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Contemplating an Electric Pressure Cooker   Go to last post Go to last unread
#21 Posted : Friday, July 15, 2016 8:56:49 AM(UTC)
Hello anightowl! I received my IP yesterday. Haven't unpacked it yet but did grab the manual and recipe book out of the box. Funny I honed right in on the coconut fish curry recipe myself! Can't wait to try. Thanks for your notes on it. I have paged through the whole Instant Pot book on my Kindle. There are some pretty interesting recipes there as well. I'll let you know how I like The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book - it should arrive tomorrow. Also, there is a great class on Craftsy by the authors of that book. I watched the whole class a couple of weekends ago.
#22 Posted : Friday, July 15, 2016 11:00:34 AM(UTC)

You'll love the IP, I've had one for a bit over a year and it will do so much.  It also makes the most amazing hard/soft "boiled" eggs.  Perfect and easy to peel.  I now even save all my veggie scraps and bones to make the best stock which is done in about 2 hours :D Now i need to go check out the books above, I cook mostly from Cooking under Pressure from America's test kitchen and Pressure Cooking today online  

#24 Posted : Saturday, July 16, 2016 11:09:55 AM(UTC)
I have kind of a dumb question for my fellow Instant Pot owners. I just unpacked mine (YAY!). Do you use yours with that sticker on the lid (it says DO NOT TOUCH and provides other simple directions). Or, did you remove it? I figure if you don't remove it before using, it will definitely fuse itself to the lid from the heat. Certainly not an earth-shattering question. Just curious!
#25 Posted : Saturday, July 16, 2016 12:49:20 PM(UTC)

LOL, I was wondering the same thing. I left mine on for the initial steam and the first cooking, was annoyed at it when it caught the cloth when cleaning and drying the lid, now it's off. It took some adhesive dissolver to remove the goo. Taking It off before using it probably would have saved me some work. 

#26 Posted : Saturday, July 16, 2016 1:13:27 PM(UTC)
Hi anightowl! I just got finished with the initial steam and left the sticker on, so I may have the same situation as you. I am watching every 2 seconds for the postman (like I'm 2!) awaiting the arrival of my Great Big Pressure Cooking book!!

QQ - did you use a commercial curry powder in your coconut chicken curry? Or did you blend the 5 spices she suggests in her recipe?

I am going to make Cannellini beans using the recipe on p. 11 of the recipe book that came with the cooker. 1 cup of beans seems so minuscule. I am going to have to research to see if that's a typical amount of beans for this size pressure cooker or if it can easily handle more.
#27 Posted : Saturday, July 16, 2016 1:47:38 PM(UTC)

I used the individual spices. I don't have curry leaves, but I do have a kaffir lime tree so I used that option. 


A word of advice - you want to do mise en place on this one, and if you do the individual spices, put them all in a bowl together so you can add them all at once. That sauté function gets really hot, so you have to move fast.  Like a fool, I just had all my spices there and measured them out one at a time into he pot, frequently stopping to stir the onions so they didn't burn. Have your can of coconut milk already open so you can pour it in and calm down the heat when the onions are just as you want them.


I was going to say no way on that quantity of beans, and set out to prove it. Huh. According to
http://www.eatyourbooks....perfection-100-foolproof
you can do 1/2 lb beans at a time in a 6 qt electric pressure cooker. I measured a half pound cannellini beans, and it's a slightly rounded cup.  

#28 Posted : Saturday, July 16, 2016 5:13:13 PM(UTC)

I have a six quart stove top pressure cooker, and I routinely cook one pound of beans in it. I had a 4 qt PC for about 30 years and always fixed a pound of beans in it with no problems. The key is that the beans, liquid and seasonings can only fill the pot half way, not 2/3 of the way like most other things. I don't see why an electric PC would be different, but if it is, I wouldn't be too happy about it, since a cup of beans doesn't go very far in this house.

