Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 2)

[Shelby]

I made turkey noodle soup in the IP last night.  No pictures 'cause it looked like turkey noodle soup lol.  I did the noodles separately on the stove because I thought I might want to freeze some of it.

 

Also, I here are some pictures of some new accessories:

 

6 1/2" springform pan 

 

 

 

 

And, I'm going to start yogurt here in a minute.  

 

 

After doing some online research I found this bag.  It's plastic-ish with tiny tiny holes and a drawstring and reusable.  I think it will be great for straining my yogurt so that it's more of a "greek" yogurt.   I also think it will be great for jelly making.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Shelby
Get rid of double pictures (log)

[kayb]

Will be interested to hear reports on the yogurt-making, Shelby.

 

[rotuts]

S, if you get the chance can you show the fit of that pan in the IP ?

 

on the grate that came with the IP ?

 

thanks

 

where did you get it ?

[Shelby]

On December 11, 2015 at 9:02 AM, rotuts said:

S, if you get the chance can you show the fit of that pan in the IP ?

 

on the grate that came with the IP ?

 

thanks

 

where did you get it ?

Amazon.  My favorite shopping destination lol. 

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Shelby (log)

[Anna N]

 

Shelby, 

 

 This is the perfect thing for making "Greek" yogurt. All of it will go into the dishwasher and it is compact and easy to keep in the refrigerator. Got mine for a couple of dollars at a thrift store.

[Anna N]

 

 And so it was back to the drawing board. I had an early morning appointment and we stopped in at a supermarket shortly after. Somebody in the universe is on my side because broccoli was on sale for $.87 for three small small stalks!   The first thing I did was determine how long it would take the Instant Pot to reach full pressure with 160 mL (the minimum amount recommended in the manual) of cold water using the steam function.   That turned out to be four minutes. Add to that the four minutes I gave it last night to cook and one begins to see why it would turn to mush. 

 

 Step two I used 160 mL of hot water ( just off the boil), put in the trivet and the steam basket and loaded it with one small head of broccoli broken into florettes along with the peeled and chunked stem.  This time I chose only two minutes as the cook time. Using the hot water took one minute off the time to reach full pressure.

 

This time the florets were cooked as I like but the stems were not quite tender.  I suspect that is easily addressed by cutting the stems smaller.

 

 Not sure about the take away from all of this.   My suspicion is that there are better ways to cook broccoli.   But hell I had fun on a busy Friday morning.  

[MelissaH]

Now that yinz have all been playing for a while and I'm just getting started, which of the books do you find the most useful/reliable/valuable, especially with respect to the Instant Pot?

[Shelby]

12 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

Now that yinz have all been playing for a while and I'm just getting started, which of the books do you find the most useful/reliable/valuable, especially with respect to the Instant Pot?

I don't have any books.  I've been relying on this thread (and thread #1) and google.  

 

[rotuts]

excellent point

 

Shelby

 

its more or less all here.

[stckciv]

Anna N - I read somewhere to hit the steam button for 0 minutes to get broccoli to come out good. Maybe give that a try. Quick release

Edited December 11, 2015 by stckciv (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, MelissaH said:

Now that yinz have all been playing for a while and I'm just getting started, which of the books do you find the most useful/reliable/valuable, especially with respect to the Instant Pot?

 

I think all of them have their strengths and weaknesses and that they will appeal to each of us differently. Because I am a one person household there is much to be said for Janet Zimmerman's book but then there are recipes in other books that Janet doesn't have in hers. I think rotuts  has the right idea -- borrow them from the library before you buy. 

[Mmmpomps]

15 hours ago, Anna N said:

 I know many ways to cook broccoli. Most of them result in a perfectly al dente,  brilliantly green vegetable.  Not willing to let well enough alone last night I decided steam my broccoli in the Instant Pot. Hmmm.  Broccoli purée anyone?  I studied up on my subject thoroughly. Even watched a YouTube video on how to cook vegetables in the Instant Pot.  Used a trivet and a steaming basket.   Chose four minutes and a quick release because I was also cooking the stems.  Knew long before the four minutes were up that my broccoli was not doing well. Just in the time it took for the Instant Pot to reach pressure I knew inside there my broccoli was turning to mush. 

 

Given all the ways I have to cook broccoli I can think of no logical reason to attempt to do it again in the Instant Pot  but you all know that I will have to try!   First to hunt down more broccoli.

 

Hi Anna!

 

Use 0 minutes! Makes it perfect!

[Shelby]

Yogurt is a total success.

 

I can tell such a difference in taste from store bought.  It's way more fresh (obviously) and has a great "tang" to it.  

 

I followed this recipe mostly.  I did not add any vanilla because I like to use yogurt in place of sour cream sometimes  and I used the freeze dried yogurt culture that I pictured above.  Also, I only had a 1/2 gallon of milk so I halved the recipe.  Just to note, a half gallon of milk takes 10 grams (or 2 packages of the kind I bought) of culture.

 

I didn't take a picture of the milk in the IP because it looked like milk in the IP lol.  Here is the yogurt after the 8 hours in the pot.  I put it in my draining bag.

 

I hung the bag from the faucet for ohhhh, maybe 30-45 mins.  Excuse the dirty dishes please.

 

After hanging the recipe suggests putting the yogurt back in the IP bowl and whisking to break up any lumps.

 

A half gallon of milk yielded a quart and a half of nice, creamy, thick yogurt.

