Pressure Cooker - Yes or No

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pressure cooker

kitchenelf,
I have not used it very much yet. I will be using it more in the winter.
One time I forgot to close the valve when I started it. I thought it sounded strange and turned it off. Allof the water had escaped as steam. I gues it takes some getting used to.
Some day I will have to tell you about getting hit with a double boiler.
 
Paint, as soon as I got an affirmative answer I was straight down the shop. No mucking around. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

I've seen the electric ones on the web, but not available locally , they look good.

I can still remember my mum's big heavy job with a wieght that went over the steam outlet pipe as the regulator. When pressure attained the weight would bounce around as the steam escaped. One day (as a little kid) I was looking for a heavy sinker for fishing, to long cast & holdposition in the current. I tied the PC weight onto my line and casted it out, never to be seen again. Gee it went a long way :LOL: . Mum was furious, because it couldn't be replaced. I think that old PC was off the ark.

The one I've bought has an indicator that shows 10 psi and 15 psi. The idea is to keep the indicators showing & a whisp of steam from the regulator V/v. If the relief V/v goes off the pressure is too high.

Works quite well, I made Far Eastern Pepper Steak last night but used heavy soy instead of light soy & DW is not a soy fan like me :( Next time I'll use 1/3 quantity of heavy soy because I love my light soy too much to cook with it.

I hope to do some fish as well Charlotte, I've got a recipe for Haddock in cheese sauce that looks really nice and really quick - time at pressure about 3 minutes for a kilo of fish.

I get used to having a bump or 2 Sizzlin, as the old saying goes, "If you don't make mistakes, you're not having a go." :)

I'm of to the plane now, but I'll post the recipe I mentioned later today when I get back or tomorrow when I log on.

Do you guys think that a Pressure Cooking forum is required or simply post recipes to existing forums labelled "PC" in the title?

Thank you all for your input, I'm sure I'm not the only one to be educated by the experts.
 
I hope this is OK to do. I have a brand new pressure cooker that I would be happy to sell for the best offer plus shipping. I confess that I bought a pressure cooker so I could make KFC at home & then found out that I need a pressure fryer - that a pressure cooker is not a safe way to do KFC in oil! This is the one I have - the 8 qt size in stainless steel.
http://www.manttra.com/cgi-bin/product_display.cgi?pcode=QES_SS

corinne@macrobyte.net
 
Ok you guys! I've been waffling on the pressure cooker notion for years! I think you all just kicked me off the fence - and I was getting used to the pickett marks!

I didn't grow up with one either so I've been afraid of them - I was gifted with a small one - waaayyyy too small to be of much use so I never used it :wacko:

We are a family of 2 but there've been many times I've wanted to can something that needs to go into the pressure canner so the notion of one big enough to do both appeals to me. Would that be too much for the chicken and veggies that were mentioned?

DH received a bonus and split it w/me so I've a few $$ in my pocket and couldn't think of anything to spend them on!

Any suggestions about brands? Or a size that would do for both regular cooking and a small load of canning?
 
Generally - a pressure cooker in the 10+ quart size is considered a pressure canner/cooker - since it can handle pint or quart jars. These usually come with two racks - one for holding jars and the other for cooking (to elevate the food up off the bottom of the pot).

Naturally - the larger it is (in qts) the more it will hold for canning. You just have to read the specs on each pot. What size you need depends on if your canning 1/2 pints, pints, quarts - and how many you have to process.

In the US - Mirro and Presto are probably the most popular because of the initial cost. They both use rubber sealing gaskets that need to be replaced every couple of years (but you can pick these up at an ACE Hardware store for under $10). The other brand is All American - which doesn't need a rubber gasket and costs up to double that of Mirro or Presto, depending on where you get them. The Mirro and Presto usually just clamp in two places - the All American will have 6-8 clamping spots (look like the ones they use on Iron Chef).

Here are the Google search results for each brand (to give you a starting point)

Mirro

Presto

All American
 
Thanks so much for the info! I'm going with the All American 10 1/2 qt looks just right for me!

What an adventure!

Thanks again!
 
Corinne,
Don't you think you would ever use it for other things?
The postage would be high since they are so heavy.
Marge~Dove
 
Dove said:
Corinne,
Don't you think you would ever use it for other things?
The postage would be high since they are so heavy.
Marge~Dove

You're right - it's heavy. I've had it for a couple years & never used it - I am trying to simplify my life. We have way too much stuff in this house. I have a lot of things that I was hanging onto, thinking my son might want them when he settled down. Since he died, I am getting rid of & letting go of things that I have no use for.

All I really wanted to do with it was make KFC!!! Truthfully, I don't know what else to do with it! Maybe I oughta invest in a PC cookbook or something. Or it could be the gift for the next wedding we're invited to!

Corinne
 
DON'T try to use your pressure cooker for a pressure fryer unless the instructions that came with it say you can!!!

Read THIS to understand why!
 
You're not the first person to ever mention having a pressure cooker and wanting to make KFC - and it makes my skin crawl every time I see the words Pressure Cooker and KFC used together! I remember one night in the ER when we had a lady come in who had tried to use a pressure cooker to make homemade KFC ... the gasket melted, blew, and sprayed her with 400-F+ oil. After we got her stabalized we had to CareFlight her to the burn unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

Pressure cookers these days are safe IF you do what Norm always said at the beginning of every episode of The New Yankee Workshop ... always read, understand, and follow the instructions that come with your power tools.
Too many nice people here .... don't want to make anyone afraid of using pressure cookers - just don't want to see anyone get hurt not using them properly.
 
