What is This Thing You Call an Instant Pot?! (Let’s Take a Step Back)

To backtrack with my last post, I decided that in this post I am going to give a more thorough breakdown of what exactly an Instant Pot is. I will talk about what it does, the settings that are on my Instant Pot, which is the Instant Pot 8qt Lux, as well as some abbreviations that may come up in recipes and possibly future posts. It is important to note that not all Instant Pots are the same…so not every Instant Pot will have the same settings as the one I own. 

For starters…what is an Instant Pot? 

An Instant Pot is essentially a kitchen appliance that is designed to eliminate the need for multiple other appliances such as a slow cooker, rice cooker, etc. The company itself states that the Instant pot is “Energy efficient and versatile. – The Lux replaces 6 kitchen appliances, combining the functions of a Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Sauté, Steamer, and Warmer.

 It features 10 smart built-in programs – Soup/Broth, Meat/Stew, Egg, Sauté, Rice, Porridge, Steam, Pressure Cook, Keep Warm and Slow Cook.” Even though an Instant Pot replaces multiple appliances, the main reason that this appliance is appealing to people is mainly because of the pressure cooker. Let’s face it, we all have busy lives so having something available to help mealtimes at home become faster is something that almost everyone can benefit from. For myself, I loved the thought of being able to cook meals from frozen in a much shorter time than if I didn’t have the Instant Pot, which was essentially the selling point of this product for me. Being able to use the Instant Pot’s other settings are just a bonus! — In order to use many of the other settings it is important to have the needed accessories such as a cake pan, steaming basket, egg rack, etc. I purchased both my glass lid and accessory package from Amazon.

My Instant Pot & Accessories

What are all of the buttons and what can they be used for?

Manual : This is the most used setting on the Instant Pot. It provides the option for manually entering the amount of time you want to cook the food by using the + / – buttons.

Rice : Used for white rice

Porridge : Used to cook oatmeal

Sauté : This setting will allow you to use the inner pot as a frying pan for things like – searing, browning, simmering, etc. 

Egg : Allows for the perfect boiled egg every time!

Slow Cook : This will allow your Instant Pot to turn into a slow cooker by using longer time periods.

Keep Warm : After your food has completed cooking, this setting will automatically turn on to keep your food nice and warm.

Soup/Broth : Use this setting for creating delicious soups

Cake : Helpful when creating all types of cakes including cheesecake!

Meat/Stew : This will be used for different types of meat (as will the manual button)

Multigrain :  Used for wild rice, brown rice, etc. 

Steam : Allows the user to steam vegetables, seafood and meat.

Delay Start : Don’t want the Instant Pot to start cooing right away? Use this function. 

Adjust : Choose between various cooking times (more, normal, less) — use with the +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time.

Abbreviations & Their Meaning

IP – Instant Pot

NR / NPR – Natural Pressure Release 

QR / QPR – Quick Release

HP – High Pressure

LP – Low Pressure

These are typically the ones that I use or have most commonly seen in the recipes I view, but for more information on the terminology click this link and you will be able to learn more!

Happy Cooking!