Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 4)

[ElsieD]

@Shelby and @kayb   I'll try both your methods and see what happens.  I'll post the results.  I haven't tried the rice function yet or any of them except manual pressure, yogurt and sauté.  Perhaps it's time I did.

[ElsieD]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

@ElsieD  

 

I see no reason why you can't make perfect rice in the IP :

 

that being said , I use Basmati rice.   I follow the instructions in " Hip Pressure cooking " to the tree and get fine rice

 

I do keep track of the final water amounts after the soaking , as that determines the ' dente ' aspects of the rice.

 

If you do not have this book , PM  me and Ill send you a pager or two from the book as a PM jpg.

 

I sure the info in on the Hip web site.

 

Thank you, rotus, but I have the times to cook stuff from her web site.  Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do me much good.  If Shelby''s and/or kayb's methods don't work I'll let you know.  

[lindag]

The easiest way I've found to scrub out the crud from the bottom of the pot is with an SOS pad.

does a really good job and doesn't seem to scratch, easier than BKF.

 

[Porthos]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

The easiest way I've found to scrub out the crud from the bottom of the pot is with an SOS pad.

does a really good job and doesn't seem to scratch, easier than BKF.

 

I keep Brillo pads and BKF in the kitchen. I tend to like BKF for discoloration.

[rotuts]

maybe Brillo's have changed.  my parents used them a lot.

 

I would think they would scratch the iPot pot

 

making is future use problematic re future stains and cooked on Stuff.

[Porthos]

23 minutes ago, rotuts said:

maybe Brillo's have changed.  my parents used them a lot.

 

It  is very posibe that they have changed since 'nothing is constant except change'. FWIW I have used Brillo pads on my polished S/S pans for several years and have not noted any change in the surface.

 

 I will be using BKF on the Instant Pot since the isuse is discoloration as opposed to stubborn food residue.

[ElsieD]

Tonight I cooked the rice as Shelby suggested.  It was perfect.  I also want to try kayb's method and will do that next time.  I need to try more of the different functions on the IP.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

Tonight I cooked the rice as Shelby suggested.  It was perfect.  I also want to try kayb's method and will do that next time.  I need to try more of the different functions on the IP.

Oh Elsie, I'm SO glad it worked!  Thanks for reporting back  

 

I was rice challenged until I got the IP.  My rice done on the stove top was either too done and stuck to the bottom or not done enough and crunchy.  The IP saved me.

[lindag]

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 9:56 AM, Porthos said:

 I will be using BKF on the Instant Pot since the isuse is discoloration as opposed to stubborn food residue

Is the discoloration you refer to a kind of cloudiness?  I have a bit of that around the perimeter on the bottom.  I'll try BKF on it next time.

Edited January 14, 2017 by lindag (log)

[Okanagancook]

On 1/12/2017 at 5:05 PM, ElsieD said:

Tonight I cooked the rice as Shelby suggested.  It was perfect.  I also want to try kayb's method and will do that next time.  I need to try more of the different functions on the IP.

I used Shelby's method with 'fragrant' rice.  Washed only, no soaking and it was a little soggy.  However, need to clarify instructions:  do you leave it on natural release for 15 to 20 minutes or do you release it and then keep it on the 'warm' function?  I did the later.  Thanks.

[Okanagancook]

On 1/11/2017 at 3:28 PM, kayb said:

 

I do 1.75:1 water-to-rice ratio, salt the water, use the "rice" setting, and then generally leave it on "keep warm" for 15-20 minutes or so. I suspect that allows it to steam and take up the additional water. I use whatever generic variety of rice, mostly likely Riceland-produced but the store brand, is the cheapest, and, like you, use it when the taste doesn't matter much. 

 

FWIW, I use about the same method for brown rice, only I extend the "keep warm" time to a minimum of 30 minutes. I've left it as long as an hour, but if I do that purposely, I might go up to 1:1 on the water-rice ratio. I learned early on that when I didn't do the wait time with brown rice, it would be soupy and still crunchy.

 

Oops, not Shelby  

 " I use the plain Uncle Ben's white rice.  I do 1 1/2 cups of water with 1 cup of rice.  Eight minutes on high pressure.  Quick release.  "

but kayo's method and I see I did the right thing and used the 'keep warm' time but not 30 minutes.  Sheesh.

I'll go away now...it's too early and I haven't had my coffee yet.  That's my excuse.

[larryroohr]

I got my IP last week and made beans in slow cook mode first, then a cheesecake, easy and good.

 

Next was green chili. Browning the pork on the saute setting was great, and no splatter on the stove. Same with sauteing the onion and garlic. Then tossed in the roasted chili's, tomatoes, a little chicken stock, salt, bay leaf, a little cumin and mexican oregano, pressure cooked for an hour. Came out great. I'm surprised how tender the pork is without my usual long slow cook method.

 

The stainless pot cleaned up easily compared to the enamel non-stick in my slow cookers (which are headed for a friends yard sale), and that was the only pot/pan to deal with.

 

I like how this heats from the bottom as opposed to the sides like my slow cookers. Also it seems to have actual temperature control (need to check this) as opposed to just changing the power applied, again, like my slow cookers.

