Mueller UltraPot 10-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker 6 Quart | 8 Safety Features, Rice/Slow Cooker, Sauté, Yogurt Maker | Custom & Pre-Set Functions with Tempered Glass Lid | Perfect for Meal Prep, Family Dinners & Healthy Cooking

MY BACKGROUND:I cook and bake a lot and have been expanding my food horizons/methods based on interests in international foods the last few years. I had always been content with a griddle, an oven/stove top, a large crock pot, a deep fryer, and a gas grill. Recently I got an Aroma rice cooker as well that I'm still testing/trying to figure out and I've had a Kitchenaid tilt head mixer with ice cream maker and peeler/shredder attachments for over 4 months that was my biggest kitchen purchase ever that has been really worth it (not sure why I was anti-stand mixer for over 30 years).I never even really paid attention when instapot stuff became all the rage. But lately I became curious about pressure cooking and having a multi-function cooker in my kitchen in hopes that I could make food more quickly and make new/better dishes.I tend to avoid the "most popular" brands of things and look into other brands that actually have better reviews and can be just as good/better. I had purchased a Mueller Pro Vegetable chopper (mostly for onions and making pico de gallo) which was recommended by a youtube channel I watched and it's worked excellently so when I saw they made a product comparable to an instapot I did my extensive research.I think my biggest concern was is there a product out there that is not overly complicated in an attempt to be "easy for everyone" and safety features that are common sense. I am not intimidated by technology or buttons or modes, I read all manuals and how to videos and tips/tricks videos available. But, I find with many things, I tend to only use a few of available options and I don't like when things are generalized or counter intuitive just to try and force people without common sense to be unable to kill/explode/scald themselves.ARRIVAL/PACKAGING:The product arrived fast and well-packaged. It is in an outer cardboard box that does describe what is inside but is not the actual box itself. The box itself is snugly inside the shipping box. The product is well packaged with bubble wrap, plastic, and styrofoam. Everything was mint except the recipe book and use manual smashed into a permanent u-shaped crumple at the very bottom (it was apparently tossed in on top of the bottom styrofoam insert and the ultrapot was placed down on top of it!)The easy step guide sheets are fine but you have to dig through the manual to confirm exactly how the glass lid handle is put together and I never found where the condensation reservoir goes but just spun the ultrapot around until I found something that looked promising. There are two pictures I uploaded of the broken glass lid handle/knob assembly. When I started tightening the screw there was an extremely large crack noise and the handle base (plastic) had cracked and the edge looked broken/jagged. It was no where near tightened yet at this point (whole thing spins around). I figured I might as well snug it up to see how far in the screw had to go and a few more turns and it did tighten and stop spinning (albeit a big annoying crack present). When I was going through the packaging, I was shocked to notice now that the little baggie that the glass lid hardware was in contained black dust and tiny pieces- so I now know the edge was broken when I got it, I didn't notice, and upon installation the whole thing cracked and broke likely due to previous damage and not over-tightening. Still, it seems brittle and my one concern would be if it's taken apart to clean under the layers, it should probably be something more flexible/durable.Each and every piece was individually wrapped/placed. The lid is nice and secure. I've still only used it a few times and so it's tight and kind of sticks to the inner pot when removing but not a big deal and is supposed to do that less over time. The vent is a bit weird/wobbly when in open position. The lid can be propped on either side of the outer pot handle slots but it doesn't fit in snugly in one set position- it goes in and then tilts/rocks slightly forward or back. It doesn't wobble when in but you can move it's angle and I'm not sure why. The cord is nice- 53 inches in length (from one end to tip of prongs) and it's a nice quality but with a lot of memory.MENU/NAVIGATION:Menu/settings/use. Even after I read instructions, there was a learning curve with navigating in that once you press a setting, there is a 5 sec pause before it starts running. If you have forgotten setting, time, level etc, it'll start going in the seconds it takes you to go double check the recipe and then you just have to stop it and start over. It's not a problem and doesn't set you back in time or anything but it's best to have it down what all you need to press/select for things ahead of time.INITIAL SET UP/STEAM TEST:I did the steam test (3 cups of water- I used hot tap water), and at 6 min there was steam venting and that weird first time electronics getting hot smell. The pre-heat took 8 min and then the actual steam mode set for 5 minutes started. Then the machine beeps and automatically starts the Keep Warm function (counts up).FIRST USE!:I then worked my way up to making macaroni and cheese (I used cavatappi/cellentani pasta), I had no evaporated milk, I don't like mustard and I didn't