9 Instant Pot Don’ts!

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I’ve had my Instant Pot for just over 2 years and I am still learning! Every recipe is fun to experiment with! With those experiments, I have learned a lot especially when it comes to things that I should not do! These 9 Instant Pot Don’ts will hopefully help someone that is just starting out and learning how maneuver around the Instant Pot!

1. READ THE MANUAL. Now don’t get mad at me for saying this one, but you REALLY need to read your instructions! Ha Ha! I get many questions on how to do certain things, which they would know about if they read even the brief summary in the intro! Although I love answering questions, when hundreds of them roll in, I don’t quite have time to answer them all.
If you’ve lost your manual, don’t worry! You can find the instruction manual HERE.

2. DON’T PRESSURIZE WITHOUT LIQUID! An Instant Pot without some sort of liquid when pressurizing won’t actually pressurize! You need a 1/2 cup to a cup of water, broth, etc, in order for it to work!

3. DON’T FORGET “SEALING!” forget to put your pressure cooker on SEALING when trying to pressurize! If it is not on sealing, it won’t pressurize and won’t cook right!

4. DON’T STICK YOUR HAND OVER THE VENT when your recipe calls for a quick release! That means you are going to move it to venting after your timer beeps. Either wear on oven mitt, or just watch where your hand is placed. You will get burned if your hand is over the vent!

5. DON’T OVERFILL YOUR INSTANT POT! If you do this, your Instant pot will take FOREVER to pressurize, it actually might not pressurize, or it might not even close! I like to stick to the rule of 2 lines under the MAX line (so at the 4L mark when using a 6 quart)

6. DO NOT PUT YOUR STEEL BOWL ON THE STOVETOP! It is made just for the Instant pot and will be ruined if you put it on a burner or in your oven!

7. DON’T QUICK RELEASE FOAMY FOODS! Don’t do a quick release (or turn the knob to venting) when cooking foods that make foam when they cook. For example: Lots of rice, lots of potatoes, thick soup, etc. If you do, you will have whatever is in your Instant Pot ALL OVER your kitchen!
(Quick Tip, you can place a paper towel over your vent if you need to do a quick release and just let it spray into the paper towel! Just know, you might have to change out your paper towel, 2 or 3 times before it is done depressurizing.)

8. DON’T FORGET TO SET THE TIMER! You got all your food in there and it looks great, you put your lid on and…. you forget to set the timer. So by the time you go and check on your food (because if should be done) it is STILL there and not cooked! Yes, I have done this a few times so that is why it is on the list!

9. DON’T FORGET TO PLAN WITH PRESSURIZE TIME!
The hardest part about reading a recipe and thinking it “only takes 8 minutes!” is that it might only cook for 8 minutes once it is pressurized, but to pressurize actually takes 10-20! So be sure to add that extra time on so your food will be ready for dinner!

Check out the video of my 9 Instant Pot Don’ts!!!

Just a few more tips:

This is the Instant Pot I have (yes it is the cheaper one and I love it!): http://amzn.to/2F3Lznx

If you are cooking for 1-2 people, I would suggest the 3 Quart. If you are cooking for more, I would suggest the 6 quart! Or if you dare… even the 8 quart!

Every Monday I’m sharing an Instant Pot Recipe on our Youtube!
Subscribe to our channel here: http://bit.ly/SixSistersSubscribe

Need some Instant Pot Ideas? These are some of our favorite recipes! http://bit.ly/2Dxxajb

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Questions & Reviews

Lena says:

Thanks for sharing this very important and safety tips to use.
Lee Armour says:

How do you take the plastic ring off the cover to wash it?
Concetta says:

Good advice. I'm a newly and all this info helps. Thank you. Concetta.
Kimberly in California says:

I've had an Instant Pot since 2012 and I've always reheated meals in the stainless steel pot on the stove top. Why on earth would a stainless steel pot get ruined on the stove?
A says:

Grab an edge and peel it out When you put it back in if you can’t get the lid on flip the seal over it is probably on backwards
Judy Donnelly says:

How do you get food smell out of the ring? I received an Instant Pot that was use once. It has a savory smell that I don't care for.
Marilyn says:

Thank you answer some questions I had.
D says:

