Instant pot is a real miracle for those who don’t like having plenty of kitchen appliances to use them for cooking!
This single device is able to provide you with any kind of food, from soups to garnishes and even yogurts and bakery, and they even say that it is possible to boil water in it!
Is it really so or not?
Well, this is the major question and the puzzle that we are going to solve today in this very article! Today you will learn whether it is possible to boil water in an instant pot and how this can be done exactly.
Also, we will tell you what mode to use for that, and what types of boiling programs this appliance basically has.
Related: How Long Does Instant Pot Take to Preheat?
What to Do To Boil Water In Your Instant Pot?
If you already have this appliance, there is no need for us to tell you how handy it can be sometimes.
We use instant pots for making soups and stews, for boiling rice and for steaming vegetables.
This wonderful device allows the food to remain healthy and nutritious due to the use of steam instead of oil for cooking.
But also, it is very versatile: just imagine that the very same appliance can cook, boil, and even bake!
However, quite many owners of this wonder keep on asking how to boil water in an instant pot. Is there any sense in doing that, some of you may ask. All of us have kettles at home today, so what is the point in using an instant pot?
Well, anything can happen and perhaps, your kettle is busy right now, when you urgently need to heat up some water.
No matter what the reason is, we are going to figure out more about boiling water in your instant pot.
In particular, we will explain how to do it providing you with a step by step instructions.
- First of all, fill the inner pot with a cup of water
- Then, put the lid on top of the instant pot and lock the valve
- Make sure that the pot is on high pressure before you select the cooking time. Typically, this amount of water takes just four to six minutes on high heat to boil. You can set it by pressing the timer button before the indicator reads 5
- After you do all this, allow the device to work for five minutes or so
- When the pot reaches pressure, it will begin counting down from 5 to 0 automatically
- After three minutes, your cooker will beep, letting you know that the water has boiled. Then it will automatically switch to the keep warm mode
- If you want to, you can switch your instant pot off by pressing the off button
- Before you remove the lid, we suggest you allow some time for your instant pot to release the pressure
- Finally, take the lid off and carefully pour out the boiled water
As you can see, there is absolutely nothing difficult about this procedure. Boiling water in your instant pot may indeed require a bit more effort and extra actions to take, but still, in general, the procedure is simple and easy to repeat. In addition, it is very fast which is good if you need hot water right now.
Can You Boil Water In An Instant Pot?
Well, as you have already guessed, boiling water in an instant pot is possible. With an instant pot, you can easily and effectively boil water just like you would do when using a kettle.
This is why, in fact, quite many of us make use of our instant pots as substitutes for a water kettle!
In addition, this kitchen device is able to boil your water really fast: thanks to the pressure that builds up inside of the pot, it gets very hot. As a result, the liquid that is inside gets boiled really quickly.
Related: Can You Use a Propane Grill Indoors?
What Program to Use For Boiling Water In an Instant Pot?
So now that you know you can boil water in an instant pot, some of you may ask a reasonable question.
What program to use for that? Indeed, this device has quite many different modes that are used for cooking different types of dishes, but which one of those is suitable for mere water boiling?
When boiling water in an instant pot, the optimal mode that you can use is the “saute” regime.
It will allow you to easily boil water in the traditional way just like you would do it using a kettle. Or, as an option, you can make use of the pressure cooking mode to boil it.
And if you wonder how to use the sauté function of your instant pot to boil water correctly, grab this simple guide:
- Press the “sauté” button on the control panel of your device
- Using the “adjust” button, set the temperature to Normal, More, or Less
- Then, allow the pot to reach “sauté” temperature
- Once the cooking device reaches the desired boiling temperature, the indicator on the screen will change to “hot”, and this is when you can start
- Pour your water into the pot and allow it to boil. However, do please note: each Sauté cycle will last around thirty minutes. But if you need to, it is possible to stop it any time by pressing the “cancel” or “keep warm” button!
