Saving Time in the Kitchen with a Pressure Cooker
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
It’s a shame that family meals have come at the price of modern living. People have more conveniences and fancier technology, but less time to spend with the family. With both parents working hard and kids busy with their own lives, it’s not easy to find time to get together for a meal. But one of the best ways you can combine great traditional taste with increased speed is by pressure cooking. Even if you have an extremely busy schedule, it shouldn’t be too hard to make it a habit to use this technique once every few weeks. You’ll get great tasting food and more importantly, more time to spend with your family.
The process – using a pressure cooker is exactly what it sounds like. A modern pressure cooker is usually constructed out of specially reinforced stainless steel. A lid clamps on the top to seal in the contents which will eventually be pressurized. As you apply heat to the bottom (or automatically using an electric model) the liquid inside begins to boil. This forms steam which has nowhere to go because all of the contents are sealed. Eventually you get pressurized heat inside that cooks food faster.
What to cook – now that you know how it works, what kind of food can you make? Pressure cooking is generally best used when you have a lower quality cut of meat like a shoulder blade or rump roast. The reason why these cuts of meat cost less is because they are less tender. But you can solve that problem by using pressure cooking which breaks down the connective tissue over time. Using this method, you can do wonders with things that are traditionally slow cooked like chili, stew, curry, pot roast, or even fish.
What’s a slow cooker? – It’s not uncommon for people to look for a pressure cooker only to accidentally purchase a slow cooker. They actually look quite similar, and a rookie chef probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. But of course there is a huge difference in terms of the time it takes to use either product. While you can make a pot roast in under an hour using a pressure cooker, it can take you up to eight hours using a slow cooker! There’s a reason why they call it slow cooking in the first place. It’s still a perfectly fine method to use if you have the time, but you obviously have to organize a bit better.
Safety – most people new to the process or pressure cooking worry whether or not it’s safe to use a device like this. After all, you’re working with intense amount of heat and pressure contained in a small space. It’s seemingly a lot easier to use the best stainless steel cookware for everyday stews instead. There have been some urban legends and myths regarding pressure cookers exploding and taking out an entire kitchen. But if you follow instructions carefully, you should have nothing to worry about. You’ll find that the best pressure cooker comes with safety features that ensure you get great food without putting yourself in danger. Using one is just a matter of common sense, and you actually have to go out of your way to do something wrong to make one explode.