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By Instant Pot Staff, July 6, 2011

Many users started using Instant Pot in very creative ways. We are pleasantly surprised that Instant Pot’s keep-warm function can be used to do sous vide cooking. Sous vide, French for “under vacuum”, is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for a long time at low temperature (54C~80C) to kill harmful bacterias before applying other cooking techniques such as browning or BBQ. Many have done sous vide in simple home-made devices, for example Chef John’s “Food Wishes”.

Maomao Mom created a sous vide recipe for succulent duck breast. Here’s a repost with permission. She also has other recipes on her blog http://MaomaoMom.com.

Sous vide duck breast

by MaomaoMom

Google “Sous vide” (French for “under vacuum”) and you will find 10 million search results. It involves cooking food in sealed plastic bags in a water bath at lower (50~70C) and constant temperatures for long periods of time. This technique was used by French chefs in the 1960s and 70s. It has become increasingly popular at gourmet restaurants because it yields much higher succulence and avoids overcooking. Even Iron Chefs use this technique on TV shows. There is even an expensive water-oven appliance SousVide Supreme for this purpose.

Since I have an electric pressure cooker with a “keep warm” function which maintains temperature around 65C, I decided to try this technique out. Results are pretty good.

Prepare Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 38+4minutes
Level: medium
Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

1. 2 large boneless duck breast halves 480g, skin-on;
2. 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/3 teaspoon dry thyme, 1/3 teaspoon peppercorn;
3. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil;
   Apricot sauce (optional):
4. 1 large ripe apricot, peeled and cored, mash with 2 tablespoons water
5. 2 teaspoons sugar.

Directions

1. Clean duck breasts then rub on all ingredients 2. Cover and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Rinse off spices and place duck breasts in a Ziploc bag, remove air and seal it.
2. Add water in the InstantPot up to 7-cup mark. Leave the lid open, turn on power and press “Keep warm” button. After 20 minutes, place the Ziploc bag in the water bath for 35~40 minutes.
3. Remove the bag from the water and pat dry duck breasts. Sear skin side of duck breasts in a non-stick frying pan with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil at medium-high heat until golden. Turn over and cook for another 20 seconds.
4. Slice the cooked duck breasts and serve with apricot sauce.
5. Apricot sauce: mix ingredients 4 and 5 in a small pot, bring to boil on high heat then simmer 5 minutes at low heat.

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By Instant Pot Staff, November 23, 2010

Electric pressure cookers have evolved substantially since the first patent was filed on January 9th, 1991.  Based on the cooking control capability, we can classify electric pressure cookers into three generations.

1^st Generation: Mechanical Timer

1st Generation Electric Pressure Cookers are Fitted with a Mechanical Timer

The 1^st Generation electric pressure cookers already have the essential pressure and temperature sensors. Both sensors act as a threshold moderator.  When either the threshold of pressure or that of temperature is reached, the power to the heating element is cut. The only user-accessible control is via the mechanical cooking time controller.  This mechanical controller offers estimated control on cooking duration.  There is no delayed cooking capability.

Basic safety mechanisms, such as locking the lid under pressure and excess pressure protection, have been implemented in the 1^st Generation cookers.

1^st generation electric pressure cookers are seldom seen in North America.  However, in Asia, they are still very popular with cost-conscience consumers.

2^nd Generation: Digital Controller

2nd Generation Electric Pressure Cookers Use Digital Controller

The 2^nd Generation electric pressure cooker builds on top of the capability of the 1^st generation with a digital controller.  Delayed cooking becomes possible.  Pressure sensor is also electronically connected to the controller, so that a count-down timer can be shown when working pressure is reached.

Safety is also improved with additional sensors.  Most notably, if the lid is not fully locked, pressure cooking would not start.  This avoids the potential risk of blowing up the lid under pressure cooking.

Many of the electric pressure cookers sold in the North America today are still 2^nd generation.

3^rd Generation: Smart Programming

3rd Generation Electric Pressure Cookers are Equipped with Smart Programming and Enhanced Safety

With the advance in pressure and temperature sensor accuracy, the 3^rd Generation electric pressure cookers implement sophisticate control with digital technology. Two most remarkable features are Smart Programming and Enhanced Safety. These features greatly improve cooking result, maintain consistence and enhance safety.

Each 3^rd Generation cooker is fitted with a microprocessor.  With the accurate readings from pressure and temperature sensors, the microprocessor can be programmed to perform complex cooking tasks. The Smart Programs are tailor made for specific cooking purpose by varying heating intensity, temperature, pressure and cooking duration, to achieve optimized cooking result and maintain consistence.  A typical example is in multigrain cooking program where the grains are soaked at ~60C/86F for a period to soften the grains before cooking starts. Please see our Smart Programming article for more details.

With the microprocessor programs, more sophisticated safety mechanisms become possible. For instance, one common mistake is misplacing the stream release at the open position while starting cooking. With the steam release open, pressure never builds up in the cooking pot. Earlier generation cookers would continue heating.  If the situation is not corrected on time, all liquid in the cooking pot would evaporate and the food would be spoiled. The 3^rd Generation cooker implements a mechanism called, Leaky Lid Protection, where the microprocessor detects the excess long pre-heating period and stops the heating with an alarm. More on the safety features here.

Instant Pot IP-CSG60 is a 3^rd Generation electric pressure cooker.

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By Instant Pot Staff, June 28, 2009

Just like cooking vegetable, fresh or dried fruits are best steamed to preserve the texture and taste as well as vitamins and minerals.  Steaming also retains the nature look of the fruit, essential to your fruit dish.

When steaming vegetable, you need one cup of water (250ml), an ovenproof or steel bowl on a trivet. Normally fruit dish has precise requirement on the texture of the fruit. Instead of leaving the cooker naturally cooling down, you’ll need to use the steam release to release the pressure and stop cooking.

Please note that the cooking time is pressure keeping time on Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker operating at 10.2 – 11.6 psi or 70-80 kPa. Cooking times are approximate. Please use them as a guideline only.

Pressure Cooking Time Table for Fruits

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By Instant Pot Staff, June 28, 2009

The built-in “Rice” and “Multi-grain Rice” function keys normally provide the optimal way of cooking rice and grains. The marks on the inner pot provide a general guideline on the total amount of grain + water.  However, if you want to cook some specialty rice or grains, please use the following guideline.

The provided measuring cup (180ml) can be used to measure the required grain-water ratios. One cup of grain yields about one serving.

Please note that the cooking time is pressure keeping time on Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker operating at 10.2 – 11.6 psi or 70-80 kPa. Cooking times are approximate. Please use them as a guideline only.

Pressure Cooking Timetable for Rice and Grains

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By Instant Pot Staff, June 28, 2009

Cooking time for seafood is typically short.  The best result is achieved with the original juice being retained in the food.  Again steaming is the ideal method.  Of course stewing will also work great.

When steaming seafood, you need at least one cup of water (250ml), an ovenproof or steel bowl on a trivet. When seafood or fish are over-cooked, their texture turns tough.  Unless that’s the intended result, you should control the cooking time precisely.  Normally, you’ll need to use the steam release to release the pressure and stop cooking, as soon as the programmed cooking period is over.  An alternative is to take the natural cooling time (7~10 minutes) into consideration.

Please note that the cooking time is pressure keeping time on Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker operating at 10.2 – 11.6 psi or 70-80 kPa. Cooking times are approximate. Please use them as a guideline only.

Pressure Cooking Timetable for Seafood and Fish

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