Home Cooking

One measuring spoon to rule them all

If your cooking skills are better than nuking a Lean Cuisine microwave meatloaf in the microwave, then you might want to check out this adjustable measuring spoon that will let you ditch that ring-o-spoons that you can never seem to find in your kitchen drawers.

This one-piece spoon will let you measure precise portions of dry and wet ingredients in 5 – 20 ml, .25 – 1 oz, 1-2 tablespoons, and 1/2 – 3 teaspoon increments.

The Advanced Adjustable Measuring Spoon is made of plastic and is priced at $9.45 from Living Chic.

Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt review

I prefer to cook my own food than eating in a restaurant because it’s cheaper to cook at home and I by cooking it myself, I know exactly what is in my food. But the biggest downside to eating at home is the time that it takes to cook a meal and cleaning up the mess afterward. I’m happy to tell you that I’ve found a wonderful solution to both of those problems; it’s the Instant Pot Ultra Qt.

What is it?

The Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt is an all in one electric pressure cooker that speeds up cooking by 2-6 times and can be used as a slow cooker like a crock pot, rice cooker, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, steamer, and a warming pot.

What’s in the box?

Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt
6 quart stainless steel pot
Power cord
Wire steam rack
Plastic tools
Condensation drip catcher
Instructions

Design and features

First all, you’re probably wondering how a glorified crockpot can be worthy of a Gadgeteer review. I’m here to tell you that this thing is life changing for me even if I only use it to cook a few different things.

At first glance, the Instant Pot does look like a crockpot except that the lid isn’t made of see-through glass like most crockpots. That’s because the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker.

On the back of the lid is a steam release valve (large black knob shaped object), float valve (small silver object), and a stem release reset button (black comma shaped button).

The lid locks and unlocks with a twist to reveal the stainless steel interior.

You will notice the removable and replaceable silicon seal which keeps the pot pressurized.

In the bottom half of the Instant Pot is the dishwasher-safe stainless steel cooking pot which has marks inside to show fill levels for pressure cooked foods. Instant Pot sells different models of their cookers but the one they sent to me has a 6 quart pot.

The 6 quart stainless steel pot lifts out of the bottom of the Instant Pot to reveal the cooking element at the bottom. It should be common sense that you never put food in this area of the Instant Pot.

The front of the pot has a white on blue backlit display that lights up when the Instant Pot is plugged in. The Instant Pot has 16 cooking programs listed on the sides of the display: Soup/Broth, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Cake, Egg, Slow Cook, Sauté/Searing, Rice, Multigrain, Porridge, Steam, Sterilize, Yogurt, Warm, Pressure Cook, and Ultra.

The program is selected by turning the knob below the display and pressing the knob to select the mode. In the image above, I’ve chosen the Saute mode. It’s also important to note that some of the modes like Saute have different temperature settings that can be customized by using the knob after the mode has been selected.

The Ultra mode is also available to give the cook full control of pressure, non-pressure cooking and time. There’s also a timer that you can use for up to a 24-hour cooking delay start time.

My first test of the Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt was to cook beef stew. Although I was excited to try the Instant Pot, I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by my first try and definitely didn’t think I’d be wowed by cooking a beef stew in it.

We usually cook a beef stew in a crockpot all day and in all my years cooking one, I’ve probably never uttered the words YUM after taking my first bite. Beef roasts in the crockpot are usually kind of blah, but we use the meat for soups that we make with the leftovers, which always taste better than the original dish.

So in anticipation of cooking the beef stew in the Instant Pot, I googled a couple recipes and settled on this one from Nom Nom Paleo. I picked it because it included ingredients like fish sauce and coconut aminos that I’ve never used in a beef stew before and thought what the heck, let’s see what happens! I couldn’t find any coconut aminos at my local grocery store, so I used soy sauce instead.

The first thing I did was put a little olive oil in the bottom of the pot with rough chopped onions. I used the saute program to cook them for a few minutes.

Then I cut up the beef in big chunks and added the meat, and other ingredients into the pot along with some baby potatoes instead of mushrooms because I hate mushrooms.

I put the lid on top, chose the pressure cook mode for 35 minutes and walked away. Yes, 35 minutes. I was very skeptical that it would be done that quick.

As soon as you put the lid on top, you’ll hear a video game style tune to let you know that it’s starting to cook. Then at the bottom of the display, you can see a graph which shows the temperature/progress indicator. The indicator provides a visual on the cooking progress from preheating through to cooking and the Keep Warm mode which is activated by default.

Although the beef stew is only supposed to take 35 minutes to cook, that’s actually the pressure cooking time. The 35-minute countdown doesn’t begin until the pot is pressurized, which can take 10-15 minutes or so depending on the temperature of the ingredients.

But the great thing is that you can set the mode and time and then just go do something else. When the cooking is done, you’ll hear a beep. You can release the pressure by pressing the pressure release button and wait about 5 minutes till all the pressure is disappate dand you can open the pot, or you can allow the pressure to release on its own and the food will be kept warm for you.

When I opened the Instant Pot, I was greeted with a drool-worthy aroma, but I still wasn’t impressed until I took my first bite. I have to tell you, that the beef stew I made in the Instant Pot was the best beef stew I’ve EVER had in my life. And no, I’m not just saying that. I’m being 100% serious. The meat was perfectly cooked and tender and the potatoes were perfect too. Just thinking about it makes me want to make it again.

