The Instant Pot's lightning-fast cook times are a little misleading

For smaller veggies and pieces of meat, the Instant Pot's cook times are especially remarkably short. Asparagus can be cooked in the machine at high pressure in a matter of seconds. According to reports, broccoli cooks instantly and shrimp cooks in about one minute. The time it takes to cook things once the Instant Pot reaches pressure is what makes these amazingly quick speeds come with a major caveat. The device typically takes at least 10 minutes to pressurize; if you're preparing a large quantity of food or using frozen components, this time may increase.

The pressure must then be released in order to access your meal, which might take up to 30 minutes if you use the natural release. That zero-minute broccoli has suddenly changed into a 45-minute vegetable. Because of this, you should generally reserve your Instant Pot for dishes that require a lot of time to prepare. Large pieces of braised meat, dried beans, and homemade stock all cook in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours thanks to the Instant Pot. Using the Instant Pot in place of traditional cooking techniques won't result in significant time or energy savings for small items like steamed vegetables and chicken breasts.