Haven’t you prepared dinner yet? It’s past time and your family must be hungry. The best bet in this situation is to use a pressure cooker and get whatever you want, cooked! A pressure cooker speeds up the cooking process and prepares food within a minimum amount of time. While the food ingredients are in the cooker, prepare the table and call your family for a pre-dinner chit chat. As soon as the whistle blows, it’s your call to present the delicious food to them.
Even the chickpeas for falafel food are easily softened with the help of a pressure cooker. The mechanism of this amazing kitchen utensil is quite simple. The lid seals the utensil and the water inside is boiled to increase the pressure. The trapped steam is used to increase the temperature of the inside environment and this helps in speeding up the cooking process. Once the food you want is ready, you can continue with the recipe and cook the rest or eat the ready –made dish as it is. Wondering what’s the secret to the best falafel in Dubai? Maybe this is it!
Pressure cooker – How amazing can it be?
- The version we use today is nothing like the first one ever designed
The first version of the pressure cooker was designed in the sixteenth century. The expert behind the idea was Denis Papin and the object he designed was known as the steam digester. Later on, this version of cooker underwent loads of innovations in the design but the mechanism remained the same. Now in the twentieth century, we have digitally controlled pressure cookers available in the market.
- It helps in retaining micro and macro-nutrients
Generally, people wish to avoid overcooking food. It is because most of the nutrients and burnt and wasted this way. Making sure that the food ingredients retain their nutritional value is the number one job of the chef. Do you want to know a secret here? The pressure cookers, as they build steam inside them, succeed in preventing the loss of the nutrients. The steam is condensed back into the liquid inside the cooker and the nutrients are thus returned to the cooking content.
- Durable pressure cooker construction
Guess what? You need not worry about the handle of the pressure cooker as it is an established fact that they cannot melt. Normally, buyers ask the salesmen if the handle will last for a long time? Little do they know! The material is made from has a high boiling point. It cannot be achieved until the handle is directly on the flame.
- There is nothing that you cannot cook in it
A pressure cooker does marvels. Whatever it is that your family wants to eat, you can make it with the help of the cooker in a short while. Whether it is soup, gravy or a dessert, the trick is to use the right amount of water and your dish will be ready.
- It does not produce acrylamide
Acrylamide is a chemical compound which is formed while frying, baking or roasting starchy compounds. This compound is risky as it promotes cancer and is formed during high-temperature. As the temperature inside the pressure cooker rises till or above the boiling temperature, don’t you think there might be a chance of acrylamide production? Well, the secret here is that the moist environment inside the utensil avoids the formation of acrylamide. Thus, the food delivered through this utensil is perfectly healthy and safe.
- Though it’s steaming hot, it may not sterilize contents
This is debatable as people say that if the pressure cooker can reach the boiling point, why can’t it sterilize the contents? Well, it may or may not. To sterilize the contents, the pressure must be maintained for a certain amount of time. So, if your intent is to sterilize for pressure canning purposes, be sure to consult your instruction manual for the proper time, pressure, and temperature required.
Wrap-Up
The kitchen utensils in the market are full of surprises but the pressure cooker is a life saver. It wins the heart of all the men and women chefs by allowing them to cook delicious and tempting food in a short time.
I have started to use an electric pressure/slow cooker. I’m disappointed the way the stews turn out. I cook for required times but the meat is hard and woody or tough. Only success I’ve had is pulled belly pork and minced beef. I’ve had to throw away the beef stews. Pork chop casserole went tough as well. I haven’t a cook book so just go with the set timings
Beef stew is a bit tricky due to the different cooking times required for the beef and the vegetables. I break this dish into two stages.
My suggestion would be to cook the beef first in the pressure cooker with all the seasonings, liquids, and aromatics for about 15 mins.
Then put your vegetables in for another 5 minutes.
Unfortunately, I find some variance with different cuts of beef so the initial stage timing may differ (if not tender needs more time).
Good luck!