re enjoying you’re pressure cooker. I have the Instant pot lux and the only good thing I can make in it is chicken. Do you have any good recipes for anything with beef for the pressure cooker? I know I always get soggy potato’s and carrots if I ever pressured a potroast for 45mins. Do you have any tips?
@@RaquelC17 When making meats that would traditionally be cooked with vegetables (eg pot roast/stew/chili) I always pressure cook the meat first and then add in the vegetables for the last 3-5 minutes. In fact, when making stew I do not put the potatoes in with the meat at all. If I am honest, I never liked the potatoes cooked in the meat gravy for that long. I cook spuds separate and top with the stew.
@@RaquelC17 yeah definitely what rochelle says. You can open the IP and add the veggies and then set to slow cook again. It will take less time to get to pressure than it did before.
I think both are great to have. There is one thing that slow cookers do that instant pots can't: make the home smell amazing for hours and hours. Coming home, or waking up to a wonderful smell that permeates every nook and cranny of your home is such a wonderful thing. Guaranteed positive childhood memories.
Don't be silly. Instapots do that too. Crockpot days are over.
IIRC smells are lost flavor
So true. Good point. Everything doesn’t have to be fast. There is some benefit to set it and forget it and leave the house.
@@mjremy2605I can put everything in the crockpot and leave the house. When I get home after a long hard day at work, dinner is ready. I don't have the energy to start messing with ingredients at that point, and even if its going to be done in 30-45 minutes, if its already 7:30pm, I'd rather just eat toast now.
Exactly, both are great. I'll have the instant pot going with a stew while the slow cooker is busy with apple butter.
And a fresh loaf of bread baking in the oven ;)
My actual grandmother actually gave me my slow cooker. I'll keep it forever.
My grandmother gave me my first, an actual name brand Crock Pot. Alas, it stopped working so I’ve replaced it. I do wish I still had it, especially since my grandmother is gone. Enjoy yours.
@@dale3404 thanks! I shall
Your actual grandmother... as opposed to your fake grandmother?
@@somerandomperson8282 Yes! I have several fake grandmothers :)
@@somerandomperson8282 that’s a Dennis Miller ratio comment. Only one in 38,000 people will get it. I do, and two thumbs up.
America’s Test Kitchen videos are always genuine, interesting and helpful. I’ve had Crock Pots for decades, recently bought an Instant Pot. Crock Pot - prep in the morning, cook all day, ready when I get home. Instant Pot - more capabilities and everything is done in less than an hour.
I recall when crockpots first came out in the 1970s; ugly avocado-green or burnt-orange decor, cylindrical, round footprint. They were more often used for holiday spiced cider at parties than actual meal prep, but were too often the most likely wedding gift for new couples. Quickly, they ended up in the no-man's land of kitchen storage: above-fridge cabinets, back of base cabinet bottom shelves, and the farthest corners of corner base cabinets. They eventually got duty and covered in cobwebs before finally going out to yard sale tables and then packed off to thrift stores.
In the mid-1980's, I decided to buy one from a thrift store; cost me about $6. This was my first crockpot, but I found they were WONDERFUL, for exactly what you said: toss in a bunch of ingredients, go off for X-number of hours to get work done, come back for a great meal. I ended up upgrading to a 6qt oval with removable porcelain liner and auto-shutoff feature. Basically, living alone by that time, I could toss a bunch of beans, lentils, veggies, and/or meats into it, then go off to work and come home to a great prepared meal that also generated leftovers I could refrigerate or freeze for later.
Currently, I've been living in a studio apartment and unfortunately the LEASE forbids any resident to leave the apartment with a crockpot running (fire safety issues). And having my apartment door within 10ft of where the crockpot sits, and the apartment door 8ft from the elevators (so they can smell if something's cooking), has meant that I can't use the crockpot unless I am home. Frankly, there's very little reason to run a crockpot while you're in a studio apartment; you might as well just cook things normally, because you're right there to keep an eye on it. Very sad...
But, yeah; I was part of the resurgence of crockpot use that continues to this day.
So now I've joined the throng moving to 'multicookers'. What they do that crockpots don't do is cook things in much shorter time than crockpots or even conventional cooking can achieve. I purchased a Zavor (ATK-approved, however without the enthusiastic media presence that includes use tips and a multitude of recipes), which I have yet to use. I bought it figuring this was a work-around for my lease restrictions on crockpots; I should be present to keep an eye on its cooking, plus it cooks meal in short time, whether I'm working or at home.
