Instant Cooker

Thinking of getting this for a Christmas gift. Does anyone have an instant pot? Are there different makes and what is the best? This is for a small family. TIA.

 This was discussed recently:

 https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/pressure-cooking?page=next&limit=30#discussion-replies-3360429

Thanks,Mantram. I wonder if those who purchased are still enthusiastic. Melissa Clark had an article in the Times a while back. She gave pros and quite a few cons.

Melissa Clark loves the Instant Pot. She wrote a whole cookbook for it. As I recall the article, her cons applied to pressure cooking in general, not just the IP. 

I have an Instant Pot and Melissa Clark's new cookbook, and I endorse both. I wish they had decided to call it something else, though. Pressure cooking takes time; there is nothing instant about it. I think many people are surprised that the best recipes aren't always simple or fast, and may require several different kinds of cooking techniques. If the recipient enjoys cooking, the gift will be appreciated.

Agree with j_r - bad name and raises too many expectations. But also, if you like to cook, it's worth it. It's a neat device.

The instant pot is a great gift for someone with a busy schedule. It's been a total game changer for me. Of course you still need to prep the ingredients you're cooking - peel, chop, dice, grate etc. but not needing to even be in the kitchen once those ingredients go in the pot, is huge! And my kitchen's always clean now because I just use one pot for everything. Also it makes dishes that call for infusing deep flavor into meats, possible on a weeknight in under 20 min.  

I've been so caught up in what's happening in the Senate with the tax bill that I thought the title of thread was "Instant Corker."

mantram said:

The instant pot is a great gift for someone with a busy schedule.

I agree! Dishes that would otherwise take hours to braise are done in a relatively short period of time. It's great for making soup and stew to freeze for later. And I like steel-cut oatmeal, which I'd never have time to cook on a workday.

This made me crack up!  

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/11/the_instant_pot_is_now_an_entire_economy_and_religion.html

funny.

I admit it - I'm a gadget freak.

mantram said:

This made me crack up!  

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/11/the_instant_pot_is_now_an_entire_economy_and_religion.html