Why Cook with a Pressure Cooker

Cooking with a pressure cooker should be considered if eating healthier is a concern. Almost anything can be cooked in a pressure cooker, with the exception of hard boiled eggs, certain dried beans, peas, pastas, and soup mixes. Even some desserts can be cooked in a pressure cooker. And cooking is quicker than ordinary cooking methods.

A pressure cooker cooks when water inside the cooker is brought to a boiled. This create steam. The steam builds up pressure which causes the temperature to rise quickly and higher than boiling water. Hence, foods cook faster than it would if it was boiled.

Even though a pressure cooker may cook faster than cooking on a stove top or regular oven, it may not be as fast as a microwave, but meats and many other foods, which are displeasing when cooked in a microwave, can be cooked in a pressure cooker and still taste good.

Not only can meat be cooked in a pressure cooker, but because it is cooked in a moist environment, even the toughest cuts of meat will come out tender enough to cut with a fork. And pressure cooking leaves more nutrition in the food making it healthier.

Beef, chicken, pork, brown rice and fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes, squash and many others all taste great after being pressure cooked. Meat and poultry are definitely healthier since they are not cooked in grease.

Today’s pressure cookers are safer than the ones of yesteryear. Although newer cooker lids lock when under pressure, which will not allow the lid to be opened until the pressure has diminished, attention needs to be taken when using a cooker. Care and upkeep of these cookers is important. Not completely sealing the lid could cause it to blow off. Boiling it dry may damage the cooker. Not cleaning the pressure vent my cause the over-pressure plug to blow out. (This is a rubber plug that is designed to blow out if the pressure becomes too high. It’s replaceable.) So the INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE READ AND FOLLOWED BEFORE USING a pressure cooker to assure safety and proper cooking.

The best size pressure cooker to buy for cooking is a six quart. A pressure cooker cannot be filled beyond three-quarters full and when cooking some foods, such as brown rice, the cooker cannot be filled more than halfway. The smaller four-quart cooker maybe too small for most families. There is also a pressure cooker made for canning.

Pressure cookers make a good bargain for those who wish to cook healthier meals quicker than ordinary cooking methods. Also, some pressure cooker manufactures’ instruction booklets contain recipes which includes nutritional information.

Happy pressure cooking!