Pressure cookers have been around for a very long time, and they’re still used today. They are a great way to get a meal on the table quickly, but they’re not the most convenient.
That’s why there are now pressure cookers that have timers built in and it is named instant pot. These timers are handy because they let you know when your food is ready.
Today we will be discussing pressure cooker vs instant pot. We’ll also be explaining how to use the instant pot, which is a similar device to pressure cooker.
This post is a comparison of two types of pressure cookers, one with a timer and one without. We also explain how to use an instant pot, which is similar to a pressure cooker.
- WHAT IS AN INSTANT POT?
- WHAT IS A PRESSURE COOKER?
- PRESSURE COOKERS VS INSTANT POTS: IN SUMMARY
- INSTANT POT VS PRESSURE COOKER – DIFFERENCES IN DETAIL
- Difference between Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker :Use case
- Pressure Cooker Vs Instant Pot: Technology
- Instant pot vs pressure cooker: Safety
- Pressure cooker vs Instant pot: Price
- Capacity: Difference between pressure cooker and instant pot
- Food you can cook in a pressure cooker vs instant pot
- Cooking process: Instant pot vs pressure cooker
- Difference between pressure cooker and instant pot: Cooking time
- Instant pot vs Pressure cooker: Cooking time
- WHAT IS MORE CONVENIENT PRESSURE COOKER OR INSTANT POT?
- PRESSURE COOKER VS INSTANT POT – WHAT IS SUITABLE FOR YOU?
- FINAL WORDS: INSTANT POT VS PRESSURE COOKER
WHAT IS AN INSTANT POT?
Instant Pots are a great alternative to using a pressure cooker, because they’re much easier to use. Instant pots are not much costly if you count the benefits and ease of use compared to pressure cookers.
They’re a perfect choice for people who want to eat healthier, but don’t have the time to make a full meal. Instant pots are also great for making one-pot meals, such as soups, stews, and such things. Bosch auto cook is a similar multicooker.
Did you know?
After getting laid off from software engineering job, Robert Wang invented instant pot so that he and his friends and children could avoid food from outside!
WHAT IS A PRESSURE COOKER?
Pressure cookers are great for making healthy, delicious meals that don’t require much preparation time. They’re also perfect for making sauces, soups, stews, and chili.
But, they can be a bit of a pain to use.
If you have to heat up the water and wait for it to boil before adding the food, then you’re going to have to be careful about overcooking your food. You’ll also have to be extra vigilant about the temperature of your pressure cooker. In simple words, to make your food perfect every time, you will need to be vigilant while cooking.
The pressure cooker without a timer has been around since the early 1900s, some sources says it was invented much earlier. These pressure cookers were originally used by people who needed to prepare large quantities of food quickly.
PRESSURE COOKERS VS INSTANT POTS: IN SUMMARY
The difference between a pressure cooker and an Instant Pot is their different levels of pressure. The pressure cooker builds pressure over a longer period of time, while the instant pot creates pressure in bursts and for a shorter period. While both are effective, the instant pot allows you to cook in many different ways.
Instant pot is a company that sells pressure cookers, but many of us nowadays use the term instant pot to mean something a little different. By instant pot, people refer to the electric pressure cooker.
ISN’T INSTANT POT JUST A PRESSURE COOKER?
The Instant Pot has been called many things over the years, but it’s really just a pressure cooker.
The difference between a pressure cooker and an instant pot lies in the way they function. We will take a look at the differences between an instant pot and a pressure cooker in detail.
If a traditional pressure cooker and an instant pot both are pressure cookers then where is the difference? To know that let’s see what a pressure cooker does.
A pressure cooker cooks food nearly 70% faster than traditional cooking.
It is easier for a pressure cooker to break down the tough fibers in meats and can cook other foods faster than usually takes longer in traditional cooking.
Both the pressure cookers (instant pot & pressure cooker) do the same basic things, but in a different way. Here lies the difference!
An electric pressure cooker/instant pot has its own heating elements while a pressure cooker does not. You can use an electric pressure cooker without a stove.
INSTANT POT VS PRESSURE COOKER – DIFFERENCES IN DETAIL
Here is the detailed guide to the difference between a pressure cooker and an instant pot:
Difference between Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker :Use case
Pressure cooker: Both the Instant Pot and the Electric Pressure Cooker are versatile and practical. Pressure cookers can help to speed up the cooking time of your food by half. They can retain constant high temperature and nutrient values of food.
As pressure cookers take lesser time to cook, it can save energy costs.
Instant Pot: While an electric pressure cooker is good for fast meals, it also comes with the versatility to cook anything from a slow cooker to a rice cooker. An electric pressure cooker also makes it easy to get things started when you’re running late, like when you’re coming home and your lunch gets ready, just set the timer.
An instant pot is a true multi-cooker that replaces the need for a separate slow cooker or rice cooker. They are great for those who want to make a simple meal and don’t have much time to spend on the stove.
Pressure Cooker Vs Instant Pot: Technology
Pressure Cooker: The pressure cooker contains one chamber and one lid. When you put the pressure cooker onto the stove, it will increase the heat inside the chamber.
When you fill the pot with ingredients and liquids, place the lid on top, and the chamber seals off, keeping the steam from escaping. This creates high pressure in the chamber.
When the pressure rises to the point where it is the boiling point of water, it continues to heat the water at the same pace without actually evaporating the water. All of the flavors are preserved because nothing can get away.
Instant Pot: This device is advanced, as it has different cooking modes to choose from. The control panel allows you to choose which mode will suit your cooking (slow cooking, steaming, pressure cooking etc.).
You can choose cooking mode from the control panel which has clear instruction mentioned. You can set the cooking time and temperature from the control panel.
