Perhaps you like the slow movement of food and can spend a lot of time with it, appreciating the smell and taste. But what if it’s not your day off? What if you can’t afford to wait for your meal to simmer gently in the oven? What if it’s not a “relaxing Sunday”?
Without any doubt, your satisfaction is something that can never be compromised, but there’s always an efficient way to get the same amount of satisfaction in a smaller amount of time. Plus, you don’t have to clean all the messy pots, except for the one cooking your meal. It’ll not only help save your time and energy but also give you a meal with improved flavor, better texture, higher nutritional value and more!
You guessed right! It’s the game-changing modern-day pressure cooker that features some extraordinary functions you cannot expect from any other cooking mechanism. Count these:
- Roasting
- Browning
- Preparing soup
- Stewing
- Baking
- Preparing beans, and more!
There’s hardly any food left on the menu that your pressure cooker cannot prepare. Use it every night, and it will make cooking so easy that you’ll make friends with your new pressure cooker.
- Instead of spending 3 to 4 hours in front of the stove, you can reduce the time to just 45 minutes or less.
- No matter how long you allow your food to cook in conventional cookware, the longer you cook it for, the less nutritional value it will have in the end. That’s certainly not the case with a pressure cooker because there’s no nutritional loss.
- In fact, pressure cookers make hard food more digestible. You can prepare beans and grains in the best possible manner using a pressure cooker.
- Not to mention those anti-nutrients, like phytic acid and lectins that cannot survive at such a high temperature.
Now that we’ve gone through the advantages of pressure cookers, it’s time for some professional tips on using your utensil in the best possible manner.
- Go Trendy!
Get away from that old inherited device that used to scare the kids away with awkward noises, and invest in 2nd or 3rd generation models (that’s one way to show-off). Modern pressure cookers are completely different from their older counterparts, especially the electric pressure cooker with the push-button – it’s like a gift from the heavens.
There are no horror stories associated with the latest models. So, don’t be scared to shop for these utensils. But, keep in mind that the utensil must be a popular brand, have a high-quality stainless steel material, and you must be able to put up to eight liters of liquid into it.
- Read the Manual
Take a deep breath and carefully read the manual, as well as the recipes (after purchase). If you’re new to pressure cooking, following exactly what the recipe says is an easy way out. You need to look for precision to be the best cook in town.
- Do not Overfill the Pot
Experts recommend filling the pot either to 2/3rd or half, but not more than that.
- If you’re cooking food that expands, then keep the pot half filled.
- If the food doesn’t expand after cooking, keep the pot filled up to 2/3rd.
The same goes for the liquid. Keep in mind that the pressure cooker isn’t ordinary cookware that gives space for the liquid to evaporate. So, it requires less liquid compared to conventional cookware. The best way is to pour one cup of liquid or follow the recipe.
More reading:
- How to Use Pressure Cookers Properly, Safely and Efficiently!
- 5 Things to Know When Using a Pressure Cooker
- Browning Your Food
Browning and caramelization bring the best flavors and tastes to your food. It makes it look nice and shiny as well. If you have a stovetop cooker, brown the food in an uncovered pot over medium heat.
Add a little oil while browning. Afterwards, remove the food and add some water, stock or wine to deglaze, scraping the remaining juice and tiny particles of food at the bottom. After the liquid is reduced or gets concentrated, add the food back to the pot. If you have an electric cooker, use the same procedure with the browning option.
- Uniformity of Size
If you’re adding denser ingredients that also take more time to cook, cut them into small pieces of uniform sizes. It makes them cook easily and quickly. If there’s a pressure cooker recipe, follow the specifications of ingredient size.
- Different Ingredients Have Different Cooking Times
With modern-day pressure cookers, you have a luxury to quick-release the pressure and add those quick-cooking ingredients in the later stages of cooking. So, if you’re adding potatoes, beans or peas in the meat, let the meat partially cook, then add the veggies before cooking everything under pressure.
- Adjust Highs and Lows
For stovetop pressure cookers, it’s always good to begin with high heat and then reduce the heat to the lowest level as soon as the pressure is reached. That will give extra time for the food to cook.
Electric pressure cookers do these things on their own. So, don’t bother adjusting the temperature.
- What if You have Electric Burners
While adjusting the heat for stovetop cookers, gas burners actively respond while electric burners take some time to adjust themselves to the heat. So, if you have an electric stove, set two burners on high and low heat.
When the pressure is reached, pick up the cooker and place it on the low heating burner.
- How to Make your Food Sexy
A light finish under the broiler will lift your food’s quality and taste. You’ve already achieved moist and falling-off-the-bone ribs in the cooker, but to make them sticky, you can put them in a hot oven for a little glaze.
- Some Ingredients are Quite Sensitive
Understandably, a pressure cooker is too hot-to-handle for some ingredients, such as fish and vegetables. A slight mismanagement of time and the food will lose its effectiveness. On the other hand, risotto goes well with the utensil. All you need is to be precise with the timing.
- Timing Matters
In pressure-cooking, timing has the leading role to play. So, unless you have a pressure cooker with a built-in timer, keep your eyes on the kitchen timer after the pressure is reached. Count the time allowed for cooking and be very precise. A minute here and there can cause a huge difference.
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