How To Make Hummingbird Food In the Pressure Cooker
There seems to be something magical about hummingbirds. Draw them to your yard this summer with a hummingbird feeder. I made hummingbird food in my pressure cooker all last summer. So this year, I thought it would be fun to do a post on How To Make Hummingbird Food In the Pressure Cooker.
How To Make Hummingbird Food In the Pressure Cooker
Hummingbird food is super easy to make, and making it in the pressure cooker is even easier. When you make hummingbird food in the pressure cooker you don’t even have to stir to dissolve the sugar. You just put the ingredients in and walk away until you’re ready to fill your hummingbird feeder.
I like to make more hummingbird food than I’ll need to fill the feeder. Then I just store it in the fridge until the hummingbird feeder needs to be refilled, generally every couple of days.
What Type of Sugar To Use
You want to use regular granulated sugar – just regular everyday sugar. Granulated sugar when mixed with water is similar to natural nectar.
You want to use a 1:4 ratio. One part sugar to 4 parts water. I use 1 cup sugar and 4 cups water.
Don’t use natural or raw sugars because they may contain iron that could be harmful to hummingbirds. Don’t use honey because fungus can grown in the water.
I like to cook the hummingbird food in my Instant Pot Mini Duo, because the pot fits easily in the dishwasher. However, you can make it in any brand or size of pressure cooker.
Should I Put Red Dye In My Hummingbird Food
People use to add red food coloring to their hummingbird food to attract more hummingbirds. However, red coloring is not necessary and may contain chemicals that are harmful to the birds.
So skip the red food coloring.
It’s nice to have a funnel to fill the hummingbird feeder. I really like the OXO funnel shown above. It comes in a set of two, one small and one large funnel.
I use two 16 ounce Mason jars to store the extra hummingbird food in the refrigerator. I like using jars instead of a pitcher because they take up less room in the fridge.
After you’ve filled the hummingbird feeder, you screw the bottle onto the base. If you wait until you take the feeder outside to turn it over then you avoid spilling any of the hummingbird food.
What Brand of Hummingbird Feeder To Use
My hummingbird feeder was recommend to me by my sweet friend Genene. Genene has several hummingbird feeders. This one is her favorite hummingbird feeder because she likes the size, and the glass bottle is easy to keep clean.
I like that it has a place for the bird to rest and get a good long drink if they prefer.
I bought a shepherd’s hook at the garden store to hang my hummingbird feeder on in my back yard. We love relaxing outside on our deck and watching the hummingbirds fly in for a quick drink.
The hook I bought has a little bird sitting on it and sometimes I wondered if the hummingbirds were a little intimidated by that fake bird. One bully hummingbird buzzed the bird a little bit trying to get him to fly away.
More Information About Hummingbirds
The National Audubon Society has lots of great information about Hummingbirds. The have articles on When to Expect Hummingbirds in Your Yard This Spring, How to Create a Hummingbird-Friendly Yard, as well as How to Make Hummingbird Nectar, which I used to learn how to make hummingbird food in the pressure cooker.
I hope you’re give this easy method a try. I’d love to hear about your experiences. Do you have hummingbird feeders in your yard? Have you had a bully hummingbird at your feeder as well?
Pressure Cooker Hummingbird Food
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar*
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Add sugar and water to pressure cooking pot. Stir so there’s not dry sugar on the bottom of the pot.
- Lock the lid in place. Select high pressure and 1 minute cook time. When timer beeps, turn pressure cooker off and use a natural pressure release. Remove the lid and inner pot and cool to room temperature.
- Use a funnel to fill feeder. Hang up your feeder outside and wait for the hummingbirds to come.
Notes
Note: only use granulated sugar
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Thank you for posting, I enjoyed reading the comments as well. Anyway I volunteered to help fill the feeders at my daughters school (they have been empty for a long time) I will need a big batch and this is perfect!! Awesome idea!! I’ll be sure to clean my insta pot in hot water as well!! Thank you!!
What a fun volunteer opportunity. Thanks for sharing Brittany!
Barbara, thank you for posting. I have Annas hummingbirds that live in my yard year round.
I keep anywhere from 3-6 feeders going from late winter until fall, when I drop the feeder count to 2.
