In this busy world, we always look for quick solutions for everything. Despite being one of the most important activities of our daily life, cooking is no exception from that. All of us opt for some short cut cooking to fuel our body. So the demand for quicker alternatives to cooking is increasing day by day. Speaking of fast cooking, the name of one appliance pops in everyone’s mind. That appliance is none other than the pressure cookers.
Although some people doubt buying a pressure cooker to avoid extra maintenance. So we are going to focus on different aspects of pressure cooker & find out if they are worth buying.
What Is A Pressure Cookers
The pressure cookers are simply, the cookware or appliance which cooks your food at a raised pressure level. Either electric or stovetop, it is a cooker that aims to cook your food a lot faster than any other cooking process. It works by a complex mechanism called steam pressure, which is elaborated below:
How Pressure Cookers Works
Basically, a pressure cooker is a sealed pot that holds back the steam to escape. Instead, it utilizes the steam to increase the pressure within the pot. So that, the steaming point of water rises above the normal range.
Hence the water steams at a temperature as high as 248F, which tenderizes & cooks the food faster than normal. As a result, you can cook more quickly in a pressure cooker than a normal cookware.
To avoid an explosion of the cooker, the steam is released at a regular interval by a pressure releasing valve. So it becomes safe to use for everyone.
Benefits Of Pressure Cookers
There is nothing new to say that the main advantage of this cooker is faster cooking. But having a pressure cookers in your kitchen can give you a lot more benefits than you can imagine. Have a look at the advantages of this cooker and see yourself:
- It saves a major part of your cooking time
- As it cooks faster, it saves a lot of electricity or gas which is more cost-effective.
- Pressure cooking kills more bacteria than normal as it cooks at a higher temperature.
- It does not affect the nutrition of food except heat sensitive nutrients like Vitamin C. Although Vitamin C is destroyed even in any type of cooking.
- It does not affect the flavor & taste of the food.
That is why a pressure cooker is indeed beneficiary for your kitchen. There is certainly no point in not buying a pressure cooker. So, do not skip this amazing cooker in your kitchen.
Types Of Pressure Cookers: Stovetop Vs Electric
Although recently electric pressure cookers have become more popular, stovetop variants are the pioneer of all types of pressure cookers. Some people still prefer stovetop pressure cookers over electric pressure cookers for many different purposes.
On the other hand, electric pressure cookers are the primary choice for many people. But the real question is, which one should you buy? Both of them have different types of facilities in usage. Also, both of them have different sets of demerits in function.
Before you buy, get to know about the pros & cons of both types of pressure cookers so that you can find out the truly suitable one for you. So, here are some different aspects of these two varieties of pressure cookers:
Stovetop Pressure Cooker: The Classic One
Despite stovetop pressure cooker are not so popular as the electric ones, there are some certain things that you may like about this variant. First of all, stovetop pressure cookers are an everlasting product.
If you take good care of this utensil, it will last almost forever. Even some people are using their stovetop pressure cooker for several generations. If you can manage to buy a durable product & use it wisely, it will last forever too.
The best part of buying a stovetop variant is, you just need literally zero effort to take care of your product. Stovetop pressure cookers are extremely easy to clean. They are always dishwasher safe & also easy to clean in case it burns.
On the other hand, there is almost no chance of forming rust in a stainless steel one. Most importantly, stovetop pressure cookers are the products of choice for some particular uses. For example, you should always use a stovetop pressure cooker for pressure canning foods like pickles or fruits.
Like that, for large portions of food, there are some massive size stovetop pressure cooker easily available in the market. Stovetop pressure cooker give you more flexibility while braising for searing your food. You can ensure a more even searing on your food which an electric one cannot provide.
However, stovetop pressure cookers can not provide automatic facilities like an electric one. Cooking with a stovetop pressure cooker can be a little intimidating like more chances of overcooking or burning your food. But still, stovetop pressure cookers are an excellent choice for pressure cookers.
Electric Pressure Cooker: The Automatic One
Electric pressure cookers are also a great choice if you prefer more effortless cooking. You do not need to worry about undercooking or overcooking your food because of the timer functions in electric pressure cooker. Also, electric pressure cooker give you better sets of multipurpose cooking.
For example, most of the electric pressure cooker in the market serves the purpose of not only a pressure cooker but also a rice cooker or slow cooker.
This is certainly more cost-effective & convenient than buying them separately. Also, electric pressure cookers are more compact in size. So it can fit in your kitchen easily.
Like the stovetop pressure cooker, electric pressure cooker also have some drawbacks. They are a little troublesome to clean, & electric pressure cooker cannot yield a superior cooking outcome as a stovetop variant.
But considering its other positive aspects, electric pressure cookers are a great choice & hence getting more popular day by day.
How To Use A Pressure Cooker
Using a pressure cooker is quite simple. First, we need to know the suitable cooking procedure for this cooker. Remember, you can not deep fry anything in pressure cooker. Also, it is not quite wise to saute anything in this cooker.
On the other hand, it is not technically possible to stir fry anything in it. So that lefts us with boiling, streaming & braising, for which pressure cookers are perfect. You should not overfill the cooking pot. Try to keep one-third of the cooking pot empty.
Even if you are braising, make sure to keep an adequate amount of water. So that, the cooker can produce enough steam to create higher pressure.
Another important guideline is, do not seal the pressure releasing valve. Otherwise, your pressure cooker may explode. You can set the pressure point of some pressure cooker, so choose the pressure point accordingly.
There is no such hassle in cleaning pressure cooker. For stovetop pressure cooker, it is as simple as cleaning regular cookware. But in an electric pressure cooker, it is slightly tougher to clean.
Although that will not be a problem if you buy one with dishwasher safe removable parts. So no minus point in handling this efficient kitchen appliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Clean A Pressure Cooker?
You can use your dishwasher to wash the removable parts of your pressure cooker. Any dish soap works fantastic on pressure cooker.
How To Clean Burnt Pressure Cooker?
Use a mixture of dish soap and baking soda and boil that with enough water to loosen up the burnt bits. Then hand wash the pressure cooker with a steel wire sponge.
How Long Does It Take A Pressure Cooker To Pressurize?
It depends on the size of your pressure cooker, the amount of liquid in it and obviously, the flame. Your pressure cooker will pressurize faster if it’s on high flame with less liquid. That way the liquid evaporates quickly and creates a pressure.
How Long To Cook Chicken Legs In Pressure Cooker?
It may take 10-15 minutes to fully cook chicken legs in a pressure cooker on medium high flame.
How Long To Cook Ground Turkey In Pressure Cooker?
Ground turkey cooks only in 8-10 minutes in pressure cooker. Any longer cooking process will overcook the meat.
In Conclusion
Pressure cookers are indeed a blessing of modern technology. So do not miss out & buy one for your kitchen.
