Bought a brand new instant Pot. Ran the water test and it reeked of plastic smell but it pressurized and did the run. I opened it to inspect thoroughly for any left over packaging material and found this thin piece of silicone sticking out.

Should I return it or is this okay?

I just got rid of my Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 as we’re in the middle of a move and that thing is just way too bulky and heavy for something I need to put away when not in use. It actually made me use it less. I’d mainly use the manual pressure cook function so definitely not worth the hassle.

I’m looking at replacing it with either an Instant Pot Rio or Pro. I like the light aesthetic of the Sea Salt color version (but also get concerned that it will end up looking dirty months from now) but I’d still be putting it away so I assume that doesn’t matter.

The Rio is on sale for $100 and the Pro is on sale for $130. Both are 6qt. Thoughts?

I upgraded my 13 yo 6 qt Insta Pot for the larger 7.5 quart RIO wide. I've noticed that steam comes from the lid - which never happened in my 6 Qt one. It seems to work ok - but steam coming from the pressure cooker suggests something is wrong. This is brand new InstaPot. Has anybody else seen this from the pressure cooker? thanks in advance!

I purchased my Instant Pot Duo SV from Costco around 2019. During this time I’ve never replaced the float valve gasket because I was never able to find one! I recently purchased valves with gaskets from amazon that I thought were the same, but they are slightly different. The gasket actually fits great on my old float. I’ve used it a couple times and my IP functioned as normal. I just have this lingering fear that I shouldn’t use the gasket because it wasn’t made for my particular IP model. Anyone know if this is ok?

Olive oil

Medium onion

Fist full of baby carrots

3-4 garlic cloves or a good shake of garlic powder

Ground coriander

Salt

Msg

Ground black pepper

Paprika

Oregano

Parsley

Enough potatoes

Sour cream or heavy cream

Miso paste

Olive oil, sliced onion, and some salt into the bottom of the pot on saute, cook till fragrant.

Toss in the carrots.

Fill pot halfish way with chopped potatoes.

Toss in all spices, may need more salt than you think but it's ok to adjust at the end.

Fill the pot rest of the way.

Fill with water to max fill line or potatoes are almost covered.

Cook under pressure 20 minutes, release steam immediately, no reason to slow release.

If you have an immersion blender start blending now and add the sour cream and miso paste.

If you have a blender or food processor, pull the pot out and let cool 20-30 minutes *not all blenders/food processors can handle boiling hot liquids*

Fill up you blender with potatoes and a little of the broth, blend return it to the pot, this can take 1-3 times depending on how many chunks you want.

On the last blend add extra broth, sour cream, and miso paste.

Once everything is blended to your liking mix it all together u til homogeneous.

My partner has extreme sensitivities to smells and sauteing tends to give her a lot of issues, so we usually try to find recipes that skip this step, which can be challenging. We found a recipe for beef stew that doesn't require sauteing but are trying to switch to more pork shoulder for stew since it's cheaper.

Does anyone know how long I'd want to cook chunks of pork shoulder to make sure it's fully cooked? All the recipes I can find include searing first and I'm wondering how much additional time I'd have to cook the raw pork since it's not getting that initial cook time on the outside.

Main question is: Do I really need the Instant Pot Pro trim?

I have settled on at least 8 QT because I meal prep all ten meals for the week at the same time. Roughly 4.5 lbs of meat and 4 lbs of vegetables.

I do want an Instant Pot capable of searing. I prefer stainless steel so I don't need to tiptoe around too much when cleaning and using the pot.

I only care about slow-cooking, braising, and maybe making rice. Everything else does not matter to me.

I always used to see instant pot users gushing about how it's made like the older appliances and lasts forever. Is/are the current model/s still up to this standard?

It's quite an expensive investment for me, and I don't want to waste money/time on an appliance that will only last a couple of years. I've been trying to research if there's been a major change in the appliance over the years because of you know capitalism, but the only thing I've seen is that there was a change in management ? or ownership back in 2019. I'm worried that if I buy a current model, it might already have some kind of planned obsolescence built in.

