I have one but do not use it. I used it once for rice and it was dry...Too little water but I followed the directions which said to use very little water.

I would love to make butter chicken and some chick pea masala, but just haven’t been adventurous enough. Yes, there is a learning curve!

So many people love the Instant Pot and love it. Great for healthy meals.

To be the alternative voice: I got one for DH (the cook) but he doesn't care for it. I think there's a learning curve since he never used a regular pressure cooker. And I think meat is more tender with a slow cooker.

We have a fuzzy logic rice cooker so we use that for rice, steel cut oats, and brown rice.

Smittie, you’re not going to give it a second chance?

Donna, I suppose I would have a learning curve, too. And my rice cooker is very old school. You have to know how much water to put in, depending on the type of rice and, of course, elevation.

There is FOR SURE a learning curve. And it feels intimidating at first. I thought I would loathe it. I like to feel what I am doing and smell it. I dislike too much "electronic" and I also had a fear of stovetop pressure cookers based on family lore.

I am still learning it -- 9 months after purchase. But I'm glad we got it.
We also have a fuzzy logic rice cooker which we prefer for rice (and also use for porridge sometimes).

Omg, Jaileen. I have the same rice cooker. It's so old school but awesome!

Suz, I never had a fear of pressure cookers until mine clogged a year or so ago. I had been cooking in it happily for 30 years without incident. Now I’m a little leery of it.

Kelly, it *is* awesome, isn’t it? I had a college roommate who used hers to cook all sorts of things.

Anne, if dal is split peas or lentils, I would definitely not cook them in a stove top pressure cooker. Anything that foams can clog the vent. I made lentil soup yesterday in a conventional pot, and it foamed so much it looked like there was dish soap in it. Unfortunately it also boiled over, making a big mess.

I've been thinking about getting an IP but feel intimidated.It's just my husband and I at home now but I do like to make soups, casseroles and indian food.
I had two old school pressure cookers for years and used them all through college. They both eventually wore out and did scare me a couple of times haha. I now have a 31 year old slow cooker, an 8 year old one and a 26 year old rice cooker. The rice cooker I purchased when I lived in Tokyo and the instructions are in Japanese so I always feel as if I'm winging it each time I use it which is rarely because of the lack of instructions.
After reading through my post it sounds a though I need to update, I'm surprised that I haven't had a fire with the age of these appliances!!
Now I'll need to decide on a size.......

Gail, you can use a Japanese rice cooker in the US? Do they have the same kind of plugs as us? Actually, it does sound like you could use an update..

Anne, I pulled out some pressure cooker cookbooks, and I misspoke. Evidently you *can* cook lentils and split peas in a pressure cooker. I have wasted a lot of time all these years. Per Lorna Sass, you have to coat the lentils or peas with oil, use the right amount of liquid, and not fill the pot too full. She says that keeps them from foaming.

I use my stove-top PC (a metal-valved Kuhn-Rikon) several times a week, and to be honest my Instant Pot sits in the cupboard. The Instant Pot is more bulky to get out, and takes longer to come up to pressure than my stove-top PC. The rare times I use it are for things that take a long time that I do not want to babysit, i.e. an hour for corned beef.

That said, I am pleased to see the resurgence in interest in pressure cooking thanks to the Instant Pot. If I were not already familiar with the stove-top PC or if I had an older jiggle-top model I would be using the Instant Pot much more. It is a very versatile appliance (just not for me since I don't make rice or slow cook - Why Anything Slow Cookers Can Do, Others Can Do Better, and for hard-boiled eggs I steam them for 12-15 minutes (much quicker to heat a cup of water for steaming than a quart+ for boiling) then cool them in cold water.]

Good PC books:
Laura Pazzaglia's Hip Pressure Cooking
(Has a good comparison of Stove-top vs Electric pressure cooking)
https://www.hippressurecooking.....r-recipes/

Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot Cookbook

Laurinda, my pressure cooker is a jiggle top. It is a Presto, from the early 80s. My mother had a pressure cooker so I grew up with it, unafraid. Everything changed when mine clogged. It didn’t explode, but it did terrify me. That’s why I’m looking into the Instant Pot.

JAileen - mine is a 6 qt. size but I believe now they have a larger one that would be nice to make bigger batches to freeze. I can cook a decent sized chuck roast (cut in half) with about 6 red potatoes, 1 sweet potato, 5 or so carrots, 8 oz mushrooms, 3 ribs celery and 1 large onion with some room to spare - I use 1 qt. chicken broth and maybe 1/4 cup red wine. This makes probably about 6 good sized servings with still a little leftover in my experience.

Texstyle, that sounds delicious! I was wondering about 6 qt versus 8 qt. I love leftovers (all the flavor with none of the work) so that seals the deal. I just ordered an 8 qt on Amazon. It was on sale, so even better!

Congratulations! I am sure you will find it a big improvement.
Beets in 15 minutes, stews in 10, and perfect Crème Brûlée (or chocolat pots de crème) with 13-15 minutes cooking time.

(Apologies to Suz, I didn't see that she had already recommended the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook (Urvashi Petre)]

Oh....IP creme brûlée’s!! NOW I’m motivated!

[I don't warm the cream unless I am melting 4 oz bittersweet chocolate into it, but do strain the egg yolks to remove the chalazae for the silkiest texture.]

Laurinda, I love beets!!! I’m excited about getting the IP!

Smittie, I’m glad your thinking about giving it another try..

We cook mostly Indian food. I have 3 pressure cookers and use them every week. The IP is bulky so I use it very rarely. Other Indian friends love it so much so that they have 2 IPs and use the stove only for pancakes and boiling water!

I have one and I really like it, but I'm not a big cook so I don't use it very often. My sister, who is the real cook of the family, borrowed mine and loved it so well she went out to buy one. She uses hers all the time.

A friend raves about hers. I’m thinking of one for myself - both of our adult sons will be getting one for Christmas.

Mine was delivered yesterday, and I just unpacked it. I’m going to have to read up on it before I try to use it.

Elpgal, wow! Three pressure cookers. You’re definitely a serious cook.

Melissa, that’s quite a testament to the IP.

Pil, my son has a different brand and sent me a picture of split pea soup he had made, and that’s what sent me down this rabbit hole!

I tried out the IP yesterday, making lentil soup. I sauteed onions in oil, and then added rinsed lentils, boxed chicken stock, and water, and gave it 10 minutes of pressure. The texture was perfect!! The lentils were annhilated. Then I tried slow cooker mode for the smoked sausage, carrots and celery. The carrots didn’t soften. Maybe I should have tried saute again? Anyway, I transferred everything to a conventional pot and finished it on the stove. It was delicious. It look a long time to release the pressure. Should I have pushed the button to release it faster?

Laurinda, our weather was perfect here, but I went to a concert last night, so wanted dinner ready a little earlier. The IP worked, mostly. Operator error, I think.

I think you could have added the carrots, celery and sausage and used the pressure setting again for just a few minutes. Although I haven't tried this myself yet, my understanding is that it doesn't take as long to come to pressure again since the pot is already hot (I've also seen people say to put it on the saute function to warm up before setting the pressure and it gets to pressure faster). You might not need to do a natural release - I would google cooking lentils and see what people say. You might be able to do a quick release or NR for 10 minutes and then vent (that's what I usually do for beans that might be foamy and block the vent).

Sara, that’s what I should have done! I hadn’t thought of using pressure again. I thought the texture of the lentils was sublime. I haven’t been able to make a really smooth lentil soup in a conventional pot. And thanks for advice re releasing pressure.