I also make a slightly concentrated winter mix of 1:3. This gives the hummers the added energy that they need during the extremes in weather.
My little Anna’s female will perch in the shrub right outside my living room window in the winter. I think she draws extra heat from the closeness. Every February, the new eggs are laid in our Camellia tree. In March and April, the place is abuzz with the young. This year, batch #2 is out and about. The activity can be dizzying with them all vying for territory.
Lately, Allen hummers and Rufous hummers have been showing up more and more. My Anna’s aren’t very welcoming tho!
Char (Just outside of Seattle)
Sounds amazing! Thanks so much for sharing Char 🙂
One thing that seems to be forgotten by people making posts here(I confess that I haven’t read them ALL) is that before refilling the feeders they need to be absolutely clean. When the hummers feed they contaminate the syrup in the feeder with bacteria and mold spores. I take my feeder apart—it’s one of the feeders that have the little yellow ‘flowers’. I remove the flowers and then dismantle the thing as much as possible. I put all of the parts into a glass bowl of water to which has been added a tiny amount of Clorox. I then scrub all of the pieces with a toothbrush, removing any mold that may have built up. I then rinse the pieces very well, changing the water several times. Also important is to disinfect the bottles the excess syrup will be stored in. More than once I have gone to the refrigerator to refill the feeders and found that the syrup already had mold in it— proof that everything needs to be disinfected.
BTW, I have found that European style beer bottles— the ones with the ceramic stoppers with O-rings are super to use for the syrup. I use the same method for cleaning the bottles, and suppose if you wanted to, you could get replacements for the rings at a home-brewing supplies dealer.
Thanks for sharing your tip Will!
Thanks you for the tips on making sure the nectar is boiled to kill anything in it. Now it should last longer when hanging in the feeder. Also thank you for your kind responses to rather harsh comments/opinions. I am grateful.
Thanks so much Kathy! Have fun 🙂
We have hummers every summer, some are return visitors I’m sure. I find heating water in my kettle then pouring it into a pot to boil is faster than heating on my stove. It’s sooo slow. But I never thought of my instant pot. I am definitely using this!
Thanks Susan!!
Barbara, this is a great idea. One of the most amazing things have have ever witnessed is the hummingbird roundup, where volunteers band hummingbirds. This is is near me, I live in Pocatello, but is the closest one to you, I believe. http://hummingbirdroundup.com/
It is only done one day annually, it is always on Sunday, though. You might have the opportunity to hold a hummingbird in your hand! Pack a picnic lunch and take plenty to drink if you go, because there are no services at the ranch.
Thanks Sharon! I have never heard of a hummingbird round up. Thanks so much for sharing the link. I’ll be out of town this year, but it would be fun to go one year, especially since it’s so close.
Boiling the water is key to removing dangerous bacteria that could be passed onto the hummers. This is a great idea for making a large batch of hummer food. Always looking for different ways to use my Instant Pot! Thanks so much for posting this!
Thanks Laurie – The Audubon Society recommends boiling water, so I prefer to error on the side of caution too.
We find it just as easy to heat the water and sugar in the microwave and let it cool before we set it outside. We do not use coloring either. The hummers find the feeders just fine. In fact we have hummers come back from year to year. At least we think they are repeats. Reason is we will be watching TV and one of them always comes to the window to let us know they are back. We have been gone this weekend so we will be watching for them now that the weather has decided to be nice.
How fun that they come to the window every year.
I put one cup of sugar and four cups hot water in my container and stir it up. Voila, hummingbird food. No cooker to wash. No extra containers. No cooking. Your recipe says to stir in the pot to avoid sugar on the bottom, so how is it easier? I have been making this for years without a pressure cooker in the house
Definitely do what works for you, but either way you have to heat up the water.
I’ve fed hummers here in Ohio probably 20 years, I usually double or triple the recipie ( in a regular pan) bring to just boiling, allow to cool, ( I have 9 to 10 feeders), I refrigerate remaining nectar in a jug and just wash feeders out when i need to add more. They return annually, letting me know by hovering over my head if I’m outside or chirping at the window if I’m inside. Very fascinating, entertaining creatures God sent for us to enjoy. They can be very territorial at times, guarding the feeders and charging one another away from them. Great treat for children to watch! Good learning tool…..
