Anyone use them??

Our family cannot cook without them, they cut the job in half.

:ibchefchristhread:

 

ya I believe my mom still uses one, and most of the Indians still use them here.

 

actually, what.... exactly is it? Cause I was lookin' at one the other day at Macy's and was about to get one, but I just bought a crock pot... and I love that thing... I know it's totally old school... but I throw everything in there when I go to bed... and a whole day's meal is ready when I get up in the morning... is a pressure cooker anything like it?

 

^^ almost like it, but it cooks 10 times faster...you meal will be ready in a couple of hours.

 

pressure cooker is the same as a crock pot but the steam can't get out basically.

 

really? is it something you use a stove with? or do you plug it in the wall?

 

All About Pressure Cookers
By Kim Tilley
"I just got a brand new pressure cooker. Trouble is, I have NO IDEA what to do with it! Any help out there?"

I love my pressure cooker! I was afraid to use one at first, but now I could not live without it. Meats cooked in the pressure cooker are similar in texture to crock pot meats, but are done very quickly. I have a recipe for potroast that I adapted from one of my crock pot books that works very well in the pressure cooker. It takes 8-10 hours in the crockpot, 1 hour in the pressure cooker. That's great, because there are times when I forget to thaw something out. I know I can throw it in the pressure cooker and within an hour, we have dinner.

Pressure cookers also work very well with beans and whole grains, but be sure to check the steam vent before using to make sure it's free and clear of any food particles. You also need to be wary of bean skins getting into the steam vent. A little oil is often added to beans to keep them from foaming in the cooker.

Cooking under pressure may seem scary because of the horror stories of earlier generations, but these days it's pretty safe. I've been pressure cooking for at least 5 years, and have never had a cooker explode on me.

I own three pressure cookers. One is fairly small (I inherited it). A larger one is also a canner, and cans up to 7 pints at a time. I got that one on clearance for $20 at Walmart. The third one was a recent purchase and it's my "big kahuna" as it works for canning quart jars. You can use pressure canners to can all kinds of meats and vegetables. Most fruits can be safely canned in water bath canners, so pressure canning isn't always necessary.

In addition to canning and pressure cooking, I use my cookers for regular stove top cooking as well. They're sturdy and the larger ones hold tons of soup, which can also be canned later as long as there are no starches such as pasta present (starches break down in the canning process).

I hope this information is helpful to those of you thinking about getting a pressure cooker. Or perhaps you too have inherited one. My best advice is to buy a quality cooker (Walmart's are fine- they carry Mirro brand).

If you get a used pressure cooker, it is crucial to make sure the gaskets (rubber seals) are still in the top of the pressure cooker, and that the steam vent is working properly. I think Mirro and some of the other pressure cooker manufacturers will send you a new manual if you request one.

 

^ just read that too

 

those words , scare me

 

just the fact that this person has to state that theirs have never exploded makes me not want to get one of them.

 

oh, talk about Indian food, I was so hungry the other night, and just... walked into this Indian place... kinda one of those "..hole in the wall..." like places... and their Tandoori Chicken was so damn good... does your mom know how to make that dish? recipes?

 

my thoughts, exactly

 

my mom uses one, but I don't see what the hype is about because her food tasted the same when she was cooking without it.

does it save time in cooking? does it cook the food faster or something?

 

3x faster

 

I use em...great for any slow-roasted meats.

You can also fry with them, but I've never done that. Pressure-fryers are what places like KFC/Popeyes use...it's why the chicken stays so damn moist/juicy.

 

For all of you guys that are afraid of getting one, let me say that they are very safe to use, but nothing can defy simply physics.

If you have a container and increase pressure in it without an outlet valve, it will explode.

A pressure cooker is similar but it has a valve that does not let the pressure to increase to dangerous levels.

People who have had accidents with pressure cookers are just dumb. You just have to make sure the valve is free and can open and close before you start cooking.

 

alright... I have a couple hours to kill... I'm off to the mall... I might just get one...

man! reading stuff on this forum is dangerously expensive.... I was one click away from buying the iPod Nano just now... cause someone posted it... but I'm going to hold off on that for now...