For Instant Pot cooking test #2, I decided to try using up some Thanksgiving leftovers by making some turkey noodle soup. This time I didn’t have a recipe to go by. I just used leftover turkey broth that Jeanne’s brother gave us from their Thanksgiving day turkey that we shared with them. I used a couple cups of leftover turkey meat cut up into bite-sized chunks.

But I started out adding mirepoix and some butter to the pan in saute mode to sweat the veggies. If you don’t know what mirepoix is, it’s just a fancy name for diced carrots, onions, and celery.

Then I added the turkey broth, the turkey, some dry noodles I found in the cabinet that were probably 2 years old, ground pepper, and a hodgepodge of herbs. I gave all the items a quick stir, locked the lid, chose the soup mode and let the Instant Pot do its thing.

About 30 minutes later I opened the pot to another great meal.

With just those two dishes, I was already a huge fan of the Instant Pot, but then I also used it to cook some steel cut oats for breakfast one morning. They turned out decent but I need to tweak somethings before I use the Instant Pot to cook them from now one.

I also used the Instant Pot to make spaghetti using this recipe. I love pasta, but it’s a pain in the rear to pull out a frying pan to brown the hamburger, use a saucepan to heat up the tomato sauce, and use a big pot to cook and drain the spaghetti. With the Instant Pot, I only needed one pot for the whole meal.

You can brown the meat right in the Instant Pot using the saute mode. Then drain the fat (or if you use ground turkey like we do, you don’t even need to drain it), pour in the sauce, break up a pound of uncooked spaghetti noodles in half, pour in 1.5 jars of water, add some spices and herbs, shut the lid, pressure cook for 8 minutes and you’re done. It turned out perfectly yummy. Imagine a whole pot of spaghetti cooked in about 20 minutes with only one pot to wash (it can go in the dishwasher too). It’s truly a game changer in my house.

What I like

  • Fast cooking
  • One pot easy cleanup
  • Safety features prevent you from opening the lid if there is pressure in the pot

What needs to be improved

  • I seriously can’t think of anything

Final thoughts

I love the Instant Pot Ultra 6 Qt and know that I’ll be using it regularly from now on. I can’t wait to try making chili, steaming vegetables, and other recipes. If you like to cook or even if you don’t, you should really check out the Instant Pot. It makes cooking so easy, fast, and flavorful while making cleanup a breeze.

Price: $149.95
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Instant Pot.

Keep a BBQ Toolbox in your car, and you’re ready to grill at any time

This sleek, red toolbox doesn’t have screwdrivers or wrenches inside, but it has the tools to help you prepare a meal.  The BBQ Toolbox is made of stainless steel and mild steel, and opens up to reveal a 7.75″  x 15.75″ stainless steel grilling surface.  When you open it, the carry handles move down to serve as legs for the grill.  In addition to the cooking surface, it also has a bun-warming surface and a little compartment to store spices and seasonings or a spatula.  Just pack the compartment with charcoal, and you’re ready to cook while camping, tailgating, or picnicking.  It also makes a great addition to your emergency-preparedness kit.  The BBQ Toolbox is $99.00 at UncommonGoods.

Slow-cook your food in a cloth bag

The Wonderbag is a cloth slow cooker that cooks your food using less energy.  You simply bring your soup, stew, or other recipe’s  ingredients to a boil on your stovetop, then you transfer the pot to this insulated bag and close it up.  The insulation retains the heat and continues to cook the food.  It’s great for use at home or while traveling or picnicking.

The Wonderbag was created by Sarah Collins, a South Africa-based maker.  She wanted to find a method that would free up South African women and children from the time-consuming job of collecting firewood necessary to cook their food.  Less time hunting for wood frees children up for school and gives the women time for work or other family-strengthening efforts.  Less time working over a fire also reduces the negative health and safety risks, too.

When you buy a Wonderbag, you not only save yourself some energy, but you are helping the Wonderbag Foundation act as a “catalyst out of poverty” by giving families in need a safer, quicker, easier method of cooking.

A small Wonderbag is available from The Grommet for $39 right now.  There’s also a large Wonderbag for $49, but it’s temporarily out of stock at The Grommet.

Ditch plastic wrap and use this glass spatter guard in your microwave

If you’re anything like me, your microwave is used daily to reheat leftovers. And the interior of your microwave might look like you nuked a small animal if you don’t regularly cover your plates while you’re reheating your food. Or maybe your microwave is clean, but you use plastic storage containers with plastic lids when you reheat your food. If you do either of these things, you should take a look at Cuchina Safe covers.

Cuchina Safe covers are made of borosilicate glass that can handle temperatures as high as 450 degrees. That means that you can use these covers in your microwave and oven without fear that they will melt like plastics can do.

Glass is much safer for you to use when reheating food in the microwave. I’m paranoid to use plastic containers and plastic wrap in the microwave after having an adventure with breast cancer back in 2011. I prefer to reheat food in ceramic or glass dishes and usually place a ceramic plate face down over the dish. This works fine with bowls, but you cant do that with a plate of food like you can with the Cuchina Safe cover.

The covers come in two styles.

There’s the microwave cover that has a scalloped edge that acts as a steam release when face down over a plate. When you flip it over, it doubles as a baking dish.

And then there’s the Cuchina Safe vented flat lid that can be placed over a bowl to protect your microwave from splatters or pots on the stove.

Cuchina Safe lids are priced at $26.95 for one microwave cover & baking dish and the same price for 2 of the vented lids. You can read more about these products by visiting cuchinasafe.com and you can order them from The Grommet and also check prices on Amazon.

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Ditch plastic wrap and use this glass spatter guard in your microwave originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 8, 2017 at 1:43 pm.

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