The device adjusts the temperature and pressure inside the chamber for you, saving your time and effort. It’s the perfect way to make and reheat soups and stews without having to fuss over it.
Most instant pots are easy to use. They’re well-designed, and you can easily see all the details of the control panel. Just fill the pot with ingredients, plug it in, and cook according to the instructions on the panel.
Instant pot vs pressure cooker: Safety
It all depends on the model and device you’re using. There is an extra safety mechanism for pressure cooker and instant pot that prevents them from exploding.
The instant pot is an advance version of the pressure cooker and offers safety features that make it easy to cook your meals.
It doesn’t mean that the pressure cooker is unsafe.
The safety valve on a pressure cooker is a type of pressure relief valve that opens when the pressure reaches a certain level, which prevents over-pressure.
There’s more than one reason you should consider buying an electric pressure cooker. They are less likely to get damaged and there is less chance of compromising safety when you use them.
Pressure cooker vs Instant pot: Price
In both categories, there are inexpensive models and expensive models.
Fourth generation models of instant pots are more expensive and have more sophisticated features. Those features make them more user friendly and provides better user experience.
No matter how much money you spend on a high-end pressure cooker, they won’t be able to offer you the same features like an instant pot.
Instant pots are much more versatile than traditional pressure cookers.
Instant Pots today have a few different features, including air frying. So, it makes sense that they are pricier than pressure cookers.
A high-end instant pot with 5-7 persons capacity can costs up to anywhere between $200 – $300. For a high-end pressure cooker the costs will be much lesser than that. Though the price depends on the brand you are opting for.
It is because the instant pot these days come with Wi-Fi that you can operate from your phone. They have additional ultra-modern safety mechanisms and features which are not available for a pressure cooker.
If you are looking for something with mid-level, features and cost then maybe the price not differ much. At Buy for Pantry we suggest you to buy what you need. What makes your kitchen operation easier.
Capacity: Difference between pressure cooker and instant pot
There are differences and similarities when comparing a stovetop pressure cooker to an instant pot pressure cooker. But when it comes to capacity, they are quite similar to each other.
You will find larger, standard and smaller sizes of both pressure cookers and instant pots. The smallest one can be of 3 qts and it can go upto 50 qts for a commercial one.
However, for a home use it is best to go for an instant pot or pressure cooker between 10 to 14 qts depending on the head counts.
Important differences between a pressure cooker and an instant pot are the features. Capacity can be as per your choice and need.
Food you can cook in a pressure cooker vs instant pot
You can cook following foods easily in a pressure cooker:
- Beans
- Stews
- Chicken
- Tough cuts of meat – including beef, pork
- Lentils
- Artichokes
- Squash
- Soups
- Mashed potatoes
Instant Pots give you so much more choices, so you can cook what you want to cook.
You can cook delicate cuts of meat in the instant pot, prepare sauces, or even make entire meals, such as a roast chicken or sweet dessert, yogurt and what not!
Here is a list of other foods you can cook in an instant pot:
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Salmon
- Beef Bourguignon
- Ribs
- Short Ribs
- Pulled Pork
- Corned Beef
- Butter Chicken
Please Note: Do not use an instant pot or pressure cooker to fry food. You can instead use your regular air fryer for better result.
Cooking process: Instant pot vs pressure cooker
In a pressure cooker you can only do pressure cooking and browning. You can say that is the limitation of a pressure cooker.
However, if we talk about instant pot, it can do many things like: slow cooking, rice cooking, pressure cooking, sautéing, steaming and warming food. Some modern instant pots offer air frying also. That is an added advantage; you don’t need to buy an air fryer.
Difference between pressure cooker and instant pot: Cooking time
For a pressure cooker, it starts generating heat to cook the food almost instantly. But for an instant pot it can take up to 15 minutes to reach appropriate pressure. My experience is a pressure cooker can cook foods almost 3 times faster than an instant pot.
Instant pot vs Pressure cooker: Cooking time
For a pressure cooker, it starts generating heat to cook the food almost instantly. But for an instant pot it can take up to 15 minutes to reach appropriate pressure. My experience is a pressure cooker can cook foods almost 3 times faster than an instant pot.
WHAT IS MORE CONVENIENT PRESSURE COOKER OR INSTANT POT?
User convenience is what makes me choose the Instant Pot over pressure cooker models. This convenience allows you to cook, reheat, use the device for multiple recipes, warm the food, and set timers on the device.
You do not need to be a professional chef to use the instant pot. It is completely beginners’ friendly cooking appliance. You can leave an Instant Pot to do its magic and cook on its own. You don’t have to be anywhere near to it.
The fourth generation instant pots come with mobile connect feature, you will find it convenient. Though stovetop pressure cookers are not that smart, but they are easy to clean. Most of the parts of a pressure cooker are dishwasher safe, so cleaning them is easy. But remember, some parts of pressure cookers needed to be hand washed.
On the other hand, instant pots need more care in terms of cleaning. You can put the inner pot inside a dishwasher, the housing has to be hand washed.
PRESSURE COOKER VS INSTANT POT – WHAT IS SUITABLE FOR YOU?
If you have to choose between pressure cooker vs an Instant Pot, the winner is clear… The Instant Pot is the best for cooking.
The microwave oven is a handy space-saver for the kitchen and can be a real time-saver.
Instead of using a regular, full-size crock pot, pressure cooker, air fryer, or rice cooker to make rice and other foods, instant pot can replace all of them.
FINAL WORDS: INSTANT POT VS PRESSURE COOKER
What you should buy depends entirely on your need. But, keep in mind that instant pot will save you from buying 3 to 4 other appliances which pressure cooker can’t offer. Moreover, instant pots are modern and fitted with better safety technology and features.
