Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Mini Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer, Includes Free App with over 1900 Recipes, Stainless Steel, 3 Quart

I bought this to mainly make the probiotic yogurt I make for helping the microbiome. Tried a couple of other things but this machine is the simplest and most reliable thing I have found yet. And the yogurt is fantastic! Perfect! Set and forget and lets you set a long length of time which others sometimes cap off at 8-12 hrs. Keeps the constant temperature needed for reliable fermentation. I will probably use it for some meals as well but as of today this was an extremely good buy for me.

I received my Instant Pot right before the end of the year as I had pre-ordered it. I had done a good amount of research on the previous model and was convinced it could replace my small slow cooker as well as diversify my cooking and reduce my time in the kitchen. The main improvements I liked on this model over the previous model was the holder for the lid on both sides of the handles of the pot, the larger display, and the main improvement I was interested in was the dual pressure setting (mainly comes in handy for veggies for me).At first use it took a little getting used to this new appliance. Some of the features which take some getting used to for me were the pressure release valve, and how to use the electronic controls. When cooking in a pressure cooker using traditional methods it is necessary to set the pressure release valve to closed, this allows pressure to build up in the pot during cooking. During the first few times I had forgotten to twist the pressure release valve to closed. Not doing this will eventually cause a light whistling sound and steam to come out of the release. Twist it back and all is well. I mention this because I read a review giving this pot a 1 star rating, and I could tell they hadn't closed their pressure valve based on the results they said they achieved.Once you have used it a few times you will remember to shut the valve, as I have. Once the valve is closed then the second part I found took some getting used to was the controls, but now I realize they couldn't be easier. This is truly set it and forget style here people. Once you close the valve on the lid and lock the lid in place (you will hear an electronic "chime" letting you know the lid is closed) then it's as easy as hitting the button labeled "manual" and choosing an amount of time with the selector. This will allow you to follow recipes for times if you'd like. You can also hit the "pressure" button to adjust between high and low pressure. There are also a whole bunch of pre programmed recipes, a slow cooker option and a convenient "sauté" function which I have used a number of times. 10 seconds after choosing your options the cooker will beep 3 times and the pot will start to heat up. (make sure again you have the pressure release valve closed here)It takes varying amounts of time for the pot to heat up but usually it's between 5 and 10 minutes for the pot to create enough pressure to where it pushes up a metal lock on the back of the unit, this prevents you from opening the pot until the pot is at a safe pressure. Once the lock sets it's only a few minutes till the timer will count down on the pot letting you know how much time is left. So keep in mind it takes 20 minutes or so from start to finish to cook 10 minutes cook time on the pressure cooker. Sometimes it seems like nothing is happening, but if you listen carefully you will hear boiling in the pot whenever it is in cycle. Once the time is up the pot will stay locked until you release the pressure by twisting the pressure release valve, or by waiting for 10 minutes to an hour for the pressure to release naturally. This will drop the metal lock in the back so you can open up the pot. One feature i love is the keep warm function. After any cooking is completed the system automatically goes to "keep warm." One night i forgot my chili in the pot after cooking it, but woke up late at night on the couch to realize it was kept warm all night! Pressing the off button will toggle the keep warm function on and off.The stainless steel cooking pot is very easy to clean, however 6 of 10 on the unit for ease of clean. I love the stainless steel insert especially, it is very thick and of high quality. I just ordered a second one so i can more easily cook and store a variety of different things without having to constantly be cleaning and moving containers and food.It does take a bit of getting used to this seemingly complex cooker, but after a little reading of the manual (which is great by the way) and some experience you will be able to cook just about anything in the instant pot. I just started cooking in the last year and I'm cooking up some amazing soups, chilies, meats, rices, pastas, and vegetables all in my first couple weeks, and i'm a beginner!After looking into the pressure settings (it runs at around 11.x PSI on high) I am able to better plan my cook times. Note: Many recipes I found for pressure cooking on high are for 15 PSI so I have had to add a few minutes to most recipes. I also live in Denver, CO so I have to add some cook time due to the higher altitude as well. I found some good info using google on how to adjust pressure cooking for altitude.I would highly recommend picking up a food slicer with the instant pot as well. I am dicing onions, celery, carrots, pineapple, potatoes, and more in seconds instead of minutes, then with the help of the instant pot I've got that stuff cooked quick and served hot. The slicer in combination with the instant pot cuts my cook and prep time by a third to a half I would estimate, in some cases more. I got a top rated Borner slicer off Amazon for about $30, and it's worth every penny.Most importantly the food tastes amazing, meats are tender, rice is well cooked, veggies are incredible. I would recommend this Pressure cooker to anyone in the market for a replacement slow cooker, someone looking to cook more quickly, anyone looking to eat healthier, and for any person without access to a stove.I plan on purchasing more as gifts for family in the future. For those of you ordering an Instant Pot: Your only regret will be that you didn't get one sooner!