And now that's I finally retired (and Covid concerns keep me home a great deal more), I should get more use from it than a crockpot. But we have yet to see. I need to 'clear the decks' so I can thoroughly concentrate on learning this new technology, but I'm still settling into my nest and culling my possessions, I so haven't had the mental room to put my full attention to it. Once I do, I will experiment and test, then decide whether I keep the crockpot or the multicooker; I don't really have room for both.
I’ve got an amazing 30 yr old pressure cooker and a perfect 15 yr old slow cooker, use then both! As long as they’re still working, I’m set. 🙂
Yep, I like how you think.
Great if you have those things but somebody threw out my grandmother's pressure cooker when she passed away. I was 10 years old and had already been using the slow cooker since I was 8 years old so I definitely would have used it but nobody cared to ask me! :-)
@@elizabethshaw734 Well, they still sell them and you could start with a new one that your own granddaughter might want one day. Or, you know, yard sales! You can even find replacement gaskets and regulators, just stand there and look it up on your phone before buying one. I mean, it’s not like it’s a rotary phone or something not made anymore…
Seriously, get an instant pot. My advice. Long time pressure cooker here, I would never use one again after getting an instant pot, except for very specific circumstances.
@@eurekamarijka well I am thinking instant pot now because I like the one that I can run on the Wi-Fi with my phone. It would mean just a little less work for me. I don't know I just bought a beautiful big air fryer and I have a pretty new slow cooker so I'm not sure if I need a pressure cooker but it would be helpful when I make my baked beans and things like that that take 14 to 20 hours in the slow cooker. They do come out of the slow cooker amazing though! :-)
I replaced my slow cooker for an instant pot and I love it, there's just one strange thing it does.
I usually set it up in evenings around 5PM and get it prepped. Usually I don't have to put in much water, maybe a little salt, but every time I turn it on, at first it does nothing. Then I hear it beep and then a soft, deep and hypnotic sinister voice says "I am the instant pot. I am the best thing that ever was a part of your kitchen. You will tell all your friends that the instant pot has changed your life. You will never stop talking about how great instant pots are."
😂😂😂😂😂
I think it's working..
""I loved it. It was much better than _Cats._ I'm going to see it again and again."
hahahaha
Thank God I'm not the only one! I thought I was going crazy! 😂
I bought my Instant Pot Duo three years ago for $69.99 Canadian. The reason I bought it was to make yogurt. I found it quite intuitive to use from day one and it has become my favourite kitchen appliance. It is fantastic for making soups and stocks. I proof dough in there (Yogurt, Low, 2 hours) and it beats every other method that I have used. I have bought a second inner pot and a few accessories which enable me to do most of my cooking in my Instant Pot. An unexpected benefit was a drop in my electricity usage!
I was not successful proofing dough in mine.
@@cchoi108 I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you find a method that works for you.
Bread proofing? Wow, that is smart!!
I like the Instant Pot as a space saver - I have always used both slow cookers and pressure cookers, so now I can do both with one appliance.
I was ready to buy a nice All Clad slow cooker at Williams Sonoma and the clerk steered me to the 6qt Instant Pot. Not only was it cheaper it is so much more versatile.
I gave one to my cleaning lady who makes beans a lot and now she is taking 1/4 of the time to cook them. I also bought her an Insta pot cookbook in Spanish...she loves it.
Wow. You are a generous employer. May I please come and work for you?
How nice of you! Very generous and so sweet.
Got one 3 months ago. Not sure how I ever managed without. I LOVE my Instant Pot 😍💞😍💞😍
I got a glass lid for my Instant Pot and it works just fine as a slow cooker. I still have my slow cooker, but my IP is the bomb diggity.
My instapot seems to cook much hotter than a slow cooker. Might be that it's a couple years old?
Me too I use the glass lid and use it as a crock pot too
Slow cooker = plan meals a week in advance
Insta pot = forgot you have kids at all until you drove into the garage 7 minutes ago.
😂😂😂
I have both a slow cooker and a stovetop pressure cooker, and the pressure cooker is much more useful on weeknights. I can make beef stew for dinner in about 45 minutes in it. If I wanted to make stew for dinner in the slow cooker I'd have to spend 15 minutes prepping it in the morning or the night before, then I'd be worried all day that the cooker was cooking it properly without boiling dry. (Although I grant it's a pretty inexpensive cooker, and it has only three temperature settings: Warm, Too Cold, and Too Hot.) I'm very tempted to to get the Instant Pot and retire them both.
