Pressure Cooker Passion

Have you ever wondered, ” Which foods should I AVOID cooking in my Instant Pot?”  We did too, and after doing some research we found that pressure cookers and multi-cookers can cook almost anything, but certain foods do not lend themselves to the steamy, high pressure environment they create, resulting in a mushy meal or clogged equipment.  Here are the foods you should avoid cooking in your Instant Pot, pressure cooker or multi-cooker.

Foods that Can Foam

We are not making a cappuccino topped with delicious light foam here, we are making  real food!  According to the Instant Pot user manual the following foods can “foam, froth, sputter, and clog the steam release.”

• Applesauce
• Cranberries
• Pearl Barley
• Oatmeal or Other Cereals
• Split Peas
• Noodles
• Macaroni
• Rhubarb
• Spaghetti

Fried or Crispy Food (Dry Food)

Pressure cookers utilize steam and pressure to cook food and in order to create steam it requires moisture.  Moisture is wonderful in rice, beans, stews or meats that needs to be braised or roasted, however, if you are looking to make crispy fried chicken, buffalo wings, french fries, spring rolls, samosas, or mozzarella sticks then the pressure cooker is not the right tool for the job.

Deep frying or pressurized frying in a pressure cooker can actually be dangerous and may cause toxic fumes or fires and should not be attempted.

Delicate or Dainty Food

A pressure cooker is pulverizing food with steam and pressure to cook it.  Many foods that are considered delicate or dainty cannot hold up to this type of cooking.  The intense environment of the pressure cooker can transform these types of foods to mush.  Examples of delicate foods include raspberries, spinach, swiss chard, or certain fish like cod and flounder. It is not impossible to cook delicate foods with a pressure cooker, but cooking times must be monitored or delicate ingredients must be added last.