Release is in regards to post cooking time. If a recipe says to use natural pressure release after 60 mins, you just let the pressure release switch drop naturally after cooking.
Ok. Thank you both. What’s the advantages of doing that? Sometimes I can’t wait to see what’s inside and release the pressure asap.
Here’s a pretty solid resource on NPR vs QPR
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Quick release can make a mess with some things.
That link is a pretty decent summary although the below quote is unfortunately not true.
You also want to use a natural release for large cuts of meat. Just like you’d let meat rest after grilling it, a slow natural release is said to let the meat relax and be more tender.
Additionally, a quick release causes the contents to boil in a way that a natural release wouldn’t so that should be factored in if cooking anything delicate (like very tender beans) or trying to maximize stock clarity.
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Thank you. very informative!
Like WireMonkey said, quick release makes the contents boil suddenly, so it foams up. The release valve may get stuff in it that’s a pain to clean. The inside of the lid may be a lot more work to clean.
I use quick release only when steaming eggs. Other things I wait ten minutes. The valve on mine no longer opens itself.
There was an interesting entry in the Cooking Issues blog (over ten years ago when they still did blog posts) about stock. It wasn’t about Instant Pots but the TL;DR is that spring regulated pressure cookers make for superior stock compared to the traditional hissing, rocking top type pressure cookers. Since that’s the same type of pressure regulator an Instant Pot has I’d be willing to bet it makes pretty superior stock!
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I really miss that blog - so smart and interesting but i could never get into the podcast. I should try it again
Yeah, the podcast is… a lot. I’m a fan but it’s very inside baseball and Dave Arnold is a strong flavor
Getting ready to make this again tomorrow!
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Not sure if my question/comment is better here or in Home Cooking, but here goes…
Bought some “bulgarian” yogurt culture from Cultures for Health. Followed the instructions and, after 6 hrs on the “less” setting (of the yogurt function), the result was still totally liquidy. Smelled interesting in a good way (not the usual smell I get from Greek yogurt but still quite pleasant and dairy-ish but w/ a bit more of a savory note).
I’ve never understood what the “Less” and “Normal” function are for yogurt-making w/ the Instant Pot, so I decided to (re-)read the manual today.
Wish they would put actual temps. Internet search for “Jiu Niang” indicates that it ferments best at 80–85 deg. So guess I should’ve used “Normal.” Whoops.
I quick internet search indicates that I might have success just incubating again (minus boiling). So I’ve now got that going on for about 4.5 hrs (at the “Normal” setting). I also saved a few Tbsp of the milk + culture and put that in the fridge (in case this experiment goes awry).
Based (indirectly) on previous posts, I assume that, if the end product does thick and smells fine that the good bacteria have taken over and it should be safe to eat?
If it smells good and tastes good it should be good to eat. If you inoculate with a culture it’s unlikely that something else will take over.
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So I incubated for 6 more hrs, and it turned out fine. A bit of a prob was that I was out for another 5 hrs after that, so I couldn’t put it in the fridge very quickly. Smells just fine, and I’ll try a bit tomorrow after it’s been in the fridge overnight. I’m optimistic that it’ll be just fine, and it wasn’t a wasted batch of milk!
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People made yogurt for millenia before refrigeration.
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On a side note, the bulgarian culture seems to have created a significantly thicker but more… flavorless (?) vs. the Greek yogurt we make. I had read on-line (somewhere) that bulgarian yogurt is indeed thicker but is also usually more tart. It’ll be interesting to see how the flavor changes (or doesn’t) w/ additional batches.
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