 

Is it like a slow cooker? My fiance insisted on putting this rice cooker/ slow cooker on the gift registry. I have no idea what it is. Why would I want to cook something all day

 

pressure cookers do just that. They usually have an internal pressure of about 16 PSI depending on what your cooking. The pressure also makes everything taste better because the flavor gets into the meat better. KFC does pressure cook their chicken, but Popeyes does not. That was why KFC was such a hit when he started. Not only did the chicken taste better, but the cooking time went down 60%. As far as exploding, as long as you don't turn the heat up to high, it won't be an issue.

 

FDL, it is not a slow-cooker, but just the opposite.

You will cook faster in a pressure cooker and the food will taste better because the flavor will penetrate inside anything that is in the cooker.

 

save $$ on energy.

 

Hmmm...popeyes doesn't huh. Never had their chicken. I know KFC uses a PC on their regular chicken, but regular deep-fries their extra-crispy. I had the pleasure of doing a tour through KFC when I was 16 After I told my friends how they made their gravy taste so good...they wouldn't eat there

 

I dunno if Jatt have a better recipe. but get a tandoor paste from Indian grocery store and add yogurt, ginger and green chilis to it, then marinate your chicken in it for 3-4 hours min. Overnight will get best results and then grill it on BBQ while buttering it. However, the one done in Indian restaurants, they use clay oven aka Tandoor and that gives it the best taste.

 

sounds gotta try that

to keep tandoor aka clay oven requires a license.

 

I have one, but I don’t use it much.
The thing I don’t like about it is you can’t see inside to tell when things are done.
You have to take it off the stove, cool it with water and then open the top.
Hopefully then your food is done. If not you have to add water and then heat it up again.
They are nice if you have a good recipe to follow.

The new ones are pretty much impossible to blow up or hurt yourself.
They have a locking mechanism so you can’t take the lid off while it’s under pressure.
And there’s a rubber plug that will pop out if the “shaker” at the top gets blocked.

 

Agreed, you need to know how long you need to cook in a pressure cooker. The way one would find out is by trial and error. But once you know the magic number, you are all set for a lifetime of quicker meals.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...212431-1033662

Decent one on sale for $35 shipped.

 

i wouldn't know anything about them

 

after reading this thread when it was first posted.... I ran out and bought one... and it's been sittin' in the box since then... I've been busy... and just been using my crock pot... but once everything (in my life) slows down... hopefully comes Oct... I'm gonna actually make an attempt to use this thing.

 

Do you know of any good cookbooks that tell you how and what to cook with a crockpot. I like the idea of throwing all the ingredients there in the morning and coming home to a cooked meal but I don't know what to cook.

 

one of the things I've been cooking is rather easy... I just open up a couple jars, maybe 3 pasta sauce... throw a ton of chicken breasts (usually frozen) in there... some onions... minced garlic... and in the morning... DONE!

 

Great deal on this pressure cooker....

Anyone ever use this model before?

http://www.spoofee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30270

Perfect Plus 4.5 Qt. Pressure Cooker for $100 Shipped

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amazon.com has the Perfect Plus 4.5 Quart Pressure Cooker + $5 worth of goods for $100 shipped.

1. Amazon Price : $119.99
2. Add $5.01+ worth of goods from the kitchen section.
3. Coupon Price : -$25 off $125 | Code : SPRINGIN
Final Price : $100 Shipped

 

I just dropped $350 on the Bugatti Veyron of pressure cookers.
Want to know about pressure cookers? read on.

Just to start things off, I have a true story of a lady (my friend's mom when I was 14) that was a newb at pressure cookers and tried to cook split pea soup. She didn't and flipped out when the little giggle thingy on top started giggling. She took a fork and pulled it off, resulting in an instant De-pressurization of the vessel- thereby making the soup instantly vaporize. Since it only had a 1/8 inch hole to go through, like a laser beam it shot straight up to the ceiling and made a really cool upside-down green volcano looking mound. It was funny as hell.

Fast forward 32 years. My life is busy. I am the cook of the house and I get home at 6:30. My 14 year old son has lunch at 10:30 and is starving when I get home so I always cook things that take no longer than 30-45 minutes. Being a cook for years and watching my mom successfully use one religiously for both cooking and canning, I decide to do the research and go get a good cooker. Keep in mind that I don't buy crap, I drop fat dime. I now know everything there is to know about a pressure cookers. (God I love the internet.)

