The Instant Pot is a popular electric pressure cooker that has a convenient “keep warm” function to keep food warm after cooking is finished. However, many people wonder if they need to turn off this feature when doing a natural pressure release. Here is a detailed look at whether or not to use the keep warm setting when naturally releasing pressure.
What is Natural Pressure Release?
With the Instant Pot, there are two main ways to release the pressure after cooking:
- Manual or Quick Release: Manually turning the steam release valve to let out the steam and release the pressure quickly.
- Natural Release: Allowing the pressure to come down naturally over time as the pot cools (usually 10-15 minutes).
Natural release is often recommended for certain foods like meats, stews, and large cuts of vegetables. It allows the food to finish cooking gently as the pressure comes down, preventing overcooking.
Why Use Keep Warm Mode?
The keep warm function on the Instant Pot automatically turns on after pressure cooking. It keeps the contents heated at around 140-172°F until you turn it off.
There are a few reasons why you may want to use keep warm:
- Keeps food warm if serving it later.
- Allows dishes like stews and curries to continue developing flavor.
- Prevents large cuts of meat from cooling and overcooking when doing natural release.
Should You Turn Off Keep Warm for Natural Release?
There are good arguments on both sides of whether to turn off keep warm for natural release or not. Here are the main considerations:
Reasons to Turn Off Keep Warm
- The keep warm function may overcook some foods, especially delicate ingredients like seafood and vegetables.
- It continues cooking the food, so natural release may take longer.
- Some find it alters the texture of certain foods like meat.
- It uses extra electricity to keep the pot heated.
Reasons to Leave On Keep Warm
- Helps large cuts of meat finish cooking gently and prevents it from overcooking.
- Makes natural release faster since the inner pot stays hot.
- Keeps food safe and at serving temperature until ready to eat.
- Allows flavors to develop in dishes like chili, curries, and stews.
General Guidelines on Using Keep Warm
Here are some general tips on when you should or shouldn’t use the keep warm function when doing a natural release:
- Meats: Leave on keep warm for large cuts of meat like roasts, whole chickens, meatloaf, etc. Turn off for more delicate meats like fish.
- Beans/Grains: Keep warm is fine for most beans, grains, rice, etc. It continues to hydrate and soften them.
- Vegetables: Turn off keep warm to prevent overcooking delicate veggies. Keep on for hardy veggies in stews and curries.
- Liquid dishes: Leave on for soups, stews, chilis, etc. so flavors can develop.
- Casseroles/Pasta: Use your judgment – turn off keep warm if concerned about delicate ingredients overcooking.
- Natural release time: Leaving on keep warm reduces natural release time.
How to Turn Off Keep Warm
If you want to turn off the keep warm function on your Instant Pot, just follow these simple steps:
- When pressure cooking is complete, leave the lid on and allow the pressure to naturally release.
- After 5-10 minutes of natural release, carefully turn the steam release handle to the venting position to release any remaining steam.
- Once the float valve drops, press Cancel or Keep Warm/Cancel (depending on your model) to turn off keep warm.
- Carefully open the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to disperse.
- Check that food is cooked through and serving temperature before serving.
The keep warm function will now be turned off so your food won’t overcook during the rest of the natural release process.
Conclusion
Whether to turn off the keep warm function for natural release often comes down to personal preference and the particular dish you are making. For delicate ingredients like seafood and some vegetables, it’s a good idea to turn it off. For foods like large cuts of meat, stews, and curries, leaving it on can provide benefits.
Get to know your Instant Pot and how different foods respond to natural release with keep warm on or off. This will help you decide when to use this handy function and when it’s better turned off. With a bit of trial and error, you’ll have perfectly cooked food every time.
Food Type | Recommendation |
---|---|
Large cuts of meat | Leave keep warm ON |
Tender meats like fish | Turn keep warm OFF |
Beans, grains, rice | Keep warm is OK |
Delicate vegetables | Turn keep warm OFF |
Hearty vegetables | Keep warm ON is fine |
Soups, stews, chilis | Leave keep warm ON |
Casseroles, pasta | Judge if delicate ingredients could overcook |