Instant Pot pressure cooker

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amn

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http://www.qvcuk.com/Instant-Pot-IP...t.803307.html?cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-13-_-80330

Any thoughts?
My mum used to swear by her pressure cooker when I was a kid, I just remember it whistling and shrieking away on the cooker and her lifting the weight thingy off like it was an unexplored bomb. I've never owned one of my own as a grown up type person but I've heard people raving about them and how they cook super tender meat in next to no time, rice in about ten seconds, veg super healthy, etc etc.
Anyhoo I saw this when it was on today - what do we reckon? I have to admit I'm a sucker for a kitchen gadget, and looking on Amazon this has rave reviews.
 
My mum used hers all the time. She did the fillings for S&K pie and then put it in the pastry.

I did own one but it scared the &&&& out of me. The one thing it had going for it was if you did meat then you had a fab base for gravy with just a bit of thickening. The meat was very tender but I like my meat with a good colour on the outside so I used to stick it in the oven to brown.

I think things are very different now with the newer versions. My sister still uses hers all the time.
 
I had to use one of these for my GCSE in Home Economics! It was horrifying. I was terrified it was going to explode. It was hissing and jumping over the hob! After I'd finished cooking I had to run it under the cold tap and turn some weight thing to open it.
 
I bought mine on QVC clearance for £16 or so a few years ago. It's a hob-top type and I use it a lot in winter.
 
I have just dug my pressure cooker out from the back of the cupboard and made the base for a beef cobbler, it took well under an hour to cook and the meat was so so tender.
I would love one of these multi cookers but just can't justifie either the price or the space it would take in my all ready over crowded kitchen.
So I will be sticking to my old fashioned one.
 
I used to love mine ( a tefal model circa 1985) and it wasn't scary at all, by the 80s they'd perfected the quick-release of steam so I could open mine and check the contents and get it back up to pressure very quickly (no balancing of weights or food that all tasted the same). It used to cook a cheap piece of topside very quickly and really tenderised by the pressure. I bought another PC from QVC which was supposed to work on an induction hob, which was technically true, as I could use it as a normal pan on my hob. The problem is induction hobs tend to turn on and off repeatedly to maintain a constant heat and this fails for pressure cooking which needs the constant heat from a gas flame or radiant ring to keep the pressure high enough to keep the valve shut. In the end they came to collect it. I have a multi-cooker like the one that was shown today (though it doesn't do pressure cooking per se) and it's very handy. QVC also sold a "low pressure cooker" but didn't think it would work on my hob any better than the other one I tried. I'd be tempted to try a stand-alone pressure cooker though I'm under a ban on buying an more kitchen gadgets (I'm hoping Mr A won't notice that I bought the Kuhn Ricon TSV today :mysmilie_50: )
 
I've been scarred by an incident involving a pressure cooker. Halls at uni, circa 1985. A big old Prestige pressure cooker, bit dented, bit dirty - looked like it had been donated by an unwise mum to a foolish son. Boiling away unattended on the hob in this tiny little kitchenette, its weights jiggling with suspicious violence on top. This was bad enough, but it transpired that someone had later gone into the kitchen, not known what this peculiar enormous pan thing was and whipped off the weights as they seemed to be unstable. Result: a geyser of stew decorating mainly ceilings, but also walls. God, the trouble we were in...
 
I ordered it. It was the easy pays (and the thought of steak and kiddley pie) that swayed me...!!
 
Let us know how you get on Ali, I could be tempted if it's good, but don't want to break my kitchen gadget ban if it turns out to be a pig in a poke (Mr A's favourite saying about my QVC purchases!).
 
http://www.qvcuk.com/Cook's-Essenti....html?sc=SRCH&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-802308
QVC just showed this other stand alone pressure cooker type gizmo which was a TSV in January 2014. It's on easy pay today and free p&p which suggests they're trying to shift the stock. Maybe there'll be a similar updated TSV in the coming new year? It's odd that they've aired this offer so soon after selling the more expensive cooker, although that it a larger capacity so would be good for batch cooking and freezing.

So inspite of my gadget-buying moratorium I've got the cheaper pot in my basket and I'm dithering. The free p&p is a tempter as I could try it and see how it performs. I know! I'm a hopeless case! Did anyone buy 802308 when it was a TSV (or anytime for that matter) I'd welcome any feedback. TIA.
 
http://www.qvcuk.com/Cook's-Essenti....html?sc=SRCH&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-802308
QVC just showed this other stand alone pressure cooker type gizmo which was a TSV in January 2014. It's on easy pay today and free p&p which suggests they're trying to shift the stock. Maybe there'll be a similar updated TSV in the coming new year? It's odd that they've aired this offer so soon after selling the more expensive cooker, although that it a larger capacity so would be good for batch cooking and freezing.

