Do Chefs Use the Instant Pot (Pressure Cookers?) The Instant Pot, colloquially known as the Instapot, is the most popular pressure cooker on the market. Widely loved and praised for its ease of use, safety, and hands-off cooking, it is the kitchen application of choice for many busy families.
Many Instant Pot beginners find themselves saying, “Surely this is be too good to be true.” Subsequently, one common follow-up question is, “do chefs use Instant Pots?”
Instapots are multi-cookers. In addition to pressure cooking functionality, they offer a variety of bonus features (depending on the model). Your Instant Pot can act as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sautér, food warm, yogurt maker, sterilizer, cake maker, canner, and sous vide-er.
Because even the most bare-bones Instant Pot models are comparable to ‘traditional’ pressure cookers, the question you really want to know is…
Do Professional Chefs Use Pressure Cookers?
Answer: Yes! …and, no! The answer is nuanced, so let’s explain.
When are pressure cookers commonly used in professional kitchens?
They are most commonly used in industrial settings to quickly prepare meat or stocks. However, in most scenarios, Elite Chefs avoid using pressure cookers because they provide less control over the final dish. Chefs often prefer slow cooking techniques that accentuate and pull out the flavors of the food.
Benefits of Cooking With an Instant Pot
- Even professional Chefs find benefits in the Instant Pot’s ability to reduce total cooking time.
- The pressure cooker’s steam moistens the food in the pot. This cooks the food quickly without losing moisture.
- Little to no nutritional value is lost because pressure cooking is a closed cooking method.
- The Instant Pot does not heat up the kitchen and saves on energy costs.
- The style of cooking prevents flavors from escaping and fully extracts flavors from bones and herbs in minutes.
What Dishes Do Chefs Cook with Instant Pots?
Pressure cookers are popular among chefs, but they aren’t the primary cooking technique they employ. One of the most popular dishes Chefs use pressure cookers for are curries. An Instant Pot will allow them to cook curries considerably faster with little downside.
Check out this video where professional Chef Carla demos how to make Polenta Cacio e Pepe with the Instant Pot!
Why Are Instant Pots Popular Appliances in Busy Kitchens?
If you need to prepare food on a tight schedule, a pressure cooker is one of the most popular go-to cooking tools. With the power to prepare food rapidly, this innovative kitchen appliance transformed domestic kitchens.
As a result, it may appear natural for experienced cooks who are continuously pressed for time to employ it. Surprisingly, this is not always true. Do chefs make use of pressure cookers?
Disadvantages: Why Chefs Don’t Use Instant Pots?
Time, speed, and efficiency aren’t everything! There are several key reasons why some chefs opt for a different style of cooking.
Ingredients cook at different rates
Some ingredients cook quicker than others. For example, root vegetables take longer than leafy greens. So, you might struggle to use a pressure cooker for recipes with many components that require varied cooking periods. This might not be noticeable for at-home recipes, but a Michelin star chef will disagree!
The solution: traditional pans allow chefs to keep adding ingredients at various stages of cooking.
A pressure cooker’s cover cannot be opened while cooking because all the steam (and pressure) will be released. Any recipe that requires gradual ingredient additions won’t be suitable for Instant Pots. Another solution: modify the recipe or avoid using the pressure cooker.
Zero visibility – you can’t check on the food as it cooks
Chefs frequently check on their foods while they cook. The best usually continually taste, color, etc.
An Instant Pot does not allow you to monitor the food inside. Although most recipes have perfected the exact cook time, your food may be overdone or undercooked if you are experimenting with something new.
The solution: Either use an excellent recipe or take a chance. The issue frequently occurs when a recipe’s duration is unknown.
No ‘season-as-you-go’
A chef’s meal is a work in progress, from start to finish. You will be hard-pressed to find a chef who doesn’t like to taste his or her meal (multiple times) while preparing it.
This continual tasting process helps them to fine-tune the flavor and texture. A pressure cooker does not allow for highly granular control. Seasoning can only be applied before or after cooking. Renowned chefs will find it tough to achieve comparable taste depth with using a pressure cooker versus traditional gradual cooking.
What Are The Worst Foods For Chefs To Cook With An Instant Pot
Pressure cookers are especially unpopular for the following dishes:
In conclusion, just because most of the top Michelin Star chefs might not use pressure cookers on a daily basis, doesn’t mean the Instant Pot isn’t a perfect addition to your kitchen! Unless you’re preparing highly specialized meals and have all day to prepare, it is unlikely that the opinion of the world’s top chefs should seriously impact your decision to use an IP in your day-to-day cooking.
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FAQs
They are most commonly used in industrial settings to quickly prepare meat or stocks. However, in most scenarios, Elite Chefs avoid using pressure cookers because they provide less control over the final dish. Chefs often prefer slow cooking techniques that accentuate and pull out the flavors of the food.
