Help with Presure Cooker!?!
Answers: I got a pressure cooker for Christmas, and don't laugh, I am terrified to try it! What recepies can I make in it? Any good websites for pressure cooking for dummies? What are the benefits in cooking? I have never had one, grew up without one in the house, and just have heard horror stories about them exploding.
The tales you have heard are remnants of stories born in the late 1940s. So don't fret over your pressure cooker exploding, it won't. At most you will activate one of the safety mechanisms and even that is a rare occurance. But do carefully read the instructions that came with the cooker. It will tell you how to operate the cooker safely and avoid activating one of the safety features and will likely have some cooking basics and a few recipes.
The advantage of pressure cooking is that with pressure the boiling point of water is increased. In a cooker that regulates at 15 psi the temp in the cooker (at sea level) is about 250F. The pressure in the cooker is relative to the ambient pressure. At sea level it is about 14.7 psi. At 6,000 ft (Denver, CO) it is about 12 psi. So the temp inside the cooker in Denver is about 240F.
Pressure cookers are great for things that take a lot of the time to cook, such as dried beans and roasts. The extra pressure/heat will tenderize tough cuts of meat and will push the seasonings further into the meat. It is not good for tender veggies like broccoli and summer squash or veggies that are cut into small pieces. It does well with winter squash, cabbage and beets. And it also does nicely with leathery leafed veggies such as kale and collards, but it will overcook spinach or other tender leaf veggies.
Here are a few sites that have pressure cooker recipes. The 1st one listed has a lot of info. Nearly all of the more popular recipe collection sites will have a pressure cooker recipe section.
missvickie.com
www.dianaskitchen.com
www.healthgoods.com
Hello,
You might also have the "Instruction Manual" along with that pressure cooker.
Pressure cooker is very best for steam cooking without loosing most of the nutrients. You can almost cook anything in it. For boiling lentils, beans, rice, even vegetables, etc.
I have a pressure cooker with me from the day of my marriage and it is a must tool for us to cook. Well, i am an Indian, we use pressure cooker each and everyday.
Do not afraid about *Exploding*. If you handle it with care, it will not explode. Doing such things like "Opening the pressure cooker without releasing the pressure" is the first dangerous thing. So, never do that. That's all.
Best wishes.
Modern models are not as dangerous as the "oldies." They are very handy for quick-cooking items......potatoes, beets, carrots, other veggies that cook notoriously slow can be steamed up quickly in a pressure cooker. You can also pressure cook tough cuts of meat, to tenderize them. I tend to use mine more for steaming. Just add water to the bottom, add the rack, veggies top and go. You heat on high until the weight on top starts to wobble (venting the steam slowly as the weight tips side to side) That is when you start to time your cooking. Remove from stove and let cool, or run entire pot under cool water. After cooling, you can safely remove the weight, and the seal will release in the lid. You can then open the pot and voila food! Check websites for pressure cooker recipes, it is easy.
Read your instructions ,don't listen to people that give you this horror stories,I love mine you can make meat and veg so much faster you cut your cooking time in have.Never open the lid before you cooled off the pressure cooker with some cold water.Let some water run over the pressure cooker and the air inside will escape,you will hear it escaping,don't be afraid of the sound.The lid should come off easy.
you are lucky,there are a lot of different things you can do;ie
1 hour chicken stock/soup
quick ,efficient braises,pot roasts,ribs
awesome fried chicken[kfc clone]
the new ones don't blow up,they have safety valves