 

I'm at 5k ft elevation so the 11psi spec drops to 9psi, I add about +25% or so time for this. I'll be keeping my stovetop pressure cooker for it's 15psi spec though I doubt I'll use it.

 

So once again eGullet has me adding another toy in the kitchen, and once again I'm pretty happy with it.

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, larryroohr said:

I got my IP last week and made beans in slow cook mode first, then a cheesecake, easy and good.

 

Next was green chili. Browning the pork on the saute setting was great, and no splatter on the stove. Same with sauteing the onion and garlic. Then tossed in the roasted chili's, tomatoes, a little chicken stock, salt, bay leaf, a little cumin and mexican oregano, pressure cooked for an hour. Came out great. I'm surprised how tender the pork is without my usual long slow cook method.

 

The stainless pot cleaned up easily compared to the enamel non-stick in my slow cookers (which are headed for a friends yard sale), and that was the only pot/pan to deal with.

 

I like how this heats from the bottom as opposed to the sides like my slow cookers. Also it seems to have actual temperature control (need to check this) as opposed to just changing the power applied, again, like my slow cookers.

 

I'm at 5k ft elevation so the 11psi spec drops to 9psi, I add about +25% or so time for this. I'll be keeping my stovetop pressure cooker for it's 15psi spec though I doubt I'll use it.

 

So once again eGullet has me adding another toy in the kitchen, and once again I'm pretty happy with it.

Yay!!!  Another IP groupie   Glad you like it.

[quiet1]

Finally got around to trying the IP out - the recipe my mom wanted to use looked a bit gloopy for pressure cooking so in interests of being cautious to start with, I used the IP on sauté and slow cook instead of using any of the pressure settings. Still worked pretty well - I was quite impressed by how well it browned the meat, especially.

 

The stew is for tomorrow, so apart from a taste (it's oddly sweet - it called for Apple juice instead of water or broth which seemed odd but worth trying once, but I'm not sure I like it, any ideas how to take the sweetness down a notch if it doesn't settle down some over night?) I just pulled the inner pot out, stuck a cover on it (one of those silicone ones) and put the whole thing in the fridge. Plan is to stick it back in the base in the early afternoon and just let it heat up and then keep warm until dinner. If that works well I think we will be in the market for an extra inner pot, so we can use the pot even if one inner is full of chili or stew in the fridge. Or carnitas.

[kayb]

Can you add a splash of vinegar to tone down the sweet?

 

[quiet1]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

Can you add a splash of vinegar to tone down the sweet?

 

 

That's what I'm considering, or maybe a bit of red wine when I reheat it? I'm waiting to see how thick it is tomorrow, too - if I need to thin it out a bit if I use some stock that should also help dilute it a bit without making it taste watered down.

 

As an ingredient I think I'd try the Apple juice or cider again, actually - I can see how it adds a nice element to the stew, it's just too much as the only liquid. Or perhaps next time I'd use something like half and half hard cider and beef stock, since hard cider isn't as sweet to start with, and personally I think alcohol helps get flavors out of ingredients so they can blend, as you want in a stew.

[lindag]

I purchased the glass lid (Amazon) that kayb recommended upthread.

Much handier than the big PC lid that is a bit clumsy.  I didn't get it at the sale price but still...

Edited January 16, 2017 by lindag (log)

[MelissaH]

I also think hard cider instead of sweet would help to tone down the sweetness. But if you're planning to pressure cook with the hard cider, I'd make a point of boiling with the lid off for a few minutes after the pressure releases. Because a pressure cooker seals in the vapors, the alcohol doesn't cook off but stays in the pot, and I find that often gives the dish a harsh flavor I don't care for. Boiling open for a little bit takes care of it for me.

[quiet1]

4 hours ago, MelissaH said:

I also think hard cider instead of sweet would help to tone down the sweetness. But if you're planning to pressure cook with the hard cider, I'd make a point of boiling with the lid off for a few minutes after the pressure releases. Because a pressure cooker seals in the vapors, the alcohol doesn't cook off but stays in the pot, and I find that often gives the dish a harsh flavor I don't care for. Boiling open for a little bit takes care of it for me.

 

You brown the meat first, so my plan would be to add the cider and bring it up to temp while getting all the nice fond off the bottom, then add anything else and seal. That would cook off some of the alcohol.

[ElsieD]

We had rice again tonight and I cooked it as per kayb's instructions.  This rice too, was perfect.  The beauty of this method is that my timing was way off so I was able to just leave it on the keep warm setting until the rest of the meal preparation was done.  So thank you, @Shelby and @kayb .  No more crunchy rice for us!

[palo]

What's the difference between version 1 and version 2?

 

p

[Anna N]

31 minutes ago, palo said:

What's the difference between version 1 and version 2?

 

p

I believe it was discussed earlier but here's a link to an outside source explaining the differences.

Click.

[kayb]

1 hour ago, palo said:

What's the difference between version 1 and version 2?

 

p

 

Shelby uses a timed cook. I use the rice function and leave it on "keep warm" for several minutes afterward.

[palo]

Other than the slow cook temp changes, it doesn't sound like a major reinvention. I haven't used the slow cook function so I'm happy with my version 1

 

p

[Shelby]

I'm out of chicken broth.  Rectifying that right now.  Got two IP's going.