Guaranteed you’ve seen people talking about pressure cookers. We know, we posted about them just last week. Most people love them. They rave about how amazing they are and how they’ve changed their cooking habits because of it. But, what about the things they don’t talk about? Or if you’re looking at getting one and want to know more about them before you go all in and spend $200 on a tool that might just end up taking up space. We’re diving into what you need to know before you hit that shiny ‘buy now’ button.
Before we dig in, just what is a pressure cooker? Sure there are tons of different name brands, and these days many of them have 3 billion different functions. A basic pressure cooker though, that is a pot with a lid that you can seal and lock into place. The pressure within the pot is controlled by one, or multiple, valves that trap steam inside the pot.
If you want to learn more about pressure canners and cookers and their history, check out this article over at Foodal. They go into how the pressure canner and cooker got started and why so many of us have stories of them exploding.
It takes time and a lot of research
As with any new piece of equipment, it takes time to learn about it. Read the manual end to end, and then once more for safety’s sake. The booklet that came with your pressure cooker is not only going to be your best friend, it’s also going to keep you safe. On top of that, finding what ways you can use a pressure cooker for your family is going to be different than anyone else. Some people use them just to cook components for a meal, some people use them to cook the entire meal. Figuring that out is going to be a labor of love. (As many people have pointed out, make sure to have a backup meal and keep notes as you go. )
Things to try and figure out ahead of time:
What would you use it for most?
Size- They come in everything from a 3 qt size to a 12 qt size. Consider the space in your kitchen as well as the space in your sink. (Nothing is worse than trying to clean a pot you can’t fit in your sink in the first place.
Functions - What functions do you want on your pressure cooker?
Brand- While we don’t normally suggest specific brands for small appliances, we know that people do have brand loyalty, and that some brands are more trustworthy than others. Consider this when you’re doing your research.
There are many different brands out there, and you don’t want to waste money getting one that doesn’t fit your needs.
It’s less a question of ‘can I cook it’ than ‘should I cook it’?
The internet is full of curious, wonderful, inventive people. They’ve found all sorts of things that you can cook in a pressure cooker. The question comes down to should you. Will you like it, will it taste good? We don’t have all the answers. What we do know is that all sorts of things have been discovered to be possible and that it’s up to you to find out if they work for you and your family.
The ‘exploding pressure cooker’ has become a thing of the past, mostly.
We say it this way because there are two things that no amount of engineering can get rid of.
Accidents happen. Distraction, clogged seals, overfull pot, all of these things can contribute to having a lid go flying.
People have heirloom pots. You know the one that your great grandmother passed down? Yeah. They work great, but if you’re not paying attention, they are far more likely to go off than the more safety conscious ones of today.
It will continue cooking even after you turn the heat off.
As with all foods, unless you stick them into an ice bath immediately after removing them from the heat, they are going to keep cooking. This is especially true for pressure cookers, both of the stove variety and the electric variety due to the pressure. As Clotilde of CnZ points out, consider removing yours from the heat a few minutes before the recipe is officially done cooking.
The cooking time doesn’t begin the minute you turn on the pot.
Like cooking in the oven you have to let the pot reach the ideal temperature and pressure before the actual cooking time begins. It’s a small thing but one we wish we had known for our first cooking attempt.
You don’t only clean the pot, you also need to keep the sealing components clean.
It’s not enough to just wipe down the surface of the sealing components and be done. Today’s kettles are built so that if all of the pieces don’t align properly, the unit won’t pressurize at all. It’s a safety feature, but one that means you have to be very thorough in what you’re doing.
You might not like it.
Even after everything. All the researching, all the testing. You still might not like it as was the case for Rachel, the blogger of Feast and Farm. That’s ok! As she points out, there are other ways to cook fast meals and not lose out on the flavor.
So, do you think that you’ll still get a pressure cooker? Let us know in the poll over on Facebook, we’d love to hear from you. Remember that if your larger appliances are giving you trouble, reach out and we’ll be happy to help. We want to help all of our clients in Dallas and surrounding areas to keep your homes running in tip top shape even during this chaotic time.