Pressure Cookers For Dummies

Tips for Successful Pressure Cooking

Pressure cookers can save you time and money, helping you prepare delicious meals that retain nutritional values often lost in other cooking methods. Pressure cooking does require some adjustments, however. Follow these tips for the best pressure cooking results:

• Brown meats, poultry, and even some vegetables — like chopped onions, peppers, or carrots — first and then deglaze the pot for more intense flavor. Add a small amount of oil, such as olive or canola oil, to the pressure cooker and heat, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Add the food in small batches and brown the food on all sides. Remove and deglaze the pan with a small amount of wine, broth, or even water. Add the remaining ingredients and cook under pressure.

• Don’t overdo the liquid. Because food cooks in a closed, sealed pot when cooking under pressure, you’ll have less evaporation and should therefore use less cooking liquid than when cooking in a conventional pot. Regardless of what you’re cooking, however, always use enough liquid. A good rule of thumb is at least 1 cup of liquid, however, check the owner’s manual or recipe booklet to see exactly what the pressure cooker manufacturer recommends. It’s also important to remember that the pot never be filled more than halfway with liquid

• Don’t fill the pressure cooker with too much food. Never fill the pressure cooker more than two-thirds full with food. Never pack the food tightly into the pressure cooker.

  Even pieces mean evenly cooked food. Food should be cut into uniform-sized pieces so that they cook in the same amount of time.

• Use stop-and-go batch cooking for perfect results. When making a recipe that contains ingredients that cook at different times, begin by partially cooking slow-to-cook foods such as meat first. Then use a quick-release method to stop the pressure cooker. Next, add the faster-cooking ingredients — such as green beans or peas — to the meat. Bring the pot back up to pressure again and finish everything up together at the same time.

• Start off high and finish up low. Bring the pressure cooker up to pressure over high heat. Cook under pressure at a simmer.

• Play burner hopscotch to avoid burning. Once you reach pressure over high heat, you lower the burner to a simmer. Gas burners react quickly, but most electric burners don’t. If you have an electric stove, use two burners: one on high heat to reach pressure and a second set on a low setting to maintain it. Switch the pressure cooker over to the burner with the low setting when you reach pressure.

• Set a timer. Once the pressure cooker reaches and maintains pressure, have a kitchen timer handy and set it for the cooking time specified in the recipe or in the recommended cooking time chart.

• High altitude means longer cooking times. You may have to increase the cooking times if you live at an elevation of 3,000 feet above sea level or higher.

• Release that pressure. When the food is done cooking under pressure, use an appropriate pressure release method, according to the recipe you’re making.

Temperature-Pressure Ratios for Pressure Cooking

Pressure cooking is just what the name says — cooking foods under pressure. You cook foods at a lower temperature, but under much higher pressure than in conventional cooking. The following table translates the pressure setting on your pressure cooker to temperatures and pressure levels:

Suggested Pressure Cooker Cooking Times

The suggested cooking times in the following list begin when the pressure cooker reaches high pressure. Always start with the shortest cooking time; you can always continue cooking under pressure for an additional couple minutes until the desired texture is reached.