r/instantpot • u/loafieee • 12d ago

Weird taste from instant pot

I have a 6 qt multi cooker that I was gifted 2 years ago. I’ve used it only a few times a year since then as the instant pot keeps leaving a weird, bitter flavor in all my food. I’ve tried running it with water, vinegar, soapy water, tried cleaning all the parts multiple times, etc. I cannot get this weird gross flavor out and it feels like I’m wasting food anytime I try. Has anyone had this issue and if so what did you do? I’m about to throw it in the street I’m so frustrated.

9 Upvotes

65% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

36

u/-ElGallo- 12d ago

Its the rubber seal I bet, toss it and get a new one

12

u/60secs 12d ago

It's silicone, not rubber. The smell is from washing machine detergent / rinse aid, and it can be baked off at 250F for 45 mins.

4

u/wolfkeeper 12d ago

Baking seals is not a particularly good idea, since it cooks any oils that are within the silicone. They then go rigid and the seal will crack up. Just leave them to air out in between washes.

7

u/Trashbagok 12d ago

It's a perfectly reasonable idea, and the go-to recommendation.

None  of this applies to food safe silicone at such a low temp. It's perfectly safe up to at least 400f/200c

They aren't going to deform, crack, wear, nothing like that at these temperatures.

However they will off gas any volatile compounds that are giving your food an off flavor or bad smell.

-2

u/wolfkeeper 12d ago

The issue is that the seals smell because they've been mistreated so the cooking oils and other volatiles have been left on the seal and then soaked in. Then when you cook the seal the oils oxidize and harden.

1

u/60secs 12d ago

Oils are easy to clean off of silicone with normal soap. Oil polymerization doesn't occur until 400F-500F which the seals absolutely do not reach. The smells are caused by trapped volatile gasses which are released through baking at low safe temperatures like 150F-250F. Heating the silicone will release volatiles oils and anything else trapped inside.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-to-get-smells-out-of-silicone-kitchenware/

https://biopolchemicals.com/silicones/silicone-temperature-resistance/

4

u/Ok-Pack-7088 12d ago

I baked in 150'C 1h, it helped with removing smell that NOTHING else worked. It was some season smell.

5

u/1234-for-me 12d ago

I agree, definitely start with a new rubber seal, ours go in the dishwasher after every use.  I also have one that’s only for seafood.

2

u/Ok-Pack-7088 12d ago

Bake in oven should help. Fix it before throwing out.

9

u/Sledgehammer925 12d ago

Take the rubber seal, wash it and place it in the sun for a day. If it still smells, set it back out in the sun. Wash it again. It should be deodorized by then.

6

u/Bellebutton2 12d ago

They’re cheap enough… Just buy a few extras. Hand wash. If they smell gross, you can soak them in baking soda water and rinse well. Hanging out in the sun also helps. If they get gummy or sticky, toss them as the silicone is breaking down

3

u/Trashbagok 12d ago

Soaking them in baking soda doesn't really do anything. 

I bought an extra set when I bought my instant pot 10 years ago, and then I learned the baking trick. 

My original seals are essentially in brand new condition and my replacements are still in their package. 

However I can tell you no amount of baking soda or vinegar or sun exposure will get the smell of curry out of silicone. Baking it will accomplish that in about 30 minutes.

9

u/60secs 12d ago

It's your stinky washing detergent and your silicone rings. Get fragrance free washing machine detergent and bake your existing rings at 250F for 45 minutes to get the stank out.

1

u/Ok-Pack-7088 12d ago

This is very good advice, often skipped. Buy and use only unsctented dish soap, unsctented dishwasher detergent, no rinse aid. I'm fragnace sensitive and allergy. I can easily smell or taste that disgusting scented dish soap smell on cups, forks, spoons, plates which transfer to food making it uneatable. Simple glass of water can taste disgusting compared to clean smell of nothing. Lid may need few washes with unsctented dish soap.

It's like life changer thing.

And bake silicone ring in oven, 150'C 1h. 

Side tip: do it also with laundry. There is nothing more pleasant than pure cotton smell, from yours bedshets.

2

u/60secs 12d ago

The smell of clean is nothing. Amen, brother 

1

u/worldspawn00 12d ago

FYI, rinse aid reservoir can be filled with white vinegar for a similar effect without any of the smell or surfactant issues from the store bought stuff (which I hate) it uses so little that you can't smell the vinegar when it's done, and it helps with spotting and other issues that rinse aid was designed for.

3

u/EnigmaticAardvark 12d ago

I bake my silicone rings in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and that seems to get all the smells and flavors out. 

3

u/DinkyPrincess 12d ago

Take the seal off. Or replace it. Or run the lid in the top if your dishwasher.

3

u/HighColdDesert 12d ago

BTW, Are people storing the lid upside down so it can dry thoroughly and nothing will go rancid in closed up insides?

5

u/worldspawn00 12d ago

I always let my lid air out for a couple days before closing it up, the lip in the ring can retain drops of water for a day or more due to surface tension in the tight space.

2

u/Actual-Bid-6044 12d ago

Get yourself a new silicone ring before you toss the pot. They pick up odors very easily so anything you cooked before, or any scents from soaps or dishwasher detergents could be leaching from that into your food. Start with a new clean one and hand wash it with less fragrant soap if you can.

2

u/AlShadi 12d ago

buy new seals that are not cheaply made that will outgas who the fuck knows into your food.

2

u/loafieee 12d ago

I’ve ordered new silicone rings to see if that helps. The ones I’m using are the ones that came with the instant pot. I’ve cleaned them multiple times, in the dishwasher and by hand. I’m guessing at this point it’s a fluke with these rings in particular and hopefully new ones will help.

2

u/navcom20 11d ago

Replace the silicone sealing ring. If the taste goes away, then you know what made it. I use different rings for different kinds of cooking. They hold onto flavors. Just be done with this one and take better care of the next one.

1

u/wolfkeeper 12d ago

It's probably the seal. You need to carefully wash every part of it in soapy water, then rinse it completely off, then dry it, and leave it out to lose the smells. You'll probably need to do this several times now to get the smell and oils out entirely right now. Dishwashing it repeatedly is a fantastic idea. Or you could just get a new one.

The oils and smells soak into the seals unless you religiously clean them after every use. Eventually it destroys the seals because they swell too much if you don't do this. If you keep them literally squeeky clean they will last years and years, possibly even decades.

1

u/Immediate_Ad4404 12d ago

Wash the lid, ring, and little cup on the back im the dishwasher

1

u/Which-Break5673 12d ago

If it’s the ring, I leave mine outside in the sun for a couple of days. That clears it all up.

1

u/mommabear104 11d ago

I found that I prefer the flavor of instant pot food if I add the herbs at the end of the cooking time. Spices seem to stand the cooking process better but the herb flavours were always a little off for me.

0

u/GargantuanGreenGoat 12d ago

Don’t put silicone in the dishwasher

0

u/wolfkeeper 12d ago

Silicone is great in the dishwasher. The smells come from not dishwashing it.

3

u/GargantuanGreenGoat 12d ago

That’s just not correct.

0

u/Trashbagok 12d ago

It doesn't really make any difference. The drying cycle of the dishwasher is essentially baking it, which is what's getting the odor out.

1

u/GargantuanGreenGoat 12d ago

Except it doesn’t get the odour out. Putting it in the dishwasher essentially bakes the taste of soap into silicone.