Pressure cookers- anyone use them?

silvermoon

Was going to invest in a pressure cooker
but don't want it to be another dust collector
along with the breadmaker, smoothie maker, juicer,
electric egg boiler......................

Do any of you use them?
Are they any good?
What do you cook in them?

Thanks!

CJhaughey

Yep I have an old prestige High top that I use quite often.
I did some tuna in Jars a few years back, great for home bottling etc.
Food can taste the same cooked in one, ie the whole meal tastes the same.
They are very handy for cooking tougher cuts of meat like tongue, trotters etc.
Spuds steam very fast in them.
I suppose you have to have one to know if you need it or not.
I would go for a stainless one and preferably hi-top not low top.
Lidl have them from time to time.

bonkey

We have a pressure lid for our saucepans.

We had a pressure cooker, but it wasn't steel, so when we moved to an induction cooker, it had to be replaced.

It wouldn't be the most used thing in our kitchen, but we use it for certain dishes.

If we're making rösti, we'd usually boil the spuds in the pressure cooker the day before.

Sauerkraut and the various meats we'd serve with it (to make up a Berner platte) would all go in together.

Dried green beans would also usually be pressure-cooked in our house.

Dizzyblonde

I had one years ago, we got it as a wedding present. They're good for making things like stews quickly. I wouldn't bother with one now though, I'd rather have my slow cooker any day because I use that an awful lot.

joolsveer

I have had several over the last 30 years and still use a Lidl one for cooking potatoes. If I am making soups or stews I prefer not to do a one pot meal as I feel normal saucepan cooking give opportunities to put in different ingredients at appropriate times. It also allows thickening without sticking.

In short a pressure cooker is great for accelerated cooking but may result in less flavour. I have only used stainless steel cookers for years and sometimes I have problems getting gaskets.

xxdilemmaxx

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I had one years ago, we got it as a wedding present. They're good for making things like stews quickly. I wouldn't bother with one now though, I'd rather have my slow cooker any day because I use that an awful lot.

Out of interest, what dishes do you make in the slow cooker? Can you leave it cooking away while you're in work?

Dizzyblonde

xxdilemmaxx wrote: »

Out of interest, what dishes do you make in the slow cooker? Can you leave it cooking away while you're in work?

I use mine mainly for stews, casseroles and soups - and if you slice your potatoes thinly and put them on the bottom they'll cook in it too. You can do a piece of meat or a chicken and veg in there too. There are thousands of recipes on the net.
It takes 8-10 hours to cook on the low heat setting so you can leave it on and go to work - it will never boil dry so you can leave it even longer if necessary. Slow cookers use very little electricity so they're very economical.
If you type 'slow cooker' into the search this forum option in Cooking & Recipes it will bring up lots of previous threads with recipes etc.
There's one here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055468379&highlight=slow+cooker

rubadub

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Slow cookers use very little electricity so they're very economical.

So are pressure cookers. Sometimes I turn mine off and leave it for ages after still cooking

I have this one and am happy with it.
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8610351/Trail/searchtext%3EPRESSURE+COOKER.htm

I would not go for any other argos have. The others are just crap, poor seals and too many gimmicks, it is the only one I saw getting good reviews. I used to use them in a hobby involving sterilizing foods, prestige are a good brand so spares should be available for many years. The newer prestiges with fancy features get bad reviews, many have poor seals which is the most important bit.

For the rolls royce of pressure cookers it has to be an "all-american" brand one, last a lifetime but you would have to import it, unless a catering supplier stocks them.

but don't want it to be another dust collector

Nope, it is simple a bit pot, so will always have a use even if you threw the lid away or the seals all broke. I even fry stuff in mine since it is so high it doesn't spatter.

danjo-xx

Pressure Cooker v Slow Cooker (For Cabbage/Stews/Bacon)

which works best in avoiding condensation?

Planet X

Got a Prestige Stainless steel job this week from Amazon. €40 odd. Very good value.
Cooked spuds first day as a test. Perfect.

Chicken Adobo (Asian Dish) second day. Perfect.

Just cooked a spud veg / coconut milk / lentil / Shamrock soup mix / chili and whatever else was knocking around (pinch of 5 spice cumin blah blah) there half an hour ago. Took ten minutes to cook and was delicious. Used good chicken stock though :pac:
TEN MINUTES!!!


It saves loads on gas, in my case. Plan to use it alot.

Have a slow cooker and that collects dust.

Should have bought one years ago.

Darkginger

I'm a recent pressure cooker convert. Got one to help me make curry base sauce, but I've since found loads of uses for it - a whole chicken in 35 mins, steak and kidney pie filling in 20 mins, coq au vin in under half an hour, chicken chasseur ditto.

Mine was under €30 from Amazon - it's pretty basic, just has the one pressure, for example - but it works really well, and helps to keep the nutrients and flavour in the food, too. I must admit it terrified me the first few times I used it - had to hide in another room whilst it did its hissy thing, but my confidence has grown the more I use it - and now it's one of my favourite pieces of kitchen equipment.

Because I was unfamiliar with pressure cooking, I treated myself to a little book from Amazon, too - 'Pressure Cooking Properly Explained' by Dianne Page - loads of really useful recipes (no exotic ingredients!) and good explanations of the principles behind pressure cooking.

My next experiment will be to try to make my baked beans (the recipe I posted in the Cooking Club) in the PC - should significantly cut down on the cooking time required.

Cedrus

I use mine for stews, stock, spuds, beans anything that usually takes time. Tough tasty cuts of meat that would take 2+ hours in an ambient pot take only 20 minutes in the pressure cooker. I don't use it for everything because as Joolsveer says you can't add bits as you go along, you also cant stir it (the odd shake doesn't really work) so sticky things like oxtail or potatoes that fall apart will burn. However like rubadub pointed out it's just a big pot without the seal so it does service as that sometimes.

I also use a slow cooker but it won't do the tough cuts at all and you can't thicken sauces in it, it's main advantage is convenience in that you throw everything into it and dinner is ready when you get home. I did notice an unexpected advantage last week when I cooked very fatty lamb shoulder expecting to have to skim a lot of fat off the top, but the lower temperature didn't melt the fat and it stayed in place on the bones, it wasn't the prettiest of meals but my arteries thanked me and it was delicious.

Planet X

Just did dried Red Kidney Beans after 24hrs. soaking. Took all of 12 minutes in the pressure cooker. Used to take 2 to 3 hours before in a big Le Crueset pot. They are much softer and cooked better in the PC.
So, ran up a Chili Con Carne in 9 minutes in the PC. 9 minutes on full pressure according to the recipe book that came with the Prestige.

What an energy saver it is.

McCloskey_A

Use it especially during the winter for stews and casseroles!
Great a beef stew in 20 mins