The Aromatic Reason To Cook Bone Broth In An Instant Pot

Whether you're looking to cure a cold or curb a craving, bone broth is the trendy-yet-reliable way to get the job done. If you've never made it at home before, it's a little different from whipping up a batch of homemade stock. Bone broth is made from only a mixture of meat and vegetables. Your sinewy chicken and beef scraps don't belong in the pot. According to chef and food scientist J. Kenji Lopez-Alt via Martha Stewart, "[Bone broth] can be flavorful, but without collagen from connective tissue, it's about as thin as water." That's why, in order to make a flavorful bone broth, the key ingredient is time.

Made the conventional way (on the stovetop), a good bone broth can take anywhere from 12 hours on the short side, to 24 to 36 hours to be ready. The longer the better, really. Enter — the Instant Pot. According to the official Instant Pot website, with the wonder appliance, it only takes 1 to 2 hours to bang out 10 cups of steaming chicken bone broth. But, superhuman feats of time-saving strength aside, there's one perhaps-unexpected (but hugely important) reason why you should reach for your Instant Pot when making bone broth: The smell.

In Diablo Cody's 2007 cinematic masterpiece "Juno," when the titular protagonist suggests that her friend Paulie go to prom with Katrina Devoort, Paulie is expressly not into the idea. Why? Quoth Paulie: "I don't like Katrina. She smells like soup. Have you ever smelled her? I mean, her whole house smells like soup." Don't let this be you. 

Not only is 24 to 36 hours a long (and sort of dangerous) amount of time to keep your stove on, but it also means that for a day and a half, your entire house will be filling with broth smell. Don't get it twisted — we aren't talking about the cozy, soul-warming aroma of your mom's broccoli cheddar soup bubbling away for an hour or two before dinnertime. We're talking about a permeating, lingering broth smell. Sound appetizing?

As Instant Pot users know all too well, once you press "start," those cooking smells are all sealed up until the cooking time is over. This can be something of a drawback when making soups, chowders, or other dishes that you might prefer to season as you go based on the aroma. But, when it comes to hours (or even days) of slow-cooking a bone broth, you'll be thankful that all those soupy smells are neatly tucked inside the appliance.