Recommend me a pressure cooker

MrMicawber_2

Gosh - We used to use a p/c but haven't done for years. We had a miniature eruption when making chutney once which rather put us off. I thought they'd been replaced by steamers which are supposed to retain much more n the way of vitamins and other good things, not least flavour.

Our slow cooker doesn't smell strange - how odd. Slow cookers are much more gentle as opposed to the aggressive nature of a pressure cooker and I thought they were also meant to retain more flavour and goodness although I'm not certain, and slow cookers a brillantly convenient for making a whole meal in one pot.

I once heard of a chemistry graduate who thinking the hole in the top was a design flaw, blocked it up. Apparently the explosion was a good one. I'm not sure if this is pure anecdote but it tells well.

Olliebeak

Do you know anybody who already has one, motherkitty? It might be a good idea to 'have a go' of one first before committing yourself to buying one.

I grew up in a family where the pressure cooker was just another piece of kitchen equipment (1960's), and was used all the time.

It was one of the first things that I bought after getting married. I somehow lost it during divorce-time, but bought another one about 2 years ago and wouldn't be without it. But then again, I also have a SC and wouldn't be without that either.

The modern pressure cookers are slightly different from the older versions - and certainly much safer (though there were never any 'accidents' in our house).

But for somebody who has never used one, I think it would possibly be a little scarey - all that hissing can be a bit off-putting - but only until you get used to it .

Pink.

Hi motherkitty,

There's an earlier thread that may help you make a decision so I've added your post to it to keep the opinions together.

Pink

motherkitty

Thanks for your replies.
My mum had a pressure cooker back in the 70's so I remember that they do make a hissy noise - I expect you get used to that though!
I'm not sure I know anybody who has one but it is a good idea to ask around and see if I could borrow first.
It was a shame the slow cooker thing didn't work out. I love making beef stews but they never seemed to have the flavour of one cooked in the oven in spite of the fact that I always fried the ingredients off first. DH always said, if I was making bolognaise in the s/c, that he didn't like the taste as much as one cooked on the hob and that the house always smelled as if 'an old man had peed in the corner'! When it stopped working(do you think he sabotaged it?) I just didn't bother getting a new one, although have been tempted by one for £10 with a removable pot in Asda's recently. Would also have been useful for doing my christmas puds in.

Pennylane

Oh wow! I have just cooked THE most lovely meal in my ancient old pressure cooker. I did a sort of pork casserole/goulash type creation!

We were out later than intended and I hadn't got 1.5-2 hrs spare to cook in oven so turned out cupboard and found it lurking there. I use it at Xmas to make turkey stew/soup and then put it away again!:o Crazy really because years ago I used it no end.

It is 31 years old and was well used until they went out of fashion a bit with microwaves and slo-cookers etc.

Everyone raved about the tenderness of the pork and it took 15 mins :j to cook. I put in pork, peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, splash of red wine, potatoes, seasoning, fresh parsley & couple of bay leaves. Used about a pint of stock from juice of tomatoes & veg stock cube.

I plan to use it a lot more now. Amazing how some of the oldest ideas are still the best!;)

kate83

Thought this would be the place to ask as a lot of you use them.
Is there much difference between them? is it worth getting a more expensive one? any special features to look out for?
I'd rather have one that lasts and don't know whether to get a new one or try and find a good second hand one

Sunnyday

I have a stainless steel one which i got when i gave my old aluminium one away. TBH i only got rid of the aluminium one after being nagged about a link in aluminium and alzheimers. ( not even sure if there is a link but it stopped the nagging when i got rid of the old one).

After a quick google i found this which seems a good deal, the new ones have built in weights so there are no fiddly bits to "put away somewhere safe" and never find again i`m happy with mine but i can`t remember where i bought it.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.100-1360.aspx

The base is excellent for jam making and anything else which needs a large heavy based pan.

HTH

SD

Barneysmom

Sunnyday does it have the three compartment/seperator things in it please?
I don't suppose you know of any recipe ideas?

I heard aluminium was the cause of lupus

mrslovetocook

You will get recipe book with the cooker. Really useful for soups, ham or bacon joints and also cooking all root veg together. i.e pots carrotts and swede. Makes lovely rice pud and is good for using as a jam pan. I have had a number of presure cookers over the years and there is not a lot of difference in them. My current one is stainless steel as I wanted one that I could wash in the dish washer.

Sunnyday

Barneysmom wrote: »

Sunnyday does it have the three compartment/seperator things in it please?
I don't suppose you know of any recipe ideas?

I heard aluminium was the cause of lupus

No it dosent` have the same divider which is a shame really. It has a trivet which is just a piece of bent wire and a round shallow container but it dosen`t divide. It would be better IMHO if it was exactly the same on the inside as the old one.

I`m not sure if they are all the same though. My stainless one is a tower brand and has short handles for ease of storage.

HTH

SD