Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 4)

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I cur the potatoes into bite-sized chunks and pressure-cooked them for 8 minutes using the bowl-within-a-bowl method.  

 

Did you cover the potatoes with water?

[Smithy]

8 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

Did you cover the potatoes with water?

 

No.  I put them into a small casserole dish that was set atop the trivet.  (I had rinsed them before cutting, so there was a very small amount of water clinging to the skins - a trivial contribution of liquid, I think.)  The instruction booklet said to add "at least 1 cup of water" for steaming vegetables, so I added 1 cup to the bottom of the stainless steel insert.  That was enough to cover the bottom of the insert but not enough to submerge the trivet.

 

Further information, though you didn't ask: the booklet said to cook the chunks of potato from 7 to 9 minutes with quick release.  I split the difference at 8 minutes.  For this purpose, using red (waxy) potatoes that would be cooked again later, 7 minutes might have been adequate.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Smithy
Changed "pressure-cooking" to "steaming" vegetables, per the manual and what I actually did. (log)

[Doofa]

On 30/04/2017 at 3:13 PM, Shelby said:

 

Congratulations on your new IP!

 

I am assuming you are going for hard boiled on your goose eggs?  I'd start with one egg ....doubling the time on my method would be 10 mins and that seems like too long.....so I would do one egg at 8 mins, low pressure, natural release and into cold water.  Let us know how it goes, I'm curious.  I have some duck eggs at the moment.

 

Thanks @Shelby for suggestion. 

 

I split the difference with you and went for 9 minutes. Result, one solid boiled goose egg with no discoloration whatsoever. Next I will go for 8 minutes to make laying on a sandwich easier. Thanks again. D 

[lindag]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 8:10 PM, kayb said:

Ordered a nine-inch glass lid to use on the IP when I want to use it as a slow cooker. If you have not done this, I highly recommend it; it's much simpler than using the regular lid, and allows for some evaporation and thus the appropriate changing of flavors if, say, you're making something that includes alcohol. I used it to make mac and cheese for our Christmas dinner; used the saute function to boil the noodles, drained them, switched over to "keep warm" and added the cheese, butter, cream and milk, and just stirred it periodically until we were ready to dig in.

 

I found this one on sale for $9.95, free shipping. Looks almost identical to the IP-branded one. Glad I've got it. The IP gets even more versatile, if that's possible.

 

 

 

I ordered the one nonstick inner pot that was available at Amazon on 12/24...it will arrive on May 5(?) if I'm lucky.  They did tell me it was not in stock but, wow, five months!!!!???

[blue_dolphin]

Finally got around to trying the Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder that appeared in the NY Times when they ran an Instant Pot article back in January. 

Per the recipe, the pork gets rubbed with a mixture of seasonings and marinated for 1-24 hrs and then seared before pressure cooking.  

This was very flavorful but I'm not sure how much the extra steps added and the leftover pork will be less adaptable for other uses than when I cook it with just garlic and smoked salt. 

That said, I very much like the idea of tossing the cooked pork with pan juices and sauce and broiling to produce nice crispy bits. 

This was very flavorful but I'm not sure how much the extra steps added and the leftover pork will be less adaptable for other uses than when I cook it with just garlic and smoked salt. 

Edited May 7, 2017 by blue_dolphin (log)

[FauxPas]

Pressure Cooking Today is offering a chance to win one of the new Instant Pot Ultras this week:

 

http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-ultra-60-review-giveaway/

 

I love that the lid automatically resets to Sealing, I tend to forget to do that myself. 

[ElsieD]

On 4/5/2017 at 3:44 PM, Anna N said:

Also from @JAZ' book. It would have benefitted from just a little longer cook time.  Perhaps because once again I chose a 6 inch pan rather than a 7 inch pan and the extra depth of the batter made all the difference.  I would like to repeat this because the other concern was that there was no water at all left in the liner of the IP.   Did I perhaps mis-measure? Or is one cup not enough?  Will need to get more apples  before I can experiment.  Certainly I believe it is worth a repeat performance.

