When leading a busy life, sometimes you don’t have the time to spare for cooking. After all, there are plenty of restaurants and fast foods you can order from to get your daily fix. However, always eating takeout is not the most economical and healthiest option for you. But how do you prepare meals when you don’t have too much time on your hands? Use instapots!
What are instant pots?
An instant pot, or instapot, is a versatile kitchen appliance that is becoming increasingly popular nowadays. You can do lots of cooking styles using just this one pot, and it’s programmable. If you’re planning to buy one for the first time, here are a few things you should look for:
1. Size
Instapots come in different sizes, but the usual sizes available are 3-, 6-, and 8-quart capacities. When you’re out buying your first instapot, consider these two things:
- Counter Space
Does your kitchen have space for the instapot? You might be a kitchen aficionado who uses many different kitchen tools and equipment for each dish, which means you probably have lots of things in your kitchen. Or you’re a simple person who cooks for your survival, and you don’t concern yourself with all the specialty equipment for cooking.
Whether you’re the former or the latter, you should consider the number of tools you have and the size of your kitchen and its available storage spaces. Choose the instant pot that has a place for your countertop and can fit into your kitchen cabinet when you store it.
- Number of People You’re Feeding
How many persons do you expect to eat the meals you cook using the instapot? A good measure is 1 quart is equal to one person, so the 3-quart instapot can feed a maximum of three people, the 6-quart can feed six, and the 8-quart can feed eight.
The 8-quart instapot is perfect for large families. However, if you’re a college student on a budget, the 3-quart is the ideal size for you. You can cook healthy meals using the instapot and make your mind and body prepared for exams and school activities.
2. Features/Functionalities
Instapots come in different models. Each has special features and functionalities. The great thing about instapots is that even the simplest version is multifunctional. It means that you still do plenty of cooking styles even if you don’t pick the most feature-packed model.
Using the instapot, you can now cook the recipes you’ve always wanted to try. Some of the cooking styles and features that instapots have are:
- Pressure cooking
- Slow cooking
- Sauteing
- Steaming
- Cooking rice
- Browning
- Making yogurt
- Food warmer
- Baking
- Roasting
- Stewing
The most basic functions of the instapot are pressure cooking, sauteing, slow cooking, warming, rice cooking, and browning. You can also cook eggs and soup in it. However, if you prefer to have more options than that, you can choose the other models with added functionalities.
There’s also an instapot that’s a lot more high-tech than the others. The Instant Pot Smart WiFi is the most advanced instapot yet. You can connect it to your home Internet and control it from anywhere in your house using an app. There are also over 750 built-in recipes in the app that you can try on your instapot.
3. Price
For anything that you’ll buy, always make sure that it fits your budget. Instapots can range from 60 USD to 300 USD. There are many online sellers of instapots; try looking for one that offers good deals. Then pick one that suits your preferences and is within your budget.
You may also find some secondhand instapots that are available online. Be careful when buying those, because it can come with a lot of risks. Here are some things you should keep in mind when buying a used instapot online:
- Try to do a background check of the seller first by searching and browsing through social media pages.
- Examine the pictures they posted. Some sketchy sellers use lighting and editing to hide damages or scratches from the items.
- Always choose the latest version of the model of the instapot they’re selling.
- Find out the reason why they’re selling the instapot. Is it because they no longer use it? Are they planning to buy a different model? Or is it because it already has defects?
- If you can, you should ask a meetup so you can make sure that it’s still in good condition before spending your money.
Final Thoughts
Instant pots are the solution for your no-time-for-cooking problem. It’s also perfect if you don’t have the interest to learn or the money to afford different kitchen appliances for different cooking methods. Make your cooking fun and quick with a kitchen appliance that can do various things using just one pot – the instapot.
