Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 5)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My mother used a manual pressure cooker (no idea what make) in the early 1950's.  It was kind of scary.  I use a Fissler myself.

 

For me an electric pressure cooker just does not appeal.

 

[Anna N]

5 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm not an Instant Pot owner myself but I thought those here would be interested that the NY Times has an article by Melissa Clark on living one year with the Instant Pot.

 

Short version:  she loves it but does not use the Instant Pot for everything.

 

Here is the link.   Like so many writers who approach the instant pot she too underestimates the real time needed to prepare a dish. She counts only the time under pressure neglecting to mention the time needed to reach pressure or for pressure to drop. (I mention this only because if you're not up front about the real time then newcomers to the Instant Pot might wonder what else you haven't been truthful about.)

[rotuts]

re; NYTimes

 

Im a subscriber

 

however , if you understand cookies , the browser kind , 

 

remove the NYTime cookie from time to time and see what happens.

 

 

just saying

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

11 hours ago, weedy said:

 

I'm not arguing about whether those circumstances might decide a cooking method.

But that's entirely different from 'things it does BETTER'.

 

I do 72hr short ribs because it filed a result that is otherwise unattainable. That doesn't mean I can do that every day (nor would I want to), but it is clearly the 'best' or really only, way to get that result.

OTOH, I can bake potatoes (if you really think boiling them 'loses flavor') or microwave them when making mash... and end up with a near identical result.

And actually within a similar time frame in the  oven and in much less time in the micro.

 

I like the thing for pressure stocks, and as a rice (or polenta) cooker.

I'm not sure that makes me a convert.

 

 

I think what this boils down to is the fact that all of us cook differently and have different levels of expertise. Your method of cooking sous-vide yields results that make my mouth water, but I don't have the expertise or the patience to use that method. I'm too much geared to instant gratification. That chicken that I poached would have been delicious baked in the oven but I didn't have the time that day to babysit it for 2 hours and the leftover meat wouldn't have been as moist and good to use in the meals I wanted to make the rest of the week. And my kitchen would have become an oven (it's hot down here). Everything I did could have been done equally well by conventional methods but I would have used more electricity, taken more time, and I would have been terribly uncomfortable doing it because of the heat. For me, anything that accomplishes those goals and puts good food on the table is a better way.

I hate to tell you this, just the fact that you own one and you are interested in our opinion and methods makes you a convert of sorts. Maybe little by little you will find more things that you like to do with it or you may get tired of it and it will go the way of my waffle iron. The thing that I like best about it is that it's not a one-trick pony. I can do so many things with it that it has definitely earned it's space in my kitchen.

[Tropicalsenior]

7 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Worrywart that I am, although it never happened to me personally, I haven't owned a PC of any kind since until this IP. I feel like I have catapulted reluctantly into the 21st century! 

 

Does anyone remember the manual Presto aluminum pressure cookers I described above?

My mother had a manual Presto aluminum pressure cooker that blew up with her twice. I can still see the noodles hanging from the ceiling. I was scared to death of pressure cookers until I got an Oster pressure cooker. I didn't really use it all that much, just for beans and broth and soup, and it blew up for me. I was lucky, I was well away from it when it blew but my kitchen didn't fare so well. I was cooking pork soup and I had broth and pork splattered on everything within 12 feet of the cooker. Thinking back, I don't think the lid engaged quite right but I used it anyway. Just a word of warning, if it doesn't feel right don't use it. That extra minute of precaution can save a lot of cleanup and possible injury.

The people that use the stove top pressure cookers love them and have total confidence in them. I admire them for that because, to use them safely requires an expertise and a level of concentration that I don't have. I love that I can set mine and walk away and do something else until it's time to take out the finished product.

On another note, I had an electric pressure cooker in the 70s. It was from Sears and it was made just like the Presto deep fryers with four legs and an electric element in the bottom. It was green enamel. I used it with complete confidence until the rubber parts wore out and I couldn't get replacements. I then used it as just an electric cook pot until it died. Does anyone remember these?

[chromedome]

I had the electric pot/fryer, but it wasn't a pressure cooker. I picked it up used at the thrift store and used it at my farmer's market stall for a few years, then passed it along to my daughter. She still uses it. 

