Pressure cookers have been around for a long time, and just as long have the incidents of them exploding in the kitchen due to user error.
While they are a great cooking tool and most of us can remember a grandmother, aunt, or other relative having one and cooking with it regularly, most of us in this day and age have been more than a little bit intimidated by the regular stove top models.
I can’t say I blame you, if you feel the same. We’re in the same boat. While I love the idea of being able to cook food quickly and in a healthy way by cooking it under pressure, I have never been comfortable being in the same room with one, not to mention actually using it. The hissing, steaming, and rattling alone is enough to send the bravest of home cooks to the hills.
Thankfully there’s a new pressure cooker kid on the block – the Instant Pot and it’s much safer and more convenient to use than the standard stove top models. It has a total of 10 built in safety features that will keep you and your loved ones safe and secure. Combined they ensure that it is almost impossible to go wrong due to user error or equipment failure.
Let’s take the locking mechanism as an example. With a regular stove-top pressure cooker, it’s easy to try to lift the lid while the container is still under pressure and burn yourself with the hot steam that will escape violently. The Instant Pot lid will not open until the pressure is back to normal.
Automatic pressure control and pressure regulators keep the pressure in the pot under control. This means you can’t generate the kind of pressure inside your pot that could cause it to explode all over your kitchen. If you ask me, that’s a very good thing.
It even has sensors built in that keep temperature in check and keep you from burning you food in cases where there isn’t enough liquid in the pot to build up the appropriate cooking pressure. Instead of continuing to heat on high and burning the food inside the pressure cooker, it simply switches to the keep warm function, allowing you to add liquid and start over.
You can check the Instant Pot website for full details on all 10 safety features of the Instant Pot and how they make pressure cooking safer than ever. As long as you make sure the device isn’t damaged and keep the sealing ring, lid, and vent clean, cooking in this smart new appliance is as safe as anything else you do in the kitchen.
Yes, there’s still a bit of hissing steam before your cooker hits full pressure and the safety valve closes, but that just makes it fun and exciting. After the first few times of using your Instant Pot, you won’t even think twice about it. Give it a try. I think you’ll love this fast new way to cook healthy, homemade meals.