Courtney, thank you for the REALEST review ever!! 😝👏🏼💕
@@daveh7720Yes. I love my instant pot. My pressure cooker just couldn't maintain pressure without scorching. The Instant Pot is much better with that. It's still possible to scorch, but it's almost like you have to be trying. Instant Pots are on sale right now for the holidays (December, now) so it's a good time to take the plunge. There are a few recipes that are actually better, not just easier, to do in the IP, like a good, silky Bolognese. The pressure yields a silky, rich bolognese that takes hours on the stove. BBQ beans is another - the best I've ever had, commercial or home made. Do it! :-)
☝This
Instant Pot is also a game changer for making stock.
I am currently making shrimp stock in my IP for gumbo tomorrow.
Yes! We use propane here fortune stove so having the IP for making stock will save so much on propane!
Could not agree more. Amazing stock flavour.
@@SaphsContainerGarden Yes, I use butane for the stove, and it's really expensive. Use it for stir fry, eggs, quick cooking foods. Not soup, stew, stock, beans, rice, oats. The electric pressure cookers are fantastic. I have 3. I use it for cheesecake, too. Yum!
And yogurt. They are insanely great for saving you a ton of many money making your own. Fill it to the max line with your milk (I use half and half!), the BOIL function (re)pasteurizes and denatures the milk proteins without scorching the milk at the bottom! Then you cool the pot down in the sink with cold water until it gets to 110-115F. Add your plain yogurt starter 2TBSP up to a small 5.3oz container. The middle yogurt function for 8-10 hours. Done. It will already be crazy thick. But you strain out the whey if you want Greek yogurt or labneh. So darn easy and mostly hands-off.
I bough my 6qt instant pot at a thrift store for 2.67. It looked almost new, a little scrubbing and a few cleanings just to be safe and shes perfect.
Is yours this same model? I have the Duo Evo 60 v3 but not the plus, and I find it frustrating. It doesn't seem to cook a roast any faster than a slow cooker.
When I moved to the US (several decades ago), I was shocked at how much pressure cookers cost, and how few people used them. I own a small basic, and the largest Instant Pots now - use them for steaming veggies, beans, stew, broths, yoghurt and occasionally for canning. For slow cooking, I put a dutch oven in the oven on low temp,.
I watched a demo comparison between slow cooker and dutch oven, and the dutch oven won out.
I bought an IP 5 yrs ago. I wasnt going to pressure cook at all. I just wanted to sear my meat in the same pot I would slow cook in. Since then, I've barely used it as a slow cooker. I was amazed by the pressure cooker ability!
Got an instant pot because my aunt and uncle kept telling. Got one for 140$ I think. Didn’t use it for a bit. Finally decided to use it. Changed my life. Makes cooking large meals or meal prepping the easiest thing in the world. Definitely would recommend. You could literally cook a beef stew for dinner that would normally take hours in just 30 mins. No worrying about temperature or anything.
I've had a 3 quart instant pot for a few years. It's the right size for my single person household, but I really use it most often for cooking rice, beans and other grains that I use in casseroles, soups, stews and chili's. Saves a lot of time and means I don't have to babysit my food.
While others were shelling out $200 for the Joule, I was perfectly happy with my ALDI sous vide cooker. So happy, in fact, that I paid $59 for the first one, then $29 for two more, after they went on clearance. No frills -- no Bluetooth -- just a heating element, a temp sensor and a timer. Why complicate things?!??
I absolutely love my InstantPot. The best thing ever.
Slow cooker however wasn’t for me. I don’t like my home to be smelling of food for the whole day.
i can hard boil 70 eggs at one time and they peel so easily even when new. i can make a huge amount of yogurt easily. i can do a whole 9lb turkey. for those things alone my instant pot is amazing. slow cook or pressure cook. love it.
If my mother could have had one, for making all the applesauce we made growing up in the apple capital of the US (Yakima Washington), she would have been totally thrilled at how fast it cooks the apples. Eight minutes cook time with 5 minutes natural release is way better than hours on the stove top!
I guess my question is, how much electricity do they both consume?
