Pressure Cooking

ystanley · #1 (**permalink**) 02-18-2009

Ok, so enough of the negative... My hubby bought me a pressure cooker a few weeks ago so I could learn how to use it before we head out on our adventure. I have tried a few things in it. Burned the spaghettti but the soy chicken with rice was great! Anyone have any good recipes for this? Keeping in mind that my darling hubby is the pickiest eater known to man! Thanks for all your support!

rdstanley · #2 (**permalink**) 02-18-2009

... Keeping in mind that my darling hubby is the pickiest eater known to man! ...

I'm not picky, i just know what i like...

AdamLein · #3 (**permalink**) 02-18-2009

Hmm... my pressure cooker came with a little book that said, among other things, not to cook pasta in it. So we've mostly stuck with rice. We also noticed that it took forever to pressurize on our little kerosene stove, and so we've sort of... put it... on... the back burner omg I'm so sorry.

Anyway, mostly we've just chopped up all sorts of yummy vegetables, tossed them in, added water to cover, pressurized, and cooked for about five minutes. Always very very tasty, hard to mess up. However that same little book came with a variety of recipes that we haven't tried. Maybe tonight will be the night... I'll let you know how it goes.

eryka · #4 (**permalink**) 02-18-2009

They're best for things that would ordinarily take a lot of time and that use a fair amount of water, think bean soups or stews. (Pasta just doesn't cook for long enough to be worthwhile, and timing is too critical.) Look for a book "Cooking Under Pressure" by Lorna Sass - lots of good ideas.

ystanley · #5 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

[QUOTE=AdamLein;450923]Hmm... my pressure cooker came with a little book that said, among other things, not to cook pasta in it.

Yeah, mine came with the same book... I found a pasta recipe online and figured I'd give it a try. Disater!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I cooked the soy chicken at home and at the boat and have to say it did take more time to bring up to pressure at the boat. The recipe says to cook for 4 minutes not including the time to bring up to pressure. At home it took about 20 minutes and on the boat about 30 minutes. Not sure it will go on the back burner just yet, I like the idea of a lid that can lock on.

soulesailor · #6 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

We haven't really explored the potential of our pressure cooker either, but we still use it all the time. It is a nice, big pot with a lid that seals shut which we like. We eat a lot of potatos and veggies while at anchor and the PC really cuts down on the amount of water and fuel we use to cook things that normally take a long time. I've read about pressure cooker bread which is appealing and could really be great since we don't have an oven.

JHJensen · #7 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

I have been using a pressure cooker for years and the new ones are much safer and less likely to spray the contents through the vent on to the overhead

as in yesteryear. Unless you like lentil soup on the overhead...amazing how much stuff can spray through that small vent hole..

but one can also be hurt very badly.

There are some great books out there you can find and your local bookstore and some websites as well. Here is one of my favorites: Miss Vickie's Guide to Modern Pressure Cookery

Books: " The Pressured Cook" Amazon.com: The Pressured Cook: Over 75 One-Pot Meals In Minutes, Made In Today's 100% Safe Pressure Cookers: Lorna J. Sass: Books

In todays economy I think you will also find the pressure cooker has application at home as well.

John

I bring one with me when I am teaching folks about life aboard.

AdamLein · #8 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

Folks, what sort of stove do you use and how big is your pot? Ours is about as large as a standard stove pot, and all we have to heat it up is a little brass kerosene stove. It takes forever to pressurize (an hour in cold weather! as opposed to maybe five minutes at home). I'm thinking of switching down to a smaller pot because sadly this one isn't really getting used.

AdamLein · #9 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

Okay back onto the question of what to cook. Last night's experimental data permits only one conclusion: do not cook chopped up apples in a pressure cooker.

JHJensen · #10 (**permalink**) 02-19-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamLein

Okay back onto the question of what to cook. Last night's experimental data permits only one conclusion: do not cook chopped up apples in a pressure cooker.

Adam,
What happened to your apples and what were you trying to make? Did they foam all over or what?

A smaller cooker may be the way to go. We used to have a small one we used with a Svea single burner gas stove for cooking in the mountains in the winter. I don't remember the brand, but there are smaller ones out there. I have two. A six or seven quart and an aluminum one that is about 2 quarts.

My small one is a Hawkins....I don't remember what site I got it at. Try Google. A side note; almost every Indian household uses a pressure cooker. Their 1.5 liter cooker is around $20.00.

John