Benefits of a pressure cooker

Apart from shortening cooking time, what benefits does a pressure cooker offer?

The modern pressure cooker has many new features that were not available on the older models, and now there are some Cookers available the cooking cycle can be safely interrupted to add additional ingredients, or stopped at anytime. Depending on usage and care, the gasket will need replacing every now and then, and occasionally some new manufacturers will come and go, leaving the consumer with no options. The old style hissing models of the past are gone and today's new, modern pressure cookers are very quiet.

Yes it is great for people who don't have lots of time for fussing around cooking.

Modern day pressure cookers reduce cooking time for beans, grains, vegetables, soup, stews, and it turns dishes that once called for advance planning and long simmering into spur-of-the-moment meals. During your busy day, gives you the time to prepare nutritious homemade meals fast and is perfect for the busy household, larger family groups, couples and the single person.

The Advantages

* Pressure cookers are environmentally friendly as most foods cook 70% faster with 50% less fuel.
* You can use the pressure cooker as an all purpose cooking pot if you leave the valve open.
* You keep your kitchen cool by not generating heat while you are cooking your meal.
* Cook fast, easy, delicious and healthy meals in one-third the ordinary time (can be shorter than one-tenth the time depending on the food type.
* Many pressure cookers are stainless steel rather than the old fashioned aluminium.
* If you are still worried about explosions and other accidents in the kitchen with a pressure cooker ~ read on. You will be pleased to know that all high-quality models have multiple safety systems, including at least two pressure-release devices to guard against explosion and a safety lock in the lid that makes it impossible to open the pot while pressure exists inside.
* Meals cooked in a pressure cooker retain most of its nutrients hardly any escaping as steam. The nutrients are not boiled out of the food as in steaming or boiling and you do not need expensive cuts of meat.
* Approximately you need one quart per person is the average serving size so a 4 quart pressure cooker would ideally cook meals for 4 people.

Some approximate cooking times using a pressure cooker (calculated on using 15psi)

* Asparagus - 1 to 2 minutes
* Green or Yellow Beans - 2 to 3 minutes
* Broccoli Flowerets - 1 minute
* Broccoli Stalks, small - 3 to 4 minutes
* Cabbage - 3 to 4 minutes
* Carrots, small - 1 minute
* Carrots, large - 4 minutes
* Corn- 1 minute
* Corn on the cob - 3 minutes
* Potatoes, whole, large - 5 to 7 minutes (WOW! Think of the time it takes to bake or even boil a potato.)
* Zucchini - 2 minutes
* Pinto Beans, soaked, using natural release-1 to 3 minutes
* Beef pot roast, 1-1/2 lb to 2 lbs. - 35 to 40 minutes
* Chicken breast, frozen, boneless, skinless - 7 to 10 minutes
* Chicken, whole 3 to 4 lb. - 18 to 25 minutes

IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDERS

Just remember NEVER open the cooker while it is still under pressure.

* Never leave your pressure cooker unattended
* Never fill your pressure cooker over 2/3 rds full

As you can see, using a pressure cooker greatly reduces the cooking time! Not only that, your foods taste much better because the juices are retained and none of the vitamins and minerals are boiled or baked away and you can forget losing them in the microwave too.