Q&A : Help with Pressure Cookers

Ques : Need some help with pressure cooking in my UK made Prestige unit. I have seen a lot of recipies using pressure cooking mentioning ‘one whistle’, ‘two whistles’ and so on as an indicator of cooking needed. Mine has a single weight. Sort of clicks into position at the steam outlet on top of the lid. There is no whistle feature on it. Have to cool and open the lid to check doneness of the food. Sometimes a good number of times, until I get what I want. I do not use it on a regular basis, so timing is always chancy, requiring frequent lid removal to check. A little too late and foods such as lentils turn to mash, and meats cooked to shreds. I wish to know if there is an add-on adapter for the whistle. Can you help ?

Kuntal Answers… : Most first-generation pressure cookers most use a single pressure which may be lower than the standard of 15psi. If the operating pressure is lower than 15 pounds, you will not realize as much time or energy savings, and you will always be adjusting recipes to fit. For safety and to ensure quality results, read the manufacturers manual completely before starting to cook with your pressure cooker. If you have lost the original owners manual that came with your cooker, you can go back to them and request for a new user manual. The brand  that you are referring to is at the forefront of misleading advertisements because they mainly cook at low pressure, the others being “Cooks Essential”, “T-Fal”, “Turbo Cooke” etc. There are pressure cookers which cannot even reach the standard 15psi pressure. Pressure cookers that do not meet the accepted standard of 15psi means you will have to adjust pressure cooker recipes which are designed for 15psi.
I can pass you some useful tips for the use of pressure cooker. However, there is no alternative to reproduce the results of a good pressure cooker through conventional cooking method because the closest equivalent cooking process; boiling will take the temperature of the food to only about 212* while a good cooker will take the temperature beyond 240*F and cook through steam thus reducing the cooking time.

1)The pressure cooker must never be filled more than 2/3 full, the unused space is needed to produce pressure. When cooking dried beans or other foods that may foam or froth, or liquids such as broth or stock, do not fill the cooker more than 1/2 full.
2)All pressure cookers have the same principles of operation. Heat produces steam in an a closed container which raises the boiling point to cook foods faster. A pressure cooker cooks food in superheated steam, it is not a boiler so there is no reason to submerge foods in water.
3) Begin timing after lowering the heat, and ALWAYS use a  timer when using a pressure cooker. Initially you may have to hit upon trial and error method and it requires patience to define the cooking regime with the kind of cooker you are using at this point of time. Do not overcook, a couple of extra minutes could turn your recipe into mushy baby food. When the cooking time is up, remove the pressure cooker from the heat source.

You can actually do a lot using your pressure cooker in case you decide to use it regularly. Buy a Stainless Steel model with a triple wall bottom (SS-aluminum core-SS, or copper), it will minimize burned foods, heats faster and retains heat longer, which translates to improved energy efficiency and a saves a little money on fuel bills over time. You can use a SS P/C on any heat source from gas to electric, camp stoves, BBQ grills, charcoal, wood fires (done that) and even solar stoves. SS will last at least 25 years, your kids will inherit it.
Avoid aluminium cooker or cooker with non-stick interiors despite the best of the claims made by the manufacturers. Also check that it reaches the pressure of 15psi (pound per square inch).

I hope this helps.

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