 

[lindag]

Just pulled the trigger on the Ipot Mini!  Couldn't stand it any longer.  I have some beets that will fit nicely and I'll make a half recipe of Ina Garten's Oxtail Soup (substituting Orzo for the barley which I don't care for).

No I just have to figure out which pot to remove to storage so I have room for the little guy.  Oh and I need to get the glass lid that fits it.

Darn those eG enablers!

[lindag]

Can someone point me to the post where the 3 qt. glass lid was mentioned, the one that fits the Mini Ipot?

I've searched here and on Amazon but came up empty!

[ElsieD]

2 minutes ago, lindag said:

Can someone point me to the post where the 3 qt. glass lid was mentioned, the one that fits the Mini Ipot?

I've searched here and on Amazon but came up empty!

 

9 minutes ago, lindag said:

Just pulled the trigger on the Ipot Mini!  Couldn't stand it any longer.  I have some beets that will fit nicely and I'll make a half recipe of Ina Garten's Oxtail Soup (substituting Orzo for the barley which I don't care for).

No I just have to figure out which pot to remove to storage so I have room for the little guy.  Oh and I need to get the glass lid that fits it.

Darn those eG enablers!

 

Congratulations!  I think you'll be very happy with it.

[ElsieD]

6 minutes ago, lindag said:

Can someone point me to the post where the 3 qt. glass lid was mentioned, the one that fits the Mini Ipot?

I've searched here and on Amazon but came up empty!

 

I ordered one from Amazon.ca and while they accepted the order, no delivery date as yet.

[lindag]

Can you show me where you found it?  My searches turned up nothing for the 3 qt.

[blue_dolphin]

15 minutes ago, lindag said:

Can you show me where you found it?  My searches turned up nothing for the 3 qt.

 

@Anna N posted a link to it on the Amazon.ca site here.  It is still showing up there but it's listed as not currently available on Amazon.com.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2017 by blue_dolphin (log)

[MelissaH]

5 hours ago, Anna N said:

Here is the link.   Like so many writers who approach the instant pot she too underestimates the real time needed to prepare a dish. She counts only the time under pressure neglecting to mention the time needed to reach pressure or for pressure to drop. (I mention this only because if you're not up front about the real time then newcomers to the Instant Pot might wonder what else you haven't been truthful about.)

This might be a discussion for a different topic, but as an editor, I view assessing the reasonableness of the prep time (if one is given) as part of my job. And you're absolutely right about the reason why!

 

I suspect our IP may get a workout tomorrow. Two of the six burners on our range are currently out of commission because they wouldn't disassemble and instead broke when my wonderful husband tried to clean things a couple of weekends ago, while I was at a conference. (One of those two wouldn't ignite properly, hence the need for a cleaning in the first place.) The parts for the repair have arrived, and will be installed tomorrow late afternoon. Which means that any dinner prep must be done without the range, meaning dinner will be raw, or cooked on the sandwich press or waffle iron, in the microwave, using the electric kettle, on the induction burner that could get hauled upstairs, or in the IP. (Outdoors, on either the grill or the propane stove, is not realistic given the rain-all-day forecast.)

[ElsieD]

25 minutes ago, lindag said:

Can you show me where you found it?  My searches turned up nothing for the 3 qt.

 

@lindag  @blue_dolphin beat me to it.  I ordered mine on Aug. 14th when they were still listing it, but showing it as unavailable.  When i hear something i will let you know.

[lindag]

43 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

@lindag  @blue_dolphin beat me to it.  I ordered mine on Aug. 14th when they were still listing it, but showing it as unavailable.  When i hear something i will let you know.

Thank you.  That lid doesn't show up on Amazon.US.

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

Thank you.  That lid doesn't show up on Amazon.US.

 

Oops apparently somebody already made the link. Missed that. 

Edited September 27, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[Okanagancook]

I want to keep my mashed potatoes warm in the IP ready for dinner.  If I make them two and a half hours ahead and keep them will they be ok or will they get dried out and/or scorched???

