Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 6 Qt, Silver

I’ve been cooking in this pot for years and it never failed me. If you know some good recipes (it comes with a recipe book, but there’s also an app and tons of recipes online) you can make delicious meals! For me it cooks meat the best if you want it soft and coming off the bone. It makes great broths and soups! Also, rice and cabbage rolls. There are lots of options, but I haven’t tried making yogurt or desserts yet. It might take some experience adjusting the timing and see how it works best for you, but once you master it, I think it’ll be a wonderful addition to your kitchen :)

Honestly I think this pressure cooker is overpriced. I am a strong believer of reading the reviews before purchasing a pricey item and let me tell you this time I have had a really bad experience. Every time I try to make rice it will stop working and I’ve had my rice burnt a few times because it will not switch from heating to the pressure setting! All I can cook in it are beans and soups. Also everything will stick to the bottom making it extremely annoying to clean afterwards. This item is not worth the couple hundreds I spent on it!

Love this appliance! It’s made with quality materials. The Instant Pot is on the heavier side, so would probably need a permanent spot on your counter. It can cook many different dishes quickly that would take hours otherwise, so you might as well keep it on your counter permanently. I use mine very frequently for making broths, soups, meats, yoghurt, farmers cheese, and much more. Instant Pot pressure cooker is quite easy to use and the presets on it (as well as the manual functions) are very easy to navigate. Once you get used to the steps you need to take for it to come up to pressure (like sealing the vent), it’s a breeze. I have yet to try making dessert in this, but so far everything I’ve tried has been great, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the sweet stuff ... MoreLove this appliance! It’s made with quality materials. The Instant Pot is on the heavier side, so would probably need a permanent spot on your counter. It can cook many different dishes quickly that would take hours otherwise, so you might as well keep it on your counter permanently. I use mine very frequently for making broths, soups, meats, yoghurt, farmers cheese, and much more. Instant Pot pressure cooker is quite easy to use and the presets on it (as well as the manual functions) are very easy to navigate. Once you get used to the steps you need to take for it to come up to pressure (like sealing the vent), it’s a breeze. I have yet to try making dessert in this, but so far everything I’ve tried has been great, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the sweet stuff turns out amazing as well. All in all, would highly recommend!

I use this for everything! How did I live without this before??? I live in a Sprinter van full-time and was using an induction burner for cooking, but since I've gotten this little gem, I haven't used the induction burner once!This is so easy to use, and it's the perfect size for one or two people. I've been making a lot of stews, and I'll saute the onions, carrots, and meat (if I'm using meat) then add everything else, seal it, and set it for 7 minutes on high pressure. I let it release naturally and have a perfectly cooked, tasty meal every time. This gives me enough for 4 or 5 servings. I also quick soaked beans the other day by covering them with water, hitting pressure for 5 min. then letting it release naturally and let it sit (not on keep warm) for a couple ... MoreI use this for everything! How did I live without this before??? I live in a Sprinter van full-time and was using an induction burner for cooking, but since I've gotten this little gem, I haven't used the induction burner once!This is so easy to use, and it's the perfect size for one or two people. I've been making a lot of stews, and I'll saute the onions, carrots, and meat (if I'm using meat) then add everything else, seal it, and set it for 7 minutes on high pressure. I let it release naturally and have a perfectly cooked, tasty meal every time. This gives me enough for 4 or 5 servings. I also quick soaked beans the other day by covering them with water, hitting pressure for 5 min. then letting it release naturally and let it sit (not on keep warm) for a couple of hours.

This electric cooker has been used numerous times since I’ve purchased it and it still works great. We eat a lot of rice in my home multiple times a week. When I’m making my nice big homemade meals I can just turn this on and forget about it because it does all the work for me. I don’t have to hover over the stove worrying if my rice is sticking to the pot. One loud beep and you know it’s ready. This product is inexpensive, durable, easy to clean, and saves so much time. Highly recommend!

The instant pot is a great tool to have in the kitchen. You can make such a wide variety items with just one appliance! Make fall off the bone ribs in less than an hour! Soft fluffy rice in 10 minutes! Stews, pasta, soups, meats! The options are limitless! It cuts back cooking time on crockpot meals by hours! It is easy to use to place ingredients in choose one the preprogrammed options and go! It’s easy to clean and maintain!

A professional Chef uses it at home for consistent results

I'm a Professional Chef, so it may seem odd that I use a consumer grade appliance like this, and really love it. It's actually *because* I'm a professional that I feel that way. Successful professional cooking is all about consistency, the ability to accurately repeat or replicate recipes, and to be able to forecast how the finished dish will come out. Without consistent ingredients & equipment, without precise and predictable temperature control, that's impossible. What the Instant Pot gives me is push-button predictability, consistency and outcomes. This replaces a Crock Pot, a regular pot on the stove, an automatic rice cooker and a pressure cooker. You can make yogurt start to finish. I make various kinds of traditional Japanese miso, the koji spores have to be ... MoreI'm a Professional Chef, so it may seem odd that I use a consumer grade appliance like this, and really love it. It's actually *because* I'm a professional that I feel that way. Successful professional cooking is all about consistency, the ability to accurately repeat or replicate recipes, and to be able to forecast how the finished dish will come out. Without consistent ingredients & equipment, without precise and predictable temperature control, that's impossible. What the Instant Pot gives me is push-button predictability, consistency and outcomes. This replaces a Crock Pot, a regular pot on the stove, an automatic rice cooker and a pressure cooker. You can make yogurt start to finish. I make various kinds of traditional Japanese miso, the koji spores have to be propagated at a constant, specific temperature and humidity for 48 hours, the jiu niang setting accomplishes this perfectly. Soybeans for tempeh. Soup, stew, etc I make tamales completely from scratch- I buy raw dried Mexican hominy corn, make the nixtamal overnight, I slow cook the pork shoulder or chicken then make the filling, then once the masa and filling are made and the tamales are formed, I steam pressure cook them for an hour. I make great tabasco style hot sauce with tomatoes and chilies from my garden. You can make perfect hard boiled eggs by steaming them and what's different from boiling is that if you boil them, the cooking time changes depending on how many you cook (more eggs = takes longer to boil). When you steam under pressure, it takes 5 minutes whether you cook 2 eggs or 20. I pressure steam small Idaho potatoes for mashed potatoes in their skin, that retains all of the starch and flavor, then rice them just like that, the ricer removes the skin and mashes them perfectly. This is my second one, the first lasted over 4 years of near daily use in my home kitchen. This latest model V3 has new control features & improvements, but the same rugged quality and dependability. A+ product!

