Pressure Cookers - Does anyone here use them?

[mark_wpduet]

I have one and I used it occasionally. They kind of freak me out, but they are pretty amazing to me. I cooked cabbage and carrots, but I put a piece of bacon in to season them and they were so good. Took six minutes and it was so easy to clean up.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Some, if not many, use them! See the recent St Paddy's Day corned Beef thread to see them extoll the virtues of pressure cooking.

I'd like to try it and get sucked in! The old wives tales of grey meat are, I guess, just that!

Chuck

 

[launderess]

Use Ours Quite Often

Thing to remember is that cooking pressure is simply a high tech way of using moist heat to prepare food. Thus any dish that one would normally simmer, boil, steam, poach, etc... in theory should come out the same if not better.

OTHO things that require dry heat such as roasts and certain fried foods are best done the normal way. Pot roast for instance will come out well in a PC, while roast beef usually results in a grey hard looking brick of a thing.

As with microwaves there are tricks and methods to get around certain failings of using a PC for things that are normally dry cooked, such as pre-browning meats (searing) and so forth, but there again still results may vary.

Finally consider certain types of pressure cookers require more water/fluid than others to operate properly (build up enough steam pressure). Older and some modern units from Presto and others require more whilst Magefesa and such use less. Using less water means less dilution of vitamins and such.

 

[sudsmaster]

I use a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker to prepare jumbo artichokes.

It works very well for that purpose.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I think you should search this forum for the topic. We gave this extensive treatment a short time (it seems) ago.

I used my WMF 2.5 quart last night.

 

[joeekaitis]

Only all the time

It's the only way to make split pea soup and lentils with that "second day" thickness and consistency on the day you make it. And don't get me started on San Marzano tomato marinara sauce! Ten minutes under pressure with a natural pressure drop does the trick for all three.

 

[norgeway]

Oh Yes!

I grew up with all my Aunts and both Grandmothers and Mother using them, so it is second nature to me, I use a old electric Presto and a Mirro Matic as well as a big 6 quart Revere Ware.Potatos to mash in 8 minutes,stewed chicken in 30, pot roast in 45,You cant beat it!

 

[coldspot]

I use one a bout ever other day. Never had any problems with it so far. I got 2 of them and they make the best food out there. There great to also BBQ in also.

 

[qualin]

My mother used to have a pressure cooker with the weight on top which was "clipped" on.

One day, she was cooking potatoes in it, the top popped off and it sprayed mashed potatoes all over the ceiling. She got rid of it shortly after that.

I personally love using pressure cookers to make stews/soups. However, mine got lost in the shuffle of numerous moves.

Mine was kind of unique because the weight on the top had a small gauge on it which indicated the pressure, but it was not exact, it basically said, "Normal / Caution".

I don't really do any canning...

 

[whirlcool]

We have a 1961 Mirro that we bought off the bay, never used.
It's great for pot roasts and ribs. We only use it about 4 times a year or so.

When I was growing up our Mother used one.
There are people out there who are scared to death of them. My crazy sister is one of those. She won't even let one in her house. She think's it'll explode in the box before you even open it. She thinks they are ticking time bombs.

 

[kqkenmore]

Use them all the time love them.

 

[william637]

Crazy Sister

Whirlcool -

I might be related at least to your crazy sister. I am scared to death of them as well. Growing up, my mom used ours almost daily. It had a little weight that jiggled on the top of it, and mom would always be running to the stove to adjust the temperature if it wasn't jiggling just right. After I went to college I came home one weekend to find the kitchen in complete disarray. Apparently mom wasn't paying enough attention while making lima beans and they spewed everywhere. Took the better part of that weekend to get every last little thing in the kitchen washed.

I will say though, if you are not scared of them, there is nothing better on the planet than pressure cooker pot-roast. One of the meals I miss most now that mom is gone. We used to have it at least every other Sunday after church. I am at least fortunate enough that my dad re-married a great woman. She can make pressure cooker pot-roast almost the same as mom.

 

[hunter]

it's amazing

They are so unbelievably fast.

Mine takes about 2tbs of water, comes up to pressure quick and a pot of broccoli is steamed in 3 minutes.

What's not to love? LOL.

 

[whirlcool]

With modern pressure cookers the chances of a blow out is virtually nil.

On most pressure cookers the way they are designed, they won't pressurize if the lid is on wrong. And the way they are designed the pressure actually keeps the lid on tighter. All pressure cookers have safety release valves, so the worst thing that would happen would be to get a houseful of smoke.