What I found was this- These days pressure cookers are much different. There are spring-loaded valves that set pressures right on the money, and usually a few other safety features that make today's PC's much more attractive and efficient. There are also some really good cook books that really give you a good head start in cooking under pressure. I found that a book by Lorna Sass Called "Pressure Prefect" was a really good read.


THE BASICS OF A PRESSURE COOKER:
A pressure cooker is a pot with a tight sealing lid. It uses pressure from steam that builds up during the boiling process. But here's the trick- Since water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit in open air, you can now cook at 250 degrees under 15 lbs. of closed pressure! The result is a much quicker cooking time with juices and flavors being pushed much deeper into the food. There is also a side benefit of releasing the pressure quickly, to actually help tenderize meats and beans. They are more nutritious to use because much less water escapes and all the nutrients tend to stay in the food. They are also much more energy efficient because the heat is being retained in the cooker rather than escaping. It's a wonder more people don't use them these days. You can cook just about anything. Pot roasts, Lamb shanks, beans, fruits, soups, desserts, (including Cheesecake!) pasta, rice, tons of things.


SO WHAT MAKES A GOOD PRESSURE COOKER?
I found this to be the most important feature to look for when buying a cooker. A good pressure cooker needs to have a thick-layered steel/aluminum/steel metal bottom to disperse the heat evenly through the bottom of the pan. This way it will not burn things that sit at the bottom of the cooker during the cooking process, like flour or gravies. The cooker needs to be made of stainless steel, hopefully "18/10" grade. Aluminum has been proven to leach and cause people to grow a third arm. PSI or Pounds per square inch: A pressure cooker should operate at 15 PSI +/-1. Cookers that don't get that high take longer to cook and many recipes don't match. The lid will be very important as well. It needs to be sturdy with heat-resistant handles. Try to lock it and see how easy it is to do. If it feels flimsy, it probably will not last. Safety is important, so make sure that there are at least three back-ups for releasing pressure. Most of today's cookers do.

I just bought the Kuhn Rikon 8 Liter Family Cooker: Click Here

It's a race horse of a cooker and will get any job done with finesse and style. Yes, I dropped mad money on this thing but I know I will get my money's worth. You can certainly get good cookers for a lower price but just do your research. Of all the places I found for learning, I found Amazon.com to be the best place for user feedback. Oh well. I bought it through Pleasant Hill grain who had the best website and resources to order from. They price-matched and swapped out the cookbook for me as well. Great transaction. I just got it and have not used it yet but I'm planning on cooking a roast this weekend.

So what does all this mean to you? Well if you want to literally cook a great dinner in minutes instead of hours while saving energy and retaining vitamins, then go get one! If you already have one but are shy to use it, trust me when I say that that book by Lorna Sass (Pressure Perfect) is the best. It guides you through everything and even has some tweaks to lots of recipes that make it a very versatile book. Per her instruction, I am now testing water loss in 20, 40 and 1 hour increments to fine-tune her recipes. I can't wait to start cooking with this thing.

 

wow! talk about revived from the dead thread

 

I love my pressure cooker, 30 bux and it's been running for about 5 yrs now...

 

So I've used my new cooker about 10 times now and I'm really getting the hang of it. My best dish has been Chicken Paprikash, Also called Chicken Paprika. It is a basic Hungarian dish that only takes about 30 minutes to make instead of hours in the cooker. It's crazy good over Sushi rice. Click here for Recipe

My regular recipe for pot roast came out better than any roast I've ever made, it was truly falling apart and the gravy went perfect with wide egg noodles. What usually takes about 4 hours only took 1 1/2. total including prep. I also made barbecued pork ribs and they were really good as well. They were 45 minutes instead of 3 hours. You basically cook the ribs in the cooker and finish them on the grill.

The cooker is the Kuhn Rikon 8 quart family-style stock pot design: Click here It was $340. That hurt but it's top of the line and will last forever. I cook for the family and nothing sucks worse than coming home from work at 6:30 pm only to make some quick-fix crap out of a can or box because everyone is starving. Now I can have really nutritious good food on the table in less than an hour, and it's big enough for feeding up to 6 easily.

 

From the recipe...

What does "after control jiggles mean?"

 

It's a weight that goes on top of the older style cookers, it jiggles to release steam when it reaches 15 lbs of pressure. That's when you start timing the cooking time.