Been using the instant pot for two years now, for pulses and beans they are amazing (vegan cook here), the other advantage is using the Yoghurt function, i live in a stone house where temperature fluctuates the instant pot for rising dough for pizza and bread is excellent
I have been using pressure cookers for a couple of decades plus..😊 I moved from traditional to electric when I bought the Cuisinart when it came out. The Instant Pot came out several years later and I saw that it had a stainless steel pot. I and others had asked Cuisinart several times for a stainless steel insert. (It was a flaky nonstick) When I saw the stainless steel insert I jumped. I didn't buy it for slow cooking or multi-cooking, I bought it to be my pressure cooker. I did come to appreciate it's other features. I really love pressure cookers.
I have this IP and LOVE IT!!! The Duo Evo Plus is the best with the handles, safer vent, but love that you can sauté on a stove, add your spices and liquid, then set it back in the unit, and set it. The fact that you have the meat sautéed with liquid and heated, the warm up time is shortened and it starts to pressure cook faster. Oh, the flat bottom of the pot is fantastic! And, oh, the handles...super! My son is a chef and he is amazed at how fast shortens your cook time. We have the 8 qt. Love it more than the 6 qt.
Why do you like the 8 qt. ? Just asking since I am considering the bigger one myself, but would go smaller if I could do most of what I want in smaller size.
The Duo Evo Plus has a flat bottom? What an improvement for sauteing in the pot, where the oil can be distributed evenly and not accumulate in the "troughs" on the perimeter.
@@cindyk2757 If you like leftovers and/or freezing meals, the 8 qt is awesome even if only cooking for 2 people. Also, it does a great job of accommodating large cuts of meat if you cook things like pulled pork.
@Originals MLM archive I haven't advanced to this level, yet. :) I just make large amounts of chile, sloppy joes, and huli huli chicken. Then I freeze these dishes with rice. I admit that I am a lazy soul. :) Stay Safe!!
You can buy additionally for Instant Pot ceramic inner pot, which give you opprtunty cook dairy food.
Just a point.
The better slow cookers have two things:
More insulation around the sides and
Are usually made of a ceramic based material.
It will develop a generally uniform heat and maintain better while cooking.
When I tried to use my new instant pot on
My favorite Slow cook recipe. . .
It NEVER turned out the same.
The meat, especially was tough
Or at least not the melt in your mouth I expect
From my slow cooker.
How about adding/posting the pork taco recipe to the notes?
Or a link to the book (hint hint).
I second that. Lol!
I feel like the pork recipe was just pork, the orange juice, the peel, and seasoning.
@@nicolesaylor4027 oh, but the key was in the seasoning! I saw herbs and spices like cumin, and a chili paste, probably a mix of chipotle, guajillo, ancho and pasilla, if they were trying to achieve a real Mexican adobo. That, along with the orange juice, would have made delicious carnitas.
@@TheCatWitch63 it sounds delicious!
AND... I love that my instant pot also has a yogurt setting. I am making the best yogurt now, in quantities suitable for my family of 5 (not just 1L at a time like other yogurt makers) and it keeps the temp so consistent. The yogurt is perfect. My slow cooker is collecting dust in the basement and will be set out at a garage sale when we can have those again. Moved on!
And by the way if you start a sentence with and it may lead you to use more ands than what you needed and that is not good
But sometimes cucumbers are on the left so why does it even matter 🤦🏻♀️🥶
Pressure cookers are a must for those of us who oddly hate the smell of cooking food. Slow cookers drench the house in food smell, which can make some people nauseous. Something to consider.
This is a great demo of how each appliance handles one particular kind of cooking, namely, cooking that could be done in a slow cooker. But there's really no contest if you take into account all the other functions of a pressure cooker that the slow cooker can't do: cooking rice, fermenting yogurt, cheesecake, pot-in-pot cooking, hard-cooked eggs, steaming vegetables. I have a Cosori pressure cooker, and the first thing I did shortly after learning how to use it was to give away my slow cooker.
Love your reviews, they are always very objective, honest, unbiased, and all is explained in simple words. You are the only ones who’s opinion I really trust. And yes, I have an instant pot and was a little intimidated by it at first, but now we are using it daily, meats, soups, eggs, it is our best friend on the kitchen. Thank you for all you doing!
I remember when the first crock pots came out. They were small and didn’t have a removable liner. And since they also weren’t submersible they were a pain in the butt to clean. I make the best chili in my slow cooker, but on top of the stove, I burn it. I’m going to have to look into getting an insta pot. I’ve saved the video to my cooking videos for when I’m ready to purchase one.
I have 2 Instant Pot Duos and I love them. I didn’t know about the features on the newer ones which are great ideas! Handles on insert, steam release button away from the valve. Nice! 😀Thanks for the video!
