Does anyone have a good pressure cooking book which they would like to recommend? I got a pressure cooker 9 years ago, but have never used it due to being afraid that I would have an explosion or something like that. I found the instructions intimidating.

If I put an orange peel into the pressure cooker along with beans, would that cause any problems? I normally simmer the orange peel along with the beans for the last hour of cooking.

Hi,

Some herbs and spices take on an odd taste under pressure. To learn how the orange peel may work is to try it.

I cannot offer any cookbook suggestions. I pressure can for preservation far more than I cook. It is usually pot roast or corned beef I may pressure cook.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Some herbs and spices take on an odd taste under pressure. To learn how the orange peel may work is to try it.

I cannot offer any cookbook suggestions. I pressure can for preservation far more than I cook. It is usually pot roast or corned beef I may pressure cook.

Regards,

I found a recipe on the web where someone is cooking beans with tangerine peel in the pressure cooker. It should work. I'll try it.

Cathy2 wrote:Some herbs and spices take on an odd taste under pressure. To learn how the orange peel may work is to try it.

shorty,

I find that acids and sharp flavors take on the odd taste that you're speaking of. I'd try the peel or zest, but I'd be careful with it. Err on the side of "too little". I'd much rather finish a dish at the end with some zest than put it through the cooker.

I've also never seen a cookbook dedicated to pressure cooking that I like. I have seen pressure recipes in other, more standard cookbooks that are good: Cook's Illustrated's books often use it and so does Jacques Pepin in his "Fast Food My Way" books.

If you look at the end of the first page of this thread, you'll see a longer post that I put together outlining my basic "method". I riff off of that method frequently for tons of different combinations.

As for safety, all modern pressure cookers are perfectly safe with pressure latches and auto release valves. Just don't fill it with liquid beyond the level indicated, make sure all the seals and valves are clean and in working order and you should be fine.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Some herbs and spices take on an odd taste under pressure. To learn how the orange peel may work is to try it.

shorty,

I find that acids and sharp flavors take on the odd taste that you're speaking of. I'd try the peel or zest, but I'd be careful with it. Err on the side of "too little". I'd much rather finish a dish at the end with some zest than put it through the cooker.

I've also never seen a cookbook dedicated to pressure cooking that I like. I have seen pressure recipes in other, more standard cookbooks that are good: Cook's Illustrated's books often use it and so does Jacques Pepin in his "Fast Food My Way" books.

If you look at the end of the first page of this thread, you'll see a longer post that I put together outlining my basic "method". I riff off of that method frequently for tons of different combinations.

As for safety, all modern pressure cookers are perfectly safe with pressure latches and auto release valves. Just don't fill it with liquid beyond the level indicated, make sure all the seals and valves are clean and in working order and you should be fine.

Best,
Michael

Thanks for the tip. I will probably be using my pressure cooker mostly to cook beans and beef shank. The shank will be for beef noodle soup. I see that some trial and error is needed.

I bought a Fagor multticooker and they have recipes on-line at www.fagor.com for pressure cooking.Good Luck!!!

jerryg wrote:I bought a Fagor multticooker and they have recipes on-line at http://www.fagor.com for pressure cooking.Good Luck!!!

My pressure cooker is also a Fagor. I found the link to the recipes here: http://www.fagoramerica.com/my_fagor/re ... ure_cooker

I never would have thought of making desserts (e.g. custard/flan) in a pressure cooker.

Wow. Dessert never occurred to me (looks like anything you cook in a bain-marie can go in the pressure cooker, and you have the benefit of not heating up the entire kitchen) Looks like in some recipes you lose a little bit of the time benefit - though I may try the cooked custard - 3 minutes to creme brulee? I'm all over that.

I wanted to chime in here--I could not live without my pressure cooker. I too use a Fagor which came with a small
skillet which I successfully use for risotto. In winter, about once a week, I make a fantastic "chicken in the pot" type of soup and then riff on that to make a thai curry soup or a pho type of soup. It is also wonderful for tagines. I think I should be a sales-rep for these things--and if you have children and want to make a good one pot dinner in a hurry--it is a gift to our planet. I really think this is the perfect baby-shower present. I would love to share recipes here with any die-hard users.

Cheers, Nancy

nancy wrote:I wanted to chime in here--I could not live without my pressure cooker. I too use a Fagor which came with a small
skillet which I successfully use for risotto. In winter, about once a week, I make a fantastic "chicken in the pot" type of soup and then riff on that to make a thai curry soup or a pho type of soup. It is also wonderful for tagines. I think I should be a sales-rep for these things--and if you have children and want to make a good one pot dinner in a hurry--it is a gift to our planet. I really think this is the perfect baby-shower present. I would love to share recipes here with any die-hard users.