#29 Posted : Sunday, July 17, 2016 9:17:38 AM(UTC)
I've done a bit of research on cooking beans in the pressure cooker and all I've found is that each recipe/timing chart/quantity of beans is very conflicting! Guess I will just have to dig in and practice. Most surprising is that most recipes I've found add salt AFTER pressure cooking. I can't imagine. An article from The Kitchn says to add the salt with the recipe contents before pressure cooking so that's what I will do this first time. I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

@anightowl, thank you for the additional notes on the coconut curry. I will probably make that in a couple of weeks, but with the fish. I'll let you know!
#30 Posted : Sunday, July 17, 2016 9:25:00 AM(UTC)
@anightowl, I ALSO have a Kaffir Lime Leaf tree! Isn't it wonderful?! A Thai friend at work brought it to me after I told him I could not find fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves anywhere in San Antonio. His sister owns a wonderful Thai restaurant here and I figured he could give me advice where to obtain them. I didn't expect him to show up at work with this beautiful plant, but am very thankful!

I have two Curry Leaf plants as well. I can obtain fresh Curry Leaves here in SA, but it sure is nice having the plants just outside my door!
#31 Posted : Tuesday, July 19, 2016 1:07:41 AM(UTC)

@pgarcia, Too funny! while I see the trees in the nursery from time to time, I don't run across that many people who have one in the yard. Don't you just love going out to the garden to collect stuff for dinner? :) I don't have curry leaf plants, but I do have lemon grass, ginger, Thai basil and turmeric for Asian dishes (I just made a slew of Thai basil/cashew pesto last week).


I have been happily buying accessories for my instant pot. I found a cute 2 qt pudding mold that fits perfectly on the trivet in the IP, so I hope to give that a try in the next few days. I know it's not steamed pudding season, but I have soooo much persimmon puree in the freezer -we're talking several quarts of the stuff, all in 1 cup containers (my tree was exceedingly generous last year), and I am not keen on running the oven for persimmon cookies in the summer. I have a recipe in one of my rice cooker books
http://www.eatyourbooks....udding-with-brandy-sauce
that I have been wanting to try, but it's one of the ones that I couldn't do in my fuzzy logic machine.


I also bought a couple of the presto stainless steel steaming baskets. Two can stack with a 1/4" gap between them if you stack carefully. After I gather up the supplies and can set aside a large block of time I'm going to tackle tamales - there are a number of recipes in the same book I have been wanting to try. It's been a good number of years since I last tried my hand at them, but what the heck, they are just for my lunches so if they come out ugly who cares? :)


Oh, and sui mai http://www.eatyourbooks....eamed-vegetarian-siu-mai


So many things to try...

#32 Posted : Tuesday, July 19, 2016 10:49:13 AM(UTC)

On the lid sticker, I did not remove mine. Its still there though its starting to peel from washing and use but doesn't appear to be a problem for operation.


 

#33 Posted : Thursday, July 21, 2016 2:11:00 PM(UTC)

I have cooked different beans in my 6 qt IP couple of times using the cooking time from the attached web page, the timing is pretty good, no need for trial and error.


www.hippressurecooking.c...ure-cooking-times/#beans

#34 Posted : Friday, July 22, 2016 3:02:23 PM(UTC)
Just to see the difference, I pressure cooked 1/2 pound (1 cup-ish) of soaked Great Northern Beans and then 1/2 pound, unsoaked. The soaked beans were softer, the unsoaked beans firmer. I didn't dislike either version. In fact, I am quite pleased so far! I haven't had the time to do much else, but when my husband leaves on a business trip soon, I am going to play with my IP!

@anightowl, I must begin searching for my IP accessories. Let me know what you like/find the most useful!
#35 Posted : Sunday, July 24, 2016 12:27:26 PM(UTC)

I have used pressure cookers all my life but never an electric one.  I own two stovetop pressure cookers in two sizes (smallish and enormous) and I do use the smaller one relatively often.  If you think you want to try pressure cooking, get a stovetop one as they are cheaper and see how you like it.  I have never had any accidents nor known anyone who has; the fear many people have about pressure cookers is based on very, very old ones.  I have one like this one: https://www.amazon.com/P...dp/B00006ISG3/ref=sr_1_5

#36 Posted : Wednesday, July 27, 2016 3:18:57 PM(UTC)

I have made 2 batches of yogurt, well, one batch of yogurt and one batch of way too tart runny stuff that got tossed as unfix-able.

