The Permanent All-In-One Cooking Device

[MachineGhost]

This thing is great!  Not only does it warm, saute, brown, stir-fry, slow cook, pressure cook, steam and make rice, it'll also make yogurt or sticky fermented rice, and all from pre-programmed buttons (the rice mode is auto-sensor).  And no toxic non-stick coating or toxic iron to worry about!

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DU ... 00FLYWNYQ/

Finally, cooking has caught up with the PC age (sorry, but those overrated, flat top, induction stoves for $1000+ just don't cut it).  The company is even going to release a model later this year that interfaces with a smart phone for recipies and automated remote cooking.

[Mark Leavy]

Finally, cooking has caught up with the PC age

Last year, I threw away everything I own that doesn't fit in a small day bag.
I carry a 1 liter stainless steel pot with a watertight lid and a 1.4 KW immersion heater and a 750ml stainless steel thermos.

That's my permanent cooking, water distillation, booze distillation, and coffee making apparatus.

And I eat a lot of raw eggs and meat.

[craigr]

Last year, I threw away everything I own that doesn't fit in a small day bag.
I carry a 1 liter stainless steel pot with a watertight lid and a 1.4 KW immersion heater and a 750ml stainless steel thermos.

That's my permanent cooking, water distillation, booze distillation, and coffee making apparatus.

And I eat a lot of raw eggs and meat.

This would make a really interesting topic if you wanted to start it about the why, how, etc. of this decision.

FWIW. I have been minimizing as well as I recently moved and got rid of many things. I'm looking to get rid of about 3/4th of the rest of my stuff as well. I doubt I could get down to one day bag though!

[WildAboutHarry]

[quote=MachineGhost]This thing is great!  Not only does it warm, saute, brown, stir-fry, slow cook, pressure cook, steam and make rice, it'll also make yogurt or sticky fermented rice, and all from pre-programmed buttons (the rice mode is auto-sensor).  And no toxic non-stick coating or toxic iron to worry about![/quote]

I assume you have one?  Does it really work?  All 7 functions?

I am always leery of any "X in 1" items.  Stems from my youth, when I discovered that the 3-in-1 car model kits really only had one car.

Also, the font showing "Instant Pot" on the device does not inspire confidence.

But 68 5-star reviews out of 76 is impressive! 

[ns3]

I never got down to a day bag but after my first wife died I managed to reduce everything I owned down to a 10 x 10 storage room while I hit the road. Would have even gotten rid of all that if I hadn't been raising a grandchild.

But I have to assume both Craig and Mark are single. As soon as I remarried the stuff started building up again - and that was with marrying a woman who arrived from the Philippines with everything in one suitcase.

Last year, I threw away everything I own that doesn't fit in a small day bag.
I carry a 1 liter stainless steel pot with a watertight lid and a 1.4 KW immersion heater and a 750ml stainless steel thermos.

That's my permanent cooking, water distillation, booze distillation, and coffee making apparatus.

And I eat a lot of raw eggs and meat.

This would make a really interesting topic if you wanted to start it about the why, how, etc. of this decision.

FWIW. I have been minimizing as well as I recently moved and got rid of many things. I'm looking to get rid of about 3/4th of the rest of my stuff as well. I doubt I could get down to one day bag though!

[GT]

I am still in the accumulation phase; much to my dismay. For every item that I donate to goodwill or sell at the community yard sale, two items take its place.

[MachineGhost]

I assume you have one?  Does it really work?  All 7 functions?

I am always leery of any "X in 1" items.  Stems from my youth, when I discovered that the 3-in-1 car model kits really only had one car.

Also, the font showing "Instant Pot" on the device does not inspire confidence.

But 68 5-star reviews out of 76 is impressive!

Yep, so far I've steamed, pressure cooked, made rice and just recently made yogurt.  It will even make bread, though it won't be the same as from an oven, obviously.

Let's be honest, its made in China.  Everything nowadays seemingly is.  But its a higher quality than the normal dreck.  The company is Canadian.

If there's a big negative so far, its the dearth of recipes that came with it, but they give you plenty of websites to go to.

[WildAboutHarry]

Great, thanks.

We have a steamer thing that looks very similar, but the Instant Pot looks to be way more flexible and useful. 

And I have been banishing all teflon-coated stuff to the dustbin, so the stainless insert is noteworthy.

[Pointedstick]

Welcome back, MG!

How's the durability on this thing? I'm usually very wary of computers on cooking devices because of the fact that electronics mix really poorly with heat and moisture. Does it seem like they've isolated the components well?

[MachineGhost]

And I have been banishing all teflon-coated stuff to the dustbin, so the stainless insert is noteworthy.

Speaking of that, the company had to lower the high PSI from the decades-old standard of 15 PSI to about 10-11 PSI to keep the cost down, otherwise the stainless steel pot would have required very thick, heavy and expensive steel.  It is food grade 304 (18/8 or 18/10) and tri-ply.  The downside to a slightly lower PSI is the cooking times increase slightly and standard pressure cook recipe times are adjusted by a simple factor.  Big deal.  When you can throw in a frozen piece of meat from the freezer and have it ready in less than an hour in "set it and forget it" style, a few extra minutes isn't noteworthy.

Time to go inoculate my second yogurt batch.  It works great with raw, grass-fed milk.  It came out a little weak the first time, but I blame the Walmart yogurt for being weak junx.  I'm doing it greek style this time and letting it ferment longer.

[MachineGhost]

How's the durability on this thing? I'm usually very wary of computers on cooking devices because of the fact that electronics mix really poorly with heat and moisture. Does it seem like they've isolated the components well?