want to use eggs either because then I'd have to heat it back up to over 165 F). So I literally barely followed the recipe. I weighed the pasta so at least that exactly matched the recipe, dumped in water, and put in a little salt. I closed lid, ensured vent was closed, and pressed Pressure Cooker (automatic pressure setting with this is the high pressure which was needed, automatic time was 25 minutes so I used the arrow to change it to 4 minutes as the recipe called for.Within 11 minutes steam was venting, at 12 minutes the preheat was over and the pressure cooking mode was running. After four minutes the machine beeped and automatically went to Keep Warm Setting. I elected todo the quick release method and it was a prolonged Old Faithful geyser (I should've added a little butter or oil to keep the froth down). It was pretty strong and spluttery so over the course of 10 minutes I vented it manually (with a now saturated oven mitt and very wet counter). Then I opened up the ultrapot and the pasta was perfectly al dente (5 min would've given very soft pasta), and there was about a cm of water left in the pot. I left it on keep warm for a few minutes then decided to just strain the pasta and replace it back in the pot. I added some seasoning, milk, butter, and cheeses and stirred it and it turned out AWESOME.Later today I'm make pork shoulder tacos al pastor!THOUGHTS SO FAR:I'm definitely keeping this thing (the fate of my rice cooker will depend on me testing making rice in this thing, though I can see how having two methods of cooking rice when preparing a multi-course meal comes in handy). It is well made and since I cook so much it's not going to collect dust. The price is very good ($79 plus 5% off currently), especially when compared to instapot options of similar size/function.I like the format and menu. It's very customizable so you can follow any recipe and adjust things for personal preference, amount differences, etc while also having easy presets. I don't think negative feedback should be given based on success of these types of things since there is so much variability, things may be tweaking and with the effort required to use this thing and clean up afterwards, I can't see complaining that you have to press more than one single button press to make a fabulous dish.I have a lot of dishes I've always made with other methods that I'm excited to try in this thing (zuppa toscana soup for one!) where many ingredients and desired textures/done-ness and safe minimum temperatures will all be variables in if it will be successful. I make a lot of meat and potato dishes and (hopefully) will be harvesting many pounds of gourmet fingerling potatoes in the next month.I think it comes with a great set of included accessories. Usually I do so much research and make so many plans that when I get an appliance I automatically get extras I think/know I'll use ahead of time. At this point I don't think I need anything extra!As I'm learning from my rice cooker, clean up is annoying but important and there are always concerns with lingering odors if things aren't cleaned/dried and left open to the air.The unit is sizable but fits nicely on my counter top, however, as expected, you can't fit it under cabinets on your counter with the lid set upright. There is a photo uploaded showing the 8 cup max rice cooker on the left and the Mueller Ultrapot on the right.STILL ON THE FENCE?If you are someone who wants to expand your meal prep horizons, who promises not to use this device drunk/impaired, who doesn't mind being strict with yourself on proper clean up/maintenance, and you want to make more awesome food at home, you should consider buying this. Really any recipe out there for instapot will work with this product (searching for 'Mueller Ultrapot recipe' on youtube doesn't get you much of anything but that's OK, there's 12 billion instapot recipes out there) I can't see I'll use the yogurt making, canning, or cake functions ever (but you never know), but the soup, poultry, rice, pressure cooker, meat/stew, slow cook, saute etc all make it worth while. The price is good enough that even if there's only 2-3 modes you think you'd use regular it might work well for you.After my pork adventure tonight I will add an update and will be working on a full video review once I've used it a few weeks.UPDATE AFTER 11MONTHSI LOVE this thing. I still use it at least 3-5 times a week. My local grocery store always has enormous packs of chicken breasts buy one get one free so I do 2 batches- load it full with one pack and water to make plain chicken that I later chop to use on a lick mat for my dog, and the second pack I make using broth, herbs, seasoning to make for myself. It comes put perfect to eat as is or I can throw it on the grill a few minutes or chop it and make chicken fried rice. I use the remaining broth to cook chopped potatoes then I drain the water after and add butter milk, butter, salt, chives, sour cream and make the best best mashed potatoes ever (every week as I make homemade butter in my kitchenaid mixer and the resulting butter and buttermilk get all used.I love making homemade Mac n cheese, soups, stews, and roasts.The plastic handle of the glass lid has broken very easily twice but the company has responded immediately and sent me a new one free each time (first time it took 2 weeks second time I had it in a week).The pork for tacos al pastor is to die for, it seems like it was slow roasted for 24hr.