That gully is likely a necessity of a pressure cooker’s functionality, but we’re still waiting for someone to find an innovative solution to this issue before we award a higher score in this metric. Nevertheless, it still had a pleasant taste and aroma. When your goal is cooking meals, though, you have a different set of considerations. Capacity is an important factor, but most popular pressure cookers can make meals for up to six people. Smaller households may still need that kind of capacity, though, since large items like whole chickens demand plenty of space.
I suppose I could close the folding top on the three burner stove and put it there but that defeats the purpose of having a stove. Camping in the backyard is fun and I may just get a 3 qt mini for use going forward. I knew this remodel was upcoming and got a V3 duo plus expressly for this purpose. I did not like it particularly and it’s sauté function is not very hot. The Instant Pot Duo Gourmet offers some of the newer, in-demand cooking features buttons at an affordable price point. It has a similar button layout to the Duo Plus, the auto-seal lid I love, and comes with accessories like the mini mitts, the ladle, and rice paddle.
Failure to follow these CAUTION instructions could result in property damage and/or personal injury. The 20-cup Zest Plus is where you can really add some zest to your meals. Mixed grains, barley, couscous, bulgur oatmeal and risotto are added to the lineup, plus four smart programs for sauté, steam, slow cook, and keep warm.
Always unplug the cooker and let it cool to room temperature before cleaning. Never use harsh chemical detergents, scouring pads, or powders to clean any part of the cooker. All Instant Pots can pressure cook, slow cook, sauté, cook rice, steam, and warm. As you climb the ladder of different models, buttons for things like cake making, roasting, and sous vide appear. When one appliance can do so many things, it also nixes the need to buy and find storage for separate kitchen devices, like an egg or rice cooker. The Crock-Pot competitor-turned-cult classic has been a staple in foodie kitchens since 2018.
So we don’t think this will factor into many people’s decisions. Of course, with higher price comes more advanced features. Anyone with a big family will find the 8-quart Instant Pot is a perfect option for everyday needs. That being said, due to its large and bulky size, this tool isn’t ideal for small kitchens.
And, this model has fewer preset programs compared to the more advanced Instant Pot models, such as the lack of a Bake program. Checkout The Best Pressure Cooker for a detailed review of all the top pressure cookers. Not only is it perfect for cooking comfort foods during the cooler months, but it can save you time and money all year round.
The large display and multitude of buttons makes navigating the DUO Nova’s settings easy. In what we’ve found to be the most differentiating of our cooking tests, the saute test; the DUO Nova performed wonderfully. It got hot enough to easily brown eve hearty veggies like carrots and made quick work of diced onions. We believe this ability is crucial; to effectively saute right in the pot vastly increases the number of meals you can make with only one dish to clean at the end.
The trade-off is that the Max doesn’t do Sous Vide, while the Pro does. You’ll need to weigh your priorities to figure out which feature is more important. The Instant Pot Pro also comes with 28 one-touch smart cooking programs, which blows the 15 of the Max out of the water. It’s a close race between instant vortex these two models, so it will definitely boil down to your priorities. The Max controls the amount of air in the pot, releasing as much air as possible for faster and better cooking. The Max has additional safety mechanisms , and the lid on the Max is dishwasher safe, which makes cleaning easier.
It also upgrades the number of cooking programs to 28, the most of any Instant Pot family. The Instant Pot Duo Plus is a step up from the regular Duo, and those who make recipes like yogurts and desserts will probably appreciate the Plus. It adds in a few extra programs and features over the Duo. Rice is one of the easiest side dishes to pair with a meal and, coincidentally, one of the easiest dishes to screw up. The Instant Pot Zest could save you from a lot of overcorrections to sticky rice, as well as add perfect quinoa, couscous, steamed veggies, and dumplings to your home menu.
It sets the standard for pressure cookers, offering a versatile list of cooking functions, well-designed controls, and convenient touches like a pressure release button. In the world of pressure cookers, the DUO Nova sells for a relatively reasonable price but leads the pack in terms of performance. Sure, you can find some models that sell for less, but those models generally lack a saute function and thus, sacrifice quite a bit of the convenience that makes pressure cookers so attractive. We believe this is one of the best values on the market. Instant Pot is the standard-bearer of pressure cookers, and the addition of a pressure release button to the DUO Nova makes it one of the best cookers that we’ve ever tested. Plus, this all comes at a relatively reasonable, middle-of-the-road level price.