Please explain to me why Instant Pot is more extraordinary than:

[no_hypocrisy]

1) a slow cooker
2) a pressure cooker
3) just making rice on the stovetop.
4) air fryer
5) etc.

Yeah, the recipes look good, but couldn't you make them using other equipment?

[dhol82]

1. If you already have all the others you are good to go.

It’s the latest, oh look, squirrel.

[jorgevlorgan]

2. instapot is like all those in one. my brother showed me how you can saute things

In it as well

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Yes to all 5 nt

[if..fish..had..wings]

4. Worthless

I cook a lot.
Got one as a gift. Read the manual. Put it away.
Took it out one day and cooked something. Waste of time.
Back on the shelf, will gather dust.

Squirrel is correct.

[Major Nikon]

5. Never owned one, wouldn't buy one

Some people swear by them.

If you have limited storage space in your kitchen and need something that can do everything, I can see the value. My experience with things that can do everything generally don't do any of them all that well, but I've never owned one of these so I can't say.

[beveeheart]

6. We got one too. I don't use it because I like to season and taste during cooking.

Someone I know uses it for cooking chicken breasts quickly for her work lunches. She doesn't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, whereas I like recipes with lots of ingredients.

[Hortensis]

12. Yours is my biggest complaint. Yes, I could stop it to taste,

and it doesn't take much time to get pressure back up, but what a bother. I love my old enameled Dutch oven and almost always ust use the IP for tried and true recipes that I didn't start early enough for long braising and that don't need more than a little tweaking at the end. And for hard-boiling eggs.

[lkinwi]

7. I use mine for certain cuts of meat: chuck roast, ribs, pork steak, corned beef

I like that I can brown and cook in the same pan. I don’t eat those meats often, so mine stays mostly in the pantry, but I’m glad that I have one because the Instant Pot prepares them better than I ever did.

[Wawannabe]

9. This!

Any thing you want tender comes out fab and faster! Browning in same cooker is great, also.

[hlthe2b]

8. Because I don't want to store/maintain all those appliances when one will do it all

(one if you get the available airfryer lid attachment) plus my instant pot does yogurt, which I make twice a week. The easiest system I have ever found for doing so and I have been making my own yogurt for years.

[TygrBright]

10. Yes, but you can do it all in 1 sq ft of counter space.

When I got my Instant Pot I reclaimed a whole cupboard where I'd stored my slow cooker, stovetop pressure cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, etc.

Extra space.

happily,
Bright

[Hortensis]

13. This too! Its biggest virtue is its variety of conveniences,

but not for those not interested in using them.

[Cairycat]

11. It does certain foods really well.

I'd never been able to cook dry beans or brown rice very well until the Instant Pot. It also does a nice job on hard vegetables like beets and sweet potatoes. Pork shoulder and things with rump or chuck come out very well. It's good for doing a bunch of hard boiled eggs at a time. So I use mine more for ingredients to use in the rest of my cooking, rather than meals.

I always hated the way things came out in the slow cooker and stove top pressure cookers scared me. I like my Instant Pot and would replace it if it died on me. You can buy a lid that turns it into an air fryer, and I'm debating if that would be worth it.

[Hortensis]

14. As Cairycat says. I'm very happy with the one my daughter got me,

right at home where I also am very happy with my stove and oven.

But also especially in our travel trailer. I brought it along the first longer trip with the idea that I could grab something from a market as we passed in the late afternoon and serve it that evening, and typically the next also (when we may not have electricity). I put together a recipe book of favorites just for the trailer, and yup: great for expanding beyond what-can-we-grill-before-its-dark choices. I also like it to steam fish with fresh veggies.

But it's also very unmessy cooking even when browning, doesn't heat or smell up the area like a stove or oven -- especially nice in confined space, and can be used outside whenever electricity is available. Love all that about it at home and in the trailer. We can't run it while we're on the road the way cooks in motorhomes can, but even so, for me doing more cooking than eating out on the road and camping, it's definitely worth its draw in weight and storage space. And that's in a 15' trailer-for-two. (!)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. A lot of specialty appliances or utensils are completely unnecessary.

I don't happen to be interested in an instant pot because I already own a slow cooker and lots of other pots and pans.

I also don't understand the sous vide thing. I mean, taking three days to cook a pot roast (or however long it is) makes no sense to me. A while back someone was raving about the wonderful scrambled eggs in one of those that took something like 45 minutes. I just don't get why someone would want to take ten times as long to make something whose essential virtue is how quick it is to fix.

I've never understood a special appliance for cooking rice. Unless you simply don't own any other pot. Cooking rice is not difficult. Really, it's not.

Anyway, that's just me. For those you you have have a particular appliance you love, just continue to love it.

[spinbaby]

18. I wouldn't use it for sous vide

I know some of the newer InstantPots have a tricky sous vide feature, but a sous vide circulator would do a better job of it. InstantPots have been pressed into service for all kinds of things they’re not intended for. Stick with its strengths, which is soups, stews, beans, meat, etc.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. Actually, I realize that there's a separate

kind of equipment for sous vide.

[tishaLA]

20. It does a fine job with sous vide IMO

I don't eat a lot of meat, but when I do it starts in the instantpot sous vide and I get perfect results every time.

[trof]

21. Same here. Perfect medium rare boneless ribeye.

Finished off in hot cast iron skillet.
Magnifique!

[Retrograde]

16. I resisted one for a long time

we finally bought one last December. Haven't used it for rice yet - the rice cooker works just fine. But it's not as scary as my big pressure canner, and it's a lot smaller. Which means I can decide to have beans for dinner tonight instead of 3 days from now. My version also does sous-vide.

I like the timer functions, which my ancient slow cooker doesn't have: I can start a stock going and pretty much forget about it for 6-8 hours. It also makes pretty good yogurt - next week I make try ricotta.

If you already have a kitchen full of small appliances it's probably not necessary. If you're just starting to furnish a kitchen, it will take the place of several individual appliances.

[spinbaby]

17. I use mine once or twice a week

I have yogurt going right now. I also use it regularly to cook grains—especially steel-cut oats—dried beans, and pot roasts. At more than five years old, it’s one of the original InstantPots and I definitely consider it to be a kitchen staple.

[trof]

22. Creamy beans from dried to delicious in 40 minutes.

That alone is worth it.
Homemade refried beans.
Caramba!

[eleny]

23. That might solve my problem here at high altitude

I learned to use a regular pressure cooker from my mom who always had one. We lived at sea level so soaking beans was always successful in a bowl on the counter.

But here at over a mile high I can't even seem to soften limas and those are the easiest to soak and soften. I never thought to use the pressure cooker and will look for some tips online. Foaming is an issue with beans in the p-c because it can cause clogging and be hazardous. But a small amount at a time might be doable.

[trof]

24. We make our own refritos.

Best I've ever had, restaurant or home.
And no lard, no preservatives.
No soaking.
Way cheaper than canned.

[Demsrule86]

25. An instant pot is basicly a pressure cooker. I also make dairy free yogurt in it which saves

money and tastes better.