Edit: as someone pointed out, recent models obviously haven’t been used for enough time to determine whether they’ll last as long 😅 so I meant more for those who have purchased instant pots released over the past 3 years or so, have you noticed poor or substandard quality? especially for those who might have/have had an older model to compare it to

I’m having a heck of a time finding a downloadable PDF to save for future use. I can find a link to a website that shows the Manual. But, can’t seem to save it as a PDF. When I select save as PDF it downloads two blank pages and nothing else.

I have used an old equal sweetener jar with a vinegar water mix to clean/soak my seal.i forgot to remove it once or twice ...it still seals, almost zero smells from previous meal cooked.

I'm wondering if this is a bad idea semi permanently ..

Is there a reason not to ..

The whole unit gets a regular wash just the seal

stays in the jar soaking until next meal is cooked.

I got a free DUO-SV the other day. I naively thought I'd just a lid from another IP until I read that it was different. Donor said the float valve was missing a washer, and now I can see it's missing the clip. From reading some posts, I think some were satisfied with an 3rd party valve. Well, I bought one, and it fits but spins 360 degrees because it's narrower.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has taken the clip out of a eBay valve and put it in the IP valve. The first picture is one I found of the original clip, and the second picture is the clip of my eBay valve.

Can I just use the eBay valve as is and just be mindful of where the valve handle is pointing?

Hi,

Me and my partner are looking to buy an instant pot and are really just clueless about what would be the best choice for us. We are just two people and tend to cook mix of asian dishes involving meat and lentils.
We are also looking for a possibility of having an air fryer in the instant pot (heard it was possible) and cant decide how much litres would be best for us.
Looking for something which has variety of options just suitable for everyday cooking (meat, vegetables and lentils) and something that is under £100 maybe.

Any recommendations and suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

I’ve had this instant pot for a few years. A bit ago, my dad dropped the lid and it chipped the plastic (see pictures). The metal part of the lid still looks perfect. It’s just the plastic. I’ve used it many times since and it’s been sealing and working fine as far as I can tell.

I’m pregnant now and now that I’m imagining my little one while cooking in combo with my crazy hormones, it made me question if this is still safe and it would be best to replace the lid. Whenever I use it now, all the weird sounds and creaks an instant pot typically make freak me out. I know the plastic is more cosmetic but since it’s close to the venting area and the metal I wasn’t sure. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Edit: Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback and easing my anxious pregnant brain! Since it’s been working just fine for the past few months, I can rest easy knowing it’s just cosmetic and safe :)

Hey all - considering an instant pot. I spend WAY too much eating out, partially cus I'm lazy about cooking.

I tend to like pretty simple meat and veg meals--eg chicken/salmon/ground beef over veggies (cauli, broccoli, asparagus) and am also looking into a simple food processor to make more riced veggies.

Is an instant pot adept and and worth it for simple dishes like this, or is it more for soups and stews?

At the moment I cook most on the stove, but that doesn't work well for chicken, and I get lazy with using the oven. But I'm sort of 1/2 in the dark on what an instant pot actual does, as I always see people making soups and stews.

Can it make a simple thing like salmon and diced veggies, and are the veggies steamed as opposed to cooked? I know it won't roast them and caramelize, but is it only capable of steaming them?

What else do you use yours to make?

Sorry if these are super basic questions, I've never used one before.

EDIT - thanks for all the replies. I have more than enough info here - turning off reply notifications fyi if anyone doesn't get a reply.