 

I made this yesterday and as you can see from the picture, it was a white, undercooked, very dense blob.  Yours, Anna, at least looks appetizing.  The flavour was great, and I think we would have enjoyed it had it turned out.  I followed the directions to a T, including checking to make sure the IP was set for high pressure.  I haven't a clue as to what went wrong.  Anyone else try this?

Edited May 23, 2017 by ElsieD
Forgot to add picture (log)

[Shelby]

I finally got around to making risotto in the IP.  I don't know what took me so long.  I could eat this all the time and it's SO easy.  I added mushrooms and asparagus from the garden.  Heavenly.  Picture on the dinner thread.

 

 

[JAZ]

On 5/23/2017 at 10:49 AM, ElsieD said:

 

I made this yesterday and as you can see from the picture, it was a white, undercooked, very dense blob.  Yours, Anna, at least looks appetizing.  The flavour was great, and I think we would have enjoyed it had it turned out.  I followed the directions to a T, including checking to make sure the IP was set for high pressure.  I haven't a clue as to what went wrong.  Anyone else try this?

 

 

 

I'm so sorry the cake didn't turn out for you. I will say that "baking" in the instant pot doesn't create the greatest looking cakes -- they don't brown. That's why I call for the extra browned butter and confectioner's sugar to finish. And it should be somewhat dense, but lighter than that. The only things I can think of that would cause the extra dense texture are old baking powder or overmixing. I have occasionally had reports that my cooking times are slightly too short, so perhaps my Instant Pot (I also have a Cuisinart pressure cooker) cooks hotter than standard. I'll try the recipe again and see if I can shed more light on the problem.

[ElsieD]

23 hours ago, JAZ said:

 

I'm so sorry the cake didn't turn out for you. I will say that "baking" in the instant pot doesn't create the greatest looking cakes -- they don't brown. That's why I call for the extra browned butter and confectioner's sugar to finish. And it should be somewhat dense, but lighter than that. The only things I can think of that would cause the extra dense texture are old baking powder or overmixing. I have occasionally had reports that my cooking times are slightly too short, so perhaps my Instant Pot (I also have a Cuisinart pressure cooker) cooks hotter than standard. I'll try the recipe again and see if I can shed more light on the problem.

 

Thank you for responding to this.  It makes sense that it wouldn't brown, and what I did was stick it under the broiler to brown the top a bit.  But, the texture was like stodgy bread pudding.  My baking powder is fresh, I bought it just a few weeks ago. One thing about the IP and temperatures - the IP people replaced one of my pots because the temperatures were off.  I recently made a big batch of chili using my two IPs one of which was the replacement and the food temperatures were not the same.  They were both on slow cook and the one pot was set on "slow cook more" and the food temperatures was 145F.  The replacement pot was set at "slow cook less" and the food temperatures was 197F.  The food did not budge from those temperatures for over an hour. 

 

I look forward to hearing back from you on the cake. The flavour was delicious.

 

 

[Smithy]

On 4/15/2017 at 4:03 PM, ElsieD said:

@kayb. I put 1 quart worth of reconstituted dry milk and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt in my IP before bed and set it on the yogurt setting for 9 hours, which is what I usually do.   This morning I let it drain for a couple of hours and measured 1 1/2 cups whey which is what I usually get.  I whisked the yogurt to smooth it out and stuck it in the fridge.  When I got home this afternoon I checked it and I have wonderful yogurt.  No more preheating the milk for me!

 

On 4/16/2017 at 2:21 PM, kayb said:

I strain mine as well. I mix two cups of instant dry milk, two quarts of water, and a third to a half-cup of yogurt from the last batch, or a single-serve portion of Fage if I run out and start over. I get a bit more than a quart, but not quite a quart plus a full cup, out of that after I strain it for 3 or 4 hours.

 

I find the full-fat dry milk makes a creamier yogurt than does the non-fat, but there's little, if any, difference in taste.

 

I'm just excited I don't have to heat the milk any more.

 

 

I grabbed these two posts as a reminder of the yogurt-making IP discussion, but there are others.  Has anyone here adjusted the recipe or method for using the IP to make yogurt?

