Recipe This | Instant Pot Water Test (2024)

Instant Pot Water Test. Have you got an instant pot sat in the box? Are you an instant pot beginner? Let me show you how simple the instant pot initial water test is and how you can complete the water test at home today. Step by step photos and a You Tube video included.

But I have something even better than our instant pot water test for you to check out first.

It is our Learn Your Instant Pot online course. It teaches you how to use the instant pot, with a different topic every week for 52 weeks. Perfect for going from beginner, to confident instant pot user.

Instant Pot Water Test

I remember it like it was yesterday. The day I took delivery of my first ever instant pot. It was the Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart, and it was the 25^th of November 2016. I remember the date well because it was my daughter Sofia’s 2^nd birthday.

We had bought it in an early Black Friday sale and that Black Friday it was like the whole world was buying an instant pot, to see what all the fuss was about and to see if the Instant Pot lived up to its hype.

Of course, we had family and birthday things going on, so it wasn’t until the next when we excitedly opened the instant pot, got the instant pot out of the box and performed what is known as the instant pot water test.

I had never owned an electrical pressure cooker until this point, and I was excited by how it worked and wanted the water test to be over and done with, so that we could get to cooking in our latest kitchen gadget.

Fast forward more than 4 years and I decided to take a trip down instant pot memory lane and update for you our instant pot water test post. We are adding a You Tube video, step by step photos and sharing with you our instant pot experience.

Rather than the original introduction to the instant pot post, when we were instant pot beginners like you.

What Is The Instant Pot Water Test?

If you are new to the instant pot, the instant pot water test is probably like me trying to learn Chinese and all confusing to you.

Let me explain what the instant pot water test is all about.

You don’t want to start cooking with an instant pot that doesn’t work. Therefore, the water test is a pressure cooker test run. You are testing that your new instant pot works, prior to using it in some instant pot recipes.

It is like performing an instant pot initial test run.

Then if it is good you can then move on to cooking with your pressure cooker and be grateful that it’s done.

Instant Pot Water Test 8 Quart

I am also using my bruised and battered 8 quart instant pot pressure cooker for my water test. But you can follow this instant pot water test regardless of the size of your instant pot.

You can even follow our instant pot water test if you have a different brand of electric pressure cooker.

Just note, that you are filling your instant pot 75% full. So if you have an instant pot mini this will mean that you will need to adjust how much water you add to your instant pot.

Ninja Foodi Water Test

You can also follow these exact same instructions if you are performing a Ninja Foodi Water Test.

Just selecting pressure cook and then doing the same water test.

I own an Instant Pot 6 Quart, Instant Pot 8 Quart and a Ninja Foodi, and the water tests were all done in the same way.

Instant Pot Boiled Water For Caramel

Note that performing the instant pot water test, is like you are creating a huge pot of boiled water in your instant pot.

It takes some time to go to pressure because you have so much water, but I don’t waste the boiled water once the instant pot initial test is complete.

Instead, this water is hot enough to do 3 rounds of washing up or have a naughty treat and make some instant pot caramel.

Instant Pot caramel feels like it takes forever to go to pressure because you are using a LOT of water. But instead, what you can do is after the water test, use your boiled water for caramel.

Plus, making instant pot caramel is just submerging a can in water, so very similar to the water test and ideal for beginners.

How To Do The Instant Pot Water Test?

Doing the instant pot test run is so easy and you will wonder what all the fear was about. You simply:

1. Load up the instant pot with water.
2. Place the lid on the instant pot.
3. Set the valve to sealing.
4. Pressure cook.
5. Release pressure.

That is literally it. Its just a simple way to do a test run on your instant pot to double check that it is working.

How Long Does Instant Pot Water Test Take?

You have to think about the instant pot water test as two different times.

There is the time that it takes for the instant pot to go to pressure. This can be a long time as your instant pot has a LOT of water in it.

Then there is the 2 minutes at pressure while your water test is performed.

Depending on how powerful your instant pot is (higher the wattage the quicker to pressure) it can be anything from 10 minutes to 25 minutes to pressure.

As the larger instant pots and the Ninja Foodi have a higher wattage, they will take longer, compared to the instant pot mini.

You can speed up the water test time though. Simply use hot water in the instant pot rather than cold water. It will decrease the time to pressure by about 4-5 minutes.

Remember this for when you are using the instant pot for recipes too as it can make instant pot meals much faster.

Instant Pot Water Test Revisited

You have had an instant pot for a while and its no longer going to pressure as well as it used to. This is usually the warning sign that you need to replace your sealing ring or your instant pot lid needs a good clean.

If this happens to you, I recommend you perform the water test. That way you can see if the instant pot, on its own with just water goes to pressure.

If it doesn’t then you know you need to give it a clean and replace the sealing ring.

Instant Pot Water Test UK

If you are performing the instant pot water test from the UK, note that we are also in Europe. Therefore, we also have metric measurements and are using an instant pot that allows us to count in both cups and in litres.

You can also access our instant pot recipes category that has all our instant pot recipes in both imperial and metric.

Instant Pot Water Test Video

We have also made an instant pot water test video and you can access it by clicking here. You can also subscribe to our You Tube Channel and check out our other You Tube Videos.

Or scroll below and watch our video after viewing our step by step photos for performing the water test.

More Instant Pot Beginner Resources

We love to help instant pot beginners and have some fantastic resources for those that are new to the instant pot and finding their feet.

Here are a few resources I recommend for new instant pot users:

• Instant Pot Quick Start Mini Course
• Instant Pot Bucket List
• Learn Your Instant Pot Course
• How To Get Started With An Instant Pot
• How To Clean Your Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Accessories
• Instant Pot Mini Accessories
• 101 Instant Pot Recipes For Beginners

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