Foodie influencers the world over are raving about a new kitchen gadget.
The Instant Pot has been popping up on all our favourite food blogs and Instagram accounts, gaining a cult following of fans who can no longer live without it… but what exactly does it do?
Well; we’ve done our research and we can confirm: it’s pretty brilliant.
Essentially it’s seven gadgets in one: a multi-functional cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer and warmer. This means that you can use it make your overnight oats, your breakfast eggs, your lunchtime soup and your pulled pork dinner.
You can even sauté and warm food in it, meaning you don’t need to swap appliances to finish a recipe.
A big stainless steel pot, the Instant Pot can be left on the counter top for everyday use and it’s ideal if your busy schedule doesn’t leave much time for faffing about in the kitchen; cooking with the high pressure reduces cooking time by up to 70% and the low pressure avoids overcooking delicate food.
You can even pop the ingredients in an time them to cook an hour before you arrive home.
While early adopters admit the instructions and control panel can be a little intimidating at first, they all promise it gets easier with continued use and there’s a popular Facebook group (with more than 400,000 members), as well as various cookbooks (Paleo, low-carb, cheat meals…) to help you on your merry way.
Fans recommend starting off with eggs (boiled or poached)…
Then attempting veggie soups and stocks…
Before trying a stew…
Baked sweet potatoes…
Quick-cooked black beans…
And tasty curries and casseroles…
It’s also great for healthy salads; quick cook some beetroot to add to a feta salad with balsamic dressing…
And even a Friday lasagne!
Intrigued? You can buy an Instant Pot for around the same price as a microwave (€133) on Amazon.
