So far, as a newbie, here is my experience. FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS TO THE INCH/SECOND/AMOUNT, ETC. Also, today in a rush to do potatoes and carrots, I dropped the pressure on the potatoes so I could get started on the carrots, and now I have 5 quarts of potatoes with no water in them. I did the carrots per the instructions and didn’t cut any corners, and they came out perfect. Mashed potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 2 weeks. I learned.