In recent years, kitchen appliances that double as rice cookers and pressure cookers have become increasingly popular. Instant Pot is perhaps the most famous name in pressure cookers, and to most people, someone has said, “You have to try Instant Pot.”
If you’re not an Instant Pot fan, or if you haven’t used too many standalone rice cookers, you may be wondering what the difference is between an Instant Pot and a desktop rice cooker. They look pretty similar and both are usually found in the same aisles at stores like Walmart or Target. Both pots also make a very good rice dish. But how exactly are these two kitchen appliances different?
Here are the main differences between rice cookers and Instant Pots. We’ve also rounded up the best Instant Pot deals available right now, if you decide that everyone’s favorite pressure cooker is the right one for you.
An Instant Pot is a multi-purpose pressure cooker, a rice cooker is more like a food steamer.
The Instant Pot consists of an outer pot (which houses the heating element, microprocessor, pressure sensors, and a display panel with buttons for the user to enter), an inner pot that holds the ingredients, and a lid (which has a ring seal and a pressure relief valve). When you put the water and ingredients in the Instant Pot, close it and turn it on, the water heats up and the pressure builds. As the pressure inside the container increases, the boiling point of the water also increases. This allows the food in the pot to cook faster and at higher temperatures. The microprocessor works with pressure sensors and the heating element to create a precise cooking environment with stable pressure so food cooks evenly without burning.
A rice cooker works like a food steamer, but it doesn’t hold pressure like an Instant Pot. Put the rice and liquid in the pot, and the pot regulates the temperature while the rice cooks so it turns out just right. Rice cookers don’t get much higher than boiling point (212 degrees Fahrenheit) because the water turns to steam as it boils and absorbs the remaining rice.
Instant Pots have a special button for rice (but with caveats)
Most Instant Pots come with a dedicated rice button to automatically select settings. There’s a catch, though: The rice button is designed specifically for long-grain white rice. If you have any other type of rice, the Instant Pot suggests using the standard pressure cook program and has some suggested temperature ranges to stick to. It will probably take some practice to get it right.
Rice cookers, on the other hand, usually have dedicated buttons for different types of rice and grains, making it easy to customize your programming for the type of rice you want to cook. This is important if you cook more brown rice, wild rice, sushi rice, or risotto.
Instant Pots generally cook rice faster.
It’s not always a guarantee, but Instant Pots often cook a large amount of rice faster compared to a traditional rice cooker. This is due to pressure cooking, which forces food, including rice, to heat up and cook faster. This means you can reduce cooking time by up to 30 minutes, which could be a boon for those with busy schedules.
Instant Pots require less liquid than rice cookers.
Since freestanding rice cookers don’t hold pressure like Instant Pots, your recipes may call for more water. You can cook rice in an Instant Pot at a 1:1 ratio (one part rice to one part water), whereas you would normally use a 1:2 ratio in a rice cooker (one part rice to two parts water). ).
Instant Pots typically have more cooking features than rice cookers.
The Instant Pot Lux is the base model of the Instant Pot and has 12 built-in programs: Beans/Chili, Meat/Stew, Soup/Soup, Sauté, Poultry, Steam, Congee, Multigrain, Rice, Pressure Cook, Keep Warm, and Slow Cook. . Higher-end Instant Pot models have even more features.
A basic rice cooker will only have an on/off switch, while a model like the Aroma Housewares ARC-914SBD has several built-in programs: white rice, brown rice, quick rice, keep warm, steam, delay start, and on/off. timer buttons.
You can cook more recipes in an Instant Pot than you can in a rice cooker.
The Instant Pot also works as a rice cooker, slow cooker, pressure cooker, warmer, steamer, and saute maker. Some of the higher level models may have even more features such as sous vide, desserts or air frying. Because it has so many features, you can cook so many different recipes in the Instant Pot, from meat to vegetables to cheesecakes to yogurt. You can even make wine in the Instant Pot.
You can prepare several different recipes in one rice cooker, but most recipes will use steam as the cooking method. Other Instant Pot features open up more recipe possibilities.
Instant Pots are sealed with a rubber ring, Rice Cookers are not necessarily sealed.
The primary function of an Instant Pot is to pressure cook. Instant Pots need to be sealed so steam doesn’t escape when pressure builds. That is why the cover has a rubber sealing ring. Freestanding rice cookers do not necessarily need to be fully enclosed to perform their primary functions.
Instant Pots can sterilize, while most rice cookers cannot
Erika Rawes/Digital Trends
Some Instant Pots, like the Ultra model, have a sterilization feature. In laboratory tests, the Instant Pot effectively sterilized Geobacillus spores. This spore is extremely resistant to heat, which is why this bacterium is used to test autoclaves.
While rice cookers can sterilize to a certain degree (similar to putting something in boiling water), they generally don’t have the sterilization capabilities of an Instant Pot.
Instant Pots are generally more expensive than rice cookers.
Although you can often find Instant Pots on sale, the smaller entry-level models (like the Lux mini) sell for $65, while the more expensive models (like the Instant Pot Max) sell for close to $200. If you’re looking for Instant Pot deals, check out some of the best Instant Pot deals available right now.
You can easily find a rice cooker for around $20, though some programmable models hit the $100 or higher range.
However, if you really like the design of Instant Pots, it’s important to know that Instant Pot also has a line of rice cookers: they work similarly to Instant Pots, but without pressure cooking and with more buttons dedicated to brown rice. Quinoa, etc. – That’s a good recommendation if you plan to use the Instant Pot’s rice cook feature only. Instant Zest is a particularly reliable and economical model.
Instant Pots are pretty similar to each other, but Rice Cookers are the strongest.
Regardless of which model you choose—Lux, Duo, Duo Plus, Viva, Max, Ultra, Smart, or DuoNova—Instant Pots are pretty similar to each other. The more expensive models may have better features, a few more cooking settings, or be larger, but Instant Pots look and work similar to other Instant Pots.
Rice cookers can vary greatly from one another. You can find a rice cooker that looks like a slow cooker, another that looks like a pressure cooker, and another that looks like a Sous vide water oven. You can cook rice using induction heating or even a microwave rice cooker. Others, like the Zojirushi line pictured above, are designed to make excellent sushi rice.
editor’s recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn