My new pressure cooker is coming tomorrow,NEVER used one before! HELP!

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I have been wanting a pressure cooker for the longest time but hesitated because I know NOTHING about cooking with it. I have looked up a lot of recipes on the internet and they sound great, but I have NO personal experience with it at all. It didn't help that I asked my 88 year old mom what she used hers for (I do remember her having a real big one for canning back in the 1950's) because all she could remember to tell me is that the thing scared her to death and when she used it for cooking food instead of canning, everything turned to mush--I think she cooked everything too long. I thought it might be better if I had some input from those of you that have been using one for a while.

I FINALLY went ahead and ordered a Fagor Duo 2-cooker set from Amazon (I chose the Duo model because I thought I might need two pressure settings, although I really have no idea) and told DH that he could consider this my Mother's Day present--why am I always ahead a holiday or two with choosing gifts??? I do usually pick my own gifts because after 44 years of marriage, DH has no idea what to get me!

I read and re-read reviews of the different cookers and I hope I chose the right one! I guess I'll soon find out, as it's arriving tomorrow! I couldn't make up my mind what size to get and this set comes with a 4 quart pot and an 8 quart pot, so I have a choice. I chose Amazon's free super-saver shipping (spent too much on the cooker set already) and I thought I would have to wait a long time for delivery, but I only ordered it YESTERDAY! I'm really excited about it and feel like going out food shopping so I can cook something right away--or maybe I'll just check my freezer and see what I have--think I have some short ribs that I could pot roast.

So I was wondering what anyone uses their pressure cooker for most? I really hope I will get a lot of use out of this, as it was costly enough for me to consider it an investment in my kitchen. Thanks for any help!

Genie

 

[Equus5O]

You have my encouragement, and let us know how it works out LOL I've thought about getting one. I thought about getting a bread machine too, and now it sits on the counter because I've been kneading the bread by hand and I don't like the shape of the baked machine bread. But anways, I digress ... do keep us updated!

 

[unionwirewoman]

Try not to get too excited and stressed about it . My MIL gave me her old pressure cooker , and although I use mine only for canning , it did come with charts for meat , veggies , and fruits ( this thing is more than 30 yrs old ) . Yours should come with the same charts for cooking everything you want . Just make sure that when you are cooking to always be around to monitor the pressure , if it goes too high , that's what makes it go BOOM ! Just read the directions and pay attention , and I'm sure you'll be cooking great meals and canning in no time !

 

[Intheswamp]

I've subscribed to the thread for the "drama".

Just kiddin'.

I'm seriously interested in maybe acquiring one myself. I actually owned one for about a year that I had purchased from a friend of mine at a small hardware store. I had let it stay there for the year or so (hadn't got around to bringing it hope and evidiently using it

)....and the hardware store went out of business. During the year or so after I bought it it "got sold"....I ended up with a porch swing, some pipe insulation, and some other hardware items when they closed down.

Ah well, I'm tuned in to the thread...

I'm curious about the "exploding" pressure cookers...I'm figuring that this happens when the pressure valve malfunctions...haven't they refined those through the years? I certainly haven't seen any news reports of exploding pressure cookers...seems that would be a hot (ooh, that's a bad pun) news item.

Ed

 

[peeplessinNC]

Yay for you! I have a Presto pressure cooker that I love using - brown rice in only 12 minutes!!! Grew up with my mom using her Presto with never an accident/incident - so I was not afraid of them. Be sure to read your manual from cover to cover and then......read it again! The new cookers are much safer and easier to operate than the old ones. They have handle locks and over pressure valves (a little rubber thingy) that blows out if there is too much pressure.

IMO, the main thing that folks do wrong is to not understand or forget to turn down the heat once pressure is reached. You don't continue to cook on HIGH! But you turn down the heat to maintain the pressure during the cooking time.

Other tips I can offer:

~ bring the contents of the pot up to boiling BEFORE you put the lid on; takes less time to reach pressure by doing this

~ always, ALWAYS! set a timer for the length of cooking time and don't go too far away from the stove or kitchen so you can hear the timer

~ NEVER, NEVER! try to open the pot until the pressure inside has completely deminished; I timed both brown rice and chicken stock recently and both took almost exactly 15 minutes for the pressure to naturally reduce after the burner was turned off so I could lift off the lid safely; other foods may take longer, and you can do a quick release of the pressure cooker by carefully carrying it to the sink, set it in the sink, and run a stream of cool water over the lid which reduces the pressure very quickly. Your Fagor may have a button/knob to press to reduce the pressure more quickly.

~ be very careful to not cook foods that foam and sputter - like some beans, applesauce, etc. The reason for this: foam and food sputtering can clog up the pressure valve so that it does not operate properly.

I used a Fagor years ago when demonstrating at a gourmet store where I worked. They are excellent! I bought a Presto because it cost less - stainless, 4 qt. and it works great! But I wish I had bought a 6 qt. (

If you have any questions or need a ton of recipes, I'll be happy to help. You can also PM me if you want.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
I'm not the OP, but thanks for the great information!!!! The part I highlighted had been on my mind and you just verified that caution for me. Thanks!

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[ThePoopCoop]

I LOVE my pressure cooker! I've had it for about 3 or 4 years. I'll admit it was a little scary the first few times I used it. I all but dove under the kitchen table the first time I heard it make noise, but it was all good. I use mine for roasts, a pork roast is melt in your mouth delicious, like you've had it in the slow cooker for days, in 45 min. Dry beans, right out of the bag (rinsed of course), done in 20 min. Forget to take chicken out of the freezer for dinner? Frozen to yum in 35 min. Really, anything you'd use a slow cooker for can be done in the pressure cooker, it's just a lot faster.

As far as cooking everything to mush..if you cook it too long, it sure will. You just have to pay attention to the timing, like any other method of cooking. The important thing to remember is not to start timing until the pressure cooker starts to hiss.

Oh, and one tip I learned the hard way. If you have too much liquid, when you release the steam, it'll throw up all over your stove. Not fun. I get around that by just setting the pressure cooker in the sink, without using the quick release and run cold water over it. It's just as quick and there's no huge mess to clean up when you're done.

I hope you love it! I've been trying to get my friends to get one but everyone's been scarred by the horror stories of exploding pots. The new ones have all kinds of safety measures built into them, so no need to dive under kitchen tables anymore or fear having to clean beans off of the kitchen ceiling.

 

[peeplessinNC]

What I also wanted to add: a tablespoon or two of oil added to beans before putting on the lid can help with the foaming problem.

 

[msgenie516]

Quote:
Thanks for the encouragement! That's funny about the bread machine, because I hesitated about that, too! I had one from years ago but I also didn't like a lot of things about it, including the shape of the loaf. But I still really wanted a new one. So I did a lot of reading and finally decided to purchase the Zojirushi with the horizontal loaf pan and I couldn't be happier! If you still think you might like to use a bread machine (it does have a cycle for making just dough), you might want to look into that one. It's more expensive than the rest but I always feel a low price isn't a bargain unless you really use the thing! My old one got sold at my last garage sale and I was glad to see it go. Thanks again!

P.S. I'm keeping a lookout for the UPS truck today!

 

[msgenie516]

Quote:
Thanks for the reply! The one I'm getting has a new spring-type pressure regulator, so I'm hoping for the best! And, yes, I will be very careful to keep an eye on the pressure although I think I will feel like I'm participating in a science experiment! I don't know for sure, but I think the largest one I'm getting is not suitable for canning because it is only 8 quarts. I'll update on that. Thanks again!