 

I'm looking at my first attempt, currently in the 'drain to thicken' stage.  I'm not crazy about the taste, but it's quite possibly because the can of Nido I fished out from the freezer is well past its "best by" date of July 2010 and tastes like - well, powdered milk.  I'll get fresh stuff before trying it again.

 

I made the yogurt in jars instead of directly in the pan, and now wonder whether a pot-within-pot method would have been better - or simply making it directly in the liner pot as some of you seem to be doing. Any opinions on that? 

 

[kayb]

30 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

 

I grabbed these two posts as a reminder of the yogurt-making IP discussion, but there are others.  Has anyone here adjusted the recipe or method for using the IP to make yogurt?

 

I'm looking at my first attempt, currently in the 'drain to thicken' stage.  I'm not crazy about the taste, but it's quite possibly because the can of Nido I fished out from the freezer is well past its "best by" date of July 2010 and tastes like - well, powdered milk.  I'll get fresh stuff before trying it again.

 

I made the yogurt in jars instead of directly in the pan, and now wonder whether a pot-within-pot method would have been better - or simply making it directly in the liner pot as some of you seem to be doing. Any opinions on that? 

 

I make mine directly in the liner pot. Seems the easiest way, to me.

[ElsieD]

I too make it directly in the inner pot.  I changed the ingredients a bit in that I now add 2 tablespoons of whipping cream per litre of reconstituted milk.  I drain it for maybe 3 hours or more and it gives me the creamiest, thickest yogurt I've ever made.  Reminds me of Fage brand yogurt.  I also take the extra step of cleaning the inner pot between the "boil" and the "yogurt" functions as I prefer my yogurt without those bits stuck to the bottom of the pot after the boil function.

[Smithy]

Thank you both.  @ElsieD, you're still boiling the mix?  I believe I read above that @kayb no longer does that because it isn't necessary with reconstituted milk.  Do I have that right?  If so, why boil the mixture?

 

Incidentally, I'm eating some of my first batch for breakfast.  Now that it's thickened, it's not bad for a first attempt. I still think I'll invest in fresh milk powder.

[ElsieD]

29 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Thank you both.  @ElsieD, you're still boiling the mix?  I believe I read above that @kayb no longer does that because it isn't necessary with reconstituted milk.  Do I have that right?  If so, why boil the mixture?

 

Incidentally, I'm eating some of my first batch for breakfast.  Now that it's thickened, it's not bad for a first attempt. I still think I'll invest in fresh milk powder.

 

I have made it both ways.  The last two times I added whipping cream and both of those times I pre-heated the milk. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure why I reverted back to doing it that way as skipping the boil function worked perfectly fine.  Must have been habit.   Now that you have reminded me, I'll go back to skipping the boil function.

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  I made the yogurt overnight, and did not pre-heat the milk.  Just mixed up the powdered milk, yogurt starter and a couple of tablespoons of whipping cream.  I drained it for about 2 1/2 hours and have lovely thick yogurt with zero ptotein bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, which is a first for me.  In case this is of interest to anyone else, this is what I line my strainer with - liners used in bamboo steamers and they can be found in Chinese/Asian grocery stores. They do an excellent job, are strong so they don't fall apart and the yogurt releases cleanly from it.

[Anna N]

I foolishly volunteered to make three appetizers for my daughter's family and friends. 

 

 

Look!  Look!  One dozen peeled hard-boiled eggs and not a nick on any one of them!  

 

 

 They are a little overcooked for my liking but since they are going to make devilled eggs they just got a little more mayo than they normally would. 

 

 

You can't do anything interesting for them because the friends don't eat onions or spicy things and that's just the beginning of their list of likes and dislikes. So terribly boring egg yolk, mayo mustard salt and pepper and a pinch of sweet unsmoked paprika. 

 For Instant Pot users this was my standard hard boiled egg modus operandi

 

Refrigerator cold eggs, 1 cup of water for steam, trivet, five minutes low pressure and let the pressure drop on its own, eggs straight into ice bath.  

 

 The mushrooms are stuffed (nothing to do with the instant pot) and I'm now going to make some cheese straws with store-bought puff pastry and then I will likely collapse into a quivering heap.

 

 

Host's note: this topic is continued in Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 5).

Edited June 14, 2017 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)