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Decisions, decisions--pressure cooker or no?

13 years ago

I have never had a pressure cooker. Maybe because when I was about 8 my mother's blew up and spread pea soup all over the ceiling. Anyway, I was wondering if I would use one. I cook for two, DH is diabetic so I try to cook w/o potatoes, rice or too many other carbs. Do you think I would use it? Do you have one and love it?

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Comments (23)

joyfulguy
13 years ago
Check among your friends to see who has one ...

... and pick their brains ...

... and whose cooker they might possibly lend you for a while?

Might get one at low price at GoodWill or Value Village. Or a yard sale: often really low priced, there.

ole joyful
dances_in_garden
13 years ago
I got an electric one for my birthday. I have used it to make stew, chicken broth, pork roast, beef roast, beans, wheat berries......and that is all I can remember LOL.

I love it. But since it is electric I don't have to fuss with the burner to keep it at a certain pressure, etc.

The chicken broth came out clear as a bell, which really impressed me. The beans and wheat berries cooked a bit faster, but what was more imporant to me was their texture. Fully cooked, but still had their shape and weren't mush. And fewer beans seemed to have slipped their skins than when I boil them.

Dances.
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Traditional 4 oven AGA cooker
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Mayorswife, If you're still interested in comments from Aga owners, we have a 2-oven Aga. We have had it for a bit over 10 years now, and we love it. You opened this post with concerns over two reports: that AGAs make your kitchen hot, and that the learning curve is very steep. Responding to the second concern first, I do not remember the learning curve as being that steep. There is one, certainly. I also recall there being a learning curve when I, who grew up with and learned to cook on gas cooktops and ranges, moved into an apartment with an electric stove. I remember learning curves associated with the charcoal grill, the crock pot, and the microwave. The AGA was certainly no worse than any of those. As Wa8b and Trixieinthegarden noted, the main change is the shift in emphasis to positioning rather than temperature and time. As to your second concern, heating up the kitchen, much depends on what you mean by "hot" and how you use your kitchen in the summer. Since you have seen a working AGA, you have some idea how hot it feels. Your description sounds correct to me. The concern most people have is heat during warm weather. If your kitchen is tiny and enclosed and does not have any air circulation, the AGA will make it uncomfortably hot when your house gets over a certain temperature (what that would be depends on you and your climate). In my part of the country at least, the AGA dealer recommends that you have an HVAC vent near the AGA to help with air circulation and to keep the heat from the AGA from building up in its immediate vicinity. I have thought that this helped in our house. In addition, our kitchen has a very open plan, which has also helped, and a ceiling fan. A point in connection with summer heat that is often overlooked in this context is that serious cooking on a modern cooktop or range, particularly baking, will also heat up your kitchen during warm weather. For most situations, the heat in the kitchen will be greater than with an AGA, although for a shorter period of time during the day. You should consider this aspect when thinking about how the AGA would compare. If baking, say, a chicken casserole in one of the Wolf ovens you were looking at wouldn't heat up your kitchen uncomfortably during the height of summer, I wouldn't think the AGA would bother you. As a case in point, we live in piedmont North Carolina, and it certainly gets hot and muggy here during the summer. Because of the heat created in the kitchen by cooking, we rarely used the gas range we had before we got the AGA during the hottest part of the summer. We often weren't at home for dinner (extended daylight activities), and when we were, as much as possible we ate salads and other food that did not require cooking (I ate a lot of tuna salad for dinner, growing up!). Instead of the range, we used the microwave, or, if we wanted something more substantial, the outdoor grill. When we got the AGA, we decided that we could turn it off between July 4 and Labor Day. We had a portable burner/broiler combination that would heat water for tea in the morning, and that was really the only use we were making of the old range during those months. We have more or less followed that pattern ever since. If, for some reason, we want/need real cooking ability during that time that we can't get from the combination of the portable burner, the grill, the microwave, and the toaster oven, we can always turn the AGA up for that particular occasion. I am not aware of any exceptional expense in starting it back up. Other AGA owners in this State whom I know keep their AGAs up and running throughout the summer. They have concluded that the heat assistance they get from the AGA during the winter balances the extra air conditioning they need during the summer, and/or that the heat from the AGA during the summer is not cumulatively more than the heat caused by their old ranges when they used them. As to the AGA's performance, I checked with my husband before completing this response, and we agree that its results are excellent. We both cook on it. He said that if asked what he liked best about the AGA, he would say that he liked what it does to food. For example, just this last week, we cooked yet another Thanksgiving turkey for the extended family. We get this job every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas because (i) everyone in the family likes the roasted turkeys the AGA produces better than anyone else's efforts, and (ii) we're willing to do it every year, twice a year, because it really doesn't take much effort on our part. As to your husband's concern over smells, it hasn't been a problem for us. Smells are an individual matter, and we may have no problem because we mostly like the smells associated with cooking food. I find some fishy smells a bit strong, but we cook fish in the ovens and the only odor problem comes from the cooking pan itself before it's washed or goes into the dish washer. As Wa8b noted, if this is a concern for you, you could go on and install a range hood, which some AGA owners do (we don't have one). Alternatively, you could arrange your kitchen so that you leave yourself the option of installing a hood or exhaust fan later on if you want. You wanted to know what AGA owners like best and what we dislike most. I have already mentioned what my husband said he liked best (the way the food comes out). His biggest dislike is that you have to be careful of the top, because it will scratch. I thought about this question, and I confess to being somewhat at a loss. I would probably have done a better job six or eight years ago. At this