So I just got an instant pot and made Chinese chicken and broccoli as my first recipe. I used chicken breast tenderloins that I had frozen a few days before and thawed in fridge. Chopped into roughly one inch pieces. I pressure cooked with the chicken and the sauce ingredients for 3 minutes. I did natural release (basically doing nothing?) for a few minutes and then quick release the rest. I noticed that there was a floating, gooey stringy substance floating all throughout the sauce. I did add honey to the recipe but only a teaspoon so it could not have been that. And I noticed it before adding the thickening agent (arrowroot). So would it have been albumin/ collagen released from the chicken? Not sure if I overcooked it? But I only pressure cooked for three minutes and then I did saute for several minutes after (maybe 6-8 mins) but I thought I noticed the goo before. Any ideas how to prevent this?

The chicken smelled and looked normal to me before cooking but there were some white strips that I did not trim off? Could this have been the cause?

I keep getting a burn error when I make steel cut oats. I’m not sure why or what’s wrong. I’ve been using a 3:1 liquid to oats ratio. 4 minutes high pressure, natural release ~20 minutes. Worked perfectly fine the first 2 times. Every time after that I keep getting a burn error.
I used to do half milk, but stopped doing that because I thought that might help. Did not help.
We got a new Instant Pot pot and still get the same error message.
Just switched to the quick cook steel cut oats and still have this problem.
Just tried it with 3 cups oats and 10 cups water. Still had the issue.
I haven’t tried deep cleaning the Instant Pot yet, because everything else cooks just fine.

For what it’s worth, when I do finally open it up, I notice that they’ve all clumped together. There’s not any actual burning going on. Lately I’ve just been letting it cook until it gets to pressure and then just setting a timer for 4 minutes, then turn it off and let it natural release.

I’ve heard the pot in pot method works really well. Does anyone have a recommendation for an inner pot that I could use? We have a 6 qt Instant Pot, and I like to cook 3 cups of steel cut oats at a time. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Not sure if it matters, but using the Duo 60 Darth Vader.

Any advice?

I searched this sub and didn’t find any recent posts since IP has been sold. But, I am looking to get either an IP or ninja foodi maybe even a ninja hyper heat. I am not sure which brand to get, I also don’t know which model to get. The IP are so hard to find in person, except the rio but I have a big family and it just isn’t practical.

I am mainly looking to make quick meals in it via pressure cook. Soups, meats, beans, etc. I am not looking to air fry or slow cook in it. I have a crock pot and an air fryer

Please help with advice on your experience

Also delete if not allowed

Hi folks, I have a very tiny kitchen, and I am going to try using my Instant Pot instead of sauce pans for boiling water and for reheating leftovers. Just pop a regular lid on the IP.

If anyone else is doing this, I’d love to hear about your experiences, good and bad. Settings, timing, etc.

Thanks!

So I know it has to do with it not sensing the lid, my current work around is grabbing the spot where the sensor is and just squeezing it together. Does anyone know of a more permanent fix?

Tried to make the curly fries and chnobli-sauce recipe. The recipe didn’t acknowledge I had the lid on.. then went to manual spiraling, the lid worked and then potatoes kept jamming.. annoying

Been using mine for a while now and still occasionally discover

something that makes me go "wait, THAT'S how that works?" Curious what your version of that moment was, whether it's a setting, a technique, or just something nobody tells you until you've already made the mistake a few times.

I've been messing around with making "baked" beans in my DuoCrisp 8 qt pot for awhile.

One thing I've always been curious about is why many recipes don't call for a presoak. When making conventional baked beans there's always a presoak or short boil and soak where the first water is discarded.

By not doing this in the IP, isn't the bitterness or toxins being left in?

My last batch definitely had a slight bitter aftertaste. Next time I'll do a quick 1 min cook, 10 min NR then drain and rinse. I'm hoping this fixes it.

Has anyone else had bitterness issues with their beans? Goya brand. 2029 best by date. Original recipe was 15 mins high 10 mins NR. Then sauce added and another 15 mins pot in pot to infuse flavors.

Love to hear your opinions and stories! Thanks!

Got a new instant pot and the bottom of my inner pot has been creating these scratches. Is this defective or ok to keep using?