Pressure cooking

[duggie]

Some years back, I had some heart trouble. It is just a condition I can manage, and I live a normal life, but it did beg the question of taking better care of myself. I take a bit of exercise, and now with the ebike more, and i think this will be my way into exercise. Then there is booze....well, I like a drink, and will not give that up, but I drink less than i used to. Smoking, well I enjoy that. I'm not a heavy smoker, but it's still not a good thing and I hope to cut it right down. Then there is stress, and I think I avoid what i can, but it still comes along with one thing and another. It is difficult to do well without some loss. But I have found a thing which has no loss at all, only gain, and this is with what I eat, and it is this which I wish to share with you.

For some years i was living half my time on a boat, and I needed to think about saving on cooking gas as it has to be bottled and it's a chore to change them. I remembered my mum in the 70s when I was a kid. She had a pressure cooker. She'd get home from work and lob stuff into this pan and bang it on the heat and it hissed and fizzed and very soon there was this large pan of great grub, a broth with dumplings. It cooked stuff quick, so I decided to get one and have a go.

Well, I have been working with these things now for five years, I say things because I bought four of them eventually, different sizes. Anyway, I discovered that it is not speed of cooking which is what it is about, but rather a more tame cooking. Once the pan is up to boiling I turn the gas right down, and i mean to that point where the flame is just tiny bobbles of flame just before it goes out, and i hold it there for an hour or so, then turn it off and let it cool. It uses hardly any fuel, and there is no steam to steam the room. The food is exquisite and tender, the goodness and flavour kept in. I put carrots and things in whole. The result is amazing meals, cheaply and easily cooked, impossible to get wrong. I put veg in, some meat, anything, and then salt, pepper, garlic, chili flakes, and paprika, and some flour. i pour in boiling water, bring it to the boil, turn it down, give it an hour or so and let it cool enough. Naturally, there is more than one meal, and a massive pan is just as easy as a small pan. It's just a win, win, win. But the main thing is that it is fresh food, and I know what is in it......nothing bad for my heart. It's also cheaper. But it is just so tasty, too. It takes no time to put the stuff in the pan. It is amazing. It is just sooo easy and neat.

They don't cost much to buy. Mine are stainless steel, not aluminium. They are very well made. I use the straightforward type, vinod, with the weight on top. A 5.5 ltr would do.

I seriously recommend you try. There is no danger. If it let's off steam, then just tap the weight down again and turn the flame lower. I would not be without a pressure cooker. If doing beef, put some chicken in as well as they make a good flavour. it is a game changer and takes care of all your day-to-day cooking, and all healthy and with no hidden fats and whatever else they sneak in there with processed foods. Melts in your mouth, and really really tasty. Promise you.

 

[fooferdoggie]

now they have this thing called a instant pot welcome to the future

 

[rayray]

My mother used a pressure cooker quite often when I was a kid. My wife and I use one, but not often. I’m not sure why we don’t, because it’s as easy and delicious as @duggie says.

now they have this thing called a instant pot welcome to the future

Nah, not the same. We have one of those too, along with just about every other kitchen gadget known to man, and I think the pressure cooker is the best. I’ll have to dig it out!

 

[fooferdoggie]

My mother used a pressure cooker quite often when I was a kid. My wife and I use one, but not often. I’m not sure why we don’t, because it’s as easy and delicious as @duggie says.

Nah, not the same. We have one of those too, along with just about every other kitchen gadget known to man, and I think the pressure cooker is the best. I’ll have to dig it out!

I don't like meat cooked like that really. make some soup of my wife but l ike fresh cooked meat roasted or fried or stir fried.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

There is no danger

I'm gonna have to disagree if that's allowed. I don't want to scare anyone, but there is a great deal of danger when using pressure cookers. You need to remain attentive to them, and ensure that there in good shape before using them. When using one you're putting between 10 and 15lbs of pressure per square inch inside. If there is a flaw in the construction, they can rupture. If your lid isn't on correctly, they can rupture.

They are not something that you put on the stove and walk away. You should be there the entire time pressure is in the pot. There are lots of images out there of them failing: https://www.google.com/search?q=pre..._BZQQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1216&bih=587&dpr=1.58

Now, all that said, I regularly use a pressure canner (canning foods for home use) that was originally my great aunts. It was manufactured in 1917, and I can still get replacement parts. Canning green beans is generally done around 15psi for 12 minutes. I never leave the area while I'm doing bushels of green beans.

