Pressure Cooking

Jezzabell

I love my pressure cooker. I ha e a Kuhn Rikon that I picked up for a silly price from Amazon Warehouse  as apparently it had a scratch! We use it all the time and all the parts are replacable direct from Kuhn Rikon for now too much.

For anyone looking g for recipes then a lady called Catherine Phipps has done 2 fantastic pressure cooker cook books, new one came out this year. They are UK measurements so not US bases. The recipes are fantastic as well as lots of tips on using a pressure cooker. I can highly recommend. 

She had an article and recipes in the Times on Tuesday for anyone with access.

LHW99

My grandparents had one of the wartime big pineapple shaped pressure cookers with an industrial-type gauge on top and about a 1 gallon capacity. I inherited my M-i-L's because she found it too heavy, and used it regularly for about 30 years, until the seal degraded and I couldn't source a spare. I got a replacement Presto cooker from the US (cheaper at the time) but it only has one pressure setting, whereas the older one had three, so I do find lentils in soups can burn and tend to cook them for about 10 minutes after the rest are done without any pressure on. I use it to make a meal plus some extra portions for freezing. Pot roasts are good, and cut the cooking time down significantly, and then there are steamed puddings .......

NornIronRose

Am I the only one who puts it under cold running water for about 10 seconds to do a quick pressure release? 
I was terrified of them after a jam making explosion when I was a kid which left the entire kitchen looking as if there had been a massacre!
Then when I was in Algeria I realised how brilliant they are.  So I watched closely and realised that they aren't scary if you understand them. 
I have an induction hob and as soon as it comes up to pressure I turn it down to 4. Sometimes if I'm not in a hurry I just turn it off a bit early and leave it to depressure naturally. 
If I need it quickly, I just lift it to the sink and run water over the lid for about 20 secs. 
Back onto to cooker and just tentatively half lift the weight. Usually there is only a tiny little hiss and then I take the weight off. 
Then I know it is safe to open. 

What I do need to learn is how to make more use of it because currently I'm really only using it for potatoes, soup, and the odd stew. 

joedenise

@NornIronRose - I use my pressure cooker for all sorts but find it particularly good for cooking dried beans and pulses, stews, curries, chilli, bolognaise sauce.

My pressure cooker is over 20 years old and has a semi-automatic release on it - it just needs to be moved one notch and most of the steam is released, I then move it over to the final position to release the last of it.  Once it's depressurised the little red button on it drops down so it shows it's safe to use.  I buy the seals for it when I'm on holiday in France as you can just pick them up in the supermarket.  I really wouldn't want to carry it from the cooker to the sink as it's quite heavy when it's got food in it.

NornIronRose

Thanks joedenise. My sink is very close to the cooker and it isn't that heavy for me thankfully. 

Mine is the old fashioned type as it was bought in Algeria perhaps 10 years ago. So there isn't any type of fancy release. 

I'd love an Instant Pot or a Ninja but can't justify it. My pressure cooker works perfectly, my air fryer works perfectly and my SC (car boot £2) does too. And I have the perfect space for each of those. 
If they ever all die, then I may treat myself. 

I will have a look at some more recipes and see if there is something other than soup. Bolognaise/chilli I do in the SC. 

Effician

NornIronRose said:

Thanks joedenise. My sink is very close to the cooker and it isn't that heavy for me thankfully. 

Mine is the old fashioned type as it was bought in Algeria perhaps 10 years ago. So there isn't any type of fancy release. 

I'd love an Instant Pot or a Ninja but can't justify it. My pressure cooker works perfectly, my air fryer works perfectly and my SC (car boot £2) does too. And I have the perfect space for each of those. 

We sold our instant pot duo a few years ago after being somewhat underwhelmed & made a good profit on it (when they were the latest must have due to a supply shortage)  at the time we sold , the profit more than covered the cost of the 2x 2l + 1x 6l stove top pressure cookers we had bought in the prior 6 months

A stove top pressure cooker for us as it gets to pressure quicker also cheaper to use & buy plus it can go on the log burner for free cooking . As we mainly use the induction hob for the stove top pressure cookers they can be wrapped in old bath towels etc to give a hay box type insulation but whilst still cooking & reduces the energy usage, while i still sometimes quench the pan under the cold tap i find myself aiming to get it to de-pressurise  naturally on time.

Mainly meat & veg cooking for ours & more often than not  the meats are finished in the air fryer, loving the sweet crunchy crackling & tender meat on a pork shoulder joint or crispy skinned chicken ,both of which i find tastier whilst using less energy  & quicker than using just the air fryer .

YoungBlueEyes

Must admit I only do stew/soup in mine. Veg chopped chunky on the bottom, then a whole chicken, herbs/mustard/garlic on top, then some water.  Once cooked I shred the chicken back into the pot. 

If it comes out nice and thick I call it stew, if it’d run through the eye of a needle I call it soup. Most times it’s “stewp” 😁

NornIronRose

Stewp. Love that! 

I think I will do as Effician suggests and cook a chicken in it then finish in the airfryer. I didn't think of that!!! 

I need to think about times a bit more too. I tend to just keep it on as long as I think it needs it. Never ever considered doing something like pasta in it. Very interesting to plan things to cook then depressure naturally so the cooker is on for much less time. 
Will look at planning a bit more. Thanks folks. 

littlemoney

I have a 1970s Prestige Hi Dome in regular use. I grew up with one and have several cookery books. Some foods want a quick release of pressure by holding under a tap which is my usual method whilst others should be left to cool.

LHW99

NornIronRose said:

Stewp. Love that! 

I think I will do as Effician suggests and cook a chicken in it then finish in the airfryer. I didn't think of that!!! 

I need to think about times a bit more too. I tend to just keep it on as long as I think it needs it. Never ever considered doing something like pasta in it. Very interesting to plan things to cook then depressure naturally so the cooker is on for much less time. 
Will look at planning a bit more. Thanks folks. 

A book that came with my first inherited pressure cooker suggested starting with 1/3 the time it would normally need, and adjust from that if necessary. Only steamed sponges need 20mins at normal pressure first, else they won't rise at full pressure.