The first run I put the milk in the inner pot to boil, then after it had cooled and the culture was added I poured it into 8 oz mason jars.

I bought the Instant Pot brand yogurt/pressure sterilization pack. The little cups that come with it are too small unless you eat your yogurt plain. I like to add a bit of fruit or preserves to mine. If you do 1 qt milk and use 8 oz mason jars there is a nice amount of head space so you can add goodies later. The carrier is nice, and is a totally stable setup for the mason jars - I tried putting the jars on the IP trivet, and they were a little tippy. You can put the carrier directly in the in inner pot, no trivet needed.

I had a bit of a problem with set - my culture packet said to culture for 4.5 hours. That was not enough - I had to run it twice - I also added another packet of culture before running the second time. After the second run though, it was wonderful, smooth and creamy.


The default time on the IP is 8 hours for yogurt. I have no idea why my culture says 4 to 4 and a half hours, because at the end of that time you only have drinkable yogurty stuff. I got thrown by the IP instruction manual that says to set time based on instructions on yogurt starter - I should have just gone with the default time on the IP.


For my second batch I tried goat milk. I did the initial boil in jars, and mistakenly did the same processing method. There are actually different instructions for boiling in jars. oops. That may be a factor in the failure. After 4.5 hours it was still pretty much milk, so I ran it a second time, again adding more culture. Four and a half hours later it was slightly thicker, but way too tart to consider straining it or using it for anything.

My powdered culture is nearing the end of it's life (expires in August), so it's possible that is a factor. I got some fresh culture in yesterday, so will give it another go.

I have since found instructions on the web where experienced yogurt makers recommend removing the lid after the initial boil, then pressing "Yogurt" and "Adjust" and set for 5 minutes. This will keep the milk at a higher temperature for a few minutes more before the cool down. They say this will make for a thicker end product. I will give that a go next time.


I had intended making a steamed persimmon pudding for dessert the last couple of days, but the yogurt-making process takes quite a bit of IP time - you have to plan on it being out of commision for 10 hours or so. I think from here on I will do it as an overnight process.

#37 Posted : Saturday, July 30, 2016 9:25:03 AM(UTC)
@anightowl, I have made yogurt weekly for 10-15 years with a little Girmi yogurt maker I bought from Amazon; I don't think it's available any longer. I generally use some of the yogurt from my previous batch as the starter for my next batch, but read somewhere once that you should start fresh every 10 or so batches. So I'll start fresh every so often with a good quality plain yogurt (I always have good luck with the Brown Cow brand but have used others). I have had a few batches not set up over the years and I definitely attribute that to the quality of my starter, so you're probably onto something that your starter is near expiration. I have definitely had the worst luck using a "Greek" yogurt as my starter.

I will have to experiment making yogurt in my IP!
#38 Posted : Sunday, August 7, 2016 7:02:43 PM(UTC)
@anightowl - this evening I made the Coconut Fish Curry from the little book that came with the IP. I am very pleased! I followed the recipe exactly (using curry leaves and the individual spices, rather than the curry powder). If anything, the fish may be just a tad overdone, but all in all a good dish. I like how you can modify it (curry powder or basil/kaffir lime leaves/bay leaves instead of the curry leaves) as well as chicken instead of fish! I especially like the cherry tomatoes.

Last week, I was making Indian food. I made the chickpeas for the Chana Masala in the IP and they were perfect. I am having a great time with my new toy!
#39 Posted : Wednesday, August 17, 2016 1:16:16 AM(UTC)

@pgarcia - I will have to give that recipe a try with the fish, although it sounds like I should cut back the time a bit. 


I cooked chickpeas in mine yesterday, for hummus. It's the best I've ever made - the chickpeas cooked up perfectly, and more evenly than I have ever managed on the cooktop or crockpot (and in much less time). I used the recipe in "The Homemade Panty" once they were cooked up. It has a nice balance of flavors, and it makes 8 cups, so I have a bunch stashed in the freezer for my future hummus cravings. :)


I finally made my steamed persimmon pudding in my IP tonight. Oh my! Sooooo good!


