Just got my two 7-in-1 6-quart Instant Pots from Amazon today (thanks again, moonrise, for the timely sale tip!).
Thought I'd post my learning experiences here, since a couple of people posted in my old thread that they found the learning curve steep. I have a stovetop 8-quart Fagor pressure cooker that I have used in the past, and which works well for a huge cabbage soup recipe I make and freeze for my daughter, but I was looking for something more convenient that I could use to make and freeze meals for 2 and 4 people. That's why I got the Instant Pots.
Today all I did was give both the water test (page 17 of the manual). I noticed online and on Youtube that people said to just add 3 cups of water, whereas the manual said to fill up to the 3 mark on the inner pot (which means 3 liters, considerably more than 3 cups!). The purpose of the test is primarily to assure that the pot develops pressure. Both my pots passed the test, but I was surprised at how long it takes the pot to get up to pressure when there are 3 liters of water involved (about 25 minutes), and how long it takes for pressure to be released naturally (about 20 minutes for the pin to go down, but there is still a lot of pressure in there even after the pin goes down). I used my iPhone's stopwatch to time them, thanks to a Youtube video that suggested it. This really has helped give me a more realistic idea of the time involved in cooking soups, and also in reheating frozen meals.
Next step tonight is to register my pots on the website for the warranty.
Tomorrow I plan to cook a modified Black Bean Soup recipe. This is a prize-winning recipe I got off the internet, but I am modifying it by cutting it in half and using dried beans instead of canned.
I just recently discovered the Paprika app for recipes (ran across it during my online research of the IP) and so far I am loving it. I have it on my Windows desktop, iPad and iPhone. It allowed me to find and download the Black Bean recipe I want to try, and sync the recipe across all 3 devices. The original recipe feeds 8 but, since I want to use dried beans instead of canned, the amount would exceed what is recommended for my IP. With Paprika, I was able to instantly scale down the recipe to feed 4, which keeps the liquid amount low enough for me to pressure cook the beans dried. (At least, that's my theory. I had to use the computer to do some calculations that helped me determine I'd better cut the recipe in half if I wanted to substitute dried beans in the pressure cooker.)
I am wondering if anyone else uses Paprika and, of course I would appreciate tips and favorite recipes for the Instant Pot.
Honestly, I haven't been this excited about cooking in years!
