Any Instant Pot Fans?

[Brian]

After, perhaps, a year or more of suggestions by some American friends, I
bought and Instant Pot.

I used to be a fan of pressure cooking in our student days and later I used
it for stock and soup making. However, when we went induction hob, our
pressure cooker wasn’t compatible.


I’ve only used the IP for pressure cooking some beetroot so far, prior to
pickling but I’ve used the Sous Vide function several times. That is a
revelation.

Sous Vide duck breast was perfect.

Like wise Sous Vide steak - I confess I often over cook steak but getting
it just right with Sous Vide was easy.

I went for the version with the air fryer option, although I have an air
fryer, mainly so I can air fry two items in parallel. I should really have
purchased the dual drawer air fryer initially but I was a bit dubious about
the air fryer at all. ( Not any more.)

I’m looking forward to post Xmas Turkey stock / soup making - a tradition
Chez Nous.

[Malcolm Loades]

My first thought, "Can anyone be a fan of instant pot noodles"? Shudder!

However, I am a fan of an Instapot. I've never baked or fried in it,
not even been tempted to try, but love it for sous vide, slow cooking
and pressure cooking.

Malcolm

[Brian]

Malcolm Loades <dev...@loades.net> wrote:
> On 12/12/2021 10:24, Brian wrote:
>>
>> After, perhaps, a year or more of suggestions by some American friends, I
>> bought and Instant Pot.
>>
>> I used to be a fan of pressure cooking in our student days and later I used
>> it for stock and soup making. However, when we went induction hob, our
>> pressure cooker wasn’t compatible.
>>
>>
>> I’ve only used the IP for pressure cooking some beetroot so far, prior to
>> pickling but I’ve used the Sous Vide function several times. That is a
>> revelation.
>>
>> Sous Vide duck breast was perfect.
>>
>> Like wise Sous Vide steak - I confess I often over cook steak but getting
>> it just right with Sous Vide was easy.
>>
>> I went for the version with the air fryer option, although I have an air
>> fryer, mainly so I can air fry two items in parallel. I should really have
>> purchased the dual drawer air fryer initially but I was a bit dubious about
>> the air fryer at all. ( Not any more.)
>>
>> I’m looking forward to post Xmas Turkey stock / soup making - a tradition
>> Chez Nous.
>>
>
> My first thought, "Can anyone be a fan of instant pot noodles"? Shudder!
>

ROTFL!

> However, I am a fan of an Instapot. I've never baked or fried in it,
> not even been tempted to try, but love it for sous vide, slow cooking
> and pressure cooking.
>
> Malcolm
>

I’ve not tried the slow cooker function yet. I have established ways of
cooking some things and need to transition the recipes.

I had a slow cooker but passed it on to my youngest when I bought the IP.

Have you tried the yogurt function yet?

[Malcolm Loades]

On 12/12/2021 20:01, Brian wrote:
>
> Have you tried the yogurt function yet?
>

No.

I much prefer full fat (10%) Greek yoghurt. It's as 'cheap as chips' in
Lidl at £1.09 for a kilo. Great for breakfast with stewed pink rhubarb
which is currently in season. Making my own would cost the same or more
using full fat milk with added cream.

Malcolm

[Brian]

I don’t think we’ve tried Lidl Greek yogurt. It is a bit of a trek to the
nearest Lidl, I pop there now and then and stock up on a few things they do
- duck breasts being one- but they aren’t a regular haunt. They get some
interesting specials now and then. During the summer, we bought some
excellent ham while away in the motorhome. I think it was their Austrian
week.

Sometimes I like to try things for the hell of it, rather than saving
money. I used to make yogurt often at one time.

[Malcolm Loades]

On 14/12/2021 00:09, Brian wrote:
>
> I don’t think we’ve tried Lidl Greek yogurt. It is a bit of a trek to the
> nearest Lidl, I pop there now and then and stock up on a few things they do
> - duck breasts being one- but they aren’t a regular haunt. They get some
> interesting specials now and then. During the summer, we bought some
> excellent ham while away in the motorhome. I think it was their Austrian
> week.
>

Living in a city I have a large Tesco, large Sainsburys, Waitrose, M&S
and Lidl all within 2 miles. This has made me a very promiscuous shopper!

It's M&S for items which I need immediately and then find I've run out
of. It's the nearest of all, plus the best fresh croissants. It can
however make Waitrose prices look cheap. Plus, I really don't
understand why they won't sell free range chicken, no M&S does. That
approach to animal welfare means I boycott all meat from M&S.

For meat it's equal tops between Waitrose and Lidl. Lidl do great free
range British chicken and have Aberdeen Angus beef. Their DeLuxe Dry
Cured Bacon is as good any other supermarket's. Neither Tesco meat nor
Sainsburys is very good IMHO. Waitrose is the only supermarket in which
I will buy fish and seafood; have you ever smelt a Tesco fish counter?
Uuugh!

