The most surprising thing to me is that Pyrex alone isn't able to carry the entire corporation. They've also got Corelle and CorningWare. What the fuck, guys?
Pyrex isn't the draw it used to be. People know that it's not as good now as it used to be (even if it's still fine), so they're not loyal to the brand when it comes time for replacements.
I was curious, so I checked. They have been owned by a PE firm (Cornell Capital) since 2019. Seems about par for the PE course.
Little better than pirates. They had to know monetary policy would change following the last several years of upsets.
Is this one of those cases where everyone who wants one already has one, so they're not selling as many anymore?
I'm thinking probably, yeah. There's always a market of customers who are fitting a kitchen for the first time, but I doubt it's enough to sustain the expectations they built off the launch sales. They have other brands under their wing but I don't think pyrex sales are high enough to subsidize the huge amount of licensed re-skins instant pot has been putting out to, as you put it best, people who already own instant pots.
Whatever happens to the Instant Pot brand, I hope that computerized cooking is here to stay.
After using things like the "keep warm" function, the "saute" function that shuts off if things get too hot, etc., cooking on the stove seems primitive. How often do you want to heat something until it boils, and then lower the heat so it simmers. Why can't the stove notice the boiling and lower the heat?
Instead of recipes saying that something should be fried at high heat, give a specific temperature and have a smart stove it it and maintain it. Instead of setting a timer to remind you to turn down the heat after 20 minutes, tell the stove to do it.
Did you check out the ninja grill thingy with the temperature probe?
Bye bye warranty?
Instant Brands will continue operating as usual during the bankruptcy process with help from $132.5 million in new financing.
It's Chapter 11 reorganization, not a liquidation. I think they're big enough that they're not going to go anywhere, but they have to adopt a new, much smaller, business model, since pressure cookers aren't as cool as they were 5 years ago.
We use our Instant Pot at least weekly. My wife uses it all the time to cook chicken to use in other recipes. Or to make baked potatoes, or even to make homemade Mac and cheese (cook the pasta super fast and then use the sauce setting to mix in cheese, etc).
Interesting, how is pressure cooked pasta?
I have a pressure cooker, but haven't used it much. Been vegetarian for a few years now, and before that I liked to do all day sous vide meats.
Not op but have used an IP to cook pasta. I could absolutely see the appeal.
Ultimately I use the stove top but that's for 2 main reasons:
1 Being UK based, I have electric kettles and enough power in the sockets to drive them. Combined with a gas stove that means quick meals are quicker.
2 The IP will fully cook the pasta and easily overcook it, I prefer pasta underdone if anything.
Stove top just grants more flexibility for doneness for various thicknesses of pasta at the cost of another pan.
So if 1&2 don't apply to you give it a shot.
Oh no! I've got an instant pot and quite like it. I have had mine years though, maybe that's part of the issue.
What is the ticker? I wonder if the bonds are stupid cheap now so I can get paid out
Edit: nm they were private
I know a lot of people that love Instant Pots. I had one and used it rarely. My wife hated it. We gave it away and got an air fryer, also by the Instant Pot brand (the Vortex or something). I use that thing all the time.
That said I'm not too surprised at this. Many people I've talked to express no interest in one or had the same experience I did.
So interesting, because we tried an air fryer (not a dedicated one, but a toaster oven with air fryer capability) and found that we just got stale food that took forever to cool. The Instant Pot is great for cooking beans, caseroles, soups, yogurt, boiling eggs, and creating other awesome, gloppy foods that my Midwestern sensibilities liked. We don't use ours a ton, but I'm glad we have it.
Haha yes! If you love slop, you'll love the Instant Pot!
Though, all I use mine for these days is cooking dried beans or making stock. Which I use to make slop.
Love our air fryer for wings, bacon (perfect, every time), breaded shrimp, reheating pizza, fries. Instant pot is key for ribs, chili, goulash, roasts, soup.
Once upon a time we had multiples of both but I think we pared down to just one instant pot and one double air fryer. Hopefully we still have a spare one somewhere because making wings takes a long time and I can barely cook a meal for four at once in the double fryer. If we have any guests or I want to make a side of fries, need another fryer.
We bought the smallest version some years back. The idea was to use it to replace our rice cooker with something multi-purpose.
The rice cooking function takes 12 minutes at pressure, and the Mini InstantPot takes 8 minutes to get up to pressure, for a total of 20 minutes. This is the same as a dedicated rice cooker, so it's a wash in that respect. The big difference is that you loose very little water to steam, compare to the rice cooker. So you use about a 1:1 ratio of rice to water. The results are good.
So our InstantPot is guaranteed fairly regular use just from that, and anything else is just a bonus.
You have to put in a lot of upfront work with the pressure cookers. Re-thinking the way you used to do your recipes and adapting them is a lot of work I've found. But I will say, it was worth the time investment once you figure it out. You make fewer dishes and you use less water. And the biggest plus is probably, no more babysitting it on the stove.
EDIT: Oh and once you figure out a recipe, it comes out the exact same way every time because it's all so much more precise.
I basically only ever use my instant pot if I'm 1) cooking a lot of something at once or 2) the weather is too hot for cooking on the stove/oven. Poor thing's collecting dust waiting for a day when I'll finally want 6 quarts of chicken noodle soup lol
Ramen broth is magic in the thing. And it freezes well.
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