IP has always had a stainless steel liner, although you can buy a nonstick one, but why would you? I do like the handles on the duo evo, but my duo 7 in 1 works fine. I still use my slow cooker though. Frankly, there is room for both.
I really like these videos you guys are making at home. I like seeing products being used in real kitchen and I've actually bought items you recommend as they look practical and useful a a home foodie kitchen.
I was skeptical about multicooker for years until I bought my six quart Instant Pot on Black Friday at Walmart for $50. I love it and use it most every day. It is great for yogurt, steel cut oatmeal, dried beans and most anything else.
My 8 qt crockpot cooker does Dinner if I am gone when I come home it’s done smells so good
Easily the best and most reliable cooking and equipment reviews. Thanks again Ladies.
Love my Instant Pot that I've had for 5 years now. I have the 8qt Duo and the mini 3qt and I rarely use any other buttons than "manual" and adjust the pressure and time. I do use the "rice" button on the 3qt as it seems to make better rice over the 8qt for some odd reason. I even cook my 10lb Thanksgiving turkeys in my 8qt then brown it up in the oven for about 30 minutes. I hardly EVER us my stove anymore. I also have a 6qt oval Crock Pot and a 3.5qt 9x13 casserole Crock Pot which I just LOVE. I had to have it since I go to potlucks quite often and it's perfect for many dishes. I never slow cook in my IP as it defeats the purpose of cooking under pressure. I like how this IP liner had handles, but I don't care for anything else about it. I'm happy with pressing the manual button, pressure button and adjusting the time. That's it..no other buttons are used.
I might have missed it, but it would be great to get an explanation for WHY you would want to slow cook if you could pressure cook instead? Is there any science behind the difference in cooking techniques? I.e. why does the collagen break down faster just because the temperature is higher?
You get better results, with brown rice that include other ingredients like onions or peppers the slow cooker wins, same for pot roast. Instant Post take a LONG time to heat up so doing items like Basmati rice actually takes LONGER than just using a pot on the stove bu for recipes like Biryani Chicken use the IP. IP Can sear meat but if you do you will end up with a BURN error even after de-glazing unless you run the bottom in cold water. So I sear in pan regardless of which cooker I am using.
It is the combination of PRESSURE and temperature. I am to lazy to explain it.
Why, I have done the exact same recipe in both, the results is not always the same. Often it is but not always.
@@JL-yo1du oh thank you!! I had the same question.
Got an instant pot over the holidays and I've come to love it. There are still things I have no problem cooking on the stove or in the oven for hours but it's really nice to have the instant pot as an option for when I really don't feel like cooking or when whatever I'm cooking is 'simple' enough that I can just set it and forget it.
Totally, YES! I got rid of 3 slow cookers (I have one left for transporting food to potlucks or parties). I got an 8 qt Instapot and a 3 qt Instapot in January 2020 at after-Christmas sales. I use them weekly. I use the big one for big groups-I routinely cook for a student group of 20-25. I’ve gone from 6 hrs prep and cooking to 2 hours from start to finish. I also use it for chili and soups in the slow cooker mode, and works great. I love the sear function. Brown meat or caramelize onions and then add other ingredients for either slow or pressure cooking. I also got rid of my rice cooker as the Instapot does rice perfectly every time. Finally, if all you did was boil eggs for deviled eggs or egg garnish, the Instapot does hard boiled eggs perfectly in 3-4 minutes of actual cooking time. The perfection lies in how perfectly they peel. No vinegar, to convoluted techniques. Cook for 3-4 minutes, quick release the steam. Put eggs in cold water. Peel when cool--perfect eggs. I’ve used 2week old eggs, brand new eggs, fresh from my neighbor’s chicken eggs, all come out perfectly!
I’ve also been using my instant pot to reheat and keep things warm for serving ...
One of the best little secrets about the Instant Pot is that when you remove the lid, the little tabs on it fit into the handles on the base as a holder. The lid isn't completely out of the way, but it's useful. Lisa, I saw you struggling with where to put the lid when you took it off. Maybe you knew this trick and didn't want it in the camera shot taking up so much room, but once you know about it, you tend to use it all the time.
Unfortunately not all Instant Pots have that feature. I wish I could do that with mine but it does not have that availability 😔. Maybe I should upgrade😊
@@4warralong Yep, my 6 quart IP doesn't have that feature. : / but it's not a deal breaker. I LOVE my InstaPot!