 

[kevin313]

I just bought an electric 7 quart pressure cooker. I have no experience with them, but this cooking method has always facinated me. I love how it cooks in such a short amount of time and with less liquid, and the food is moist and retains it's flavors. I haven't used it yet, so I'll see how it goes!

 

[norgeway]

I Use!

A 1965 Electric Sears fairly often as well as the stovetop models.

 

[westie2]

Kevin you will love your new PC.

 

[toploader55]

I use my Grandmother's 3-4 times a week.

The Wooden Handled one is from the late 40's. That one has a BiMetal Regulator.

The one in the front is from the 60's. It's Stainless and has the "Rocker" type Regulator.

They're wonderful and do a great job.

Once you know how to use them, they're really not that dangerous. The most important thing is Do NOT leave them unattended. Once I have the pressure regulated, I am always within reach until the product is done.

 

[toploader55]

Pressure Regulators

BiMetal is on the Right. Rocker is for the SS in the Front.

 

[maytagbear]

I've said it before here--

Lorna Sass's Pressure Perfect is a truly excellent, delicious, and well-written book. I have read some of the others, but keep going back to Pressure Perfect.

I have three pressure cookers, and use them frequently. Newest one is a 6 quart stovetop Presto.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[zipdang]

My mom gave me a Kuhn-Rikon pressure cooker as a gift a few years ago. If my memory is correct I've only used it to make pot roast and corned beef (which is about once or twice per year at that -- we rarely eat red meat), but for some reason I'm thinking I cooked beans in it once. Repressed false memory, perhaps. Anyway, we do New England Boiled Dinner/corned beef every year around St. Pat's (I'm Scottish-Welsh but like to pretend there's some Irish in me) and the pressure cooker produces perfect results every time, even when starting with a frozen-solid brisket. Had my friend Jon Shinn (jons1077) over for corned beef on Saturday and there wasn't much left over. And the pressure cooker keeps the brisket redder in color than a traditional boil which turns it an unappetizing gray.

The model I have is about 8L I think (~8 quarts?) and has always been large enough for my needs, although I'm not sure if it would be an appropriate pressure cooker for canning. Have always wished to try that but need to research it more first. Would love to know what else to do with the thing considering how well it's worked for the few things it's cooked thus far.

 

[twintubdexter]

I think I told you about the Wolfgang Puck electric PC I recently bought from Overstock...how they sent me a red cooker when I wanted virgin white. I told them I was not happy and that even though they would send me a prepaid return label that it was too much trouble to rebox and send (kind of a lie) and then they returned all my money, apologized and said "just keep it." This was a refurbished unit (box said HSN) and was undistinguishable from new, including all the accessories.

I have 2 other stove top PC's which work fine, but the electric cooker is just great...set time, cooker comes up to pressure, timer starts, then sounds a chime. I originally thought it was defective because there was no noise that's usually associated with stove tops, but the cooker is almost silent which means the liquid doesn't boil away. This thing is fun and easy to use and the cleanup's easy too.

Overstock has these 7qt PC's from time to time from under $50...I "paid" $43 using one of their every-other-day coupons and free shipping. It's really a very cool appliance.

 

[hunter]

canning

Unless you live at sea level please don't can in a pressure cooker UNLESS it is a canner.

Example: I had several conversations with Kuhn Rikon, because they kept telling me their pressure cooker heated to 15 psi. Something about what I was reading in the UK and US sites did not jive, however, so I asked them to please check with their engineering staff in Switzerland.

Good thing I asked. When the two bars on the Kuhn Rikon are just visible, the internal pressure is .8 bar, or just a bit under 12 psi (1 bar = 1 atmosphere). For COOKING there is NO difference; they claim, I think correctly, that most 15 psi COOKERS don't actually go to 15psi.

For canning at my altitude, however, I must have 13 psi for safety.

Had I accepted their assurance on their US site that "when 2 bars are visible it is 15 psi" I would have been heating the jars at too low of a temperature.

To be clear, at no time do they make any SIGNIFICANT claims about canning but report their cookers' characteristics and essentially tell you to make your own decision.

But it was at this point that I realized my All American 22 quart Pressure Canner is what should always be used for canning.

[this post was last edited: 3/20/2012-17:11]

 

[maytagmike]

1955 presto electric pressure cooker

i have this pressure cooker that i bought off flea bay for 20.00 bucks. works like a charm and i use it all the time, for st patty's day I did corn beef and cabbage in 70 minutes, boy was it good.