Is an Instant Pot just a fancy pressure cooker? ›
An Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that combines the functions of a pressure cooker, slow-cooker, rice cooker and yogurt maker in one. It has a manual program, a stainless steel cooking pot and a range of cooking functions to cook different foods.
Do people still use Instant Pot? ›
More recent data would suggest that the Instant Pot's popularity is on the decline. Search interest for the device in June 2021 was the lowest it's been since 2018, and its big spikes in interest — which happen like clockwork every winter — failed to hit the same highs in 2020 and 2021.
Do commercial kitchens use pressure cookers? ›
Versatile: Pressure cookers can be used to cook a variety of dishes, from stews and soups to vegetables and even desserts. This makes them a great all-in-one solution for commercial kitchens.
What do chefs think of pressure cookers? ›
In fact, many renowned chefs have sung the praises of pressure cookers. Heston Blumenthal has written extensively about their stock-making abilities, while chefs like Jamie Oliver and Tom Aikens have demonstrated their effectiveness on their shows.
Why is Instant Pot better than pressure cooker? ›
Instant Pot: The Modern Marvel
It's a multi-functional device that combines the features of a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and sauté pan. Its digital interface and pre-set cooking programs make it a user-friendly option, especially for those new to pressure cooking.
Is Instant Pot better than other brands? ›
The original Instant Pot was an instant hit, and since its release the brand has brought out a succession of improved models with improved capabilities such as sous vide and even air frying, saving you the trouble of finding one of the best air fryers.
What is the disadvantage of Instant Pot? ›
Con– The Instant Pot uses steam under pressure to cook food and not everything is meant to be cooked in the Instant Pot. I attempted a crustless quiche which turned out well but it was too wet and moist to my liking and I prefer to cook it in the oven with dry heat.
Why don t chefs use Instant Pot? ›
They are most commonly used in industrial settings to quickly prepare meat or stocks. However, in most scenarios, Elite Chefs avoid using pressure cookers because they provide less control over the final dish. Chefs often prefer slow cooking techniques that accentuate and pull out the flavors of the food.
Why I don't use an Instant Pot? ›
1. The Instant Pot doesn't cook things as quickly as it seems. While you can supposedly cook recipes such as potatoes, soup, stews, rice, and more in a shorter amount of time, there's a major catch: For most recipes, you have to wait for the machine to properly release the pressure slowly.
These humble yet mighty appliances can pressure and slow cook, roast, bake, steam, air fry, dehydrate and so much more at just a press of a button. It's also faster than conventional cooking and requires very little oil, so it is considered the more 'healthier' option for cooking tasty meals.
Do the French use pressure cookers? ›
Invented in 1953, the SEB Cocotte-Minute® pressure cooker manufactured at Selongey in the Côte-d'Or, revolutionized the daily lives of French people in their kitchens.
Do people still cook with pressure cookers? ›
Everyday Cooking
Still, if you're looking to create your own recipe, focus on dishes and things that are normally braized. Soups, stews, and risotto are all able to be cooked easily in a pressure cooker. For a truly one-pot meal, you can layer your dishes in your cooker.
Are instapots worth the money? ›
Is it worth buying an Instant Pot? Yes, we do think an Instant Pot is worth it, particularly for pressure cooking. There's a reason it's one of the most popular kitchen appliances out there.
What cooks better in a pressure cooker? ›
While they are invaluable when it comes to braising, stewing and transforming tough cuts of meat, and cooking ingredients like dried pulses from scratch, pressure cookers are less successful with delicate foods like fish or green veg, as they use such a high heat.
Is it better to slow-cook or pressure cook a roast? ›
Some people prefer a roast that has more substance, so if you do, the Instant Pot is the winner. I have tried cooking a roast for up to 120 minutes in the Instant Pot and the texture still didn't match a slow cooker, but every 10 minutes of added pressure cooking will definitely make the meat more tender.
What is an Instant Pot classified as? ›
An Instant Pot is a multicooker that has tons of functions, including pressure cooking, slow cooking, rice cooking, steaming, warming and sautéing — all in one appliance that helps expedite the cooking process. The first-ever Instant Pot was introduced back in 2010.
Are instapots worth it? ›
If you're looking to save counter space or don't want to spend a lot of money on separate appliances, then an Instant Pot could be worth the expense. However, if you're only going to use one or two functions of the Instant Pot, it's worth considering if separate devices would be more cost-effective.
Can I use my Instant Pot pot on the stove? ›
The inner pot is not stove top safe, it was created specifically for the Instant Pot cooker base. If becomes warped or damaged it will not connect with the heating element within the cooker base to cook your food properly.
Is Instant Pot better than crock pot? ›
An Instant Pot does have more functionality (like sautéing, pressure cooking, slow cooking, and acts as a rice cooker, steamer, and warmer!) than a slow cooker, but if you don't plan to use all of its extra functions and just prefer the simplicity of a slow-cooker, then you might prefer a Crock-Pot.
