- For the last few years,
everyone seems to love the Instant Pot.
There are websites, YouTube channels
and at least two annoying people in your office
devoted to the thing.
- But the Instant Pot is just an electric pressure cooker,
which cooks stuff faster than normal.
It's got a few neat additional features,
and there are a lot of competitors
that do pretty much exactly the same thing.
- So we had to ask, is the Instant Pot
really the best appliance for your instant cooking?
(fast upbeat music)
- To figure it out, we got the Instant Pot DUO,
and then three other cookers, all for around $100.
This T-Fal has a neat button for pressure release
that we'll talk about a little later.
- And we included the Crock-Pot because well,
Crock-Pot knows how to cook stuff on your counter.
- And this is the Insignia of Best Buy's house brand.
It looks almost identical to my own Instant Pot,
but it's not an Instant Pot.
- We wanted to find out, how well does this sear food?
How quickly does it get up to pressure, and cook the food?
And how easy is it to use?
So first up, how well does it sear?
(hiss)
- Besides pressure cooking,
searing is a big way the Instant Pot sets itself apart
from a more traditional pressure cooker.
The idea that you can do everything inside of one pot,
including giving meat a nice, flavorful brown crust.
- So, I've already got problems with this one.
- You got problems? What are your problems?
- The timer started rolling and it was ice cold,
and so I have no idea when it's time to put the meat in.
- None of them have gotten so hot on the sides
that I can't handle the sides, which is nice.
They're insulated.
But this one, has like, almost no insulation on the top.
- Oh and that's a huge problem,
people burn their hands on this all the time.
- He's a vegetarian.
(Ryan laughs)
Did you know that?
- Not today.
- Not today! Just huff that meat fume.
(Ryan laughs)
- Which one do you think is best?
- The first one.
- The Crock-Pot?
- =Crock-Pot did the best, but it wasn't great.
- Nothing's gonna replace,
like, just a big, heavy cast-iron skillet
or something that's like a nice steel, heavy pan.
- This is good for a mediocre stew.
- That was my nickname in college, "Mediocre Stu".
(laughter)
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- Next, we had to test the key function
of these super smart pressure cookers.
How well do they actually cook?
- Pressure cooking involves
trapping the steam that comes off of the food and the water
as it heats up, building pressure up inside of this device.
Now, this makes it cook much faster than it would
on a stove top or in the oven.
- Now, once the cooker reaches the appropriate pressure,
all of them take about the same amount of time.
So what really matters here,
is gonna be how quickly they get up to the right pressure.
- And here, the Instant Pot actually did really well.
It got up to pressure in 12 minutes.
The T-Fal took 14 to do the same.
While the Insignia took 15.
- Now that's all pretty slow compared to this Crock-Pot,
which got up to pressure in only 10 minutes or less.
- That's amazing.
But in our task it was also more difficult
to create a seal in the Crock-Pot.
And there was actually steam spewing out of the thing,
the first time I tested it.
And it was very, very terrifying.
- Now, you have to know that the seal is perfect,
both for better food, as well as for not dying.
Which means that this one has to go to the Instant Pot.
- Winner, Instant Pot.
Thank you for keeping us alive.
- Thank you.
- It doesn't just matter how well these things sear,
or how quickly they cook.
It's all the little things too, right?
- Right. Sensors, optimal settings,
and even how they release pressure
are all gonna be important things to consider.
- Like the Crock-Pot.
It seared the best,
it was the fastest to get up to pressure,
but there's also no sensor
to tell you if the seal is perfect.
- Now that's the deal breaker,
plus, it doesn't have a specific pressure cooking feature.
That's bad.
Everything on this Crock-Pot is pre-set,
it looks the most high end,
but those are actually really big corners to cut.
Especially when a recipe
might only give you an amount of time and a pressure to set.
- So let's talk about the Insignia.
- Didn't you burn yourself on this one?
- As a matter of fact I did burn myself on this one, Ryan.
It has one of these like,
small levers that's kind of weird to maneuver, and it feels,
this is the actual pressure valve for the Insignia,
and this is the one for the Instant Pot.
And this one's kinda weird, and it has this like,
little button and you kinda have to tip it,
and run screaming.
And also you have to lurk over it,
because the labels are hard to read.
And the Instant Pot was just a little larger,
and easier to read, and use.
And the labeling on the pot itself, as well as the display,
are just nicer too, man.
Which leaves us with the T-Fal.
Which actually has a really unique pressure system.
You press a button, very far away from the actual valve,
and the steam goes away.
- Now that's my actual favorite pressure release system.
It's something that the more expensive
Instant Pot models have.
And I'm surprised that more people aren't doing it.
Plus, the lid is attached, and I like that.
- But I gotta admit, of all of them,
the original Instant Pot is the best design-wise.
Yes, this is a nice feature,
but all the buttons on this are easier to read
and the settings are easier to set.
So, I guess, the winner of this battle is...
- The Instant Pot!
- Good job, Instant Pot.
So Ryan, the Instant Pot won battle three,
but who actually wins overall?
- I do love the Instant Pot.
It created the whole category of electric pressure cookers.
But, it took more than 10 minutes to get the pressure,
and it had the least impressive searing capability.
- Yeah but, I mean, the Crock-Pot won the searing contest,
and it actually got up to pressure faster,
but it also had some really major red flags.
There was steam spewing out
and a complete lack of finer controls.
- And the T-Fal and Insignia,
just never really stood out to us.
- So I guess, the Instant Pot actually wins.
- There's a reason that people won't stop talking about it.
- Cool.
- The Instant Pot is just very good at what it does.
But don't expect to brown any meat in it.
- Yeah, it's definitely not a one-pot-shop.
But it is good for soups, and stews,
and all that rice I genuinely burn, every single time.
- It is the best option.
- The totally best option.
- Instant Pot. Instant Pot! (laughs)
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