For the price, this kitchen marvel is an unbeatable cooking monster! You can chop cooking times down to a fraction of what traditional cooking requires, and the features of this machine are almost intimidating. As for the rice cooking feature, which was a big part of my motivation behind this purchase, it was refreshing to know that it uses a stainless steel bowl (refreshing after finding out that those $30 rice cookers have coatings that can come off onto your food (that has to be healthy, right?). Also interesting to note is that Zojirushi, a Japanese brand that specializes in super fancy rice cookers that start around $140 and go up to $440, has their top-of-the-line rice cooker as a pressure cooker and many reviewers claiming that pressure cooking is the best way to make the fluffiest rice. So while this unit doesn't have induction cooking, or the magical ability to count how many times or for how many minutes the lid has been open in order to determine how much heat is required to keep the rice at the ideal temperature, this unit is less than a fourth of the price, but still shares the same pressure-cooking feature as their best model. For people like me not sleeping on piles of money, that's not nothing!One reviewer made mention that while you can cook plenty of things in the rice cooker, and make wonderful spicy dishes, doing so means that you will never really get normal perfect rice going on again. My initial thought (agreed upon by a close friend) was, "How about you just clean it better after using spices?" Well, after making some curry in my Instant Pot, I found out where he was coming from. This is a quality cooker, but nothing seals better than plastic, and, you guessed it, the seal around the lid is a plastic ring. Anybody who has worked with plastic before knows that plastic has a nasty habit of letting things penetrate inside. And so while you may give your machine a normal cleaning, that plastic ring can redeposit some of your previous recipes' flavoring into your latest dish. It's not so noticeable when you go from full dish to full dish, but when you transfer to just doing plain light-flavored rice, it can be noticeable. Is it possible to completely clean that rubber seal to prevent that from happening? Of course, but just be aware that it will take noticeably more effort than your average cleaning to get it back to how it was when you started - that or buy a lot of replacement rings. ;-) That being said, it is a relatively minor inconvenience for how wonderful this machine is, and is the reason I decided not to drop a star from the machine.Another minor irritation is the steamer tray thing they give. Why not just provide a steamer tray, instead of a steamer thing that will hold a steamer tray? I didn't bother with it at all since you still have to buy something to hold your vegetables in anyway, you might as well just buy the classic collapsible steamer tray to use in it and never use the thing they give you. I actually tried to steam some edamame on the tray they provided while waiting for my collapsible steamer to arrive from Amazon......I wouldn't recommend that.(On a side note, if you steam your vegetables with any spices on them, use the leftover water to cook your rice in. It not only tastes pretty darn good, but you get to save any of those nutrients that may have leaked out of the vegetables during the steaming process! I like to do that and add a little saffron to the rice before cooking it - outstanding!)Another amazing feature is it's timer function. It doesn't have a clock, so you can't give it a starting time of day (which would be nice), but it does have a delay timer, which basically is the same thing, only this method helps keep your math skills sharp! I used it every day so that I could wake up to Steel Cut Oatmeal ready made for me, and for anyone who doesn't know, Steel Cut Oats can take up to 45 minutes to make on the stove if not prepared ahead of time. I know the manual says that you shouldn't make oatmeal in it, but I made it every morning and never had a problem, so you can decide for yourself if it's worth the risk. I would do it again in a heartbeat.Notice that I said "I used it every day" and not "I use it every day". Sadly it is no longer in my possession because I bought it when I went down to Texas for a military tour, and despite my optimism that all would be fine, I had to leave my machine with the baggage guy because it made my suitcase overweight. Early Christmas for him I guess. If it helps to tell you how much I enjoyed it while I had it, I'm thinking of repurchasing it again because I still haven't found anything better in a similar price category.If you are traveling and staying in a hotel for a while, this is perfect since most hotels don't come with kitchenettes. But even just for your house, this is a wonderful addition!