This is actually how to boil water in an instant pot on saute mode. Nothing super complicated, so you can easily use this regime each time you need to get some boiling water but your kettle is already busy.
What Kinds Of Boil Does an Instant Pot Use?
Typically, when boiling water with the help of an instant pot, you will have two distinct boiling options. One is called a full boil and another one is a slow boil. What is the difference? Well, let’s try to figure this out.
As all of you surely know, a full boil temperature is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also often called a real boil or a rolling boil. You can easily define that the water has reached this boiling point if you take a look into your pot.
When all the water in the pot has fast-flowing waves of bubbles, this is what is called a full boil.
For example, using the pressure cooking mode in your instant pot will result in a full boil.
Another boiling stage is called a slow boil. A slow boil temperature is 205 degrees Fahrenheit (just reminding you that!). When water bubbles around the surface without the intensity of a full boil, it means that the liquid is at a slow boil.
You will pass through a slow boil stage for sure if you use the “sauté” mode to boil water in your instant pot, for example.
Is It Possible to Boil Water In My Instant Pot Without Covering It With the Lid?
This is quite a frequent question that the owners of this cooking device ask after they buy it and start using it at home. In most manuals, you will find information that says you should always keep your instant pot tightly closed with the lid while it is working, no matter whether it is boiling water or cooking a meal for you.
But is it possible to skip that step? Yes, in fact, you can do that. It is possible to boil one or two cups of water in an instant pot using the “sauté” cooking regime while still keeping the lid off.
Of course, you need to take into consideration that larger amounts of water will boil faster if the lid remains on and if you are using the pressure cooking function to do that.
But with the lid off, the sauté function works pretty well for small amounts of water (up to two cups). And it will take about three minutes to boil water this way.
Is It Safe to Boil Water In an Instant Pot?
People often ask how safe it is to use instant pots for boiling water. Let’s see what we can say about this concern.
Well, the very first thing that you should know is that it definitely is safe to boil water in an instant pot!
When boiling water, you only need to pay extra attention to two things: the heat, and the splatter.
Heat
Let’s start with the heat. See, the heat kicked out by boiled or currently boiling water is generally considered to be dangerous in a kettle or on the stove because the outer layer of the vessel is typically not at all insulated.
Instead, touching that outside layer may simply deliver all of the accumulated heat directly to your hand!
Of course, as you know, that might result in painful burns. This means that you can really hurt yourself with little to no thought – even accidentally.
However, with instant pots it is totally different. First of all, because these devices have several coats of insulation and inside shielding between the hot interior and the outer layer of the appliance. In fact, you can touch the walls of an instant pot while it is cooking or boiling, and not even feel any heat at all!
Splatter
Splatter is another common problem that boiling water can produce. Mostly, it is considered to be it because splatters come with two major complications. One of them is the splatters themselves caused by boiling.
As all of you know, it can result in small portions of boiling and hot water being flung across your kitchen often ending on you. Ouch!
There is also such a thing as a steam splatter. The steam splatter is not quite a splatter in fact, at least, it is not like a water splatter. But it is still considered hazardous to a certain point. Whenever you are boiling a kettle or a pot of water, a column of steam will rise from the water’s surface. And if you are too close to the kettle or a regular pot at that very moment, you can get burned by the steam!
However, when you are cooking or boiling in an instant pot, neither of these problems will show up. The surface of the water is covered by the lid of the pot that serves as a sort of a shield, meaning that no splatter of any type will even have a chance to exist.
Conclusion
So, this is what we were going to tell you about boiling water in your instant pot. Now you know that this can be done, and this can be done quite successfully!
Moreover, we have figured out that it is possible to use two different boiling modes to get some hot water whenever you need it.
An instant pot is a great kitchen helper that can make your life easier saving you tons of time on cooking! And now you also know that you can utilize it not only for making stews, soups, or veggies, but also for simply boiling water! A great help in fact, especially if you have a big family and your kettle almost never stops boiling water!
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