The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Checking in with the cult of the Instant Pot
Not since the advent of the slow cooker has a small kitchen appliance captured the imaginations of so many home cooks so quickly, it seems.
But I must admit, my curiosity about the Instant Pot wasn’t piqued until some busy friends and colleagues in my food and drink orbit starting talking up the time-saving advantages of the multifunction electric pressure cooker.
The fact that they were in a private Facebook group and shared their recipes and hacks with cult-like enthusiasm was the icing on the cake — which I’ve since learned you can make in the Instant Pot, too.
So even if I wasn’t quite ready to join the cult, I was interested enough to see what it was all about. And like so many before me, I ordered an Instant Pot on Amazon. Then I enlisted a few local disciples to guide me in its ways.
Sweetwater Brewing Co. director of public relations Tucker Berta Sarkisian is an on-the-go “talking head” who preaches the Instant Pot gospel as “set-it-andforget-it easy.”
“I saw it on Facebook first,” Sarkisian said. “Suddenly, my food friends started posting about this amazing new culinary tool that they had. So, of course, I had to jump on in, too, and I requested one for Christmas.”
Atlanta freelance food and dining writer Angela Hansberger has two teenage boys and a frantic schedule of deadlines and mom duties that make the Instant Pot a life hack.
“I got mine last October, and the first time I made something, it was so easy,” Hansberger said. “Then we got our little secret group going on Facebook, where we could share recipes, because there weren’t that many good ones out there then.”
When I asked if the Instant Pot wasn’t sort of like a Crock-Pot with bells and whistles, Sarkisian and Hansberger were not amused.
“But it does so many things, and you can fit all in one pot,” Hansberger said. “You can really sear something, you can boil, and you can slow-cook. But the speed is what I really love.”
“The speed is huge,” Sarkisian said. “And here’s what’s up for me. I’m a super simple cook. I like to do things with very few ingredients that are fast and easy and healthy, so the Instant Pot has been great for me.
“For example, collards are maybe my favorite thing to eat. I used to cook them in this huge pot on the stove, and you’d have to watch them for the whole day, so I’d never do it. In the Instant Pot, collards are done in 40 minutes, start to finish, and they’re just as good as my grandmother’s.”
The first thing I cooked in my Instant Pot was boiling water, which is the standard protocol for first timer users.
The second thing I cooked was sweet potato, carrot and red lentil soup from a recipe sent to me by Atlanta food stylist and cookbook author Tami Hardeman, another busy woman who often works in other cities and states while developing vegetarian recipes for the Instant Pot.
My first impression was that the Instant Pot worked as advertised. And that a recipe that called for using the saute and manual pressure cooking functions was quick and fairly easy, especially if you’re someone who’s regularly in the kitchen.
I wouldn’t say the front panel controls are completely intuitive. But reading the user manual before you start will clear up most confusion. And finding good recipes is key.