Deciding to buy an instant pot

I read that when buying a refurbished instant pot to make sure that it is certified refurbished, which is true of the refurbished instant pot sold by Ocean State Job Lot. This means that the product has been through rigorous testing to make sure that it is safe for resale. The advantage of buying a refurbished instant pot from Ocean State Job Lot is that you get a $80 Crazy Deal gift card. This is useful if you normally shop at Ocean State Job Lot, which I do. I have tried the pot twice in my first week of owning it, and it works perfectly. I highly recommend reading the instruction booklet from cover to cover. There is a link in the instruction booklet to a site with many recipes. I did a lot of reading about instant pots online before getting one. I also borrowed ... MoreI read that when buying a refurbished instant pot to make sure that it is certified refurbished, which is true of the refurbished instant pot sold by Ocean State Job Lot. This means that the product has been through rigorous testing to make sure that it is safe for resale. The advantage of buying a refurbished instant pot from Ocean State Job Lot is that you get a $80 Crazy Deal gift card. This is useful if you normally shop at Ocean State Job Lot, which I do. I have tried the pot twice in my first week of owning it, and it works perfectly. I highly recommend reading the instruction booklet from cover to cover. There is a link in the instruction booklet to a site with many recipes. I did a lot of reading about instant pots online before getting one. I also borrowed books from my public library to learn more about recipes using an instant pot. Do some research to help you decide if an instant pot would be helpful to you, then compare prices and you will see what a good deal you get at Ocean State Job Lot.

For fuss free cooking with less energy usage

Pressure is lower than a stove top pressure cooker (11psi rather than 15psi) so be aware of that - longer cooking times needed for meat. But this is so useful if you like to cook stews, pulses, soups, stocks without having to stand over the stove and watch the pan. For cooking pulses for vegetarian food particularly, it is extremely useful. You don’t need to pre-soak, and you don’t have a kitchen full of steam and a monster electric bill. Not noisy or hissy or scary like a trad pressure cooker. There are squillions of recipes out there because this is an extremely popular kitchen appliance now, and many youtube videos showing the different functions. You can saute things before you pressure cook them, eg, onions and leeks etc for soup, then add stock and other ... MorePressure is lower than a stove top pressure cooker (11psi rather than 15psi) so be aware of that - longer cooking times needed for meat. But this is so useful if you like to cook stews, pulses, soups, stocks without having to stand over the stove and watch the pan. For cooking pulses for vegetarian food particularly, it is extremely useful. You don’t need to pre-soak, and you don’t have a kitchen full of steam and a monster electric bill. Not noisy or hissy or scary like a trad pressure cooker. There are squillions of recipes out there because this is an extremely popular kitchen appliance now, and many youtube videos showing the different functions. You can saute things before you pressure cook them, eg, onions and leeks etc for soup, then add stock and other ingredients and put the lid on, seal the weight, and press “soup” and then it takes about 40 minutes including heating up and releasing pressure naturally. But you can always release the pressure fast if you are impatient! Yes, it isn’t ultra quick, but it is quicker than cooking a casserole in the oven. I sometimes cook a stew on stew setting then finish it in the oven, but this still takes less time than conventional cooking. I notice someone here has reviewed this badly on the basis they didn’t understand how to use it, but the manual gives clear instructions, and it is not complicated if you can read. Besides, as I said, youtube has videos showing usage if you can’t read LOL….It is quite big, so make sure you have space for it, but it wouldn’t be difficult to keep it in a cupboard and get it out to use as needed if necessary, it’s not too heavy. Get spare silicone rings for sweet/savoury and the glass lid is useful for slow cooking. Re Slow cooking, the slow cook temperature is a tad on the high side so you need to keep an eye on it to check the fluid level. But it does slow cook effectively, if that’s your bag. Soup, Stew, Meat, Grain settings all work fine also. I have the original model not the fancy smart models but the principle is the same. I am buying one for my sister for Christmas. Very much worth the money.

Pot missing the serial # needed for warranty

Just went to test the Instantpot and found that there is no serial # anywhere on it. Per Instantpot, there should be a circular sticker with the serial # on the bottom of the heating base when you turn the base over. I checked all the packaging the pot came in, in case the sticker came off and got stuck there. It did not. Don't know if the missing serial # is the manufacturer's omission or if the pot was previously returned to the vendor and then resold to me. How do I expect a warranty to cover a product that has no serial #? Now have the inconvenience of returning the pot to the vendor.