So inspite of my gadget-buying moratorium I've got the cheaper pot in my basket and I'm dithering. The free p&p is a tempter as I could try it and see how it performs. I know! I'm a hopeless case! Did anyone buy 802308 when it was a TSV (or anytime for that matter) I'd welcome any feedback. TIA.
Hi Jude,

I have this pressure cooker and it is good. However, the disadvantages of it that I find are that it takes quite a while to come up to pressure ( maybe 5 or 10 mins), the non stick is not very good ( I brown everything quickly in a frying pan) and the time to naturally release the pressure is around 15 mins ( although you can do it by manually moving the vent - wear silicone gloves though as it throws out steam everywhere!). It is still a good item though. I have also ordered the Instant Pot as the Amazon reviews were very good and they seemed to suggest that the above issues that I have with the cheaper model may be somewhat mitigated. In particular the cooking pot and the sealant ring go in the dishwasher in the more expensive model but they don't in the cheaper one.
I will certainly let you know when I receive the more expensive one if it is much better! This may take a while though as delivery to Switzerland can be slow ( maybe 3 weeks sometimes quicker) and in any case I am back in the UK for a week in early October and so will have to wait for delivery post this trip.
If you haven't ever used a pressure cooker then you will be amazed at the speed of cooking in either of them. Things like chilli that I cook for 8 hours in a slow cooker come out just the same in 15 minutes - even if you allow for getting up to pressure and releasing pressure it is still a time saver. Oh, and they are nothing like the old fashion version. Once you click the lid shut it is just pushing a button and walking away! I ordered the lady's book from Amazon as well as it helps to have some ideas and then you can just chuck your own recipes in. Incidentally the Q cheaper one does come with a good book as well. The earlier smaller model didn't come with anything and the instructions were really bad - I think they learnt from that!
Happy to answer any questions if you have them ( not that I am an expert!) - I just have a bit of a kitchen gadget obsession!!
 
Hi Swiss Pea and thank you v much for replying so quickly, really helpful points. I've had the £50 model in and out of my basket, then ordered it and cancelled the order! LOL. So I've got to step away from my laptop and cool off. I already have a multi-cooker which is great for slow-cooking and does perfect rice so I'll hang on and look in the January sales. I still have my old recipe book for the Tefal pressure cooker so I'm hoping I can adapt the favourite recipes from it. From the point of reaching pressure my old pressure cooker would cook mince dishes like Bolognese sauce or Chilli in 5 minutes plus the steam release time added at the end (tinned cooked kidney beans). I'd happily buy another PC to go on the hob if it were guaranteed to work with an induction hob, but I suspect my hob just isn't compatible.
I'll look forward to reading any reviews in the future.
 
My Instant Pot (rubbish name If you don't mind me saying) has literally actually just arrived - stand by for opinions as soon as I've had chance to make something (I've purchased some beef and shallots in readiness - I'm considering beef bourgi burguin bourgoui - beef in red wine for tea)

I did look at the cheaper QVC one Jude and I think it did say that it operated at a lower pressure as well as being a smaller capacity, so presume that would impact on cooking times? I have to admit I didn't even realise I wanted a pressure cooker till I saw it being demo'd on Q - I'm not usually such a sucker. Well, ok I am when it comes to kitchen gadgetry.....

Btw Swiss Pea, the demo lady has a website that most of the recipes from the book seem to be on - I googled "hip pressure cooking" or similar and it has all sorts on there. The link I lbelieve is in the instinct pot user guide, which you can view the PDF of via the link on the item page on the Q site.
 
Thanks Amn, I will check that out. I still prefer actual cookery books though as I find it really annoying when you keep referring to a recipe on an iPad and the screen is black or the server goes down or whatever!! Also, I like to watch Q on the iPad when I am cooking ( I really need to get out more!) and so it is messy to try and do both!
Let us know how it goes .........surely by now the meal is already cooked!!
 
I'm going to do it this evening SP. I got slightly distracted as I had to nip out for an hour and when I got back the dog had got at the kids choc tub, got the lid off and shifted the lot so I've been frantically googling how much choc to dog weight is poison. Anyhoo I've unboxed it (the pressure cooker not the dog) and had a look and done the 'trial run' test fandango with water and it seems to work, so will test with literal actual food inside later. Wish me luck ladies...!!
 
I'm going to do it this evening SP. I got slightly distracted as I had to nip out for an hour and when I got back the dog had got at the kids choc tub, got the lid off and shifted the lot so I've been frantically googling how much choc to dog weight is poison. Anyhoo I've unboxed it (the pressure cooker not the dog) and had a look and done the 'trial run' test fandango with water and it seems to work, so will test with literal actual food inside later. Wish me luck ladies...!!
Oooh, naughty doggy! Hope he is ok.

I shall think of you this evening and keep my fingers crossed for a fantastic supper for you! Xx
 
My mum used hers all the time. She did the fillings for S&K pie and then put it in the pastry.

I did own one but it scared the &&&& out of me. The one thing it had going for it was if you did meat then you had a fab base for gravy with just a bit of thickening. The meat was very tender but I like my meat with a good colour on the outside so I used to stick it in the oven to brown.

I think things are very different now with the newer versions. My sister still uses hers all the time.

Kudos to your Mamma. Mine was terrified of three things in the kitchen
- Chip pans
- Pressure cookers
- those gliding razor sharp slicers

She had all the above but refused to use them. She used the pressure cooker once, to impress my Father cooking his favourite 'coq Au Vin' but the damn thing exploded and Dad had to sponge his coq from the kitchen ceiling (really surprised as it was a Prestige cooker)
 

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