Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a big fan of the Instant Pot pressure cooker, I wanted to try their version of the dutch oven. I do own a traditional Staub and Le Creuset dutch oven which I use mostly during the winter to cook one-pot meals. The Instant Pot version is actually a traditional dutch oven nestled inside a high tech cooking device. For people without an oven or without a stove, this would be an excellent option. As a side note, just like the pressure cooker, this takes up quite a bit of counter space. Though if you didn't have a stove or oven for whatever reason, this dutch oven and an instant pot would make for an awesome combo. First, the pot itself is really heavy just like any good dutch oven. The pot also looks pretty nice. The pot comes with a silicon trivet and really adorable handle covers to transport the pot to the table. Second, the device allows for very precise temperature and timing control. There is a bright and functional digital display along with a physical knob to set up the cooking. Its like the Instant Pot in that there are some presets along with a manual option. I did find it a bit confusing to translate a traditional recipe that might say "simmer" or "medium-high" to an actual temperature. The accompanying instruction book did translate those familiar terms into a F/C equivalent. Its a bit strange going from "turning the stove knob a certain amount" to dialing in an exact temperature. I'm not sure this product will be as popular as the Instant Pot pressure cooker with people and blogs providing settings, so more information on how to convert traditional recipes would be helpful. Dutch oven cooking is typically low heat and long cooking time - the pot itself is designed retain heat and be forgiving so its intriguing to think whether exact temperature control opens up new possibilities. Third, my son and I tested out the pot using a coq au vin dutch oven recipe we found on youtube. We started with the sauté option. My son first sautéed the chicken and then we sautéed the onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. Just like in the instant pot this thing is fine for sautéing - we were able to brown the chicken. However, this dutch oven actually turned itself off just as we finished sautéing and poured in the heavy cream - this was not a big deal this time as in the next step was braising, but just something to keep in mind if you need to sauté or sear for a longer period of time than the preset. At this point we covered the pot and the recipe called for 30 minutes of simmering. There was no clear option on the device. I tried the braise option but learned that the minimum time was much longer than 30 minutes. I could have set a separate timer but that seemed silly for something at this price point. I then tried the manual option and looked closer at the instructions - there are two manual options, one is kind of for simmering and the other for more intense cooking. I was able to set 30 minutes and with the help of the instruction manual figure out what F/C to set for simmering. The next version of this device should just have some options like "simmer" or "high" to replicate cookbook instructions. Finally - after about 30 minutes the dish was done. My wife was impressed that I was able to lift the pot out of the device and onto the dining table. Unsurprisingly, the food tasted great. Really- this is no different than a traditional cast iron pot. As far as additional thoughts - I was surprised the heating element is only from the bottom vs the sides - since the pot nestles inside the device so conceivably there could be elements surrounding the pot. For the dish we created this wasn't a big deal and I realize a lot of instant pot cooking is done the same way on a stove top or over a camp fire, but often times a recipe calls for placing the pot in an oven. Maybe the nestled design takes care of this concern. If not adding heat from the sides at least the design mitigates heat loss (compared to stove top). And as I mentioned - I'm intrigued by the ability to have precise temperature control for dutch oven cooking. Hopefully some enterprising youtuber will figure out some great recipes for this feature. I am planning to try this for deep frying - would be great if this could keep the temperature constant at 350 to 375 - though the pot is pretty big so this would take quite a bit of oil. I wonder if this is good enough at maintaining temperature for sous vide. One final thought - I'm getting old. Its really great when my cooking appliance turns itself off when I wander away and totally forget I've left on the stove or oven. My 12 year old was able to cook a lovey dinner tonight without his normal fear of the gas stove or hot oven so this might be a great option for kids and others to safely cook certain dishes. Bon appetite!