Pressure Cooking

Longwalker

Hundreds of threads about slow cooking but none for Pressure Cooking

I remember those big huge machines that were used on the hob and having to release the pressure by using a wooden spoon at arms length to stop scalding yourself  - scared me for life ( says the biting the bum of 60 year old woman )

So I just invested in one of these amazing things that cook everything and anything in the one machine and the machine I have got , well pressure cooking is bloody amazing 

Whats happened to pressure cooking that its gone out of vogue?

Beef stew in 20 mins?

Chicken in 30?

Im beginning to love pressure cooking for the pure speed and theres nothing a huge difference in texture and taste ( especially in modern machines you can PC and then finish on a roast )

Floss

I have also just bought one, and had to keep checking it was working OK the first time I used it as it is so very quiet!

YoungBlueEyes

I have my mother's (which I think was a wedding present - so mid 70's). The only thing I do in it is chicken stew/soup cos it's a massive beast that'll take any size of chicken.  Replace wooden spoon with fork and it's the same here.  The little multicoloured temp bobbin doesn't come up on it's own any more so you have to jiggle it about with a fork through it's little hoop.

I agree about the dearth of recipes, it's all about the slow cooker now. Or airfryer. 

joedenise

Try googling Instant Pot recipes - there's loads on the net.  There are also Facebook groups.

I don't have an IP just a normal stove top one which I've had for about 20 years or so but it's easy enough to the IP recipes with the stove top one.  Just need to fry things off in the base rather than doing it in the IP and then adding all your ingredients, bringing it up to pressure and then cooking for however long it says before releasing the pressure either slowly or instantly depending on what you're cooking.

I wouldn't be without mine.  Much prefer the food cooked in it to the SC.  My SC only gets used for pulled pork and braised red cabbage!  The rest of the time it's in a cupboard.

freyasmum

I'm also a recent convert to pressure cooking, having spent the majority of my life quite terrified of them! My mum never used one, but my cousin had a very nasty incident one Christmas which resulted in him spending several nights in hospital! 

Our airfryer recently bit the dust, so we decided to upgrade to a ninja (thankfully before the prices went silly), even though I had no intention of using the pressure cooker component. Long story shorter, I decided to try a beef stew and made sure the kitchen was cleared of all people 🤣 It was delicious, and very easy.

I started using my normal recipes, then reducing/thickening sauces at the end. 

I find YouTube a great source of information - for lots of subjects.

Auntycaz

@Longwalker what make did you buy? My mam always used one, but after a close friend of mine managed to burn herself quite badly and splatter food all over the kitchen ceiling and walls I've always been petrified to use one. Especially as my cooker is electric so not easy to regulate the temperature of the rings.  Recently though I've been wondering about the new ones that do lots of different things.

maisie_cat

I bought my sage fast slow pro in 2018 and during last year's black Friday I bought an instant pot with air fryer lid.
On many days I use both, and barely use the oven now.
The gamechanger for the IP is 2-3 minute pasta start to finish, and with both appliances the pot in pot cooking option is a major energy saver.
I wouldn't be without them now, today I've used slow cooker twice, pressure cooker twice and will steam the veg for dinner. 

pamsdish

I have had my instantpot about 3 years, use it nearly every day, so economical and time saving.

Longwalker

Auntycaz said:

@Longwalker what make did you buy? My mam always used one, but after a close friend of mine managed to burn herself quite badly and splatter food all over the kitchen ceiling and walls I've always been petrified to use one. Especially as my cooker is electric so not easy to regulate the temperature of the rings.  Recently though I've been wondering about the new ones that do lots of different things.

I got the Ninja 15 in 1 

I was scared of it at first, it is a beast of a machine but OMG, its amazing 

I have to say I do already have an air fryer so Ive not used the air fry function, but for steam cooking/ steam roasting and pressure cooking - well cooking times are halved, food is moist and tasty

Modern pressure cookers are so much safer then those big beasts of the 70's. You can not open them if there is any pressure at all in them and the handle is on the side so when you do open, theres no steam waiting to scorch you . I ran out of the room the first time I allowed the machine to instant release ( no need for a wooden spoon, the machine does it for you ) but a month of use Im used to it all now 

Some people say they dont like the texture of PC food, tbh I cant tell any difference. Veg is beautiful, meat is tender ( but I will finish off on a roast function if doing a joint ) but what I love is coming in from work, and throwing a dinner in, and it being as tender and flavoursome as if I had slow cooked it for hours

pamsdish

Longwalker said:

Auntycaz said:

@Longwalker what make did you buy? My mam always used one, but after a close friend of mine managed to burn herself quite badly and splatter food all over the kitchen ceiling and walls I've always been petrified to use one. Especially as my cooker is electric so not easy to regulate the temperature of the rings.  Recently though I've been wondering about the new ones that do lots of different things.

I got the Ninja 15 in 1 

I was scared of it at first, it is a beast of a machine but OMG, its amazing 

I have to say I do already have an air fryer so Ive not used the air fry function, but for steam cooking/ steam roasting and pressure cooking - well cooking times are halved, food is moist and tasty

Modern pressure cookers are so much safer then those big beasts of the 70's. You can not open them if there is any pressure at all in them and the handle is on the side so when you do open, theres no steam waiting to scorch you . I ran out of the room the first time I allowed the machine to instant release ( no need for a wooden spoon, the machine does it for you ) but a month of use Im used to it all now 

Some people say they dont like the texture of PC food, tbh I cant tell any difference. Veg is beautiful, meat is tender ( but I will finish off on a roast function if doing a joint ) but what I love is coming in from work, and throwing a dinner in, and it being as tender and flavoursome as if I had slow cooked it for hours

I bought a ninja maxi grill, already had the 15 in 1 but found I preferred using my instantpot in conjunction with the grill, after not using it for 6 months, and as you say it is a beast I sold it,
The scalding incidents are I feel from not releasing the pressure before trying to open it, and having your face over the pot, why, it`s steam it`s going to burn, I used the wooden spoon at first but now just flip it with my finger.

maryb

I've always used a stove top pressure cooker.  I used to have a good old fashioned Prestige but replaced it some years ago with a Kuhn Rikon Swiss made.  The difference in quality was very noticeable.  The Prestige was perfectly safe but the Kuhn Rikon is so exactly machined that very little steam escapes when it is in use.  I use it constantly for soup, stews, gammon etc but I used to find that veg came out a bit too nuked.  The times they give in the handbook are far too long.  For perfect green veg I now bring it up to pressure and instantly do a fast depressure.  Root veg get 1 minute then depressure and potatoes get 1 for parboiling prior to roasting and, again, depressure fast ,or if I want mash, I let it depressure slowly.