I got the "Fox Run 2 Quart Steamed Pudding Mold and Lid" from Amazon," and the recipe I used was


https://www.eatyourbooks...udding-with-brandy-sauce


I didn't do the brandy sauce, instead used persimmon jam as a sauce (although it was so moist it hardly needed it). It was a simple matter to change the recipe from an "on/off" rice cooker recipe to IP - I just took 10 minutes off the cook time and did a natural release, everything else was the same.  


I'm having way too much fun with this thing! I used it 3 times today - I made a marinated chicken breast for our dinner salads, cooked a diced red kuri squash. Ok, so that didn't work as expected - I wanted chunks to add to the salad, but it kinda, well, mushed. It's in the fridge and I think I'll make a curry tomorrow with the squash puree and leftover chicken.

Oh, and I finally got my goat milk yogurt to work. I had to add a little gelatin before the boil and culture, and then I strained it for a few hours. I ended up with 1/2 of it being strained out before it was an acceptable thickness, but the whey is in the freezer, awaiting the next recipe that calls for buttermilk. It's yummy, but I will have to consider the time/effort cost vs storebought on that one. Good news is we havn't had to buy yougurt for my husband for a few weeks now. He usually eats one a day, and likes the stuff I am making in the IP so much he doesn't add anything to it (and up until a few weeks ago he ate fruit flavored Yoplait, so that's saying something!)

#40 Posted : Saturday, October 15, 2016 7:44:51 AM(UTC)
Hey @anightowl (changed my EYB name from pgarcia to PennyG - it's me!). I am glad to see you've been putting your IP through its paces. I love mine though I've been traveling a bit and generally busy so haven't used it as much. I think with Fall trying to arrive here in San Antonio, I will be using it more for "pot roast" type dishes.

I was going to mention that I got one gem of a book (I'm indexing it now) - Delicious Under Pressure by Meredith Laurence. I will probably try most recipes in it over time. I made the Lamb Bolognese from it and it was fantastic!

I also made another nice meal from The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book - Chicken Thighs with Olives and Lemons. Yum!

I see you finished indexing The Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cookbook (At least I think it was you! I have it on my Kindle). Thank You. Have a super weekend!
#41 Posted : Sunday, October 16, 2016 10:28:43 PM(UTC)

Hi PennyG,

Yep, having a good time with my IP. :) I have to say my go-to recipe on crazy days is cooking a chicken breast from frozen in a saucy liquid that I change up each time (teriyaki, honey-mustard, BBQ, Lemon-garlic, Italian...), then shredding it, à la pulled pork, or slicing it, and putting it on a bed of some grain or another, adding some garden veg, and call it done. Sometimes I add cherries, pineapple, nuts, whatever strikes my fancy.  My rice cooker has been seeing a lot more use since I got the IP - running both of them, one for meat, the other for whole grains, is an easy way to get a meal done fast. I have been using https://www.eatyourbooks...ate-rice-cooker-cookbook a lot since it has basic recipes for lots of different grains. 


Delicious Under Pressure looks awesome (photos - hurray!). I just added it to my Amazon cart.  I look forward to that one being indexed soon. Busted, yep, it was me that indexed the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cookbook (unless you find errors, then, no, defintely not me! LOL). It went pretty fast - the recipes are fairly straightforward.


I have a recipe marked to try in the Great Big Pressure Cooker Book, https://www.eatyourbooks...alle-and-artichoke-heart  but I haven't yet made the leap of cooking one pot pasta meals in the IP. I'm afraid the pasta will overcook, or will be undercooked. There are a lot of recipes in that book that look good, and an awful lot that call for wine (about 20%)....yum :) The one you mentioned sounds tasty. I have lemons in the backyard - I may have to try that one this week. 


I have indexed all the recipes in the IP manufacturer recipe booklet as personal recipes - I wish we could share personal recipes!

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