I made bone broth with termeric. The ring was pretty smelly. 1 cup of white vinegar in the pot and steam for 10 min. Good as new. Water with a cut up lemon would work too.
Mum says:

*Steel pot.
cheryl olson says:

I added meat to instant pot before i placed inner pot inside. What can i do to be sure it still works? I cleaned it as good as i could. Help.
Tom Benziger says:

Thank you for sharing the list of Don’t and there are many hearing loss people using instant pots (IP) and they’re able to read your message but couldn’t access to your YouTube due to no open caption. Didn’t you know that you could have caption after you’re done with your presentation. Thank you for hearing me out. I’m a widower and love to explore different recipes and with this IP.
JMFS says:

Maybe because the pot is domed - perhaps it can degrade the quality of the pot if used on the stove. I'm only venturing a guess since your comment received no response. I couldn't find anything with a quick search other than people suggesting you use the saute function instead and one individual expressing concern over denting the pot to where it wouldn't fit the IP any more (how they'd dent it, I don't know - they must be rough in the kitchen).
JMFS says:

" DON’T QUICK RELEASE FOAMY FOODS! " Too late, lol. Alfredo sauce all over the stove, the walls, the vents . . . thank goodness I moved the IP from under the cabinet and opted for the stovetop instead! It was the One time I walked away from the pot while it was on a manual release. I won't be leaving it unattended in the future. It would have taken about 8 paper towels - that's how many I used to clean up. :D
Toni Sarasua says:

How do I turn off the sauté light when I want to move to another button. The light stays on and I am not sure if I select the other bottoms if I will really be using them. I have even tried unplugging and when I plug back in the sauté light is on. Help
Terry says:

Great article! Thank you! BTW, I throw a dish towel on my release valve when I need a quick release.
Teresa says:

Is it all right to put lid in the dish washer
Cyd says:

I talked to some of the sisters and they put their lids in the dishwasher.
Susie says:

Turn it off... Hit the cancel button Then move to the next button ☺️
Megan Martin says:

I always put mine in the dishwasher. Just make sure you remove the valve first. I just toss my valve into the silverware tray and wash it too :)
kbuck says:

#6. STEEL bowl. I hope you don't have to steal the bowl! 😉
Donna Mueller says:

How do I use the timer on the manual setting?
Amanda says:

Reading this was too late for me on that one too! I did grab a paper towel but not after it had already done a good job of getting EVERYWHERE! 😂
Amanda says:

Not before^^
Cyd says:

Fixed! Thank you!!
Allie says:

I take offense to "Cheaper Insta Pot" Mine is exactly like the one you have here and I love it, use mine two three times a week..left overs in-between. Allie
Debra says:

When you sear meat or a stew, be sure to thoroughly scrape and deglaze the inner pot before sealing. if not done completely you are likely to get a burn notice.
Adrake says:

I've blown up spinach artichoke dip before in the mixer trying to get it blended well..... after half a roll of paper towls I said forget it and grabbed my Norwex cloth and a bowl of water! The worst mess I've ever made in the kitchen
Debbie says:

I just got an instant pot which is an 8qt. Can you add to a 6qt recipes? How much can be cooked in it, fill to 6 qt line? And does the meat need to be covered in liquid to cook.
Kristen Hills says:

We highly suggest checking out Sixsistersstuff on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/user/SixSistersStuff Kristen and the sisters will help you step by stecp on how to use it! You use the 8 qt the same way you use the 6 qt!
Cyd says:

Every recipe varies on how much liquid to add to meat.
jim naro says:

It is very possible to get the pot "out of round" by leaning on it, or dropping it or what ever, you can check the roundness with a lid from a pan or by turning it upside down and drawing around the now inverted top with a pencil and turning the pot to see if it stays within the circle. I have had to re-round a couple of pots that way-be gentle when pressing a pot back into shape, they are more sensitive than you might think
Mary says:

Can I use this as a slow cooker also?
Momma Cyd says:

We don't use our Instant Pot as a slow cooker. We bring out the slow cooker for our slow cooker recipes.
Marty Dillon says:

I bought the instantpot class from you and watched it once all in one sitting. I’d like to go back and revisit it slower now. Where do I go to find it again? Thanks.
Momma Cyd says:

You can go back to the original email you received and click on the link to access the course. You can also go to sixsistersstuff.teachable.com and sign in and watch the course that way.