 Today on Six Sister Stuff, I'm explaining the 10 most common mistakes you're making with your Instant Pot. So my name is Kristen Hills. I am also somewhat of an Instant Pot master. Okay, some people say that, some people don't, but I love using my Instant Pot and I love teaching people how to use the Instant Pot. So if you are brand new to the Instant Pot and need a little bit of help, watch this video. We will take you through every step of the way of things you might be doing wrong. But before we jump into the video, in case you missed it, we announced our Instant Pot course. This is a course that can help you every step of the way, teach you how to use it. It goes from unboxing to the water test to all kinds of recipes, simple basic ones and dinners that you can make for your family. So if you're interested in that course, it is only $37 right now. I'll put a link down below in the description for you. This is perfect for people who are new, people who want to try different recipes, or if you know someone who needs a little bit more help with the Instant Pot, this is a perfect gift for them. So the first mistake people make is that they forget to put their inner pot into their Instant Pot. They actually accidentally pour all of their stuff into this, which is not something you want to do because, yep, you could ruin it. So always make sure you put your inner pot in, then you can put in all your ingredients and liquid. The second mistake people are making is that they overfill their Instant Pot. So on here, on most pots, there's a little max line. It tells you where the max is. They suggest not going over that max. Now, the only exception is if you have a big piece of meat that's going over it, it's not going to fill the whole entire thing. It goes up a little bit, but the edges will be free. That makes sense. So just make sure if you fill all the way to the top and you expect to cook it, it's going to either explode or it actually won't even pressurize. So just word of warning, try and stay below that max line. Number three, when you're using the quick release, so when you're pushing the little knob that goes from sealing to venting, or like this one, some Instant Pots, you can just push a button. That's how you let all the pressure out. Some people push that button too soon. So my suggestion is if you have very foamy foods like thick soups or potatoes or anything like that, and pasta. A lot of pasta will cause, when you pressurize, a lot of nasty stuff to come out. So if you're cooking those types of things, any starchy or really, or if your pot's really full, I would suggest letting your Instant Pot release on its own for a little bit before turning your knob to venting or before pushing the button just to let it relax so it won't explode all over your kitchen. Alright, if you're brand new to the Instant Pot, you're all excited. You put your food in, you put your lid on, you're ready to go. So you're going to await. Lots of people forget to set the timer, to set how long they need to cook it for. So sometimes they will put all their food in and walk away expecting it to cook. It's not going to cook unless you set the pressure cook and then the timer. So just make sure you're always going to set a timer when you're cooking your food. Mistake number five. Now this I think is the most common mistake. This is the most common mistake that I make. So when you put your lid on, you're ready to go. Lots of times you forget to turn this little knob to ceiling. It's only going to cook if it's on ceiling. If it's on venting, it's not going to cook. So I always say ceiling, not venting. Hopefully you can remember that little phrase as you're cooking your food. Mistake number six. Now these pots are wonderful. They go in your Instant Pot, they work great, but they do not go on your stovetop. So I would not ever suggest even putting this on your stovetop for a minute because if it accidentally turns on, you're not only going to kill your pot, you might kill your stovetop too. So biggest mistake is people put this on their stove, they turn it on. It's a giant mess. So keep it in your Instant Pot. Mistake number seven is the liquid part. Now I talk a lot about you need more liquid, you need more liquid, you need more liquid because you need liquid to pressurize. So a lot of people think that they can just throw things in and it's a thick liquid when actually that will cause your Instant Pot to burn on the bottom and it won't pressurize without that thin liquid. So just make sure you don't have a lot of thick liquid or you might need a little bit more liquid. So I suggest a fourth of a cup to half a cup of liquid, even up to eight cups of liquid. You just need liquid for it to pressurize. Alright, mistake number eight. Now people love to clean their Instant Pot, which everyone should and lots of times you take out your ceiling ring as you're cleaning your Instant Pot. The biggest mistake people make is that they forget to put the ceiling ring back in. So they just put it on their Instant Pot and expect it to pressurize and they can't figure out why it's not working. It's because you don't have a ceiling ring. So make sure your ceiling ring is nice and fit and secure. This should not be able to wiggle. So just make sure you put it in all the way around and then your Instant Pot will pressurize. The ninth biggest mistake people make is that they use the functions on the sides incorrectly. So let's say there's the rice button on here. So we're going to push the rice button. The rice button is set for 12 minutes. This is one reason I don't love using these functions. So white rice actually cooks for seven minutes. Brown rice actually cooks for about 20 minutes and then wild rice cooks for about 24 minutes. You're going to cook it with 12 minutes. What rice are you cooking? It doesn't even know. So these functions automatically set your timer. When that's actually something you don't want to do, you want to be able to set your own. So that's why I love using the pressure cook button or the manual button because you get to pick and choose how long you cook your things for. And the last biggest mistake people make is that they forget to check their plug. Lots of times I will get a comment like, my Instant Pot's not working. I don't know why it's not working. And so I always suggest maybe check your plug because even if it's a little bit loose, it won't turn on and your power won't work. So make sure it's nice and snug before you can start cooking with your Instant Pot. All right, I hope these tips were helpful for you. Now don't forget to check out our Instant Pot course. It will help you every step of the way. You can find that down below in the description. You can also check out our How to Use an Instant Pot 101. Perfect for beginners. You can find that video right up there. And I'll see you guys next time. Bye.