Instant Pot Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid Air Fryer + Multi-Cooker, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Steamer, Grill, Sauté pan, Sous Vide -1500W, 6.2L, Black

Product Information

Other Instant Pot models require you to switch out the lid for a special air fry lid or offer no air fry capability at all. In fact, even with its multiple functions, the Duo Crisp has minimal accessories: just an air fry basket that stores inside the appliance. The basket and the other removable pieces — the stainless steel inner pot and pressure cooker lid — are dishwasher safe.

Press the Start button, and watch the magic happen! (Note that after several seconds without pressing Start, your unit will revert to reading "Ready" and you'll need to repeat all of the steps.) We are fans of multi-cookers in general, because they’re so versatile. Admittedly, most people won’t use most functions – we mainly use sauté, pressure cook, air fry and grill – but the choice is there when you need it. We particularly like it for batch cooking but also for busy households that might want to take advantage of functions like delay cooking. We followed the Plain Yogurt recipe on the Instant App, and were at first pleasantly surprised by how clearly the control panel walked us through the process. After adding milk, the pasteurization process started, then the machine instructed us to open the lid while the milk cooled (albeit, without a set timer), then we were told to add the yogurt starter, and the 8-hour fermentation countdown began. At home, we pressure-cooked beans, baked yellow cake and even dehydrated strawberry slices. After each test, we cleaned the multicooker by hand or in the dishwasher to assess its cleanability. We also scored whether it was easy to navigate this model's controls and to use the owner's manual.We’ve been cooking in it for a couple weeks, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about this brand-new combination pressure cooker and air fryer. EvenCrisp technology ensures tender, juicy meals with a crisp, golden finish every time using 95% less oil All, and I mean all multi cookers behave the same way. No one at T3 has ever found much difference between one model and another when it comes to the more watery-based functions like pressure cooking and steaming and the same pretty much applies to their slow cooking features, too. We found the control panel incredibly easy to navigate, especially for someone new to pressure cookers, and the material is durable and easy to clean. This model is heavy and has a large footprint, but if you're using it to replace several appliances, you might be leaving it out on your kitchen countertop (rather than pulling it out as needed, as some do with their pressure cookers).

However, it cleans easily. They have also slightly expanded the distance between the outer rim and the notches that surround the cooking pot, so it’s easier to clean. This space also clearly feeds in to an expanded condensation cup that actually collects the liquids from the lid. Unlike this model’s stablemate which has two separate lids for extra inconvenience, this model has just one lid for both pressure cooking and air frying. However, it does require removing an internal all-metal lid when air frying and this lid will be incredibly hot if you’ve just used the machine for pressure cooking or steaming, so wear gloves or use a tea towel when removing it.What’s better than an Air Fryer? An Air Fryer with the addition of the Instant Pot functions you know and love, all in one model, with just one lid! I found the dials and controls simple to use, but I'm not used to air fryers that require preheat time. David Watsky/CNET How it performs as an air fryer When it switches to the release, the matrix display will read “natural release” and then a counter counts UP from 0:00. (No L00:00 like older Instant Pot models).

If you're in the market for an appliance with many functions, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid could be a good choice.The first thing we made in this Instant Pot was a slow-cooked beef chili. Before switching the slow cooker to high for six hours, we made use of the sauté function to brown the beef and soften the onions. The Duo Crisp offers an impressive six heat levels to choose from when sautéing; we opted for level five, which took four minutes to preheat, but was about right for browning our beef. Does this mean you can throw away the oven and hob and just have one of these instead? Well feasibly yes if you live on your own in a small apartment, studio or student digs. But the upshot is that, aside from air frying, I haven’t used any multi cooker that is as easy as a set of pots and pans. I also find that pots and pans produce better looking food, but, hey, that’s just me. Nevertheless, there are thousands out there who love pressure cooking for speed and slow cooking for convenience so more power to their elbows, I say. But opening the pot after the timer ended just revealed warm milk that had slightly curdled—not yogurt. We even tested this recipe twice (to be sure there was no user error on our end) and got the same results. In the replacement lid that I was sent, the small plastic protuberance that snapped off didn't seem particularly shoddy. That said, I'd caution anyone with this model to be gentler than I was in trying to secure and remove the lid. Who should buy the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid? It's one of the most expensive Instant Pots you can buy, but this is the latest and greatest model and it comes with the most number of cooking functions as well as being the only Instant Pot that can air fry without having to switch to a second, bulky lid.