What Is a Trivet?

Trivets are small plates or tripods that absorb heat from hot plates, pans, or pots to safeguard your countertops or tables from heat damage. Over and above their protection, these home essentials serve an aesthetical function — giving a touch of beauty to your table spread. This is mostly because you can find trivets with diverse materials, colors, and sizes to match your own kitchen style.

Why Use a Trivet?

We can easily get distracted and accidentally place a hot plate, pan, or pot on the table or countertop. Even though this might not cause permanent damage when left briefly, letting the hot pot stay on your home surfaces for a longer period of time might cause aesthetic damage such as discoloration. 

This is where trivets step in. With their ability to absorb heat, these kitchen items can prolong the life of your furniture for quite some time, adding a decorative touch to your home at the same time.

What Are Trivets Made Of?

Trivets can be made of diverse materials such as metal, bamboo, felt, ceramic, and silicone — meaning materials that can resist heat without compromising their structure.

Cast Iron Trivet

As their name suggests, cast iron trivets are made from cast iron, which is a quite sturdy material that can resist high heat. As they come in various shapes and forms, we made sure to discover one that boasts an intricate yet functional design worthy of display — whether there is a hot pan or pot on top or not.

Concrete Trivet

Concrete is known for its ability to absorb and store heat, slowly releasing it when there is a colder environment. This is why concrete trivets make great heat safeguards for your home surfaces, adding a decorative touch to either your dining table or countertop.

Silicone Trivet

Silicone has a low thermal conductivity, which means that the rate at which heat passes through it is quite low — automatically leading to excellent heat resistance. Combine this with its low price, and you’ve found yourself an excellent trivet that will protect your surfaces from heat and is durable and decorative.

Do I Really Need a Trivet?

Trivets are quite helpful gadgets to have in your kitchen so yes, they’ve become a necessity rather than a luxury nowadays. Even though concrete, stainless steel, and granite can highly resist heat, there is no countertop or table material that can fight extreme heat over an extended period of time. This means that, although quite strong materials, they can eventually soften, become discolored, or become uneven in extreme cases.

Ways to Use a Trivet

Thanks to their functional and aesthetic purpose, trivets are sought-after kitchen items nowadays. Here are some other ways to use them.

Set Them on Your Dinner Table

Using a trivet on your dinner table as a way to protect it from hot pan damage is also a great way to make your dinner look fancier.

As a Centerpiece

You can use a trivet as a stylish centerpiece under your houseplants or flowers. What makes this item ideal for these purposes is not its decorative function but rather the protection they offer to your furniture from scratches or moisture.

As Big Coasters

Perfect for pinchers of cold water, use a trivet beneath to protect your surface from dripping moisture.

What Is an Instant Pot Trivet?

An Instant Pot trivet is a stainless steel rack that allows you to either pressure steam or pot-in-pot cook food.

Pressure Steaming & Its Benefits

Pressure steaming is the process that allows food to cook under pressure which is built in an enclosed environment where there is a boiling liquid that generates steam.

A significant study elaborating on the effects of different cooking methods on the vitamin C content of selected vegetables reveals that steaming retains as much as 40% more vitamin C than boiling. This speaks volumes about the significance of using an Instant Pot trivet to retain nutrients while cooking your favorite vegetables.

Another study suggests that pressure-cooked food contains more folic acid than boiled food does. 

Tips to Help You Pressure Cook Your Favorite Vegetables

To pressure cook potatoes, asparagus, beets, or squash in your instant pot, follow the tips below:

• Add two cups of water to the inner pot.
• Put the rack in the inner pot and add a steamer basket with the vegetables on top.
• If you don’t want to use a steamer basket, put the vegetables directly on the trivet by cutting them large enough to make sure they don’t fall through.

Tips to Help You Pressure Cook Meat

You can pressure kidney, liver, or even a whole chicken in your Instant Pot by following the steps below:

• Pour one to two cups of water and place the previously marinated meat on the trivet.
• If you want to intensify the flavor of the meat, pour seasoned liquids or broth in the inner pot instead of water.
• An important thing to know is that the time you need to set varies depending on the type of meat. For instance, it’s recommended to pressure cook a pound of roast chicken for eight minutes, while a pound of baby back ribs might require pressure cooking of twenty minutes.
• Make sure to use the quick pressure release method to avoid overcooking.

Pot-In-Pot Cooking

Pot-in-pot cooking is a method that allows you to pressure cook your food in a small bowl or pan on a trivet inside the inner pot. 

If you want to use the trivet for these purposes, follow the steps below.

• Pour one to two cups of water into your inner pot and place the trivet on the bottom.
• Use an oven-safe glass container to place your food directly on the trivet. Do know that there is no need to add water to this container.
• Voila — close the Instant Pot to pressure cook the food, choosing either the Quick Release or Natural Pressure Release options.

Final Thoughts

Purchasing a trivet for your home can make a tremendous difference when it comes to prolonging the lifespan of your surfaces, as it may not only protect them from heat but also moisture. To make them even more desirable, manufacturers create them in different shapes and forms that can add a decorative touch to your home.