Store cupboard stuff like flour, sugar, free range British eggs, tinned
goods etc. is usually from Lidl but the range of items stocked is much
smaller than other supermarkets which is where Waitrose, Tesco and
Sainsburys come in for Organic milk, a greater choice of jams and
spreads, alcohol etc.

Malcolm

[Brian]

A “promiscuous shopper”. ROTFL

We lack a Waitrose close enough to use every week.

There is one of the flagship M&S food places nearby - apparently the food
director’s wife shops there. Tesco, Sainsbury, and a large Aldi - good for
deli, all within a mile or so. Asda isn’t far, ditto Morrisons.

The nearest Waitrose is about 12 miles away.

A Lidl had recently been approved within about 3 miles. The other one is 12
miles or so.

We’ve a good local butcher, although I like to stock up in CostCo - their
meat is very good. It is a trek- 20+ miles.

Normally, we stock up with wine in France- I’m still drinking red from pre
Covid trips. Wife’s white ran out. We fill up the motorhome to the legal
limit on each trip, a couple of times a year normally.

I bake bread now and then, do some pickling etc. I like making soup. Being
a northerner (living in the south) it is thick soup, none of the watery
nonsense. Plan to make a batch on Thursday - out tomorrow, my old fashioned
Gentlemen’s Club Xmas Lunch.

www.g8osn.net

[Malcolm Loades]

On 14/12/2021 16:01, Brian wrote:
>
> Normally, we stock up with wine in France- I’m still drinking red from pre
> Covid trips. Wife’s white ran out. We fill up the motorhome to the legal
> limit on each trip, a couple of times a year normally.
>

We appear to have much in common. However, for us it's a touring
caravan rather than motorhome and like you it's at least twice a year to
France to stock up. Problem is I can't ever seem to make the wine last
6 months! I have no wine left from June of this year now, only about a
quarter of a bottle of Calvados and half a bottle of pastis.

We'd booked a couple of weeks in France in early November to re-stock
for Christmas but then Zimbabwe came off the red list so we cancelled
and went to Zim instead. Got back 48 hours before it went back on the
red list Which would have meant quarantine!

The big problem I'm working on now is how to cook a Christmas lunch for
10 in a domestic oven when some want chicken/turkey, others beef, all
want pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and roast parsnips plus yorkshire
pudding. How do you present that lot HOT all at the same time? I may
end up running between the caravan oven and the kitchen oven!

Malcolm

[Brian]

I don’t drink much at home - the odd glass- so the stocks last. I make up
for it when I go to my Club, the Lodge etc ( my wife delivers and collects
me ). A very good Sancerre with lunch yesterday.

I’m cooking Xmas lunch on the 29 th for the family - 8. Middle daughter is
a Dr and is working on 25 th so we are delaying main family lunch. We’ve
got two fan ovens - one is a combo. Actually three if you count a stand a
lone uWave combo we kept when the kitchen was done. I do wish I’d got the 6
ring induction hob rather than just 4 - I’m always juggling things when
cooking for the whole family etc.

I usually manage to get everything ready at the same time - I’ve cooked 40+
Xmas meals.

My technique is to have serving dishes warming in one of the ovens. Cooked
things like stuffing, pigs in blankets etc in another. Meat carved and
covered with foil. Veg on hob. Roasties drained etc .

Warm plates go on island, wife puts meat / pigs in blankets/ stuffing on
plates - she tends to know amounts. One of daughters ferries to table. I
pop veg etc into dishes, another daughter ferries to table, third is
charged with final stirring of gravy and getting into gravy boat. This is a
key role, lumpy gravy is a crime against humanity in our house and middle
daughter drinks the stuff.

It works rather well. The layout of the kitchen helps- a large island in
the middle. Daughters have always helped (3) .

Eldest is having us for Xmas this year, assuming Boris hasn’t locked us
down.

[Judith in France]

I don't know what an Instant Pot is?

[Judith in France]

I live in The Cotswolds and I can walk down the street to a loal butcher, expensive, very but the meat is exceptional.

[Brian]

The basic ones are electric pressure cookers and slow cookers. The more
complex ones can air fry, sous vide, make yogurt, …..

Instant Pot is the brand, there are similar ones which do the same things.

I have the 8 litre Duo which has the air fryer attachment. I bought it
rather than replacing my existing air fryer with a dual basket one. I also
passed my slow cooker to my youngest.

I’ve just this minute set it going making stock from the Turkey I cooked
yesterday. (We had our main family Xmas yesterday.)

[Judith in France]

My eyes have just glazed over I can only just unerstand my breadmaker as for Instant Pot, I doubt I would have the concentration needed to read the instructions, these days I am a lazy cook.