Pressure frying sounds good but only in a blue moon - I surely wouldn't buy something just for that - and I ABSOLUTELY WILL read the directions. (I'm a big coward) but would the American do that?
 
I don't know ... the All American line "looks" like it "could" also be used for pressure frying since it doesn't use gaskets and has multiple lock-down points on the lid .... and they look darn similar to the the Col's KFC pots .... but I don't know. You would just have to check with All American and see what they say before you buy/use one for pressure frying.
 
What interesting reading!

Great info and tremendous advice Michael, read with interest and duly noted.

Having worked at KFC (Umina, NSW) as a teenager, I've seen enough to last me a life time. We rarely eat it now, I reckon I cooked it better than is available today as well. That's not to say it is awful, it isn't, it is nice, but at our stage of life, each piece equates to an inch on my waist. :)

We had a 15 pot line & Friday & saturday nights we'd have the lot working & only 1 cook. Preparing AND frying. Phew

Trying Chicken casserole with dumplings tonight with plenty of dill. DW loves dill, probably because she married one, ha ha.

Oh, safety wise, with the one we bought, a European model, if the pressure keeps rising after the the safety V/v lifts then the seal pops out a little window in the locking thingy to completely relieve internal pressure. If this hapens the seal needs to be replaced.

Half time cooking at worst. I think the purchase was worth it. Total cooking time for the Beef dish was 9 minutes and the meat was "melt in the mouth". I couldn't do that stir frying. Chuck steak stew in 45 minutes - unbelievable.

But the best thing of all is that you save heaps of energy, something we all should be doing in every way we can.
 
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under the heading of "Don't Try This at Home"

Michael in FtW said:
I don't know ... the All American line "looks" like it "could" also be used for pressure frying since it doesn't use gaskets and has multiple lock-down points on the lid ....


Beyond the visual appearance, the chief difference -- and not coincidently the most important -- is the pressure setting. Pressure fryers, both the smaller home version and the restaurant trade models use a much lower psi setting than either the standard pressure canner or pressure cooker, all of which are separate appliances designed for different purposes.
 
When I was a child we had one I was scard of but it made great food. I remember my dad making all kinds of stuff in it. and it was fast. I have thought of getting one but I only cook for my self and sometimes I cook for the rest of the family. I saw one that if I had kids I would likely get it looked like a deepfryer but was a pressure cooker and had a auto lock and a timmer. I just cant justify the cost when I would likely only use it a few times a year.
 
Hi -

This thread answers my first Q, which was "why not chicken" - I'm relieved to know that the problem is the oil, not the poultry.

Next, remaining Q:

As I cook for 1 person, and have no interest in canning, is there any down side to using a p/c much, much larger than is needed?
I expect to limit its usage to meat and veggies, so the largest item would look lost in an 8 qt. model.
So, aside from empty space in the pot, is there another reason to limit the size to the smallest available?

Oh - for what it's worth: a pressure cooker's 15 psi is not particularly impressive - my car's tires are inflated to 30 psi.
 
Pressure cookers come in all sizes. I am partial to the countertop electric models since I am prone to starting a dish on the stovetop that needs to be cooked for a period of time and then getting involved in something else. I often don't hear the timer and have often overcooked or burned potatoes, beans, rice, etc. on the stove top. Thus I prefer the countertop electric models with shutoff timers.

I have this 8 qt. model: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/walk.yah.1125~4005http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail

But there are many sizes: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.nav/params.class.5410.level.3/walk.yah.1125-4005?tmp=ddsn&cont=5410&cm_re=PAGE-_-DEPARTMENTS-_-PRESSURECOOKERS
 
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My mother is the ultimate super queen of the pressure cooker. We had many meals a week in the pressure cooker. If you ever told her that you was going to make fried chicken in it and she lived nearby, she probably would have packed up and moved far away!
Things that you can cook in a pressure cooker are stews but there are always things to know about. You cannot put all of your stew ingredients in and pressure until done.
You put your stew meat and meat seasonings in the pot. You can never fill the pot more than 3/4 full of ingredients and liquid. You do not time the pressure cooker until it is fully pressured and the regulator is rocking in rhythm.
Once the meat is done, you turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to go down. It is very dangerous to use the quick method of running the pressure down by placing the pressure cooker in the sink and running cold water over it.
Cooking the meat takes about an hour to include the time to build the pressure. It takes about 30 minutes for the pressure to run down once the food is cooked.
Once you can open the pressure cooker (and there will be steam), you can then put your vegetables into the pot with the meat. Again, you cannot put more than 3/4 full at any time.
Add additional liquid as needed (not to exceed filling 3/4 full). Return the pressure cooker to the heat and build the pressure. It takes about 15-20 minutes for the vegetables to fully cook. And again you must turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to run down (about 30 minutes).
When you can safely remove the lid, check for seasonings, put into a stew server bowl and have dinner.
There is no savored flavor using a pressure cooker. All the nutrition is simply killed. And the food is always overdone!
You should never cook anything in a pressure cooker that creates a lot of foamy starch. She never cooked potatoes for mashing etc.
Beans are pretty good from a pressure cooker but you can only use ham to season and nothing that makes a lot of fat like bacon.
You cannot use a pressure cooker for canning.
 
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