I haven't had it that long to tell, as I'm currently breaking it in.  There's nothing on the inside except for the pressure sensor and the cooking element (similar to a rice cooker).  Nothing seems to leak in.  The top has a water collecting rim and a little holder on the back underneath a ledge for collecting the runoff.  You do have to be a bit careful when opening the lid to make sure you get the water into the rim and/or ledge and not all over the food or counter, unless you don't care.  I discovered the ledge will actually prop up the lid if you notch it just right.  It's definitely a lot easier to open and close than a standard pressure cooker.  And the open/close valive is child's play.  The front panel appears to be isolated from the inside.

[WildAboutHarry]

Hey, MG.  Any follow up on this wonder device?

[dualstow]

I would love to know how Mark sources his raw foods when traveling abroad.

Anyway, I'm glad this thread is resurrected. Looks like a neat device. I used to live with a girl from Taiwan who cooked everything in a rice cooker. Everything. Now I'm married to a Chinese woman and we don't even have a rice cooker.

Our all-in-one seems to be a steel pan on the stovetop (and its steamer accessory).

[WiseOne]

Ditto!  MG how has the pot held up?

I'm planning to move soon so I'm also starting to trim down, but this might be a nice housewarming present afterwards.  It's certainly got a lot of attention on Amazon, and multiple functions are always appreciated in small apartments.  And pressure cookers are your friend on weeknights.

Some of the functions are pure fluff though.  I used to make yogurt all the time just with a covered bowl and a warm corner of the kitchen, and I don't ever remember thinking "I wish I had an electronic gizmo to do this..."

[colorado4]

Another good kitchen device.  Makes a great rare/ medium rare steak. 


http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/Shop_Onl ... &DeptID=34

[Mark Leavy]

I would love to know how Mark sources his raw foods when traveling abroad.

Hey dualstow - I've been offline for a bit.
I generally eat any meat/milk/eggs that the locals eat.  Or anything you would feed your best dog.

Most of my meat is rare and seared. But I don't mind raw.  I usually go through a dozen or two raw egg yolks per week. (my multivitamin) Most countries don't refrigerate eggs - which is the perfect way to preserve them if you don't wash the shells.  If they smell dodgy when I crack them, then I don't eat them.  Never had a problem.

[Mark Leavy]

Another good kitchen device.  Makes a great rare/ medium rare steak. 


http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/Shop_Onl ... &DeptID=34

I had one of these for a long time.  Gave it to my son when I went mobile.
I loved it.  Get a nice butane kitchen torch to sear the surface of whatever you cook.  And a professional level vacuum sealer is awesome.  For much more than just the sous vide.

Ribeye at 132 for 3 hours.
Brisket at 138 for 12 hours.
Chicken thighs overnight at 140.

Take it out of the bag, towel it down and flame it for a few seconds with a torch.  Yum, yum.

Now that I'm on the road, I carry a small immersion heater and a pocket thermometer.
Or... in a pinch.  Really hot tap water is about 130 degrees and makes a perfect medium rare.

You can do a whole pig in a hot tub if you can boost the temp a few degrees.

[dragoncar]

Recently bought one of these as a christmas gift.  Will report back next year to see if they've broken it.

[dualstow]

You can do a whole pig in a hot tub if you can boost the temp a few degrees.

Interesting! This image is going to stick with me for a long time, I suspect. 

[WildAboutHarry]

You can do a whole pig in a hot tub if you can boost the temp a few degrees.

I am working on the hot tub thermostat now.  Where can you find a vacuum sealer big enough to do a whole pig?

[Mountaineer]

You can do a whole pig in a hot tub if you can boost the temp a few degrees.

I am working on the hot tub thermostat now.  Where can you find a vacuum sealer big enough to do a whole pig?

Just use an external thermometer.  With that much mass, temperature fluctuations should be rather slow.  As for the vacuum sealer, suggest you contact Space X - they may have a surplus Dragon capsule. 

... Mountaineer

[MachineGhost]

Hey, MG.  Any follow up on this wonder device?

Yeah, I was disappointed at first because it didn't seem like the rice function was smart like I thought I primarily bought it for.  It took about nine months to realize it was indeed actually smart after re-reading the manual and just to ignore what came on the display.  So I think I've finally got the water to rice ratio correct so it comes out not too hard and not too soft with parboiled rice which is like in-between white and brown.  Now, this probably doesn't hold a candle to those expensive fuzzy logic smart sensor single function rice cookers from Zojirushi (only the made in Japan models), but I'm like Alton Brown in regards to multitasking.  The major confounding variable is how long you let it sit after its done cooking; you can vent immediately, vent after 10 minutes (quick release) or let it drop on its own (natural release).  The latter two add significantly more time to whats displayed for the actual cooking.  It's not 100% plug and go unless you're using recipes specifically designed for it which I haven't really done much except once or twice from the sparse recipe book.  There's a cooking time chart included for how to cook fresh/frozen meats and vegetables, etc.. 

The other functions are good....  gravy/browning/blackening, pressure cooking or slow cooking.  I tried making yogurt once and it was neat and it can double as a sterilizer (since you have to to that first to make safe yogurt).  Its also really great for not having to defrost meat from the freezer first.  I recently bought a new generation vacuum sealer from FoodSaver to stop freezer burn in that department (older generations had a lot of flaws/problems from what I've read, so lucky timing).

The biggest negative for me is its really hard to get under a big chunk of sticky seared meat with a spatula to flip it because its so deep and round.

[WildAboutHarry]

Thanks! 

Nice to know that it is still alive today, so at least it is somewhat durable.

[MachineGhost]

I found a new contender, a smart grill.  It cooks food precisely how you want it and texts you when its done.

https://cindercooks.com/

[dualstow]

Learned about sous vide in this thread.
This looks pretty cool: http://amzn.com/B00KSFAB74

Still not ready for the pig in a hot tub.