Review on Efficiently Cooling Instant Pot QuickCool Tray for Evo Series: One Size Solution by Rolando Munoz

I've been waiting for this accessory for months after receiving my 8qt Duo Evo Plus over Christmas. I tested the trayless quick chill feature by simply placing 2 ice cubes (the maximum amount of liquid it can hold) on the lid and while messy, it significantly reduces the time to natural release. I had expected even more performance from the actual QuickCool Tray, as it can hold a significantly larger volume. The tray itself is well built with an aluminum base for quick heat conduction, aided by a silicone chamber for storing water or ice cubes. It seems very durable and I'm not worried about it falling apart any time soon. The brief instructions on the packaging tell you to either fill your bladder with water and freeze it for a few hours, or if you're in a hurry, just fill your bladder with ice cubes. For testing, I chose the method of freezing water. I then filled the pot with 2 liters of water and pressure cooked for 5 minutes, noting the time elapsed from the end of the cook cycle until the pressure valve dropped. Results: Normal natural release: 23 minutes 19 seconds. Natural release with QuickCool Tray: 11 minutes 2 seconds. heat through the lid. This greatly reduced the release time, but it was slightly below the advertised "70% faster". Is this accessory generally worth $10? My answer would be: maybe. If you cook a lot of soups and stews that make a mess when using Quick Release and hate waiting for the 20+ minutes that the natural release takes, then this might be for you. To be honest, I think this accessory should be bundled with the Duo Evo Plus in the first place.