Episode 10 - Instant Pot for Beginners

Instant Pot for Beginners - Barbara Hobart from Instant PotLuck takes us through her tips and tricks for getting your Instant Pot out of the box and making it a much loved appliance in your home!

Today's episode is all about the Instant Pot!

I chat with Barbara Hobart. Barbara loves to create things: from television series to product lines. She is a television writer/producer, manufacturer, and inadvertent food blogger at Instant PotLuck where she learned to love to cook again -- because of the Instant Pot.

Barbara shares how the Instant Pot transformed her cooking, and shares her tips for getting your Instant Pot out of the box and making it a much loved appliance in the home.

I will point out for those listeners who might not be aware - Instant Pot is a specific brand of electric pressure cookers that are very popular in America. However, if you have an electric pressure cooker, or have been thinking about getting one, you'll still get a lot out of today's episode.

LISTEN IN

Unboxing paralysis

It can be daunting to use the Instant Pot for the first time, especially when it has so many buttons! It can be especially difficult if you are unsure how to use it.

Is the Instant Pot Difficult to set up?

No! All you need to do is take it out of the box and put it on the counter. That's not so hard.

Then before you use it for the first time you do a simple water test by putting 3 cups of water in the Instant Pot and set it to pressure for 3 minutes with the valve sealed. Once it's finished you release the pressure by opening the valve. That's it!

What accessories do you get with the Instant Pot?

Instant Pot's and most electric pressure cookers come with a trivet, which is a metal insert that goes inside the pot while you're cooking. It's designed to keep ingredients out of water on the bottom of the pot.

It can also come with silicone mitts or a rice spoon.

Instant Pot Safety Tips

Instant Pot's are extremely safe and easy to use. One thing to be mindful of is to make sure when you're doing a quick release by letting the steam escape from the valve that you stand away from the Instant Pot so this doesn't burn you.

What do the buttons on the Instant Pot do?

There are SO many buttons on the Instant Pot but here's a few to look out for:

Most models have a sauté button that means you don't have to dirty another pot to sauté first!
You can adjust the pressure level and the cooking time.
Select the specific setting for what you are cooking - rice / soup / meats etc and it will cook it for the amount of time it needs.

What are some easy recipes to cook in the Instant Pot?

Other things we can use the Instant Pot for

Making yoghurt - there's a button specifically for yoghurt!
Make desserts and cakes in the Instant Pot!
Make corn on the cob - no need to shuck the husks first as they fall off once cooked.

TIME STAMP

4:10 - Unboxing paralysis

5:47 - Is the Instant Pot Difficult to set up?

6:52 - What accessories do you get with the Instant Pot?

10:10 - Instant Pot Safety Tips

11:20 - What do the buttons on the Instant Pot do?

13:58 - What are some easy recipes to cook in the Instant Pot?

19:03 - Other things we can use the Instant Pot for

INSTANT POTLUCK DISCOUNT CODE

Barbara was so kind to share a special 15% discount code for my podcast listeners! That discount code is "CookItReal15". Visit her website instantpotluck.co to check out her wonderful IP products.