Breville Electric Pressure Cooker

[WayneT]

My sister gave me a second hand Breville Electric Pressure Cooker (see Pic).
There is no instruction or recipe book.

I can probably work it out but don't want to end up like my sister and give it away in frustration.

Anybody have any recipes (for this particular cooker) they could post or instruction info they can scan and Email to me.

In the meantime I WILL do a Google on it.

I don't need only fancy recipes, the basic stuff would be fine to get the hang of it.

 

[choclatechef]

I just ran a search on Ebay, but I could not find anything.

Maybe if you can't get an instruction manual from the manufacturer, you can find one on Ebay later.

I don't use pressure cookers, so I can't help you. I grew up with the old ones, and I remember mom's exploded all over the kitchen when I was about 6 years old. I haven't touched one since.

I am as scared of pressure cookers as I am of butane torches!!!

 

[WayneT]

I grew up with the old ones, and I remember mom's exploded all over the kitchen when I was about 6 years old. I haven't touched one since.

I can't seem to find anything on the Breville model.

Talking of exploding. I make homebrew. Some years ago I boiled my hops in an old stovetop pressure cooker..
That in itself is OK, but I decided to save time and put the malt in with it.
Well the malt boiled and bubbled and bubbled until it came out of the safety valve.
It was a SEB brand cooker with a rotating safety valve.
It sure rotated, it rotated malt all around the kitchen walls, and more.
I just grabbed it and threw it in the sink (The malt had just about run out by this time) and poured cold water over it, they say that is a normal way of quick lid release for pressure cookers.
Well the cold water just buckled mine.
My wife came into the kitchen, she looked disgusted but did not utter a word as she began cleaning up the mess.
If looks could kill, as they say.
To this day she has never mentioned it! Just quietly, neither have I.

 

[choclatechef]

You have a fine lady there!!!!! She must be a real gem!!!

I would have had a fit! Either that, or I would have died laughing.

 

[WayneT]

ChocolateChef, My sentiments exactly.

 

[Psiguyy]

Wayne, you and I know she's just waiting for the perfect opportunity to throw it back into your face!

 

[mudbug]

Wayne, I'm shocked....SHOCKED....that you haven't found your own answer yet after all the help you give the rest of us.

There must be heaps of pressure cooking recipes out there in cyberspace. I don't cook that way, so have no help to offer.

I DID love the story about the homebrew adventure, though.

 

[WayneT]

Mudbug,

Sure there are umpteen dozen recipes out there. I was mainly after the instruction manual and recipes pertaining to the Breville electric model.

I think I worked it out though.

I have two dials. One is a timer. The other is to regulate the pressure. It has 7 settings. I think I just use those settings as I would a stove top element with a normal pressure cooker.

I found after 2 hours searching about 5 articles that actually had any info, (although useless), pertaining to the Breville.

 

[kitchenelf]

This is my only suggestion
Breville homepage

They have an Australian link - maybe you could e-mail them and request an instruction booklet - sorry - I couldn't find anything either.

 

[WayneT]

Thanx ELF. Breville Australia don't seem to have this product listed. As you suggested I emailed them anyway.

Goodness, gracious, the great Google man has failed and is now grovelling and pleading for help!

Overnight I seem to have worked out that there is a timer dial and a heat dial. From what I have devised is that the heat dial sort of corresponds to the dial for one's hotplate control on the stove.

There are a couple of settings on the lid also, I think they will have to be a trial and error thing. IF YOU GUYS DON"T HERE FROM ME AGAIN, then maybe i got the settings wrong.

I was just hoping for some recipes more specific to this gadget. looks like I will just adapt from other cooker recipes.

 

[WayneT]

To the mighty ELF. Breville replied to my email, I can get the book for AUD$18 with postage.

 

[choclatechef]

Great Wayne! I am happy for you!

 

[kitchenelf]

Yea, I'm exhausted now after doing all that work!! 8)

 

[jennyema]

There are a couple of settings on the lid also, I think they will have to be a trial and error thing. IF YOU GUYS DON"T HERE FROM ME AGAIN, then maybe i got the settings wrong.

I am hoping you are still with us!!!

First off, I will tell you that I LOVE :P my pressure cooker. But it's a stovetop model. It comes in really handy for loads of things: beans, stews, pot roast, etc.

My suggestion is to buy a couple of pounds of dry beans and then put on your scientist's hat.

My guess is that if you can figure out the settings on your contraption that are equivalent to a regular stove top model, you can adjust yours accordingly. So, if it takes a stovetop model 20 minutes with no manual release of steam* to cook dry beans to doneness, experiment and see how long and on what setting you achieve the same result with yours.

It probably won't take you long to figure this out.

A pressure cooker is a good thing to have around. Good Luck!



* this is an example only, there are lots of sites on line that can give you actual instructions

 

[kitchenelf]

WayneT - I would recommend a basic pressure cooker book - I'm not sure what you available there - but one that has soups, stocks, and bean recipes. Beans are a different creature in a pressure cooker - because they foam when cooking you have to add oil (vegetable/canola, etc.) to keep the foam down which in turn keeps it out of the pressure valve!

I'll look up the ratio of beans/water/oil a little later - I've got some good soup recipes, adobo chicken, and a few others I'll pass along too.

 

[jennyema]

WayneT - I would recommend a basic pressure cooker book - I'm not sure what you available there - but one that has soups, stocks, and bean recipes. Beans are a different creature in a pressure cooker - because they foam when cooking you have to add oil (vegetable/canola, etc.) to keep the foam down which in turn keeps it out of the pressure valve!

I have never added oil What happens if you don't ?.... . Would it make the thing blow up?? Ai Yi YI!!

I suggested beans because they are cheap and easy to experiment with. A book would be good, but to begin the experiment you need only a recipe with times and directions for stovetop, in order to try and replicate on electic model.

 

[kitchenelf]

lol - You probably never fill the pot up enough for it to matter. For beans you never want to fill up over the halfway mark. Beans have a tendency to create a foam - and when under pressure the foam rises and can cause a bean or some bean skin to the top and become lodged in the vent and clog it, which is not good lol. Use the quck-release method to prevent foaming and sputtering from the vent.

So......to be on the safe side I ALWAYS do this - for every cup of beans I add 4 cups of water and 1 TBS of oil. For each additional cup of beans I add 3 cups of water and an additional TBS of oil.

MORE BEAN INFO: Also, never add salt or acidic incredients to your beans such as tomatoes or molasses before they are almost entirely cooked. It causes the bean skins to harden and and they won't become tender no matter how long yo ucook them.

The exception to this is when you are doing soups and you add a slightly salted stock and some canned tomatoes - you may have to lengthen the cooking time a bit.

 

[jennyema]

Yikes, elfie, I never knew that! I will now always add oil.

But I will also add salt. I'm with Shirley Corriher who says always salt your bean water. But never add an acid. I'm with you there.

 

[kitchenelf]

jenny,

I have had my beans turn tough and had to throw them away - so if it's always worked for you I'm envious!!!! lol

I will put a smoked ham hock in but I still don't add salt - I'm skeered now!

 

[WayneT]

Thanx everyone for the help offered. I have taken on board all the comments, shuffled them up and I am slowly working it out.

This cooker has a vent on top with 4 settings.
I worked that 1=5lb pressure, 2=10lb pressure and 3=15 lb pressure. The other labled Steam, is for steaming foods not under pressure.

The two dials on the front are a Timer and a heat control, equivalent to the Hotplate dial on the stovetop.

I have cooked three recipes so far and am loving it.

Thanx again, everyone.