Are You Making These Common Mistakes with Your Instant Pot?

Beef stew in 20 minutes, lentil soup in 12—it all sounds so wondrous. And it is! The Instant Pot quickly tenderizes tough cuts of meat, beans and legumes much faster than slow cookers, ovens and stoves do, but be aware that a recipe's cook time of 20 minutes doesn't take into account the amount of time the pot needs to build pressure—which can be 10 to 15 minutes. So, a 20-minute stew is probably more like a 30- to 45-minute stew; and, if you need to brown the meat first, add an additional eight, or so, minutes.

That large, clear rubber ring on the inside of the lid may not look like much, but it serves an important purpose: It prevents air from getting out of the pot when the lid is closed and locked. If it's not securely in place, the Instant Pot won't be able to come up to pressure, and you'll probably see steam seeping out from underneath the lid. Since you need to wash the ring after each use (it absorbs the smell of whatever you've just cooked), you'll probably be removing and replacing it every time you use the appliance—and the one thing you must do when you put it into its track is to make sure it fits snugly (by the way, it doesn't matter which side of the ring is facing up, according to the Instant Pot manual). Press with your fingers all the way around the inside of the lid, making sure the ring is sitting inside the lid's track. An easy test is to spin the ring; it should move easily around the track.

The pressure-release valve is another unassuming-looking feature of the Instant Pot that's actually superimportant. If it's not turned to "Sealing" when you begin cooking, the cooker won't come up to pressure. But here's the thing that trips up many first-timers: When the cooking time is finished, and you're ready to use what recipes refer to as the "Quick Release" method for venting the steam, you need to open that valve quickly. The longer the steam stays inside the pot, the more your food will cook—which can mean the difference between perfectly tender vegetables and limp, overcooked ones. Put on a sturdy oven mitt (the steam is extremely hot) and push the valve in a counterclockwise direction to the "Venting" position to let the steam out.

There is a "max line" inside the Instant Pot, but it only applies to slow-cooking. If you're pressure-cooking, the ingredients shouldn't come up to that line, especially if you're cooking anything that expands during cooking, such as grains, beans or dried vegetables such as mushrooms. When you're pressure-cooking those ingredients, only fill the pot halfway (which is far below the max line) to avoid clogging the venting knob, creating excess pressure or leaking.

Even though you've thoroughly washed it, you may have noticed that your Instant Pot's stainless-steel inner pot has rainbow-like streaks running across it. The company says this is normal and harmless (they even have an apt name for it: "rainbowing") and won't impact the taste of your food. Exposure to high heat, cooking starchy foods such as rice or pasta, and even some detergents can cause the reaction. If the discoloration is bothering you enough, you can try one of these cleaning methods.

Print and download a full cheat sheet here.