Not having an Instant Pot, here are my thoughts.
Instant Pot does in an hour what Crock Pot does in 4-8 hours.
Instant Pot has 5-15 set it and forget it “programs” that a pressure cooker does not have.
I am still on the fence about getting an IP, as I have a 30-40 year old pressure cooker I’ve never used.
I had a stove top pressure cooker… bought an Instant Pot… my stove top one is in the trash. No more toying with the flame to get the pressure just right… no more having to be there at all times. set is for x minutes and walk away… maintains intended pressure and then shuts down at set time. I never use the preset programs FWIW… My brown basmati is 22 min + 10NPR, soaked garbanzo beans are X, red beans are Y… etc
SO MUCH THIS
I suck at rice.
I’ve singlehandedly reduced rice cookers & countertops into disgusting, glutenous messes of glop – a skill which came naturally to me after having previously perfected the fine art of scorching the bottom layer of rice in pan while leaving the top mostly raw.
Instant Pot?
Throw in 1 cup Basmati + 1 cup of water, set for 6 minutes and let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes or so.
PERFECT RICE
I was almost reduced to tears it was so good.
Interesting. No need to properly rinse and soak the rice beforehand? That alone could get me to buy one of these. Usually rice is an 8 hour ordeal between the rinsing and soaking and that’s before it even gets cooked. The other very important question is can you make tahdig in the instapot?
Nope, no need to rinse and soak!
If it’s even better than my Zojirushi (which I love) then it might be worth it just for that. 6 minutes sounds amazing.
And if you were to slightly sauté diced chicken and onions in the Instant Pot, you could just add spices, then rice, then liquid, and have Biryani cooked in 5 minutes and then 10 minutes natural release. I did rinse the Basmati rice prior to cooking. All in one pot makes cleanup a breeze.
Getting it up to pressure then 6 min at pressure and the 10 min of NPR adds some. I think time is about even for white rice, I happen to love the bite the rice retains cooked under pressure. Brown rice is a real winner in the Instant Pot
Michael, good point, getting up to pressure adds on a good 5-6+ minutes.
Ok, totally lost interest now.
Who the hell has THAT kind of time??
Hi Jay,
As the owner of two Instant Pots, I would tell you to stick with your Zojirushi for making rice. NOTHING beats a Z for rice. However, I can make killer risotto in the IP. I make a bunch of other things in my IP, but I still make rice in my rice cooker.
Thank you Christine! That leaves the IP on my to-buy list but takes it off my must buy immediately list.
I was just about to ask a rice question.
I got mine about a week ago and tried rice. Japanese sticky rice. The instructions said 4 minutes. I did that and it was dry and toothy. Then I tried regular long grain rice the other day and did five minutes. A little better, but still too toothy and dry, and the bottom was hard and brown (not necessarily a bad thing). I will try again for 6 minutes, but honestly, I can see myself sticking with my rice cooker. Nearly the same time with pressuring up and down, but so far with better results.
Very good info. My Zoji is so old they no longer make replacement parts for it and the battery is deader than Monty Python’s parrot, but it still makes great rice. Was going to replace it with an Instant Pot, but won’t now. Thanks!
You may just want to play with your ratios and time a bit. For long grain white rice 6 min at pressure and a 10 min NPR is kind of accepted… 1:1 ratio as a starting point but try a little more water if it is too dry for your taste.
Hope this doesn’t apply to any of you.
Instant Pot recalled for fire hazard: popular cooking device can melt
The quality control on those machines is really amazing. The single most used appliance I own.
I was going to try 6 minutes next since that seems to be the time everyone here uses. I wonder why the recipe book said 4? Hmm…
I would own an Instant Pot just for the success making steel cut oatmeal. Easy and perfect every time.
FYI - It’s only for a model that’s exclusively sold at Walmart. If you didn’t buy yours there, no need to check it.