Recommend me a pressure cooker

shazrobo

I gave my presssure cooker away too, much prefer my slow cooker, which i use at least twice a week, no other kitchen gadget in my house gets used as often

lynzpower

whats te difference between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker?

I have a slow cooker, and TBH I barely use it I do the odd stew in them in the winter, wont do chicken again, not keen on the spongy texture, and I prefer to do soups on the hob.

Id be interested too, Ive often fancied one myself but dont know what they are for! me and my kitchen gadgets eh :rolleyes:

lil_me

http://missvickie.com/workshop/howdoesit.html how pressure cooker works

Slow cookers just cook slowly at a lower heat over a longer time http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/37148

ka7e

You can cook dried fruit and pulses without soaking them for hours first (you can soak them in boiling water for a while if you prefer.
Cook gammon/ham joints.
Make jam.
Cook steamed puddings and suet puddings much more quickly than in a normal pan. My Mum makes all the Xmas puds in hers.
Cook huge quantities of stew in 35-40 mins. Curry, 15 mins.
You can part-cook a chicken for roasting, 7 mins per 400g then 20 mins in a hot oven.
A pan full of assorted veg will cook in a couple of mins - and you only have 1 pan to wash up. I parboil my potatoes for roasting, then use the same pan and water for the veggies. Cooking water goes straight in the gravy!
Mine (ancient Prestige and Tower models) have all-in-one meal recipes that take 5-15mins to cook once the desired pressure is reached.

annie-c

I don't know if the AWT has any special feauture, but you can buy a PRestige pressure cooker for approx £20 anyway, so no need to rush.

I bought one after being impressed by a friend's but TBH I've only used it twice - maybe I will use it more in winter?

The basic difference between slow cookers and pressure cookers is that with slow cookers you do the prep work in advance, leave it on for hours and come home to a cooked meal; with pressure cookers you do the work just before cooking but get your meal really rapidly. Both are sort of time saving and energy saving it just depends on what you are after.

I use my slow cooker more often (though not loads) and prefer it for specific things: stews, casseroles, sausage hot pot. I find that it makes a lot of meat lose its texture (esp chicken) and there are better ways to cook many things. But it's great if you are going out for an unspecified amount of time - nothing spoils even if you are a couple of hours late and meals are ready straight away so no temptation to snack ravenously and spoil your appetite before the main meal!!

With the pressure cooker, the main attraction for me is that you can safely cook pulses in a fraction of the time needed on the hob. Also it's better than the slow cooker for fish etc, where you want a fresher taste. I've found it is easy to over cook stuff though so don't like it for steaming veg etc. Prefer my conventional hob top steamer inserts.

otterspasm

Thanks everyone for your replies. It has been helpful. Especially knowing that I could buy one for £20 anyway so no need to hurry.

I have a slow cooker and use it about once or twice a month which feels like regular enough use to make it worth while and I do cook joints in it but would be interested in using a pressure cooker for joints, fish and puddings (esp. puddings!!!:o).

I can remember my mum having one when I was a child and her veg always being over-cooked. Does anyone know if it's possible to cook veg in pressure cooker with out them becoming soft? I usually steam veg so it may be better to continue doing that...

I think I should try and get hold of, or find online, a pressure-cooker recipe book to give me some further ideas about what I could use it for.

Thanks again for your food for thought!

Tess

lynzpower

Im off to a car boot sale in a sec- thats the sort of thing I expect I might find there If i can find one cheap there Ill have it, but I cant see me paying 20 for one, it doesnt seem worth it for us- but if i can get one for a fiver- Ill be tempted!!

Zziggi

I acquired a 1960s prestige pressure cooker when my granny died. We use it about once a fortnight during the winter months and it still works perfectly. If I my granny's pressure cooker broke then if i was buying one at full-price then i'd probably not bother, but at £19.99 I'd probably buy one.

HTH

kittykat500

I use a pressure cooker every day - to reheat food (I don't own a microwave), boil spuds/steam carrots, make stews, curries, soup etc. cook beetroot to make my own version of sweetfire beetroot which I love. I would not be without it. I bought mine in Lidl and they are currently selling them in there for £14.99 which is the best price I've seen for a new pressure cooker.

kittykat500

Lidl are selling a stainless steel one at the moment for £14.99 - not sure of the capacity though. I got mine from there and it's great.