 

 

I saved the whey......dunno what I will do with it.....might go right down the drain, but I'm going to google for ideas.  The lady that did the recipe makes muffins I think.....

 

 

And, here's what I'm eating as I type.  Yogurt with a nice dollop of honey on top.  

 

Ronnie even likes it and he's not a yogurt fan.  He mentioned frozen yogurt....I'll have to figure out how to do that next.

 

Also, I came back from the laundry room to my two cats next to the bowl.....with yogurt on their whiskers.  So, we have two more fans lol.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2015 by Shelby (log)

[Anna N]

 Thanks Stckciv and Mmmpomps  for the advice on the broccoli. I will certainly give it a try.

 

 Earlier in the week Kery Beal and I were in a supermarket that often carries lamb ( not all of them do). She spotted this package of tiny shanks and odds and ends.  Although I had sworn not to buy anymore meat until I had used up what was in the freezer,  but the price was too good to pass up!

 

 

so they went home with me and I turned to  Janet Zimmerman's book  for her recipe for lamb shanks and serve them over some polenta also cooked in the Instant Pot.

[rotuts]

Shelby

 

the whey can make a sort of lassi    chill it and then drink it with either a little salt or a little sugar w spicy food.

[FauxPas]

I have just started trying out my new Instant Pot. I made a basic stew - cubes of chuck sautéed and then added some onion, celery, beef stock and red wine. Pressure cooked for about 20 mins, then added carrots and potatoes and mushrooms and cooked for another 20 mins. I would add the carrots and potatoes a bit later next time because i like them to have a bit more firmness. But the stew was very good. 

 

I also cooked some artichokes. I adore artichokes and was very pleased with how they came out of the Instant Pot. Followed these instructions for cooking times:

 

http://www.hippressurecooking.com/steamed-artichokes-a-pressure-cooker-classic/

 

Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences, lots of ideas to try out here! 

 

 

[Shelby]

Ohhhhh artichokes are probably really great in the IP.  If I ever stumble across some, I'm doing that.  Thanks FP   Glad your stew turned out well.  I haven't done that yet.  Been waiting for a nice, cold, winter day.

[ElsieD]

 

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

Yogurt is a total success.

 

I can tell such a difference in taste from store bought.  It's way more fresh (obviously) and has a great "tang" to it.  

 

I followed this recipe mostly.  I did not add any vanilla because I like to use yogurt in place of sour cream sometimes  and I used the freeze dried yogurt culture that I pictured above.  Also, I only had a 1/2 gallon of milk so I halved the recipe.  Just to note, a half gallon of milk takes 10 grams (or 2 packages of the kind I bought) of culture.

 

I didn't take a picture of the milk in the IP because it looked like milk in the IP lol.  Here is the yogurt after the 8 hours in the pot.  I put it in my draining bag.

 

I hung the bag from the faucet for ohhhh, maybe 30-45 mins.  Excuse the dirty dishes please.

 

After hanging the recipe suggests putting the yogurt back in the IP bowl and whisking to break up any lumps.

 

A half gallon of milk yielded a quart and a half of nice, creamy, thick yogurt.

 

 

I saved the whey......dunno what I will do with it.....might go right down the drain, but I'm going to google for ideas.  The lady that did the recipe makes muffins I think.....

 

 

And, here's what I'm eating as I type.  Yogurt with a nice dollop of honey on top.  

 

Ronnie even likes it and he's not a yogurt fan.  He mentioned frozen yogurt....I'll have to figure out how to do that next.

 

Also, I came back from the laundry room to my two cats next to the bowl.....with yogurt on their whiskers.  So, we have two more fans.

 

That is the same recipe I followed except I did not use the vanilla either.  I really liked the yogurt.

[FauxPas]

Shelby and ElsieD, when making yogurt, did you use 2% milk or.... ??? 

 

Shelby, your yogurt does look delicious! 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[ElsieD]

I used 1% milk and added 1 1/2 tablespoons whipping cream per cup of milk.  Our whipping cream is 35% fat.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Smithy
Removed extraneous photo per ElsieD's request - hang in there, we'll get through this :-) (log)

[Shelby]

  I used whole milk.

 

I wonder if one would have to add cream if I used 2%?

[rotuts]

id just whip the cream

 

add it to a nice cake

 

with ezra frosting.

 

your making Greek ? 

 

put the whipped cream on some baklava

[FauxPas]

Shelby, the picture links are broken back where you first talked about making yogurt. What kind of starter/culture did you use again? From Amazon? 

 

And did your strainer come from Amazon? Thanks! 

 

And I don't think you need to add cream if you use 2% milk. I think the link you gave for instructions used 2% w/o any added cream. But if you like a richer yogurt, I guess you can always add some cream to your low-fat milk. ElsieD, is that why you added the cream? 

Edited December 13, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[Shelby]

14 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Shelby, the picture links are broken back where you first talked about making yogurt. What kind of starter/culture did you use again? From Amazon? 

 

And did your strainer come from Amazon? Thanks! 

 

And I don't think you need to add cream if you use 2% milk. I think the link you gave for instructions used 2% w/o any added cream. But if you like a richer yogurt, I guess you can always add some cream to your low-fat milk. ElsieD, is that why you added the cream? 

I have no idea why the pics weren't showing up.  I uploaded just like I did today, but anyway, I tried again and maybe you can see them now?  If not, give me a bit and I'll try again.

[rotuts]

its an upgrade issue

 

just wait for it.

 

they will come back.

 

nice on the Yogurt BTW