Pressure Cooker
Feb. 12th, 2006 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosI used my new pressure cooker for the first time last night.
Let me say first: "Fast" is relative. Particularly if there is a lot of food in the cooker.
I have been trying for years to make a good roast. Last night, I made a 2-1/2 pound chuck roast with potatos and onions.
The cooker took at least fifteen minutes to come to pressure -- so long that I was beginning to fear I had done something wrong and the pressure was never going to get high enough. Cooking time was 35 minutes (and probably could have gone a bit longer). It took 10 minutes or more for the pressure to come down again naturally after I removed it from the heat.
All in all, including the prep time, it took more than an hour.
Now, for a roast this is a considerable improvement over traditional oven cooking, but I was a bit disappointed by the total preparation time.
Of course, there are a lot of other things that don't need that much time, and the cooker will come to pressure faster and come back down faster with less mass inside. . .
Actually, I should just be celebrating the fact that it worked.
Let me say first: "Fast" is relative. Particularly if there is a lot of food in the cooker.
I have been trying for years to make a good roast. Last night, I made a 2-1/2 pound chuck roast with potatos and onions.
The cooker took at least fifteen minutes to come to pressure -- so long that I was beginning to fear I had done something wrong and the pressure was never going to get high enough. Cooking time was 35 minutes (and probably could have gone a bit longer). It took 10 minutes or more for the pressure to come down again naturally after I removed it from the heat.
All in all, including the prep time, it took more than an hour.
Now, for a roast this is a considerable improvement over traditional oven cooking, but I was a bit disappointed by the total preparation time.
Of course, there are a lot of other things that don't need that much time, and the cooker will come to pressure faster and come back down faster with less mass inside. . .
Actually, I should just be celebrating the fact that it worked.
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If speed is of the essence
Date: 2006-02-12 06:38 pm (UTC)here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1863024875/202-7229004-8817406) and
here (http://www.foulsham.com/product791.htm")
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-12 07:55 pm (UTC)It does take a long time to come up to pressure if you have it too full. It works best if the pot is no more than 2/3 full. If you go over that, it can take a long time, or sometimes it won't hit full pressure at all.
One thing you can to do so speed it along a little is to put the liquid in the pot over the flame first before you do prep on the rest of the food. Then put the chopped vegetables into the heating liquid, and then the meat on top. That way, you are not coming up from room temp to full pressure.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-15 04:22 am (UTC)That is a great idea!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-12 08:33 pm (UTC)Anyone wanna shovel my driveway for me? Two feet. Argh.