My dh is convinced I need a pressure cooker after seeing Alton Brown explain them on TV :rolleyes: but I'm still a little afraid of them (grew up hearing horror stories of them exploding, etc.).

Of course, if I could really get tender stew, tender pot roast, yummy chili, etc. in about an hour, I'd be game. (Especially since I'm so tired and lazy these days!) I have a slow-cooker but (1) it's not the crock pot style and doesn't work well for things that need tenderizing and (2) I rarely plan ahead enough to use it.

Do you have one? What do you make in it? Are they scary to use?

Thanks!!!

I have never actually done any pressure cooking, only pressure canning.

I have to say that it was so easy I can't believe how one could ever have blown up on anyone. I think that if you buy a newer one, follow the directions, you will probably have some wonderful recipes turn out from it.

We went to this fair in MA last week and they had this guy demonstrating a pressure cooker. it's the newest thing i guess. It's really expensive though. He cooked kentucky fried chicken style chicken and potato wedges in 5 minutes. They were REALLY good. We got to try some. I don't know alot about pressure cookers but i guess with the older style ones if you don't let the pressure down to a certain point it could blow off and hurt you and also you have to keep turning down the stove if it gets to a certain pressure but with this new one, you push this little button and it releases it and if it gets to a certain pressure it turns itself down. I would've bought one if they weren't $200. :D

I have an electronic programmable pressure cooker. It's this one:

http://store.yahoo.com/dmart/salnt55qtpro.html

I love it. I had a stovetop model before which was good, but this one is so much easier to use. I just set it and leave it alone. No danger of exploding, so I don't have to babysit it.

I use it more in the winter when I am making homemade soups. I do use it all year round to make beans. If we weren't nearly vegan (we eat some fish) I suppose that I would use it more often for stews, etc. Mine can make rice as well, but I have a rice cooker for that.

The person to ask is Val (BlueRoseMama). She's a pressure cooking queen!

Peace,

Kimberly

I have a pressure cooker but only use it to can or to cook a chicken real quickly if I need it for a recipe.

I'd be interested what people cook in it as I wouldn't mind giving it a whirl.

pressure cooking queen

Hehehehe... thanks Kimberly! lol...

A queen is no better than her books. :) Lorna Sass... she is what got me started with the pressure cooker and now I can make just about anything in about 30 minutes. Really I had fresh stew last night from the raw meat and veggies from the farm box to the table in under an hour! I love this thing guys... really.

The pressure cooker I have is not the most sophisticated one... but it is easy to use and it was pretty cheap. Link below: http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1356500&cp=1331607.1331948.1334463&parentPage=family

This is the set I have. It has two pressure cookers (one pressure top, and one glass top) and they are both great.

Getting to use a pressure cooker take practice. First start out with a great cook book... like these ones:

Vegitarian Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass
( http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0688123260/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9899590-3820814#reader-link )

Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen by Lorna Sass
Review below but no look inside link available
( My Favorite Cookbook, April 4, 2000
Reviewer: A reader (Rochester, NY USA)
If I could only keep one of my cookbooks, this would probably be the one. A wonderful cookbook for vegetarians, vegans and others who want to eat less animal products. Delicious and practical. This book got me hooked on using a pressure cooker (though you can still make the recipes without one) and I now use the pressure cooker all the time! Since its original publication RECIPES FROM AN ECOLOGICAL KITCHEN has been reprinted and is currently available in paperback under the title LORNA SASS' COMPLETE VEGETARIAN KITCHEN. I envy those who are about to discover this cookbook for the first time. )

Under the review I checked to see if the LORNA SASS' COMPLETE VEGETARIAN KITCHEN had a look inside link and it did... here it is:
( http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0060007745/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9899590-3820814#reader-page )

These are my top cookbooks on pressure cooking. Each and all can be found at your local library and Ecological kitchen can be found on Half.com for about $10 shipping included. I have never found a bad recipe from Lorna Sass's books. :D And she has great tips, such as FlavorPrints (found on the thrid or fourth page of the 'look inside' link that really get you started agumenting your own recipes. After that it is easy. It is just getting started!

I think the best thing about them is how fast they make rice, beans, or other grains... She has bean, grain, and rice graphs that tell you how much time it takes to cook each kind alone... it makes it possible to actually make black beans in 20 minutes WITH NO SOAKING. If you soak it only takes 6 MINUTES! I love that! (Brown rice in 4 minutes high pressure, pintos for refried beans in 6 minutes on high pressure) I can have fresh chili (if I remeber to soak the beans before nap (around noon) in like 10 minutes on the stove (and cutting veggie time)... I love it! I buy in bulk, so this thing has been a god send for me. It has made so many things (like buying canned beans) not even necessary on a night when I don't know what we want to have.