I couldn’t agree more – so fun to watch!
I like to use the pressure cooker so that the water has been sterilized just in case. I made this Thursday and haven’t gone through the full container yet, but I’m sure I will
Great! They’re so fun to watch 🙂
Water needs to be boiled to kill bacteria, otherwise you could be harming the birds. I think this is a great idea to make a big batch for the summer or hotter weather when the nectar needs to be changed more often.
What a fantastic post, Barbara, thank you!!!! Never thought to use pressure cooker for hummingbird syrup! What a time saver, keeps kitchen cooler in the summer & wonderful links to hummingbird info & supplies, WOW! Beautiful yard you have there, too.
I don’t color the syrup either. I find hummers pretty much recognize the feeders, so no need. I have many bullies too & they will stake out a nearby branch, then chase any other hummer daring to come near “their” feeder.
Our hummers also have hurricane parties! During Katrina (or Rita, Gustav, etc etc, pick one ?), the wind & rain was so strong that feeders hanging under our porch were almost horizontal. (I didn’t think to take them down). Well, when a family member looked out there, we had 30+ hummers feeding, so many it was hard to try to count them all. We worried it might be dangerous for the birds, but took a vote to keep the feeders up. We made syrup the entire time (we run generators when power goes out.) September is about the time hummers start leaving us here in Louisiana & they really feed heavily at this time. We had so much fun watching them & how amazing they were still out & about during the storms. After the hurricanes pass, we still have the high number feeding preparing for migration, so hopefully we are helping them along by continuing to feed during storms!
Thanks so much Jan. We moved here about a year ago and it’s been so much to watch the spring bulbs and trees bloom for the first time. Wow, I never would have thought hummingbird would be out in a hurricane. Thanks for sharing that story.
How does this save time.? It takes me 30 seconds at most to mix 4 cups hot water and 1 cup sugar in a glass container. You can’t bring the pressure cooker up to pressure in that time.
Definitely do what works best for you. For me this is easier than heating up water and stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Thank you.. duh, duh, duh… Why haven’t I ever thought about making my own? We spend a small fortune in commercial hummingbird feeder food. We have them all winter long in Arizona, so our bird food bill can be a bit costly. Thanks so much for sharing.. I feel so dumb! LOL
Thanks Susan! How fun to have them all winter long.
The only negative I can see is if you wash your cooker w/ dish soap it can leave a slight residue that can be harmful to these tiny jewels
When you prepare your nectar. Use a stainless steel pot, and clean it with only hot water, so you don’t take the risk of contamination.
Thanks for the tip Mike.
Barbara, great time saver! I do have a question, does this method boil the syrup? I was told that when making the food that you should boil the water for a short time. That the reason for boiling is not to make syrup, but to drive out the chlorine in the water and to kill mold and yeast spores that might be in the sugar. This will help make the nectar last longer both in the feeder and in your refrigerator.
Thanks Norma! Yes, the water will boil as it comes to pressure.
Thanks for the confirmation.
Sorry, but this is just patently absurd and beyond the pale. Sugar dissolves so easily, you don’t even have to heat the water. Is stirring for 30 seconds or so REALLY such a hardship? Waste of resources.
lol – definitely do what works for you, but I don’t really understand what resources are being wasted. Sugar dissolves easiest in boiling water. The Audubon Society recommends boiling water, so I prefer to error on the side of caution.
The resources being wasted are obviously the fuel being used to heat the pressure cooker. Just mix 4 cups hot water with 1 cup sugar and stir for a few seconds. Not to mention, one needs to buy a pressure cooker if you don’t have one.
The Audubon Society recommends boiling water, so I prefer to error on the side of caution.
My thought, exactly.
I’ll have to tell my neighbor about this food. I THINK she still feeds the hummingbirds. She used to feed them, well all the birds, until bears decided to meander through, pull down bird feeders AND destroy the shepherd’s hook she had…unreal! I have hostas out front that the hummingbirds LOVE once they flower. They come by 2-3 times a day for a “snack”.
What a pretty back yard you have-and oh my goodness that view-beautiful! I can see why you enjoy sitting on the deck so much-I would too! 🙂
Thanks so much Carol! We do love the yard and the view. How fun that your hostas attract hummingbirds.