We’ve ordered an Instant Pot

[CruCru]

Do you have one? What do you like to make in it?

I used to have a slow cooker, which was great for making stock and mulling wine.

Recently I attempted to make Chinese Battered Lemon Chicken and succeeding in making Sour Breadcrumb Soup.

Pro Tips Welcome

Madison, this link shows you how to strain yogurt. I don't usually bother with a cheesecloth and just use kitchen roll (saves washing up).

www.theyummylife.com/make_your_own_greek_yogurt

I just use a colander and a normal tea towel. I prefer a non-textured, thin tea-towel, as the yoghurt just rolls off of it into the bowl.

Gave mine a good workout this afternoon to get ahead for a busy week.

Beef casserole 45 mins HP, 10 mins saute to thicken.
Ragu for lasagne 30 mins HP, 10 mins saute.
Big batch of curry sauce - 30 mins HP then blend with stick blender.
Yogurt on overnight.

When I have a glut of veg I shred them in the food processor and freeze them in blocks ready to pop in the IP for casseroles, soups and sauces.

Ok, cold start yoghurt with whole pasteurised milk definitely works. I've got another batch straining, and this time I used wowfudge's just plop it in method with the yoghurt and that worked just fine, too.

I never knew I needed one of these but I have a feeling I do!

Just a couple of questions.

Those who have said they made a ragu/curry etc in half an hour
That's no quicker than on the hob really is it?

Also my dc fave sandwich filling is a beef which I cook in the slow cooker for around 12 hours on low. I can 'cut' It with a spoon. Like pulled beef.
Is it possible to get this texture in the IP?

Also, has anyone had any success using quorn in these. Anything mince based our go to is quorn.

I've hesitant to order as I have in the past had kitchen gadgets; halogen ovens, George foreman grills that didn't live up to their hype.

I’ve got some diced pork shoulder, which I’m planning to do tomorrow. I was thinking of doing a version of this Jamie Oliver recipe. Fry some onions and garlic, Brown the meat then deglaze with some cider / wine and a stock cube. I have some Savoy cabbage I’m going to add.

Do any of you know how long I should do it for? So far everything I’ve done has been on high pressure for ten minutes. There’s no bone so perhaps this should be for 20 or 30 minutes?

It's not just about saving time, although I would cook a ragu on the hob for more than half an hour. It's also the fact that you switch it on and walk away, no stirring, no splattering, no cooking smells, you can go out for a couple of hours (or longer) and it keeps it hot without burning. So I might pick the DCs up from school, stick curry ingredients in the IP, take them to swimming lessons and come home to a perfectly cooked curry.

I do a boneless gammon joint for 45 mins on high CruCru, then stick some glaze on and 10 mins in a hot oven to caramelise it. I think that would work for your pork shoulder.

Menarefrommars gammon done like this falls apart when you slice it so would probably work for pulled beef too. Similarly when I do braising steak it is extremely tender after 45 mins.

Yes, the benefit of the instant pot is that it takes over the cooking, but it's still cooking from scratch. So the other day, when I was really pushed for time, I was able to do a whole chicken with potatoes, carrots, onion and gravy, simply by chucking a frozen chicken, onions, peeled and chopped carrots, halved baby potatoes and stock cubes in the pot. Then I left the house and came back to a dinner.

That's me sold! There's £55 off on Amazon at the moment if anyone is considering it.

Here is a batch of yoghurt I made from a cold start, using 4 pints of whole milk and 2 tsps of Lidl natural yoghurt. It weighs 700g after straining. Cost is £1.30. The next batch will cost £1.15 because I won't buy yoghurt.

How long does the yogurt keep for?

Well I've never really put it to the test, because we are a large family, but about a week they say online.

I have about 100g each morning for breakfast, and my girls eat it, too, so I have to make a new batch quite frequently.

I've had yogurt last a couple of weeks (we don't use much) but that is with making it directly into steamed jars and not straining it.

Can anyone tell me if there's a difference between the Instant Pot and the Pressure King Pro, or are they more or less the same thing? The Pressure King Pro is about half the price of the Instant Pot on Amazon.

They are different brands of electric pressure cooker - I don't know what additional functions the Pressure King Pro has, what its safety features are, etc so can't tell you more about it.

I would yoghurt lasts two to three weeks in the fridge.

everything Lougle said about her cold start yogurt is correct, but technically you are supposed to boil the milk first so that any random and possibly harmful bacteria doesn't get the chance to make poisoned yogurt. It's only the good yogurt bacteria from the added starter that is there to grow

That's why you don't have to boil UHT (or the cravendale I suppose) as the possible bad germs are already dealt with.

TBH if I wasn't a bit prissy about dairy stuff I wouldn't bother either with the pre steam/boil. Happy to totally ignore sell by/use by dates on no end of things including yog/milk/cream but somehow making my own makes me all germ conscious

Today I am making a cheesecake! ...it's baking day so there will be a banana loaf too, and maybe cheese scones and soup.

Cru Cru ...I'd press the stew button and let it get on with it , if it's cubed you are heading down that route, rather than a roast anyway. Or maybe you could cook the pork...onion, celery, tomatoes, paprika, add a handful of rice, go a bit Polish/Austrian with your seasoning, and then blanch your cabbage leaves and stuff them with the pork mix, thicken any left over sauce pour it over and finish the lot in the oven.

After reading this thread I've just ordered one!
Can anyone recommend a recipe book?

MsHomeSlice UK milk has been pasteurised to get rid of any bad bits already, though. The only difference between UHT and whole milk is the temperature that it has been exposed to (71.5°c for 15 secs vs 135°c for 1-2 secs), the different packaging and the shelf life that those two things give (2 weeks vs 3 months). The actual safety of the two milks if they are in date is identical.

i am just thinking of using it once it's open I suppose,...as I said, milk and yickyness are my kryptonite so it's not a criticism, just an observation.

tonight for supper we are having a shepherdess pie....on that FB IP group they are have a #shelftember to empty cupboards, freezers, larders
I raked through mine and found some vege soya mince...As I was rolling up the packet I noticed the 2014 sell by date.

I gave it ten minutes as it was in there with some frozen leeks, carrots and a block of frozen IP'd BBQ beans, it's blooming delish! I just wanted to make sure it was not going to burn so it's having another ten and i have some left over boiled tatties to slice on top and shove it into the oven.

Oh no, I never do that! 4 pts, sealed, take seal off, pour in pot, add yoghurt, out lid on, press button.

Aaaaand .... I've just bought one! You've sold it to me! That, and the fact that it's on a deal on Amazon just now.

I was always scared of my DM's pressure cooker - like a bloody dragon, hissing and spitting away, so hopefully this will be more tranquil!

How much did you pay? I bought one last week from Amazon. I think it was about £114