Cheers, Nancy

Hi Nancy,

I would be interested in seeing your recipes. I love one pot meals. I don't have much time to cook these days due to having small children.

Shorty

Nancy and Shorty,
I would also like to be included in pressure cooking recipes.I have used my Fagor cooker sparingly and would like to use my herb garden to expand my options.
How do's rosemary,oregano and sage hold up in the pressure cooker?
I learned through experience that overcooking herbs destroys the flavors and that herb use is all a matter of adding at the right time.
In these times of the Green" movement the pressure cooker has to have some "carbon credit" for the short cooking times and hence less fuel usage.(hence doesn't sound right but I am at a loss for a better word).

jerryg wrote:Nancy and Shorty,
I would also like to be included in pressure cooking recipes.I have used my Fagor cooker sparingly and would like to use my herb garden to expand my options.
How do's rosemary,oregano and sage hold up in the pressure cooker?
I learned through experience that overcooking herbs destroys the flavors and that herb use is all a matter of adding at the right time.
In these times of the Green" movement the pressure cooker has to have some "carbon credit" for the short cooking times and hence less fuel usage.(hence doesn't sound right but I am at a loss for a better word).

I have oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and mint. Is it correct that if these ingredients are added to the pressure cooker, they should be added after the lid comes off (in which case you are cooking in a conventional manner)?

Thanks to this thread and some comments in Deborah Madison's vegetarian cookbook about how good pressure cooker beans are, I've had the WMF 6.5 liter p.c. for a couple of weeks now. I've made risotto, black bean soup, steel cut oats, and coconut rice pudding already, some of them more than once. I can't believe I didn't know about pressure cookers before. It is so fun to use and so much faster than a regular pot/pan.

The WMF is pricy (same range as Kuhn Rikon) but I thought it was worth it because you can take the handle off and gasket off and then put the rest in the dishwasher. The Miss Vickie site does not like the WMF because it supposedly cooks at a lower pressure than Fagor, but so far I haven't found that yet and apparently neither did Cooks Illustrated when they tested WMF. Anyway, I'll take a few extra minutes cooking for being more dishwasher-friendly.

If anyone is sharing recipes please make sure to post them.

Did I mention that I love my pressure cooker??!!??

Hi,

I have friends who apply a little petroleum jelly to their rubber gaskets to keep them pliable.

I've only had a gasket go bad on me once. How could I tell? The pot boiled and boiled and never reached pressure. It couldn't because they gasket was no longer pliable enough to make a seal.

No point in buying an extra gasket, because it could be a long time before it happens. Meanwhile your spare gasket is aging along with your one in use. Of course, this will happen at the most inconvenient moment, though now you are clued into what will happen.

Regards,

My pressure cooker manual says to apply oil to the gasket every time the gasket is washed. I am wondering if this is really necessary. I finally used my pressure cooker. I pressure steamed two pumpkins.

shorty wrote:My pressure cooker manual says to apply oil to the gasket every time the gasket is washed. I am wondering if this is really necessary. I finally used my pressure cooker. I pressure steamed two pumpkins.

It's probably better oil than the petroleum jelly. It's like applying face cream after washing up.

I don't do it too frequently, though I can see why you should. It's cheap insurance to have your pressure cooker available when you need it.

Regards,

I usually forget to oil my gasket; only had one go bad on me and that was the one that came with an inherited pressure cooker that was decades old. My current gasket appears to be a rubber/silicone mix; it seems much more hardy than it's all-rubber predecessors.

However, a new gasket is easily and cheaply available at most smaller hardware stores. You can tell when your gasket is starting to go: unless it gets breached by mistreatment, it's not a sudden thing, it gets less bendy and maybe a little sticky (remember rubber spatulas before there was silicone?.) At that point, I'd get the spare gasket to keep around.

Cathy2 wrote:No point in buying an extra gasket, because it could be a long time before it happens. Meanwhile your spare gasket is aging along with your one in use. Of course, this will happen at the most inconvenient moment, though now you are clued into what will happen.

Being the paranoid type, I ordered an extra gasket along with the new pressure cooker. Once the PC arrived and I saw the gasket, I realized it would probably take a loooong time for the original to wear out. But since it didn't cost that much I just threw it in a drawer for peace of mind.

Last night I had some asparagus in the fridge and my sick husband asked for risotto. So I made pressure cooker risotto with asparagus and frozen peas. I walked in the door at 7:03 and noticed it was 8:03 in the middle of dinner so I was pretty happy with that.

If anyone has any experience cooking whole chickens (not cut up) in the pressure cooker, please let me know. My mom was interested in using the pressure cooker for this when she is short on time (otherwise she uses a Romertopf). I was going to try it out myself before she goes out and gets one.

