These pressure cooker accessories are going to change your life

Once you’ve gotten comfortable with a pressure cooker, electric or not, you slowly fall in love with it and use it more and more. Now you can venture into Insert Land and try even more recipes that you would have never thought you could pressure cook. Check out what you can do with these accessories.

More:9 foods you didn’t know you can make in a pressure cooker

1. Collapsible steamer

This metal basket with perforations can be set inside the vessel and can hold an assortment of vegetables to steam. Because some steamers are propped up on a little built-in stand, the trivet underneath is unnecessary. The liquid leftover from the steaming process can be used later for vegetable stock too.

2. Compartmentalized inserts

Stackable metal inserts can be used to cook multiple different types of foods for the same duration. Indians, traditionally masters of pressure-cooking, use one insert to cook basmati rice and another for lentils (to make dal recipes fast). But these compartments are useful for simultaneous cooking of many foods: vegetables, pasta, legumes and pulses, rice and desserts.

3. Instant Pot silicone lid

This Instant Pot silicone lid lets you take your cooked, one-pot meal from the cooker to the table, and later store it in the fridge without transferring the food. The lid seals tightly on the metal insert.

More: How pressure-cooking is different from slow-cooking

4. Round baking pans

You can insert springform pans to make cheesecake and smaller Bundt pans make a bundt-designed dessert or quick breads. Just measure the inside of your pressure cooker to get the right size.

5. Small custard cups or ramekins

You likely already have these in your cabinet. Individual flans and other custard dishes work well in the pressure cooker if layered properly. About six to eight 4-ounce ramekins could fit in two layers in most pressure cookers. Stack a set of four above another set of four with a trivet between them.

More: 12 reasons why pressure cookers are the new slow cookers

6. Aluminum foil

Here’s another pressure cooker accessory you already own. Why foil? Foil strips make a great sling contraption for handling hot inserts inside a pressure cooker. There are fancier slings out there as well, but the foil will do just fine. Before you begin cooking, fold a long sheet of foil lengthwise into thirds and place your insert pan on top of it so each end of the foil strip makes a handle. After your food finishes cooking, you can use those foil handles to lift your insert pan out of the pot.