I'm with you, I love my handle holder. I did notice though, there were notches towards the back of the IP and the lid did have tabs that looked like it could fit into the notches so I'm; guessing it does have a way of holding the lid as well.
It took me a month to discover this trick -- which is actually portrayed in a photo on the Amazon product listing for the Duo Plus.
That's awesome and I didn't know that! I'll check it out. It WORKS! This is awesome. Thanks for the tip!
LOVE my Instant pot.. the saute function is the absolute home run addition to slow cooking. I have the air fryer lid and use it where I used to broil or cook on high heat like for roasted veggies, or to do a basket of frozen french fries for two people. I find this appliance gets used nearly daily and it lives on top of my counter!
I'm watching this only after I was gifted an InstantPot Duo 6 quart about 3 years ago. I was having trouble cooking in my Dutch ovens after an injury and a friend gave the duo to me as a possible solution.
Not able to cut up chicken or even fresh vegetables I found it perfect for just throw it in food and coming back later.
Although the IP Duo Evo has some good improvements there is no reason to upgrade from my original Duo now!
I use both . They both have their good points.
I sous vide with the same model of Instant Pot. It cooks perfectly. Set the Instant Pot to the desired cooking temperature. Monitor the temperature with a thermometer and adjust the offset, up or down, if necessary. Make sure that you fill the water to the specified level. For mine, I did not have to adjust for any temperature offset.
Is this with the Duo model? I was under the impression only the Ultra model or similar had the sous vide button to be able to program a temperature. Thanks
Still have our slow cooker from our wedding 20 yrs ago and we still use it occasionally. The one handle is broken but it still works so we haven’t tossed it yet and our IP just arrived today. There’s still a use for our slow cooker but the IP will be used more often. The Duo Evo Plus is the one I got. Love it for the handles on the inner pot!
I’ve used a 6 quart in my home for a long time but added a 3 quart to our camp trailer. Works as a pot to keep things warm outside with an extension cord as well as a fully functioning pressure cooker for all the things we use that for at home. The 3 quart is great for the storage space of a camp trailer or RV and can be used outside with an extension cord.
What I’ve found with the insta pot is that it seems to “pound” the seasoning into the meat.
I cook 4 to 5 pounds of stew meat at a time for steak tacos, philly steak, etc.
Always tender and flavorful.
Love love love to see that you each walk us through the small/ big cookware from specula to equipments that you actually at home. Thanks.
I bought this pot a year and a half ago on your recommendation, plus the Pro Crisp model as it has everything same as this, plus the air fryer lid. Lots of similar models, but these two both had the easy and safe steam release and the great handles. I’ve been electric pressure cooking since more than 20 years ago, and this is hands down the biggest advancements and worth your money. The sheer number of recipes made for these newer pots is astounding. I gave away my old pots.
I would have loved to see how the InstantPot compares to the slow cooker in slow cooking rather than pressure cooking vs slow cooker.
Was thinking the exact thing! Thought this was going to be slow cooking vs slow cooking; we already know pressure cooking is faster than slow cooking and in this regard, the video did a good job. But i'm still wondering how the IP performs as a slow cooker...
She actually went over that in here pressure cooker video here: ua-cam.com/video/Wxo2fMO8KRk/v-deo.html
The results were pretty varied and it was a deciding factor on which pot was best.
This video is particularly timely as I’m considering buying an Instant Pot. The newest version of the Duo Evo even includes a setting for altitude, which makes a difference for those of us in the intermountain western U.S.
My questions after reading through the Instant Pot website: Are there lower and upper limits for the amount that one can cook in an IP? For instance, can I make one serving of rice? Can I make more than 3 quarts of soup or stock in a 6 qt. IP?
If it cooks rice, grain, and beans, I’d be happy. Don’t think I’ll throw away my Dutch ovens for stews and braises.
I've been using the old rocker style pressure cooker since the 70's and received the IP last Xmas. LOVE it!
Thanks to this review I ordered my instant pot and I am currently making pulled pork for dinner tonight. Here is a big advantage. The pot is nice and deep so no splattered grease on my stove after searing! I love that that and I can't wait for dinner. Thanks for this reviews it was so appreciated.
I like wider, shallower pots. They's easier to work with, IMO.
I’ve been grappling with this very issue. Thank you so much for this comparison.
