Bought a pressure cooker

[henene4]

I guess this is one of these once in a lifetime purchases.
Bought it in a WMF Outlet Store and got another 20% on top.
Went with the 6,5l/7qt model - you only have a minimal fill quantity of like a cup or 2 and can "only" use 2/3rds - so rather bigger than too small.

Have to say - these things got REALLY easy to use.
Even realeases the pressure on its own by turning the dial. Automatic pressure regulation on both high and low pressure. Automatic air venting before pressure build up.
Removable handle, so both lid and pot are DW safe.

And results are as expected. Results like slow cooked - just in a quarter the time.
"Gulasch" in 30min, a nice fall apart roast from a cheap cut of beef in an hour.
All with needing 1/3rd power on the induction cooktop max - and with the boost function, you can get to full pressure in seconds.

 

[rp2813]

Congratulations Henrik!

I love my pressure cookers!  They're fun to use and your description of what they can do is spot-on!  My vintage ones are the cookers I use most often, and all but one were purchased at thrift stores.  I have sizes ranging from 4 quarts to 12 quarts, all are Presto stove top types except for one "wide body" 6 quart MirroMatic, which I use most often.  I've replaced my aluminum cookers with stainless steel when I find them.  Just recently I found a 6 quart stainless Presto to replace my aluminum one, and it needed nothing more than a cleaning to look like new, and with the gasket from the aluminum model it works perfectly.  I'm going to post separately with a question about that one.

 

Enjoy your new cooker, and all of the time you'll save!

 

[henene4]

It's been really nice to just do a quick Saturday evening meal.
I drive back to my work flat on Sunday afternoon usually and we really only eat for dinner - so Saturday evening is our big meal together basically.

My mum had an all stainless Silit that's from my parents wedding (so going on 40 years) - but unfortunately, that doesn't work on induction.
But my grandmas enameled one that's even older does, so back then, they just switched. When grandma passed, my mum sold the all stainless one on.

This is really nice. Removing the mechanical part is a one button operation.

Hope it will last just as long as the others.

 

[appnut]

Henrik, congratulations. I use mine primarily for cooking roast beef and dry beans for vaarious recipes/uses. No more soaking and can make them rather quickly when I want some and don't have to plan ahead. My partner hand a extra one and gave that to me (4 quart). Brian (Westtexman) gave me an Instant Pot several years ago and that is much easier for me to maneuver around.

 

[foraloysius]

Cogratulations Henrik! I love pressure cookers. You made a great choice. Have looked often at them. Never bought one because I already have one and the kitchen cabinets are full… And also because there are so many other things to use like my Thermomix. Can one have too many toys? I don’t think so.

 

[joeekaitis]

Split peas and lentils . . .

 

. . . turn into a velvety legume delight in 10 minutes under pressure followed by a natural pressure drop.  Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil per pound for flavor, as much as for foam prevention, and you get a surprising buttery finish without butter.

 

[foraloysius]

Natural release is indeed the only way to release the pressure with split pea soup etc. Someone told the story of a whole ceiling turning green with an instant release

 

[appnut]

My mom did that not too soon after she got it in the 1940s. My dad had to paint the ceiling all over again.

 

[gizmo]

I too love my pressure cooker. It's a Tramontina, I think made in Brazil??

Simple to use, two levels of pressure adjusted by the knob on top, or turn the knob fully left to release pressure after cooking.

 

I also have a Tefal Cook4Me+, which I was given. It's an electric pressure cooker, with a digital screen with built in recipes for you to follow. It would be great for people who don't know how to cook, though I was a professional cook for 30 years... so I'm not really its target market.

Its thermostat is not at all responsive, for the browning phase before pressure cooking it often runs quite cool before the thermostat kicks back on again. Other than that, it is a good gadget.

 

[volsboy1]

I love my insta-pot I never realized everything I could make with it.I use freezer burnt steak,vegetables that I would throw away and make a gumbo type dish.
Walmart rotisserie chicken,with some leftovers I make a great chicken soup.
The list is endless.

 

[combo52]

Did someone say pressure cookers??

We use pressure cookers every week. Our favorite two are the Presto stainless steel pressure cookers because it works so easily on the induction cooktop plus they go in the dishwasher.

I still occasionally use the Presto cast aluminum cookers on the electric burners, and I have four pressure canner's that are all aluminum.

I have two older national automatic pressure cookers, which I almost never use and I've had two instant pots which I gave away. They're just too much trouble when you can just set a pan on the stove the instant pots don't seem to cook it as high pressure and are not as fast, but they are nice because they're automatic, I suppose

All told I think I had about 40 pressure cookers. I paired it down to 25 and I probably should get rid of a few more because many of them I never use.

John

 

[mrboilwash]

Enjoy it Henrik, the possibilities are endless.
When I was growing up both my mom and my grandma had one and making dishes like pot roast, goulash or beef broth for noodle soup were unthinkable to do any other way.
My grandma made the best baked rice pudding by starting to cook the rice in milk (not water) in the pressure cooker. Don`t know how she did it exactly but the rice never stuck or burned to the bottom of the pot.

I like the detachable handle, guess this way the lid would be officially dishwasher save.
I know I shouldn`t but my old Silit lid goes into the dishwasher as it is.

 

[foraloysius]

The thing with electric pressure cookers and multi cookers is that they come much slower to a boil than a regular pressure cooker on an induction stove. For instance boiling potatoes in them doesn’t save any time.

I first had a cheap one from Aldi. When that one died I replaced it by a Bosch multicooker. The Bosch is an absolute nightmare to use because the programs are not very flexible. Once you started a program you can’t change the times and temperatures anymore of the steps of that program. You just have to start all over again.

For now I’m sticking to my old and trusted BK pressure cooker. But who knows one day I might be tempted to buy the small Instant pot.

Here’s a new video from America’s Test Kitchen about Multicookers.

 

[askolover]

I love my PC's! I have two stainless prestos and my grandmother's old aluminum mirromatic. One of my stainless works with induction. I learned how to use a PC from my grandmother as she used that mirromatic. No one else in my family knows how to use one (my mom can use a canner, same difference but she doesn't cook with one). 

PC's are the best for fixing baked potatoes. I put a steamer rack in it, slice the russets in half and cook them 15 minutes after reaching pressure. They come out so soft and done and the peelings can be pulled off in one piece if you like. 

 

[jamiel]

That was always the refrain of Thanksgiving--the Mirro-Matic rattling with the potatoes to be mashed. My mom used the pressure cooker for bulk potato boiling (potato salad in the summer; mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving). among other things.

 

[petek]

When you say boiling the potatoes in the pc are you actually boiling them in water? I put the potatoes on a rack and add about a cup of water so they steam cook.

 

[combo52]

Cooking potatoes in a pressure cooker

Yes, that's the correct way to do it. You only put a cup of water in depending on the size of your pressure cooker, if you put more water in, it takes longer uses more energy and cooks more than minerals out of the potatoes.

John

 

[jamiel]

sorry for the confusion---yes, with the rack in and only a cupful (my mom was famous for boiling two potatoes cut into quarters for dinner many nights in a Revere Ware saucepan, then marveling that there was always some left (yet when she made more interesting potatoes they'd all disappear----my dad insisted on potatoes for dinner). Actually just bought 5# of local russets---gonna have to make her gratin dauphinois (bought some Swiss cheese earlier in the week and a quart of whole milk today)