And think about all the salt you are NOT using by swearing off canned beans.

Anyway... this almost feels like spam now... lol... but I honestly think that everyone should try it... just for two weeks. You will fall in love, I swear.

Love Val

Edited to add... Scary to use? The old wobble top ones were... I blew up an entire pot of split pea soup all over the place once... and thank goodness we were not in the kitchen. It took weeks to clean up and even now I find little bits of it under the fridge or stove now and then. But these new ones? No... not scary at all. They are valve release and will not open if the presure is high, and they have no rubber parts (which was the part that always gave out on my wobble top). The ones I have are a dream. You have to make sure the rim is dry and clean when you put the tops together, but I have not had any "blowing up" trouble at all, and I have had them for about two years now and use them ALL the time. :D

Thanks so much for sharing! I'm going to get a few of those cookbooks.

Now I need to remember where I stuck that canner. :)

Oh, wow, thanks for all the info, Val! I wish I'd read this sooner. I got one at Wal-Mart (couldn't find one at any other B&M store) and it's nice. It was about $55, it's Presto, stainless, 6 qt. It won't open till the pressure is out, so that's good, but it does have that wobbly thing, in addition to a couple other safety valve things--but it has a rubber seal which makes me nervous. The deal you linked to is a better deal though!

I really like it, but I do need more recipes. I'll check out those books. I made a chuck roast in it, and while it was tender, the fat got so gooey that it grossed me out. Dh liked it though--he's not as picky as me. :D It does an amazing job on potatoes and carrots. I need to try some stew/one-pot recipes though, since I wasn't wild about it for the chuck roast or the pork loin I tried.

Val,
Do you can with your pressure cooker? Is there a size that is needed to use it for canning too? I am also thinking about getting a pressure cooker. I was so happy to see this thread.

Heather

I have a pressure canner, but my others are too small (I think) to make it worth it. They are 6 quart and 8 quart. The large pressure canner I have is I think 16 quarts? I know I was able to can 12 cans of chicken in it at the same time. So it is pretty big.

I mainly use the smaller ones for cooking and the larger one for canning. I could (and would) use the large one for cooking if I had something that big. But I am not sure how. Mostly I just cook enough grains or beans or dinner for our family... maybe two.

Tomorrow I am making curried split pea soup. From Lorna Sass... it is so yummy! :)

Love Val

I have to chime in here and agree with everything Val said about Lorna Sass! I bought her cookbook, Great Vegetarian Cooking under Pressure, about 8 or 9 years ago, and I bought a pressure cooker because of it. I even wrote Lorna to order The Complete Vegetarian Kitchen from her and have it inscribed, and I raved about the other cookbook of hers that I had. Well, to make a long story short, she ended up inviting my dh and myself to be recipe testers for her, and over the years we've tested recipes for her last five cookbooks.

Lorna's cookbooks are the backbone of our cooking--they are truly fabulous! I use a Magefesa pressure cooker on Lorna's recommendation and have been really happy with it. They are made in Spain, and they are a very affordable modern pressure cooker. You can even contact Magefesa directly at this number (888) 787-9991 and ask to buy their returned cookers, which are often new. I originally bought a 6 quart cooker from them, new, and it was $99 and included the cost of shipping. I have a friend who put herself on a waiting list to buy a return, and she got one for less than that.

It really is amazing the things you can make in a pressure cooker. Red lentil soup takes 6 minutes to cook! Rissoto in about the same amount of time, without having to worry about stirring constantly. We were amazed when we tested a cheesecake for one of her pressure cooker cookbooks where you steam-cook it in the pressure cooker, and it was FABULOUS! Really tasty stuff. Once you try it, you'll never look back!

Have fun!

found this while going through archives and had to chime in..nak
I grew up with every woman I know using a pressure cooker. I got one at WM for $20, a small one. I use it to pressure red beans to make rice and peas every Sunday. Use it to make rice if in a rush, use it to make soup. Make stewed beej, soften not so tender cuts of meat :D
Joanita

One of the lorna sass pressure cookbooks (not vegetarian) is at bookcloseouts.com. Great recipes if you eat meat. Sarah

Is this a good one, mamas? I know its small, but its just me & the Boys. I like the idea of not needing to babysit it on the stove.

http://store.everythinghome.org/ruho4qunubap.html

Should I worry about the aluminum leaching into the food???