Big Bertha – My 20 year old pressure cooker. As a newlywed I called my Grandma to ask her for some cooking advice. I wanted to know the secret of putting a home cooked meal on the table within thirty minutes of my husband coming home. This was back before cell phones and my husband worked odd hours, so I did not know when he would be home until he pulled into the driveway. My Grandma’s advice was to use a pressure cooker. She told me that she would have everything ready and in the pressure cooker, then when my Grandfather pulled in the drive way she would turn the heat on under the pot and dinner would be ready in 15 minutes. As in most things my Grandma was right.
Since then I have discovered a couple of things about pressure cookers:
1. You can put the toughest piece of meat in one and it will come out so tender that you don’t need a knife.
2. You can cook beans or rice in 10 – 20 minutes! If you cook rice the conventional way it has to simmer for 40 minutes – that is a 50% -75% savings on gas or electricity usage. I like to cook beans and rice in large quantities in the pressure cooker and then freeze the extras for “fast food” on busy nights.
3. You can make a lot more than just pot roast in your pressure cooker. I have found recipes for applesauce, refried beans, and even cheesecake.
4. Some recipes require you to release the pressure naturally, but for many recipes you can release the pressure quickly by running cold water over the cover.
5. You can use a pressure cooker to make baby food. Rew’s favorite “baby food” was carrots cooked in equal parts of V-8 juice and beef broth. After cooking the carrots, I mashed them in the liquids they were cooked in to minimize vitamin loss. Even once he was able to eat bite size pieces I cooked his vegetables in a pressure cooker to make them extra tender.
6. You can use it as a pressure canner to can vegetables.
So if you have a pressure cooker lurking in your cupboards pull it out this summer. Since you don’t have to cook food in it for very long it is a great summer time cooking implement.
This post has been linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday and Works For Me Wednesday.
pressure cooker says
At kitchen ware direct you will find a lots of sized and shaped pressure cooker for your home cooking.
The Thrifty Countrywoman says
Alea, glad you figured out what I was talking about. I see that I forgot the "not" in my PS!
Alea says
Jane, I think the latest posts are not showing up on your sidebar because I did not post them in the order that I wrote them. Which troubles me because I started several pressure cooker recipe posts yesterday, but won't have time to finish them until tomorrow, so they might end up hidden beneath my garden post. I will see if there is a way to fix that.
The Thrifty Countrywoman says
I've always been a little bit afraid of them. But I'm willing to try again! I think one would be great for dried beans. Sometimes you boil them for hours and they're still a little on the hard side.
PS : I wonder why your new posts are showing up on my sidebar?
Barb Boyd says
I had some dried pinto beans that had been in my cupboard since I last moved, ( 10 years). I soaked them overnight and cooked on stove top for 2 hours and they were still hard. I was about to throw them out when I remembered the old presto pressure cooker in the basement. So I dug it out cleaned it up, oiled the rubber ring, cooked the beans for 10 minutes and ended up with the best beans I have ever had. The skins were intact and the centers were nice and soft. I can’t wait to try some more dishes.
Alea says
Melissa – I think "the don't cook rice or beans" is leftover from the old pressure cookers that released more steam than modern pressure cookers, making it harder to control the moisture content, so the rice/beans tended to cook up to dry.
The manual I received with my 20 year old pressure cooker has instructions on how to cook both.
Which brings me to the safety issue. With modern pressure cookers the pressure release valve prevents more than 15 pounds of pressure from building up inside the pot. Modern pressure cookers also have a locking mechanism on the handle, so the pot cannot be opened until the pressure has been fully released. When buying a pressure cooker make sure it has been awarded the approval of Underwriters Laboratories, which tests it to ensure its safety. And refer to the manual before using your pressure cooker.
The Desperate Cook says
I have never used a pressure cooker, I have thought about it but have heard horror stories of people blowing the lid off and food flying everywhere. Can that happen?
I just seen one at a yard sale last week, I am going to keep my eyes open and get one. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.
MamaMiaMelissa says
i have one… but read that you shouldn't cook beans OR rice in them. that's not true??? and now i have no idea how to use the darn thing. and i LOVE beans and rice both! LOL
feel free to write me – heatonm @ gmail.com
or on my blog…
melissa
Alea says
Yes, you are right Rebecca. I enjoyed my pressure cooker when I lived at sea level, but I really appreciate it at altitude!
Rebecca says
I want one! I have heard before that they're great for cooking beans – especially in high altitude where our boiling point is lower so cooking takes longer. (I think that's why; maybe someday I'll teach a science lesson that tells me the right reason.)
I guess I'll have to start searching for one at an economical price.