Instant Pot - is it worth buying one?

 



Regular readers will know that I don't spend money lightly.


I'm not a scrooge, don't get me wrong, but we enjoy living our 'thrifty, frugal life'!


I save pennies so that when harder times come along it isn't as hard to manage through them.


I've read about folks buying Instant Pots.  It is claimed that they will save money.

So I've done some research - and as always, I welcome your comments on the subject.


So what is an Instant Pot?

Basically it is a modern type of pressure cooker. It works on electricity.

My mum had a pressure cooker in the 70s and 80s.  It was a large, heavy, metal saucepan that had smaller metal baskets inside.  The lid would be fixed on with a small weight on top that bounced up and down to let out little bits of steam, and this would let you know to time your cooking.

Steam cooks the contents of a pressure cooker, at a higher temperature than just boiling or simmering.

The Pros of a pressure cooker - Instant Pot - are:

. it can cook meat from frozen

. it cooks more quickly - but not 'instantly'

. you can do something else while it is cooking (file nails, write a journal, crochet placemats), although if you are cooking something else for the meal you will be using more energy: yours, gas or electricity.

. it keeps food warm, like a slow cooker


The Instant Pot works by raising the inner temperature around the food.  This is why the food cooks more quickly. 


So the Cons of the Instant Pot:

. it costs money to buy one

. it is large and quite heavy

. where will it 'live' in the kitchen?

. it is fiddly to get completely clean

. the sealing rings can take on the taste of things they have cooked previously, so if you cook something with garlic then want to make a dessert in your pot, you might want to buy an additional plastic sealing ring for the lid...

. cooking veg at a higher temperature can mean it has fewer nutrients left


So.

We won't be buying an Instant Pot.

I'm going to hang onto my pennies and not jump on the bandwagon.

I have a brilliant saucepan that metal baskets sit onto, with the lid on top.  I use this to steam veg until it is just al dente.  Using my saucepan means I can lift the lid and try the tenderness of the veg with a sharp knife.  

I don't cook meat unless I'm roasting something for the family - and I make sure the oven is full, with a meal for us for the week ahead alongside roast spuds, veg, stuffing and Yorkshire puddings.

We have a tiny kitchen.  Our slow cooker is used regularly over Autumn and Winter, and has a space in a cupboard.  


I hope my opinions have been interesting.  

Please add any comments below.


FM xx


Comments

  1. Any type of pressure cooker scares the bejezus out of me.

    I did buy an air fryer/combi oven. We love it. Yes, we found a home for it on the kitchen counter and it's good looking. It's the Cuisinart one.

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  2. My husband bought one. It is complicated!!!!!!!!!! I am a believer in using a few ordinary pieces of kitchen equipment. I do not like more electronic stuff. If you dont want to heat up an oven, then use a microwave or a small counter oven. But the instapot is just an unnecessary fancy gadget (my opinion).

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  3. I have an Instant Pot, and if and when it 'dies', it will be replaced asap!
    I absolutely love it, and in cooler weather, use it more or less every day.
    It is a bit heavy, but nothing too troublesome, it lives in the bottom of a cupboard, but right at the front as it's used so frequently.
    We bought it when they were very first available, so no jumping on bandwagons here. We have Costco membership, so I got it for a really good price, so good in fact that I bought one for our son and daughter in law too, it was part of their Christmas present that year.
    I don't use the slow cooker function very much, but the pressure cooker is used very, very often!
    However, if you don't cook much meat, it quite possibly wouldn't get the usage to justify the cost, we're omnivores, so it's perfect for us!

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  4. We live at 4500 feet elevation and water boils at a lower temperature. I use a pressure cooker and an instant pot, most often to cook potatoes for mashed potatoes, a favorite stew recipe, and cooking beetroot. (Raw ones take 20-30 minutes, the skin slips right off afterwards, and they are ready to eat or cut up to freeze and store.)

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  5. I have looked at these many times and then chickened out because I am hopeless with gadgets! I shall stick with my slow cooker and rice cooker. For the same reason I have resisted buying an airfryer.

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