Seeing this thread pop up last week, accompanied by our early cold weather, made me get out the pressure cooker.

'sides, there is not one single photo in this entire thread

. . . 'til now.



Lamb shanks, from Sorg's in WI. Beautiful.

Searching for a new way to do them, I found a recipe that includes port and garlic. Two of my most favorite things. And I never, ever thought they would go together so well.

Recipe is from Patricia Dailey's 1990 'The New Pressure Cooker Cookbook' (pg. 44).

So easy.

Brown shanks (and I am including this photo to verify that the dish was indeed cooked in a PC).



Lightly brown a dozen pealed cloves of garlic. Yes. At least a dozen.

Add

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup decent tawny port
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t dried rosemary

Whisk it all to mix, close the PC and heat to achieve 15psi and maintain for 30 minutes.



Reduce the sauce and add a pat of butter and a little balsamic vinegar.

I miss hearing the psit - psit - psit sound of the rocker top on my Mom's old Presto she bought from Sears in 1952, and can't quite come to peace with the new version. I finally had to discard my Mom's PC when calls to Presto determined that they just don't stock that gasket any more, and haven't for years.

This is a lovely recipe. The flavors of garlic and rosemary are soft, mellow and sweet, and compliment the port and lamb. A little chopped parsley and some lemon zest, over basmati rice, and we called this an early cold weather dinner.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I have friends who apply a little petroleum jelly to their rubber gaskets to keep them pliable.

I've only had a gasket go bad on me once. How could I tell? The pot boiled and boiled and never reached pressure. It couldn't because they gasket was no longer pliable enough to make a seal.

No point in buying an extra gasket, because it could be a long time before it happens. Meanwhile your spare gasket is aging along with your one in use. Of course, this will happen at the most inconvenient moment, though now you are clued into what will happen.

Regards,

I've been using a pressure cooker since college as my mom and grandmother used one religiously. I, too, had applied some oil to the gasket as that is what my mom told me to do. Last year, my mom bought me a new Mirro pressure cooker/canner, which is great for large amounts of soup and stew.

While flipping through the manual, I noticed this:

"CAUTION: Do not lubricate gasket after the first two of three uses. Continued lubrication will cause the gasket to swell and not fit properly."

The gasket that came with the Mirro 12 qt canner/cooker is clear, like a silicon material, not the old black rubber gaskets I used to have. Not sure if that makes a difference.

I like this thread. I'll try to contribute with some recipes this fall. Cheers.

DRC1379, your lamb shanks look delicious! Thanks for posting some pics! You are right, we needed some in this thread. Keep 'em comin'!

Ack Shorty and Jerry G and friends--

So sorry for loosing track of this thread and not responding with more info. on herbs/recipes/pressure cooker gossip, etc. How do you track when someone responds to a thread on this site? I lose track of my responses and then forget what to check in on...

Anyway, as I said I am a frequent user. As for herbs, fresh should be stirred in at the end--and if using dried herbs (I use thyme and rosemary in my chicken soup), you need to use more quantity--2 tablespoons as compared to a normal sprinkle. There are some good cookbooks--The Pressured Cook, and there is also a "Gourmet Pressure Cooker" book which is nice--I make all kinds of chicken dishes--and also use it for artichokes, beets, daal, etc.

Tonight I made an asian chicken prep where you put soy, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil in the bottom of the cooker and then put salted chicken parts (I used skinless thighs) in the steamer basket with a layer of slivered scallions on top and then some sherry poured over whole thing. You cook this on high for 3-4 min, medium for 10 min, and then let sit for 7 min. before opening cooker. Serve this with veggies and rice--great fast meal. You are also supposed to add a chile pepper, but with kiddies, I just served chile sauce on the side.

I also make a chicken in the pot/soup all the time. This is the WHOLE CHICKEN perfection. Take any veggies and saute (onion, garlic, parsnip, celery, carrot) all can be rough choppped and sauted as long or short as you like. Then put whole chicken on top of veggies, 2-3 cans of chicken broth or some homemade chicken stock, salt and pepper, dried rosemary and thyme. Also add a whole lemon (quartered and peeled and seeded). Lock lid and cook on high for 22 minutes. This is for a roaster. Less time neccessary for a fryer. Quick release and when you can handle, pull chicken out and pull skin off and pull apart meat and add back to soup. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve over rice or noodles--you can keep this thick or make thin with more stock. If you keep it thicker and only add a couple of cups of liquid when cooking, you get a very rich "elixer" of chicken flavor that is terrific. You can turn this into a great mexican sopa by adding a few tomatillos and a can of tomatos--instead of rosemary and thyme, add cumin, coriander-corn and limes (like the lemon prep)--top with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, tortilla strips, etc. Very hearty and delicious.