If you're going to use one, just be aware that they can be dangerous, but they are also a great tool to have in the kitchen. Here's one of my old ones with the weight to keep the pressure. You know you have it at the correct temp when the weight spins like this. This one is probably from the 50's.

 

[J.R.]

Venison is wonderful in a pressure cooker. ~98% lean to begin with, tender enough to cut with a fork when cooked that way. Swiss steak is another favorite.

 

[duggie]

I ate a lot of sweets when a kid, so my teeth have not lasted like I would want. I don't have any false ones, and can still chew a steak, but there are gaps and some foods are tricky. But the pressure cooker makes them so tender they literally melt in your mouth, so it can be a help if your teeth are a bit that way. Some people like crunchy veg. I don't, I like melt in your mouth.

 

[Taylor57]

I love my crock pot. I take a cheap cut of pork or beef, chop it up and braise it for 2 minutes on each side and then throw it in the crock. Sometimes I throw in Garlic and Onions. Sometimes I throw in salsa in a jar that has been in the fridge for awhile and sometimes I roast green chiles and throw them in. Anyway, after about 6 hours on low or high, I end of with a great filler of a flour or corn tortilla. I call them emergency burritos!

 

[Kayakguy]

My mother used a pressure cooker quite often when I was a kid. My wife and I use one, but not often. I’m not sure why we don’t, because it’s as easy and delicious as @duggie says.

Nah, not the same. We have one of those too, along with just about every other kitchen gadget known to man, and I think the pressure cooker is the best. I’ll have to dig it out!

I like my vegetables al dente, but a pressure cooker overcooks them so they turn out as mush. My parents liked them that way, but not for me. Good for meat, though, especially tough cuts.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I like my vegetables al dente, but a pressure cooker overcooks them so they turn out as mush. My parents liked them that way, but not for me. Good for meat, though, especially tough cuts.

Reduce the cooking time to get them the way you like. They're vegetables, there is no set internal temperature they need to be at like meat. The only vegetable that I do in a pressure cooker is fresh greenbeans, and that's only because I can get them done quickly that way, they're not mush.

 

[teskow]

My mother had a pressure cooker that she used frequently. Not sure those old cookers had the safety components of newer ones. If I had a pressure cooker made in 1917 I would be afraid of it.
Mostly what I use a pressure cooker for is chicken gizzards.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

My mother had a pressure cooker that she used frequently. Not sure those old cookers had the safety components of newer ones. If I had a pressure cooker made in 1917 I would be afraid of it.
Mostly what I use a pressure cooker for is chicken gizzards.

One of mine was made in 1917, I guess I'm safe.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Pressure cookers, or as they're known today "instant pots" are still exploding even with modern day safety features installed. My rule here is, if there's a pressure cooker getting heat, never leave the kitchen, and check the gauge frequently. My big pot can go up to 240F after that it gets dangerous. If it gets too hot, it come off the heat and allowed to cool. The problem with all pressure vessels, whether they be cookers or compressor tanks, is the unknown fault that you won't know is an issue until it ruptures. There's really no safeguard against that except inspecting the vessel for potential cracks before heating, even that isn't going to find all potential issues. Life has risks.

 

[Kayakguy]

Reduce the cooking time to get them the way you like. They're vegetables, there is no set internal temperature they need to be at like meat. The only vegetable that I do in a pressure cooker is fresh greenbeans, and that's only because I can get them done quickly that way, they're not mush.

Wow. I grow green beans, and have found that simple boiling for 3 to 4 minutes gets them done perfectly. In the time it takes to get a PC up to pressure.

 

[rayray]

We have a small pressure cooker with no gauge. My mother taught us as young kids that f the “rocker” stops rocking or rocks too fast, take it off the heat. And, as @JedidiahStolzfus said, never leave it unattended.

 

[Kayakguy]

We have a small pressure cooker with no gauge. My mother taught us as young kids that f the “rocker” stops rocking or rocks too fast, take it off the heat. And, as @JedidiahStolzfus said, never leave it unattended.

