New toy: Pressure cooker

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
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I don’t PC the veggies more than 20 min and the second round on the bones is to get what is left of the good stuff.
though, 1.5 hours at pressure is pretty long I go about 1/2 that but I’ll try longer on the next round of veal or beef stock.

I like to use the ziplocks so if I only need 4 oz I just cut the bag in 1/2 with a cleaver.

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You live with electric long enough, ya learn to make do. Simmering sucks, and dog forbid you should use any thin pan.

Which reminds me…

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Pet or food?

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For those of you not familiar with the joys of pressure cooking, you are missing out on one of the great cooking inventions of all time. Modern day pressure cookers are extremely safe, so one should have no worries regarding the dangers of pressure cooking.

The advantages of a pressure cooker are:

  1. Foods cooked in a pressure cooker retain more nutrients since less water is needed
  2. Saves time - typical savings in time is 50%, often times much more
  3. Saves energy - the energy savings are not trivial due to the decreased time and efficient use of the energy that is trapped inside the cooker rather than a large portion wasted heating up the kitchen
  4. I think many foods taste better when cooked in a pressure cooker. For example, more gelatin is produced when making stock, corned beef retains more beef flavor, etc.
  5. They are great multitaskers and can serve the purpose of a dutch oven, steamer, saucepan, deep fryer, braising pot, poaching pot, browning pan, sterilizer, and water bath for home canning

An example of time savings is that red beans and rice takes about an hour and a half rather than all day for cooking the beans. I particularly like cooking mushroom rissoto in the pressure cooker when using dried mushrooms - takes about ten minutes.

I have used them for decades. The Cuisinart is my current favorite - http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPC-600-1000-Watt-Electric-Stainless/dp/B000MPA044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288017933&sr=8-1

Chris, an excellent book for pressure cooking techniques and recipes can be found here - Amazon.com

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I received a pressure cooker some years back as a gift. I tried using it a couple of times and every time I did the lid became
stuck as I was cooling it. So much so that I was unable to remove it for a while and it threw off the timing of the entire meal.

What did I do wrong? All of the positive comments above have me curious to attempt pressure cooking again but I’m worried I may just be a pressure cooker idiot … blush

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Did you open the pressure-release valve?

Signed,

General-All-Around Idiot

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It’s this one: Amazon.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and as far as I can tell it doesn’t have a manual pressure release valve. I have mostly used the “quick release” method of pouring cold water over the lid to release the pressure and I’m not sure but I may have been taking it too far and actually creating a vacuum. [shrug.gif] That leads to a long wait before the lid eventually opens.

Maybe the thing is faulty ? Tho I’m afraid it’s more likely a case of a “loose nut on the control panel”. [scratch.gif]

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Reese,

Maybe something in here?

http://www.fagoramerica.com/cookware/pressure_cookers/elite_line/elite/pressure_cooker_faq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure thou!!

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Thanks Paul. I’m going to try a little experimentation tonight with boiling water only and see if I can figure it out. If I’m unsuccessful the pot goes back into the pantry for good! Well, except when I use it as a base for my bamboo steamer… perfect fit.

I will report back.

Reese.

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I have pressure cookers and pressure canners. Love them. Saved me many times over and over again when I just don’t have enough hours in the day. I used my small one today to make potato leek soup with Jamon Serrano. I fixed it start to finish in 35 minutes. Best thing in the world for Cocido.

Depends what kind you have. I suspect it is a Mirro?? It has a little lever inside the handle that sometimes doesn’t lift up easily. If all the pressure has been released and the jiggler has been removed, slide a knife in between the handle and see if you can slide it up out of the locked position. It is just a little trick. Hope my explanation is understandable.

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Now imagine Freemott using one…

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I just put down the phone with him. We were talking about pressure cookers.

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I just put down the phone with him. We were talking about pressure cookers.

And the call required me to find the liquor cabinet upon reaching my home.

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Lock the gun cabinet.

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Thanks everyone for your help! Here’s an update on my PC saga…

I did some experimentation last night with water only in the PC. My first try exactly replicated my previous
problem. I brought the PC up to pressure and then using the quick release method I depressurized the cooker
however the lid was stuck. More cold water and still stuck. I finally realized after a while that pressure
was not my problem. A vacuum had formed in the cooker. I discovered this by jamming a chopstick into the seal
to break it.

OK, once I realized that, I was able to move forward. It seems my problem is that this cooker goes from a pressurized
state to a vacuum state very quickly. I am able to free the lid if I am very diligent about releasing the pressure just as the
pot is depressurizing and even then as I am freeing (turning) the lid, the pot is trying to form a vacuum so I really have to force
it to open.

Is this normal or do I have a defective pressure cooker ?


Reese.

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You say you use the Quick Release Method? Is that by running cold water over it? You still have to release the valve/lock

On the handle of the lid of your cooker there is a white part. That is the pressure release valve & lock. Try to push it forward in the direction of my arrow to see if it will unlock the lid.
Where did you jam the chopstick??

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Hi Nola,

Yes, I was using the pressure release button. The problem with my PC seems to be that once it gets into a vacuum state the pressure release button doesn’t work and it goes to the vacuum state very quickly.

However, I think I’m developing a reliable release method… Place the PC in the sink, apply cold water gently and as the pressure indicator is just about at “zero” hit the button and hold it for a while while turning the water off. After maybe 30 seconds the lid comes off easily (no vacuum). Much more involved than how it is described in the manual but it works and I think I will start using it again.

Thanks again for your help!!! [thankyou.gif]

Reese.

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I have a Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker and it couldn’t be easier to use. I have successfully made rissoto several times but was also looking to do more with it. So, prompted by this thread, I picked up Miss Vickie’s book of recipes and a book titled The Pressure Cooker Gourmet http://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Cooker-Gourmet-Great-Tasting-Long-Simmered/dp/1558322000" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. At first glance, Miss Vickie’s seems to use more pantry staple items and is fairly simplistic. I made a pork sirloin roast with creamy dijon sauce recipe last night that echoes this (but it was pretty good). I plan on spending some time this weekend going through both books to see what they offer.

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Jeff, you are correct that for most of the recipes in Miss Vickie’s book, they are pretty much your standard ranch stash. That said, the book has excellent advice on techniques to get the most out of your pressure cooker. For those new to pressure cooking, the technique discussions are well worth the entry fee.

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For some odd reason, this image immediately popped into my head…