Why do the contents in my Instant Pot suddenly start to boil when I quick release the pressure?

01 Feb Why do the contents in my Instant Pot suddenly start to boil when I quick release the pressure?

Posted at 16:34h in by Jules Sherred 0 Comments

When the Instant Pot reaches pressure, the contents inside are actually under pressure. Think of reaching pressure as a big plunger coming down from the lid and compressing the food. When the contents are under pressure, they heat up but they have no room in which to boil. When something is under pressure, it reduces the time needed to cook something by a lot. Unless you are cooking a whole chicken or roast, it’s very rare that you need to set your time to more than 10 minutes under High Pressure.

The reason why the contents boil when you do a quick release is because the steam is displacing so quickly, the contents inside are at boiling temperature finally have room to boil as the “plunger” moves up. Contents can’t boil under pressure, even though they reach boiling temperature, because they have no room in which to boil.

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Jules Sherred

hello@disabledkitchenandgarden.ca

Jules Sherred is a gender noncomforming autistic disabled trans man. He has lupus with many secondary disorders, including but not limited to, psoriatic arthritis in every joint, fibromyaligia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic migraines, and antiphospholipid syndrome -- a bleeding and clotting disorder. He also has Complex Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (C-PTSS). He has found great physical and psychological relief in Instant Pot-ting and AeroGarden-ing. After coming up empty trying to find disability resources, written by disabled people, on how to create a disability-friendly kitchen and garden that has multiple benefits, he decided to take matters in his own hands by sharing what he has learned.