Instant Pot at a very low price

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/17/instant-pot-at-a-very-low-pric.html

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That is quite a low price for six quarts. I usually pay that much for about a quarter ounce.

Wait, what were we talking about again?

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Gonna chime in here yet again in praise of Instant Pot. Last week, I got an error related to the heating element and the thing crashed. I had to take pictures and fill out some info and provide proof of purchase. Well, I purchased in 2015. Still, Instant Pot replaced the entire thing for free, requiring only that I dispose of the now defective equipment and do not enable it to be reused.

My plan is to take it apart and use the outer inside pot (which already has a hole for the heat element) as a planter and recycle/ewaste the rest. Some differences now vs. 2015:

  • The removable pot that you cook in has only two marks now. The old one had marks for # of cups. It’s not like I use it for measuring much anyway and I think the clear goal here was to dummy proof the thing to prevent overfilling.
  • I -think- there are more accessories as I don’t remember the two spoons in 2015.
  • The music when putting the lid on and off has slowed down.
  • The previous unit had the cable attached and now is a removable three prong “monitor cable.”
  • Under the lid was an oblong cover for both the pop-up pressure seal and the adjacent pressure valve. This is sort of a cage/screen, not an item that seals anything but I think it protects the valve from large pieces of food that could prevent a seal or block it from venting. Now, it’s a circular cover that only goes over the valve which kinda makes sense.

I received the new one this week and already have made thai soup in it.

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This is the Canadians’ answer to the Chia Pet, only with weed.

Any interest in sharing links to some of your favorite recipes, @frauenfelder? My Instant Pot doesn’t get nearly as much use as it probably should, and I’d like to rectify that.

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Looking at the Amazon reviews (yeah, yeah) it seems like a love it/hate it product. 5 stars, or 1 star. Since it’s actually being recommended by someone I trust, and isn’t something just pulled for a store post, I’m thinking of giving it a shot.

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There are lots of models, not just size but features. So that may be thenlow price, people need to check.

I got one for my birthday in October last year, after a year if debate. As a present, it took the decision out if my hands. Maybe I shoukd have got a mote recent model, maybe a smaller one. I’ve only used it a few times to test things. But I have a good Lagostina pressure cooker from 1985 which has always been fine, though likely could use some new gaskets etc.

I use it, though mostly for cooking beans and brown rice.
I am less impressed with Instant Pot. You can’t really toss things in and let them cook together, except as a slow cooker. The recipes I’ve looked at.require using canned beans and cooking that with rice and the rest.

But.I’m still getting used to it.

I’m not prepared to trash the Lagostina, so at the moment, I need twice as.much space.

Pressure cookers are great, and.mine never 'exploded" so maybe Instant Pots are a way for more people to use them.

They actually are pretty useful, but there’s a modest learning curve to using them even if you’re an experienced cook. If you’re on the fence, I recommend watching some YouTube videos on instant pot recipes to see if it’s something you’d like or use.

Here’s one from a channel I like for fairly straightforward recipes, though for objectivity, I wouldn’t recommend watching on an empty stomach.

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How does Instant Pot work? I mean, does it show up in powdered form, and you add water, and it becomes a pot?
I’m skeptical. I was burned before, with the whole Sea Monkeys fiasco.

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I guess you weren’t the only one who noticed, because they’re out of stock now.

(Being out of stock might also be a bad thing for cooking stuff in one of these.)

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Ooooh, the pressure cooker. Well never mind then.

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Just clicked on the link, and they’re currently in stock again. (I bought mine yesterday, so I guess I bear some responsibility for the temporary shortage)

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