Product review: Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker

I just my first Instant Pot on Prime day. First things first, I really like my Instant Pot.  So far, I cooked four things.  All four dishes were delicious and easy to make. The pot is 14" wide (side to side from handle to handle) and 13" tall.  Keep in mind that it releases steam in the upwards direction as it cooks, so you need additional space above the pot to allow for escaping steam.  As you cook, the outer container becomes warm to touch, but it but not so hot that I could touch it with my bare hand. The steam, if course, is scolding hot and one needs to be careful not to put your hand or face in the way.

The package includes an instruction booklet and a recipe booklet. I thought the instruction booklet that came with the pot did not explain to me things clearly enough when I did not know what to expect.  When I turned it on for the first time and selected "meat/stew" button, 35 minutes time period (default) was displayed briefly (which is what my recipe called for), and then the instant pot display changed to "On", and two buttons got lit up "high pressure" and "keep warm". I thought it meant it was in "keep warm" mode at that time, and I was not sure if I needed to press other buttons.  Nothing happened for 20 minutes, and I had to call a friend who owns an Instant Pot to ask if I am doing it right.  She reassured me that this was normal.  Sure enough, in 20 minutes the Instant Pot display changed from "On" to "35" and began a count down. So the total amount of time I needed was 20 minutes to reach the right pressure, 35 minutes cooking time, and then 20 minutes natural pressure release.  The lit "keep warm" button meant that once the cooking would be finished, the pot will go into "keep warm" mode.

The Instant Pot has markings of 1/2 and 3/4 on the inside of the pot.  These are the maximum fill levels. If you fill the container more then the 3/4 mark, the pot will be spitting out stuff out of the steam valve as due to an over-filled internal container.  For my stew, I used 1.3 lb of meat, 2 large potatoes, several carrots, one large onion, and 1/2 lb of mushrooms, a couple of cloves of garlic. This filled the pot to the 3/4 level. I also added 2.5 cups of beef broth and spices.  Note: next time I will try less broth as the stew came out more like a soup.

The pot is easy to clean.  The part you need to wash is the inner stainless steel pot and the cover. When I use slow cooking or pressure cooking, nothing sticks to the pot, so cleaning is effortless.
I selected the Instant Pot brand because of the stainless steel inner pot. The Crockpot instant pot has a non-stick coating, some off-brands use aluminum inner containers, and I prefer stainless steel inner pots.

Overall, so far, I am happy with the purchase.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★