Let me know if you want more recipes. Look forward to sharing. Cheers, NZ

nancy wrote:Ack Shorty and Jerry G and friends--

Tonight I made an asian chicken prep where you put soy, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil in the bottom of the cooker and then put salted chicken parts (I used skinless thighs) in the steamer basket with a layer of slivered scallions on top and then some sherry poured over whole thing. You cook this on high for 3-4 min, medium for 10 min, and then let sit for 7 min. before opening cooker. Serve this with veggies and rice--great fast meal. You are also supposed to add a chile pepper, but with kiddies, I just served chile sauce on the side.

Let me know if you want more recipes. Look forward to sharing. Cheers, NZ

This sounds very interesting. Up until now, I've only used my pressure cooker for lentils and I do want to expand my repertoire. Please add me to the recipe list. I don't have a steamer insert that came w/ the pressure cooker. Do you think any steamer insert would work?

definitly any stainless steel steamer basket would work. Just set it up on a trivet or use a steamer with feet.

Pressure Cooker: Making Chicken Stock, Method and Notes

Normally, I'd spend a half day making a huge amount of stock that would last me for a couple months. Skimming, simmering, straining, de-fatting, and storing all took the better part of a day, but a day I was always happy to give.

These days, I have less extended stretches of time available to me than I used to. Because of this, I've returned to making chicken stock in a pressure cooker, a method which requires little time commitment. It doesn't bother me to make a small batch once in a while when I'm running low or when I know I'll be doing some home cooking for a few days.

So, I figured I'd share the method that I think works pretty well.

Prep:

• I now keep a large freezer bag full of chicken odds an ends in the freezer. Whenever I cut up chicken or roast a chicken or have any bones, scraps or leftovers, they go into this bag.
• I always have basic mirepoix in the house (or at least two out of three): onion, celery, carrot.

Steps:

• Frozen chicken bones and bits go into the cooker with the mirepoix, as much as will fit below the safety line. I don't bother thawing at all, it all just goes right in the pot.
• I add a garlic clove, some peppercorns, a clove or two and whatever herbs I have on hand.
• Cover with water (below the safety line!!), cover the cooker and turn on the fire.
• Let it come to a low pressure level as indicated by your pressure cooker (usually 20 mins or so).
• Turn the fire to low and walk away for as little as 45 minutes, 90 if possible.
• Turn off the fire and either quick release or let it come down to a safe pressure if you have the extra 15 minutes.
• Strain, chill, de-fat, and store

The pressure cooker does not produce a stock that's as flavorful and rich as using a long, slow traditional method, but it's lightyears ahead of canned stuff. If the flavored liquid scale went from 0 (water) to 100 (homemade stock), I'd give the canned stuff a 10 and the pressure cooker stuff an 85. In the time committment/quality ratio, it really can't be beat. I think that I get the quality of a 4-6 hour simmer out of a 90 minute trip in the pressure cooker.

Enjoy,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Pressure Cooker: Making Chicken Stock, Method and Notes

I always have basic mirepoix in the house (or at least two out of three): onion, celery, carrot.

Does mirepoix mean chopped up onion,celery, carrots or just chunks of those vegetables put into the pressure cooker?

kenji wrote:

eatchicago wrote:Pressure Cooker: Making Chicken Stock, Method and Notes

I always have basic mirepoix in the house (or at least two out of three): onion, celery, carrot.

Does mirepoix mean chopped up onion,celery, carrots or just chunks of those vegetables put into the pressure cooker?

I was using the term to refer to the trio of onion/celery/carrot. I just give them a rough chop before going into the cooker.

Cooking Light, of all places, has an excellent roundup of pressure cooker tips and recipes on their website.

This thread, along with just spending a week with a friend's family who ONLY cooks in a pressure cooker, inspired me to purchase my very first pressure cooker today.

Not the best, and not the worst, the Presto 8 Qt PC on amazon got great reviews, and at about $70, was priced right!

I am SO incredibly excited to try new things, and oddly enough, I've completely lost my fear (having seen my friend's mother handle her PC like it was no big deal).

My only concern is that it only makes "stew" type dishes (besides beans, rice and stock). I hope it doesn't get old.
I'm super excited to venture out and find new and innovative ways to use this "miracle cooker" that everyone is raving about

Thanks again LTH, for expanding my culinary horizons

Bella, don't forget that most crock-pot recipes will work well in a pressure cooker. Things like carnitas or char siu can be approximated - these sorts of things give me a break from pot roast and stew.

I would bet you could do the recipes in Anupy's Indian Slow Cooker in the pressure cooker, too.