OK, show of hands: Who has an Instapot, or similar modern pressure cooker, and hasn’t been confident enough to use it? Whether you bought one, received it as a gift or are considering a purchase, don’t miss Globe Library’s new Instapot/slow cooker class at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17.

The Library’s newest Adult After Hours program, this monthly creative cooking workshop for adults focuses on learning how to use a slow cooker or Instapot. And perhaps the best part?
“We will have food to sample as well as preparing a dish at the program that we can eat,” pledged the event flyer, “We will also be giving out recipes and will have three-ring binders to build a personal cookbook.”

What’s so great about Instapots?

An Instapot isn’t just a pressure cooker; you can use them to sear, brown and sauté food like a stove-top skillet. Settings allow you to steam delicate foods (fish, eggs, vegetables), and you’ll be amazed at the fluffy, perfect rice from your Instapot -- perfectly-cooked beans, too. Creative home chefs use them to bake bread, cakes, flan and even cheesecake. They can even be set for classic crock-pot slow cooker recipes too. Popular cooking and recipe website tasteofhome.com expands on that question with an article listing “reasons-we-love-the-instant-pot,” which includes:

* It’s programmable. The Instapot has microprocessor-controlled programming features that offer one-button timing for cooking a multitude of foods including “soup,” “meat/stew,” “poultry” and “bean/chili” buttons. It can also cook rice and grains, with one-touch buttons for each. You can override all of these instant features with manual settings.

* It takes the fear out of pressure-cooking. We’ve all heard horror stories about the dangers of pressure cookers - lids blowing off, steam causing burns. Well, the Instapot comes with several important safety features that make it far less risky to use. Read the instructions carefully, and don’t be in a hurry to use the quick-release (QR) mode. This feature vents steam rapidly, which is OK for vegetables; but with red meat, it’s best to let the dish sit for about 10 minutes after the cook time is complete.