Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

**UPDATED 5/27/17: Third instant pot weight was tight (had to press hard to install and remove), which I think is the reason that although the vent button WOULD stay down with the lid off, it was physically difficult to depress the button until the third try when the pot was under pressure. I thought this might be a safety issue, so I solved the problem by putting the weight from Pot 2 onto Pot 3. I could now finally test the multicooker…1. Disclosure: As Ultra instructions are skeletal, and having no idea what the specialty functions added, I used the manual steam function for rice, and the manual pressure cooking function for beans. I used high pressure. 2. I do understand that cooking pressure of the Instant Pot is less than that of a stove-top pressure cooker, so that cooking times are greater. However, I live at sea level, and when I used the rules of thumb/recipe for rice from an electric pressure cook book, and the rules of thumb/recipe for beans from Instant Pot resources, the results were overwet rice and undercooked beans. (Note: beans were soaked overnight, recently purchased from Whole Foods bulk bin, and natural release was used.) Not a problem, I thought, as one can always sauté on simmer until the food is cooked. Maybe. 3. The simmer function (sauté medium or sauté low or the sauté custom at the simmering temperature of 195, about the same as sauté medium) did not hold the pot contents at a simmer. I tried with a glass lid on it, and then read in the manual not to use ANY lid when sautéing. Fair enough. I cooled down the contents and started the simmer function again. The large amount of steam streaming upwards due to not holding a simmer was threatening to make my cabinets and ceiling wet. Fair enough again. I put it on a cold stove underneath the vent and turned the vent on. My vent is lower than most, just at the limit of the building code. Anyways, the vent, the backsplash, the area under (and probably above the backsplash) were wet with the steam. 4. I think this pot would probably work for someone with a higher vent and after the right amount of pressure cooking time was discovered. I plan to wait for a bit in my dry California climate and experiment some more. Truly a glutton for punishment, eh? 5. For those who already own Instant Pots, the ability to turn down the sauté function temperature might be a useful addition. But again, I am not sure if the temperature regulation works adequately. My experience suggests quality control issues, so perhaps things will get better, and like new cars, one should not purchase the new model when it first arrives/** **UPDATED 5/26/17: Instant Pot has now responded that my unit is not working properly (although they requested video proof). I did find a work around after tinkering a bit (pressing on the far left side of the button or pressing the button while twisting clockwise), However the puffy venting seemed to imply that the machine was venting while in the sealed position, and it struck me that tinkering with a pressure cooker lid was a bad idea. According to Sur La Table, I am not the only one with issues with the venting, so consider checking out your units within the return period. For transparency purposes, this is not my first pressure cooker, but my first electric pressure cooker. ** "The Steam Release Button allows pulse or long release of steam. Most importantly, it automatically resets to the Sealing position when the lid is opened or closed. You don’t need to worry about whether the steam release is in the Venting position when you starting cooking." Well, unfortunately, not with mine. The steam release button on the Ultra I purchased (for transparencies sake, from Sur La Table) is just strange. You need to physically hold the wobbly button down for a long manual release of steam, otherwise it does this puff of steam action (yes, sort of looks like one of those cartoon choo choo trains), with the button now popped up. The button can stay down in the venting position, but can take eleven or so tries for it to stay there. A workaround would be to hold down the wobbly button for pressure cooking manual release and buy a glass lid for slow cooking. Unfortunately, the instructions provided in the manual are sparse, there is little on the internet at the time of this writing, youtube or elsewhere, and even the Sur La Table people are not familiar with how the product should work. I am waiting to hear back from Instant Pot, but my patience is wearing a bit thin, as the first one was dented and needed to be returned. I will try a third time, if I learn that the unit is indeed defective. So as not to be completely filled with negative stuff, the readout on the front showing whether the unit is warming up or cooking, which I at first thought would be gimmicky, is VERY helpful to me, as this currently is the only indication that the unit might be operating properly in at least some respect. The user interface appears to be logical, although again the dial is a bit wobbly (or at least mine is). Back to the "Is this normal? mindset: Consider doing the 3 cup water test mentioned in the manual. I found tiny pieces of black plastic in the cooking water -- so maybe doing the test will help clean out the system (?). Feedback for Instant Pot is to have brick and mortar stores have enough stock for a demo unit. Then, at least there could be some comparison possible to answer the "Is this normal?" question.