I agree with instant pot. I had to choose and recently traded out my slow cooker for a new instant pot, space challenged. Have already used it 3 times in the past week. Chuck roast barbacoa, bean soup, and chicken salsa verde. Very easy cleanup.
Y'all covered everything from the time aspect, to less dishes, to burn out in cooking. the emotional burn out in cooking is a big thing! I cook so much more now, and so much healthier now that I can just dump and go. And, my kids eat more dinners that way. Excellent excellent product!
Thank you both of replying. I found both of your suggestions very helpful!
I love the sous vide feature! If you think it overcooks, lower the temp. Also like the yogurt function. The IP is a game changer for all kinds of cooking!
I have had my instant pot for a couple of years now. I love it.
I am so proud of you guys! I remember your video from years ago where you favored the stove pressure cooker over electric and I was like but but but!!! Vindication! 😎 Great video!! Thanks for all you do!!!
I saw that just after I got my IP. I thought they were crazy.
My slow cooker just got donated to the Salvation Army thrift store. I rarely used it, and it was a heavy, annoying, dust collector. I *hated* the oval shape (could not fit in dishwasher), that it took so long to cook, all I wanted was something to cook soup in.
My new Instant Pot Pro 6 quart does soup, does it FAST, is super easy to use, takes less space, is less heavy and easy to clean. AND it does things like cook hard-cooked eggs, rice, barley, beans and more! The taste of the soups has been amazing too!
As for the fancy buttons on the IP, I don't bother, I'm just using sauté or pressure cook modes. I LOVE MY INSTANT POT!
We love gear heads🤗 We look forward to your videos Lisa & Hannah, keep 'em coming😉
Thank you both-as always, excellent review and detailed info.
I got my Instant Pot a few years ago for Christmas, and I adore it. The only time I’ve dusted off my crock pot since is to keep some lil’ smokies warm all evening at a party.
I bought the Duo Evo Plus 6qt Instant Pot about 6 months ago. I love it. It has replaced an old rice cooker and stove top pressure cooker. It is a wonderful tool that was worth the price. Thank you for this video. (We still have a slow cooker for what you mentioned in the video.)
I've got a Cuisinart and I couldn't live without it, I use it 3 to 4 times a week...
I think I’m the only person who hasn’t swapped my crock pot for an instant pot. I’ll probably get one when everyone has moved on to something else lol!
tired apple star , I like you have BOTH , my croc pot digital, to do my corned beef , lord knows. What I have not tried in my INSTANT POT 6 QT. I do after thawed a few pounds of curried goat, I get from AUS, HALAL,,no MUSLIM here, it’s just how they export it . it took forever in the pan, then the olg PRESTO PRESSURE COOKER . CHEERS 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I have 3 crock pots (great for soup buffets when entertaining), 1 pressure cooker, and 2 pressure canners. Lol, I don't need an instapot.
I still use my slow cooker...a lot! I don't have an Instapot.
Mine's so old it's marked "Made in West Germany"
@@RalphAnthonyCBasco Same here! I don’t really mind that it takes a long time to cook things, I’m used to it.
I have two Instant Pots (don't ask why, long story) and I'm debating selling them. My husband and I love eating Rancho Gordo beans made from scratch (go check them out, also, I don't work for them or get beans for free) and I originally perfected cooking dry beans in my stock pot. But while spending several months in New Mexico at high altitude, we found out the hard way that beans will take FOREVER to cook on the stovetop. So pressure cookers are sort of great for dried beans, split peas etc. I say sort of because my last batch of beans that I cooked, not all the beans cooked and I had no clue until I opened the pot. That meant I had to bring it back up to pressure again, and what should have been a relatively quick meal became a frustration. In my stock pot I can fuss over the beans and fine tune the seasonings and stop cooking as soon as they are done - no guessing. That said, I haven't really found things like carnitas to fall apart beautifully like they would in the slow cooker, and, tonight I am going to try J. Kenji Lopez Alt's oven recipe for carnitas because that looks really simple and I don't mind checking on it in the oven. Anyhow, I only ever cook soups or beans or pork roasts in the instant pot and is that enough to keep this large appliance around? I am thinking it isn't. I have a beautiful Mauviel stock pot and it's a joy to cook in. Also, if you are a migraine sufferer, the slow cooker is not great for your head. Slow cooking meat (also storing the leftovers in the fridge after) allows histamines to develop and those can trigger a migraine. I wish this video had been more about all the things the instant pot can do, and if they do them better than without an instant pot, rather than a comparison of the Instant Pot to a slow cooker. Tell us how the Instant Pot kicks the butt (or doesn't) in conventional stove top cooking....that's the video you need to make.
