Recently updated on December 17th, 2022 at 12:05 am
Cooking is an art for many culinary enthusiasts. Generally, people like to use a cooking pot for convenience in their cooking endeavors. It can spare you some of your valuable time as well as give you extraordinary cooking experience.
If you want to enhance the aristocracy of your kitchen appliances, then a pressure cooker or instant pot is what you need. A vital decision arises when cooking lovers need to choose between a pressure cooker and an instant pot as each one has advantages and drawbacks in its own way.
Whenever it comes to a pressure cooker, the appliance is suitable for a well-organized kitchen. It provides you with good amenities that a cooking lover really expects.
A pressure cooker is a traditional stovetop cooker that ensures a quick-cooking experience. People are always rummaging for an efficient cooking appliance that can make things easier and that’s where pressure cookers come into play!
On the other side, an instant pot is an electric cooker that gives you hassle-free cooking experience. It comes in a robust structure and generally has a bright appearance. The instant pot is like an all-in-one product meaning it can perform steaming, cooking, frying, warming, and so on.
Apparently, the choice depends on your cooking demands. Here we’ve compiled our take on the pros and cons of each variant. Hopefully, this will help you to take an appropriate decision.
Our recommendation here does not explicitly boil down to a verdict about which of the two variants of the cooking pot is best. We really want you to be the active decision-maker before purchasing it. So, let’s go for it!
Pressure Cooker vs Instant Pot: Key Factors to Consider
Type of Use
Both pressure cookers and instant pots follow the steaming mechanism for cooking foods. The process is quite analogous as a certain amount of water is loaded onto both appliances. There are some minor factors that make a little bit of difference between them.
In case of a pressure cooker, fish or vegetables are put on to trivet and then inserted into the inner pot. Then the lid is closed for creating pressure inside the pot. The main drawback of that tool is the steel lid. It doesn’t allow you to see the condition of the food during cooking. If the fixed time is wrong for any reason, you might end up with tasteless, mushy, or overcooked food.
When it comes to the instant pot, the procedure is almost the same. The steel lid which is a con for pressure cookers turns into a matter of convenience in an instant pot. The available glass lid lets you observe the condition of the food inside the cooker. So, you can see whether the food is undercooked or overcooked.
Overall Cooking Time
As both variants use pressure for cooking, there is no basic difference in the cooking procedure of the two. Though cooking time can vary from one to another.
A pressure cooker takes a very short time to cook while an instant electric cooker responds a little bit later than that.
Convenience and Functionality
The instant pot provides slow cooking function, but a pressure cooker doesn’t have that awesome ability.
You’re able to see through a glass lid that is obtainable with an instant cooker. You can also manage the cooking procedures at low heat in a fixed amount of time.
The instant pot is a space-saving appliance that can save you from overloading your kitchen. The pressure cooker comes with a steel lid appearance that makes it heavy.
Design Specifications
The pressure cooker is especially famous for its non-sticky material. That’s why you don’t have to worry about damaging the food. The trivet that is placed into the pot is made out of Teflon or non-stick materials. In the case of an electric cooker, it comes only in a stainless-steel body.
Size and Dimensions
The pressure cooker comes in different sizes as offered by multiple brands. The decision relies on you which size you want to buy according to your need. The regular pressure cooker comes in 12 quarts size.
For instant pot, the sizes vary among 3 quarts, 6 quarts, and 8 quarts. If you want to cook more food, you can use the 8 quarts size. You can use 3 quarts or 6 quarts size for smaller portions of food.
Control Panel
A regular stovetop cooker doesn’t have the functionality of controlling the cooking quality. It lacks the features of a time set-up system, temperature maintaining capacity, or a button for selecting food. These are also major deficiencies in a pressure cooker.
An instant cooker generally arrives with a built-in control panel. The timer, heat control ability, and suitably labeled buttons are included with modern electric cookers. These properties make it convenient to use. You can specify the cooking time by controlling the temperature. You can also select the food for cooking by pressing a distinctive button. The vapor releasing knob can be placed wherever you want.
The control panel may differ from one brand to another. Labeled buttons are normally embellished with small icons that show food shape and cooking operation.
The Timer Function
Regular pressure cookers lack the timer set-up function while the instant pot has a timer which makes it a better contender. You can control your cooking temperature by maintaining the time in an instant cooker. It will never give you soggy or tasteless food. As the process is automatic, you can also use the instant cooker while doing other chores.
Multipurpose Usability
You can use an instant pot for multiple activities such as warming food, steaming, boiling, browning, etc. That’s an amazing feature if you want to warm up your food at late night or early morning. The instant cooker also gives you the opportunity to cook yogurt, pudding, cookies, cakes etc. It offers you palatable food in the most convenient way than the regular oven. The required time for cooking also is less in an instant pot than the cooking time in an oven.
On the other hand, a regular pressure cooker doesn’t provide you the all in one function. You can only use it for steaming food. There is also no functionality for processing canned food either
Energy Efficiency
In comparison to a regular oven, the pressure cooker takes less time for cooking. It also means that a small amount of energy is required. If you want to brown fish or meat in the oven, it takes 2 to 3 hours to cook. The same process requires only one hour in a regular pressure cooker.
Instant pot obviously takes less time than both the pressure cooker and oven because of its intuitive engineering. Its energy-saving ability is much better than the pressure cooker as it depletes 70% less energy in comparison.
Safety
This is an alarm feature built in the appliance for most instant electric pots. This leaves no possibility of an explosion or accident during cooking. You can continue your other chores without worrying about it.
On the other hand, you have to be more careful while working with a pressure cooker. It holds the dangerous possibility of an explosion at any time. This may even lead to injuries, burns and bleeding if not handled with care and precaution.
Durability
Both the pressure cooker vs instant pot come in robust builds with stainless steel bodies. Generally, both variants offer a long-time service. You can use them for years but have to take appropriate care measures for ensuring longevity.
Weight and Storage
The traditional pressure cooker comes in a bulky weight. So, it’s sometimes too inconvenient to lift up and handle. This cooking pot also takes up a lot of space in your kitchen. So, it will be best for you to store it in a separate place when you are not using it actively.
In terms of weight, the instant cooker is not so heavy. You can place it anywhere you want on your kitchen counter or shelves. It doesn’t take up much of your kitchen space and also it’s also super easy to move from one place to another.
Price and Warranty
The traditional pressure cooker is cheaper than an instant cooker. As a lot of built-in functions and features are provided with instant pot, it’s an expensive choice.
The price and warranty totally depend on which type of product you want to buy. It also varies according to models and size. You can normally get a 1 to 3 years warranty if you go for more popular brands in the market.
Conclusion
Although it might seem like a complex decision to make based on the opinions of many enthusiasts, there are really some very minor differences between a Pressure Cooker vs Instant Pot when it comes to average use.
Obviously, you should choose something that meets all your culinary demands. Both variants are suitable for various situations and both are favored by most chefs around the world.
In the end, no matter what you select, Pressure Cooker vs Instant Pot both will give you flexible cooking experience. It’s just all about which variant of the appliance you are comfortable cooking with!