Okay, time for pressure cooker tales. When I was in college, a buddy and I had an apartment with a little kitchen, a hot plate, an aluminum pressure cooker, and a big sack of red beans and another of rice (these were our principal diet, as we were very poor). So of course, we decided to pressure cook the beans (a definite NO NO, as we had been warned). One evening, after the bean pot had been jiggling for a while--your happy sound that says everything is humming along--we both suddenly realized that the jiggler had stopped. We dashed to the hot plate (which was glowing bright red), rushed the cooker to the sink, and ran a flood of cold water over it. With a "whump" it released the steam in a huge cloud. Crisis averted. When we removed the lid, we could see that the rim of the pot had been bulged upward. We pounded that rim down more of less flat and level with a ball peen hammer, and continued to use the pressure cooker. And yet, here I am still alive.

Had we panicked and run out of the apartment and into the street, the cooker would have exploded and probably taken out the two apartments right over ours. And beans would have been spread all over the neighborhood. The Seattle P I would have put that on the front page. Truly an adrenaline inducing moment. But I find my adrenaline craving satisfied more easily nowadays. Sometimes on my ebike.

 

[spokewrench]

Pressure cookers, or as they're known today "instant pots" are still exploding even with modern day safety features installed. My rule here is, if there's a pressure cooker getting heat, never leave the kitchen, and check the gauge frequently. My big pot can go up to 240F after that it gets dangerous. If it gets too hot, it come off the heat and allowed to cool. The problem with all pressure vessels, whether they be cookers or compressor tanks, is the unknown fault that you won't know is an issue until it ruptures. There's really no safeguard against that except inspecting the vessel for potential cracks before heating, even that isn't going to find all potential issues. Life has risks.

I let the air out of my compressor tank every time I use it, to slow rusting because rust could eventually lead to an explosion. Have you really heard of household pressure cookers exploding from metal fatigue?

About 2000, I swore off microwave cooking and began using a fifty-year-old wood-handle pressure cooker that my grandmother had used daily more than 30 years. Pressure cooking is good protection against food poisoning. It's quick. Food's not exposed to oxygen, so you don't get free radicals and stuff like that, and cleanup is generally easy.

I may have cooked 5,000 meals in that antique. I hadn't had it long when the safety plug popped and steam shot up to the ceiling. That's sometimes what they mean by an explosion, but it was just the safety plug doing its job. Rice had foamed, clogging the pressure valve. I learned the importance of a safety plug in good condition. I learned that a teaspoon of oil can keep starchy foods from foaming.

I also learned to listen constantly for the chuffing of the pressure valve. Twice, the absence of chuffing meant I'd run out of water. Usually, when chuffing stopped it just meant I needed to turn up the heat. How could I tell the difference? Electrical tape is a good infrared emitter. I put a piece on the side of the pan. Now an infrared thermometer could tell me what was going on.

Once, it was unusually hard to open, and when I did, the lid popped up. Often, what they mean by an explosion is opening the lid under pressure, which was possible in the days when they didn't have interlocks. In my case, there was less than 1 psi, but it taught me to be certain the pressure valve was off and the lid was easy to turn.

After 15 years I bought a modern one, and now I can't remember why. I'd always thought a thermostatically controlled plug-in pressure cooker would be great, but it wasn't until 2021 that I learned that that's what an Instant Pot is. I bought one immediately. I liked it so much that I bought a second one.

It doesn't have a safety plug because it doesn't need one. The thermostat keeps it at a temperature just below what would make the pressure valve chuff, making the valve a backup; if I heard it chuffing, I'd know the thermostat had failed. Not emitting steam makes it more efficient; I use it typically 4 times a day for about 3 cents.

If the thermostat failed and the valve was clogged or the water chuffed away, a sensor would detect that the pan bottom was hotter than normal. The heat would be shut off and the panel would flash. (I've had that happen when I used too little water to spread the heat.) If the thermostat, the valve, and the high-temperature cutout all failed, a thermal fuse would open.

 

[E biker]

Instapot,ever had left over chicken from the market that is tough from over night in the fridge, 1/4 cup water add chicken and let pot come up to steem. Set timer for 10 min, enjoy. I set towl on quick release and let off the steam.