Thanks

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook

 

"" two and a half hours ""

 

nope

 

its not a MagicPot

[Anna N]

I don't know. The "keep warm mode" on the Instant Pot operates between 145°F and  172°F but it's not, as far as I know, controllable so I am guessing that it cycles between these two temperatures. It is certainly lower down the  lowest temperature of a slow cooker (I think). 

 

 The temperature of the slow cooker function is 190°F to 210°F. 

 

 Read through this and see if it's any help.

Click

[Okanagancook]

Dang.  

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook 

 

what are you planning for the 2 1/2 hours ?

[Okanagancook]

Thanks for the link and the information Anna N

I have cooked them and peeled them.  They are resting in the IP with the lid on.

I think I will go with my trusted method which is putting them in a double boiler over very gently simmering water and I will mash them 1/2 hour before everyone arrives so they will only be there for about an hour.  I am afraid the IP will dry them out looking at the temperatures.

cheers.

[weedy]

I'm not, just to be clear, trying to rain on anyone's Instant pot parade.  

Rather I am trying to find how to get the most from it. 

 

So... along those lines. 

If I do a cheesecake, is there something special about the pressure cooker recipes or can I use ANY cheesecake recipe?

what would one expect to need adjusting?

how do decide on time under pressure?

 

thanks

[Tropicalsenior]

On 9/27/2017 at 7:17 PM, weedy said:

can I use ANY cheesecake recipe?

 Not really. Because of the size of the pan that you will be using, you are limited to the amount the ingredients that you can use. I have found a good ratio is, 16 oz of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, two eggs, and not more than 1/4 cup of another liquid ingredient (example: cream cheese, ricotta cheese, pumpkin).

Also, because the cake does not bake as firmly as it would end in the oven, I always add two tablespoons of flour.

 This is the recipe that I use:

 

Instant Pot New York Cheesecake

Crust
3/4 cup any type of shortbread cookie (crushed)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup butter melted
Filling
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon peel grated
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 pinch salt
Sour Cream Layer
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons sugar

Crust
Add cookies and sugar to the bowl of food processor and pulse a couple of times, until small crumbs form. Melt butter in microwave and add to cookie mixture. Pulse until just combined.
Pour cookie mixture into bottom of greased 8-inch cheesecake pan and press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and no more than one inch up along the sides.
Place pan with crust into freezer for 20 minutes while you mix up the filling.
Filling
Blend together cream cheese, sugar, flour, grated peels, salt and vanilla extract until smooth.
Add eggs, one at a time, lightly mixing until just combined. Do not over mix the eggs.

Gently stir in the sour cream.
Pour filling into the pan, on top of the crust.
Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom of your pressur cooker and place a trivet inside the pot.
Cover the cheesecake first with a paper towel and then with a piece of aluminum foil and loosely secure the foil.
Place cheesecake into pressure cooker.
Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve.  Cook at High Pressure for 35 minutes. Allow a 20 minute natural release.
After all pressure has been released, open pressure cooker and leave the cake the cooker. Remove the foil and paper towel. Tilt the cheesecake pan and dab off any liquid that may have accumulated.
Sour Cream Layer
Whisk together the sour cream and sugar and then spread on the hot cheesecake.  Let cool inside the pressure cooker for at least one hour.
Tightly cover and place in refrigerator overnight.  Cheesecake can be removed from pan after an hour in the refrigerator.

Note: the gentler that you treat the ingredients, the denser the cake will be. If you want a creamier cheesecake whip the cream cheese sugar and sour cream together, but never whip in the eggs. This will cause air bubbles in the cake that you do not want!

As I said, I took the procedure and most of the recipe from this website: https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-new-york-cheesecake/  and it is well worth reading her instructions and tips at this site: https://thisoldgal.com/perfect-pressure-cooker-cheesecake-tips/

 I have made this quite a few times now and it has never failed. And yes, it is much better in the IP than in the oven. It never cracks, and it never falls, and I don't have to babysit it in the IP. I just set it and forget it until it's done

Edited January 13, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[weedy]

thanks.

 

aside from the overall volume (to fit in the pan), what other aspects do you adjust for the instant pot?

 

I'm still not clear how that's substantially different form another cheesecake recipe; or why any recipe that "fits" won't work.