An instant pot does come with many symbols, but what does the L symbol stand for on your instant pot? No, it is not liters like many people think. However, it is important to remember the capacity of your instant pot when you are making your favorite stews, soups, or curries, especially when you are using the L setting for its correct use.
What is the L?
The L stands for “low heat.” When it comes to cooking on your instant pot, it will go into a keep warm mode after it has finished cooking and display L next to a time. You can keep it going for as long as you feel so that the food is able to stay warm but no longer cook. However, all that great flavor is still together in the pot.
In the keep warm setting, you are going to really save a lot of time and create less worry about your food. However, be careful with certain foods you keep in the keep warm setting because they could spoil.
But the setting keeps it above 60°C, which is when bacteria start to affect food, so there is nothing to worry about on the health and safety front.
Why cook on the L?
The instant pot can cook things quickly, and keeping it on the L setting takes away the stress of making the food for a certain time. You can cook it earlier in the day and keep it warm in the pot all day.
When keeping the food warm on the L setting, it is key to remember how long you have before cooking a meal. If you have plenty of time and really want a meal to stew, then the low setting is perfect because you can then choose to throw all the ingredients into the instant pot. The instant pot will cook it quickly, and then let the pot do its magic by keeping it warm whilst you carry on with the whole day.
Some food scientists and chefs recommend cooking many recipes at a high temperature first and then reducing the heat to allow the food to soak up any juices. So, the instant pot is perfect for this. Food can all be cooked quickly, but then the L setting can keep food warm for up to 10 hours, and this still keeps the flavor even though it is just keeping it warm.
Benefits
One of the major benefits is that when you use your instant pot, it surprisingly uses less power than your standard oven. So, you are saving money, like trading forex, and the environment when you cook with an instant pot. When you leave it on the low setting for a long period of time, you are saving a ton of electricity but creating just as good food as you would cook in the oven. Some would argue even better food than what you have cooked in the oven because the food has had more time to interact with all the different flavors you have going on in the pot.
If you are one of those people who is hesitant to cook whilst you are away from home because you fear everything will burn, then how about testing the waters by cooking overnight with an instant pot. It can be a really good way to get used to cooking for long periods and allowing the food to stay warm for when you want it.
However, when leaving things overnight, it is best to avoid starchy products like rice and pasta because they will become too soft and lose their flavor.
Recipes for cooking with your instant pot can be found on all sorts of websites, and many recommend using the low setting. The main reason is for tenderizing your food, particularly your meat items. It makes it juicier and more succulent, and that is because it keeps the flavor in the pot, which in turn is soaked up by the meat.
