When I wrote my pressure cooking cookbook The New Fast Food: The Veggie Queen Pressure Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less than 30 Minutes there weren’t very many electric pressure cookers out in the world, and there certainly weren’t any that got my attention. Many of them had nonstick inner pots and that holds very little appeal for me. Then someone told me about the Instant Pot. It has a stainless steel inner liner, and it can also saute, slow cook, steam and more. The pot works like a champ and gets the job done.
Even better is the fact that most of my recipes work well in the Instant Pot and other electric pressure cookers that have a quick release valve. These pots generally operate at a low PSI (pounds per square inch) but because it takes longer for the pressure to come up (which for folks like me who are all about speediness can be an issue) and longer for the pressure to come down with a natural pressure release, the recipes work except for some of the very fast-cooking vegetables which can easily get overcooked in just an extra 30 seconds at pressure. Vegetables such as summer squash, green beans, asparagus, tender broccoli, bok choy and some others can get obliterated easily in the heat of the pressure cooker so take note if you are an electric pressure cooker user. Otherwise, make soup, stew, chili, grains, beans and other dishes in your electric pressure cooker with ease and my recipes.
To see the Duo in action watch this You Tube Video.
I offer a $50 discount plus free shipping on the Instant Pot cookers through their website. The 6 quart 7-in-1 cooker is the preferred model right now. It’s the Duo. To get the discount, enter vegqueen at checkout.
Then get pressure cooking and enjoy time saved and great food made -fast, giving you “the new fast food”.
Dwight says
I notice that the Instant Pot Duo has function under the yogurt maker area for making fermented glutinous rice. The temperature range and the cooking time looks like it would be good for fermenting some soybeans into tempeh. Have you tried that, or know someone who has?
Jill Nussinow says
Dwight,
I do not see anything about making fermented glutinous rice. Is it in the booklet? If so, I will have to reread it.
To answer your question about making tempeh, I know someone who did it. She reported that it turned out OK. The issue for me is that I would have to tie up my Instant Pot for about 24 hours to make it. I am not sure if I want to do that. But it could happen.
BTW, she did not do soybean tempeh but black bean and another type. You know that you have to parcook the beans first so the IP will be helpful for that step.
Thanks for asking. I hope that this helps.
Diya says
While I love some aspects of Instant Pot, I feel I am missing something with respect to actual cook times. I tried to steam cauliflower florets, set them on a steamer basket, Â set the timer to 3 minutes and hit the Steam button, but the initial pressure building time (which was nearly 10-12 mins) plus the additional 3 minutes made the florets overcooked and soggy even though I quick released the pressure. Can you please throw some light on what am I missing here and if you have any videos steaming veggies and the actual time it takes from start to finish. Thank you.Â
Jill Nussinow says
Diya,
If you do not steam the cauliflower and cook it right in the pot, with just a little liquid, I prefer homemade broth, you will find that in 2 to 3 minutes at pressure, with a quick release, that you will have amazing cauliflower. The key is to not add too much liquid but enough so that the vegetable cooks. Having less liquid makes the pot come to pressure more quickly.
I rarely steam in my Instant Pot. It doesn’t improve the flavor of the vegetables at all. Try my method and see what you think.
Elda Blahblah says
Here’s a quick trick that’ll work every time. Set the Instant Pot to Saute (aka really hot) and throw in 1.5 cups of water. Do whatever you need to with the food you have which are probably vegetables since those need fast cooking times. Arrange them in the steamer basket however you wish then put that in once the water starts bubbling or alternatively put the steamer basket in while bubbling (not roaring boil) and pile everything in. Turn it off Saute, lock the lid (may possibly have to wait a moment due to safety mechanism which is a great feature), then switch it to Manual with however many minutes you need. It retains more vitamins since you’re exposing the food to a smaller duration of time under heat.
Jill Nussinow says
Thank you for sharing that Elda. It’s an interesting technique. I still prefer cooking directly in the pot as the liquid penetrates the cell walls of the vegetables making them more digestible.
I also love the Instant Pot features.
Jeanne Kaiser says
How do the recipes for use in a traditional pressure cooker need to be changed for use in an electronic one? Â
Jill Nussinow says
Jeanne,
The recipes in my book The New Fast Food mostly work as written in the electric pressure cooker. Some of the fast cooking vegetables cook for a shorter time. Some people find that they need to add 10 to 15% more time which might be a minute or two but generally the recipes turn out fine.