Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As the title may suggest - I love this little machine! Not only is it an awesome pressure cooker, it also takes over the function of a rice cooker, slow cooker/crock pot, sous vide and *drum roll*... yogurt maker! I have had this machine for about 6 weeks now and not a day has gone by where I haven't used it! Sometimes I use it several times a day! The perfect soft and hard boiled eggs - easily peeled, even from totally fresh eggs! Dairy and non-dairy yogurts! Nourishing, rich broth from bones in less than an hour! Cooking dinner from frozen barely adds a few minutes! Spaghetti squash - moist, oh so flavorful at just the right texture in just 8 minutes! I'm pretty much completely a from-scratch cook. We don't do processed food in our house, so in many ways, the time involvement I have with our nourishing foods is pretty high! And that's ok - it's absolutely worth it. However, if and when I can find something that makes my life easier while still allowing me to prepare nourishing, healthy and flavorful meals, I am ALL for it! This kind of FAST food, I can totally get behind! :) The instant pot is highly customizable to just about anything you might want to cook! You can adjust the time, you can adjust the pressure (high and low,) you have many pre-programmed settings if you so choose, you have the saute function and of course the yogurt setting. All the pre-programmed functions are also customizable, so you're never stuck with something you may not be able to use! Oh, and there is a timer and time-delay function! Totally awesome! Just make sure you closed the venting valve before you leave the house! I've been known to forget that! ;) And one of the best parts - it's not your Mama's scary pressure cooker! This thing is so safe and so easy to operate! No scariness of exploding lids and not knowing if you're up to pressure or not or if you've cooled everything down enough. If there is still any kind of pressure, the lid on the instant pot will NOT open! Oh, and the insert and pot are stainless steel and a nice large capacity - also something that was important to me as I've been slowly switching out my cookware for healthier options! The keep warm function is great, too. I use it to keep food warm as well as a souse vide setting. It doesn't work for everything, but it does work for some souse vide options! Sometimes I also use it for warming food up, as we don't use a microwave any more. I love that meat comes out tender, without that more "cooked to death" mouth feel that can sometimes happen with a slow cooker. It's definitely a way to make cheaper cuts of meat work! The browning/Sautee/Searing settings on the Instant Pot is awesome too! It really allows it to be a one pot venture! You can saute/brown in the same pot as you then pressure or slow cook! Oh, another really nice feature on the Instant Pot is that you can rest the lid on the pot itself after opening. You can set it into a slot to the side of the handle once you open it. This comes in really handy, as pressure cooker lids are usually hot and have a lot of condensation on them. So instead of having to find a suitable place to put it, while making sure you don't burn yourself on the dripping water, you can just slot it in there and the vertical position of the lid will take care of any drips. Now to the yogurt function! This was the whole reason why I waited for this model and didn't go with one of the earlier models, and the wait was so worth it. It works beautifully! You can make the yogurt either straight in the stainless steel pot, which is great if you need a large quantity, or you can choose to make the yogurt in little jars, stacked inside. Yes, you can make yogurt in mason jars!! I have made several batches of yogurt so far, both in jars and in the pot itself, both dairy-free and regular! All of it has come out perfect! I have also made cheese cake, dairy-free for that matter and it came out beautifully! A little 7 inch springform pan fits inside beautifully. Note however, I took the handles off the insert, as they were more in the way for me than anything else. I prefer to use a foil sling to get items in and out. If you are not modifying the trivet, a 6-inch springform pan will fit! Even though this isn't a canning pressure cooker, I have used it for smaller batches of particular things. Like, for example garlic confit. What usually takes a constant watchful eye and stirring, is now done in the time it takes to put your ingredients in a jar, place them in the pressure cooker, set it and let it do it's thing. And it won't need refrigerating after you are done, unlike the non-pressure cooker counterpart. Another thing I really love is that it doesn't heat up the kitchen! Yes, if I use the quick release for the steam, there is some heat from that, but it is nowhere near what I would get from the stove! I live in Phoenix, AZ and for many months of the year it is VERY hot here. The last thing you want is have your kitchen any hotter than it has to be! The instant pot barely changes the temperature! I wasn't sure just how my regular recipes would adapt to a pressure cooker, and yes, some of it can be a little trial and error. You do get an guide with the instant pot that gives you some guidelines and also some recipes. Beyond that I have found that you can use any kind of pressure cooking recipe for the instant pot, you can adapt any kind of slow cooker recipe without too much trouble too. And failing that, there are some awesome websites out there like pressurecookingtoday.com and hippressurecooking.com that have you covered with great recipes. hippressurecooking.com even has recipes that are specifically for the Instant Pot, including a video on how to make yogurt in the Instant Pot!