In the winter I make soup every week, lots of veggies, meat, and dried beans. I don’t brown the meat just throw the pieces in--but the best are dried beans. Just rinse and drop them in the soup, no pre-soaking-takes 45 minutes for the beans to be perfectly cooked. The difference between dried beans and canned beans is like night and day. My husband’s favorite is BBQ pulled pork-OMG, so good, so easy. Spaghetti sauce, the best. I have a silicone lid for my InstaPot insert, pop it on and store in the refrigerator. Next day reheat in the InstaPot, right from the refrigerator-can’t do that with a slow cooker.
Thanks for this ladies. Ever since getting my Instant Pot I've used it so much. Oh sure I make soups, chili, braised roasts and such but I use it constantly for making a batch of hard boiled eggs (that are PERFECT for easy peeling) and for making our own bone broth from all the bones I save. Also, it's easy to use and real easy to clean. But, after watching your video, I can see where some would find the slow cooker handy.
do not eat your eggs HARD boiled, cook them just to get the white done, eat the yoke liquid! hard boiled eggs are dead eggs! so, you can poach them in the shell, or break'em out.
Your meat is still frozen? No problem. It'll just add a few minutes to the pressure up time of the recipe automatically. Try that with the slow cooker. :-)
I put frozen meat in my crockpot all the time and cook it in the same amount of time.
So true right?
Love my Instant Pot. The sous vide feature is spot on with temps. I use it all the time, and the internal meat temps are just what I set it for.
I love my Instant Pot. I like to cook so I am an experience cook and I have found all kinds of ways to use it. Sometimes just saving a half an hour is wonderful. It is also a whole separate cooking station and pot which is actually helpful in my small kitchen. I was worried it would take up too much room, but it is so useful I don't begrudge it space.
Instant pot can do so much in one pot, can't wait to get one.
I have 2 sizes Crock pots I still like them. The 1/2 quart cook my steal cut oats. All night on low and they are ready
I have both and find both have their strong suits. I love the slow cooker for making things that need the long slow cook for flavor and to reduce liquid. The instant pot for quick meals; pot roast, etc
You don't need a slow cooker and if you're not in a hurry then you don't need a pressure cooker as well.
If you're from the U.S or have extra money laying around just buy it and that's it but most houses have an oven.
a slow cooker is basically an oven cooking at 107c/225f for a few hours. get a good oven pot, put in some grains and a cut of meat that has lots of fiber in it and cook for a few hours. the slow cooking slowing melts those fibers resulting in tender meat and the grains absorbers the juices from the meat resulting in a unique and tasty dish
and if you're not in a hurry and can plan ahead then you can skimp on a pressure cooker and stay with the basics: an oven and a good oven pot
You not done cooking anything good with a dutch oven in 30 minutes. With two young kids in the house, it looks like money well-spent.
Sold! That thing looks amazing, so many possibilities and a lot less expensive than I would have guessed.
Well done, ladies!! We love both of these, but we don't have any room for them. Thanks for the video!! 😀👍
I have an Instant Pot (3 Qt.) and since I only have to cook for myself it is perfect, but I got my brother and his wife a 6 Qt. Instant Pot as they do cook for more than the two of them during the holidays. I have never owned a Crockpot, but my mother owned one and also a stovetop pressure cooker as well.
I was IP resistant at first, but now I love my IP Duo Mini for my family of 2. Here are my top 3 uses:
* I make a half gallon of yogurt every week -- I use UHT milk, so it's a two step process: put in the milk and starter, then cover and push the yogurt button. That's literally it. 10-24 hours later it's ready to chill in the fridge. Best part? It costs less than half as much as our favorite store-bought brand.
* We also make a pot of seasoned beans every week. They go from dried to delicious in less than an hour, and they're just as creamy if I salt them at the beginning as at the end.
* A few times a month I also make various Indian and other South Asian dishes, and I love that I can saute the spices and aromatics, then just add pulses and liquid, set it to pressure cook, and about 20 minutes later, dinner is ready. I've even made a decent Dal Mahkani that took about an hour, start to finish.
The instant pot pressure cooker with an air fryer and sous vide function will kind of replace your entire kitchen. It can pressure cook, braise, bake, fry, air fry, roast and if the recipe calls for you can do one before the other. All you gotta know is what the dials do.