Instant Pot 101

Those who have it can't seem to stop talking about it. Those who want it envision a future where they can retire their pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer and warmer.

Yes, we're (all) talking about the Instant Pot, one of 2017's hottest-selling Christmas items. The multicooker promises seven different functions conveniently packed into one machine.

It seems like a dream come true, and customers online have consistently given the Instant Pot a rating of at least four out of five stars. But if you haven't managed to master its seemingly simple controls to whip up a gourmet meal with a fraction of the time and counter space typically required, you're in good company.

The Instant Pot can become your best friend for making meals, but it takes time to learn the product.

Since the beginning of the year, The Chattery has begun offering Instant Pot classes, and the schedule keeps growing due to demand. Both the 101 and 201 classes are taught by Mary Haymaker, creator of local Chattavore food blog. She's an Instant Pot devotee, and over the past two years has worked her way to successful dishes by trial and error.

Instant Pot's popularity has even spawned a dedicated app, available on both iOS and Android, that offers recipes, tips and more.

Haymaker says the Instant Pot is not intuitive, and its many buttons can potentially leave users confused.

"Because it has buttons on the front that say 'beans' and 'poultry,' it lulls you into a comfort zone of thinking 'I just have to push this button and it'll be ready,' but it's not that easy," she says.

The 201 class ramps up the difficulty slightly. It's for those who are comfortable with the Instant Pot but want to master more complex recipes, like desserts or "pot-in-pot cooking" (potception, if you will).

Haymaker does in-class demos for both levels and has three pots going at once. She encourages participants to come up and add ingredients to familiarize themselves with the Instant Pot and how to prepare dishes in it. She also provides a handout on the varying cook times for nearly everything one could think to whip up.

Understanding how cook times differ from traditional methods is one of the keys to a successful dish. A pork shoulder that could take three or four hours in an oven, and even longer in a slowcooker, is fall-off-the-bone-tender in less than an hour and a half in the Instant Pot, Haymaker says.

Just don't expect that pork shoulder to have crispy, nicely browned skin. The Instant Pot advertises sauteing and browning as a function, but this is one area where it falls somewhat flat. Haymaker says it's the biggest drawback, but not terribly disappointing. She still loves hers and how much time it saves her. She usually has dinner ready in less than two hours.

However, for people who get home or run errands late, a slow cooker that can be prepped in the morning may be the better option, she says.