Pressure Cooking – The Last Frontier

Most of my acquaintances haven’t branched out and tried the pressure cooker, although many have dehydrators and various other kitchen gadgets.  These gadgets are some of the most time saving devices for the cook that exist.  Many have a fear of pressure cookers and I’m fairly certain it has to do with the potential for explosion.  Respect for the cooker and care in use virtually eliminate this problem.  I enjoy using a pressure cooker, because it allows me to cook faster and to pressure can.  Not all pressure cookers are designed for pressure canning, so if you are interested in canning make certain that the one you intend to purchase will safely do so.

I became intrigued by the pressure cooker when I noted that my mother-in-law used hers quite frequently.  It’s an old fashioned model with no release valve – now that makes me nervous!  It has to be put under running water to kill the pressure.  She and I use ours very differently though.  Hers is mainly reserved for vegetables: potatoes, green beans, broccoli, carrots and onions.

I was gifted the Fagor Splendid model by my parents some years ago for Christmas and it has received a lot of use.   So much so that I have had to purchase new gaskets.  I tend to use mine to cook pork butt for BBQ, rehydrate beans, sauced beans and occasionally a whole chicken.  I’ve tried rice without much success, but I came up with a new method for cooking rice which has received rave reviews from the family (involves soaking the brown rice first).  I don’t like to cook delicate veggies like my mother-in-law does as I prefer mine to be somewhat crisp tender instead of completely cooked through.  To each his own!

If you have made the leap to dried beans from canned, the pressure cooker can save you a lot of time.  In under 10 minutes in most instances, your beans are done versus the traditional hours simmering on the stovetop.  My children annihilated my crock pot and I have yet to replace it.  I am really pleased with the wide variety of dishes that I can quickly make that would have taken hours in my crockpot.  I’ll tweak some recipes and post them here for the adventurous!