point, the AGA is part of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for any other range or cooktop/oven combo. I like not having to ride herd on the AGA while it's cooking, once I put food into the ovens. Getting over the learning curve is probably necessary for this, but it seems to me that I can produce better food for less effort with the AGA. The AGA has become something more like a cooking partner than an appliance. I do my part getting the food ready to be cooked, then the AGA does its part. I like being free from the tyranny of a timer. The AGA's ovens are more forgiving of time vagaries than other ovens. The AGA is a truly great range for working parents, which is what we were when we got ours. If some domestic emergency occurs just as the meatloaf is supposed to come out, there is no need to worry; the meatloaf will be just fine while you wash off and bandaid up the scraped knee or quell the dispute (or whatever. And it IS possible to burn something in an AGA oven; you just have to work harder to do it. We put a roast in one evening, had some crisis come up and forgot about it for two days. The roast was an inedible lump of charcoal by that time). As to cons, it would be nice if there was another row or two of runners lower down in each oven, and the simmering oven does not oxidize its spills as efficiently as the roasting oven and must be cleaned from time to time. The AGA can be used for noncooking purposes. It makes a reasonably good quicky dryer or iron. Although the AGA suits us, we recognize that it may not suit everyone else. If someone's preferred foods include foods that are not suited to the AGA's style of cooking, the AGA is probably not for them. For example, those who prefer cooking in a wok shouldn't get an AGA. I think there are some cooks who really like the continued interaction with food as it cooks that stovetop cooking involves; they would probably find an AGA unsatisfying. Other people prefer other types of ranges or cooktops/ovens for different reasons. AGA owners in my State were willing to talk about their AGAs to potential buyers, to answer questions, and to offer helpful suggestions. I found that helpful when we were deciding on our AGA. In fact, we talked to three of them. Your area dealer may be able to put you in touch with other AGA owners in your area for information about heat during the summer, for instance. Meanwhile, whatever you have or do decide, good luck!
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A lot of folks flying around the airport but no one is landing. No dispute on the basic facts of what temperatures certain substances (water, oil) vaporize or explode. But no one is accounting for the dynamics of the process, which are explained in Colonel Sanders patent that he took out on his pressure frying method for cooking chicken (U.S. Patent No. 3,245,800). What happens when you apply heat to a mixture of liquids having different boiling temperatures in a closed environment with a small orifice vent (i.e., a stovetop pressure cooker)? What happens when you distill a mixture of liquids having different boiling points? Here's what happens. Assuming you are applying enough heat to the liquid mixture to reach the boiling points, each liquid will boil off in order of their boiling points, lowest first to highest last. More importantly, the temperature of the entire mixture of boiling liquids and vapors within the closed environment will remain at the equilibrium temperature of the lowest boiling liquid until ALL of the lowest boiling liquid is vaporized out of the system. At that point the temperature of the enclosed liquid and vapor system will begin to rise until it reaches the equilibrium boiling point for the next-highest boiling liquid. In our chicken frying example, the two most important liquids are the water contained in the chicken and its coating, and the frying oil. Water boils at 212 F at atmospheric temperature, and at about 250 F at 15 psi, the pressure used by Colonel Sanders with his old Mirro pressure cookers. Oil boils at some ungodly high temperature, one obviously dangerous, but one that will never be reached in the pressure cooker unless and until ALL of the water in the chicken and its coating are vaporized and vented out the pressure cooker's vent. But in order to vaporize all of the water in the chicken, you will have to cook it for a good bit longer than the eight to ten minutes the Colonel used to cook his chicken. As long as there is any water remaining in the chicken (and with the cooking times involved here, there always will be), that water will continuously vaporize out of the chicken and maintain the pressure cooker at 250 F and 15 PSI. The danger comes in when the process is neglected. If the heat is left on long enough, and all the water is driven out of the chicken and vented to the atmosphere, the temperature inside the pressure cooker will begin to rise until it reaches the equilibrium boiling point of the next-highest boiling liquid, the oil, at 15 PSI. If that happens, look out. It is because of the possibility of neglect leading to the complete evacuation of water from the cooker that the stovetop pressure cooker manufacturers have uniformly regarded pressure frying in their equipment as unsafe. Bottom line - it is possible to pressure fry chicken in a stovetop pressure cooker, but the process has to be controlled and monitored carefully so that you never approach the point where all of the water is removed from the chicken (the chicken would be long past ruined by that point anyway). The safety of the process depends entirely on the operator. If there is any question of whether the chef has sufficient skill and attention span to monitor and control the process (and for the pressure cooker manufacturers, they just cannot presume that all their customers do), it's just much safer to use a purpose-made pressure fryer, expensive as they are.
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OklaMoni
13 years ago
Dances, my landlord has one of them too. He LOVES it. Can't say enough praises for it.

Me, I got a regular one, but mine is in storage right now. Yes, I do miss it.

Moni
alisande
13 years ago
I remember my parents' pea soup ceiling mess, too. And blow-ups can be quite dangerous.

I had a pressure cooker years ago. I used it mostly to make dog food. Seriously--you can cook a whole chicken carcass, and the bones turn to mush. I was told it was good for dogs, and my dogs liked it.

Getting the pressure right always made me a little nervous because I worried it would blow.

I haven't had one in a long time, and I don't miss it. If I had had one today I'd use it for cooking beets--and that's probably about all.
gadgets
13 years ago
I too have an electric one. I got one when I was still working. I took a nap everyday when I got home. I could put the food in before lying down and set the automatic features, and have my meal ready when I got up about an hour later. I use mine at least once a week. If mine goes out on me, I'll have another.

Shirley
User
13 years ago
I have one and use it occasionally, mostly if I were to cook meat, or a roast but we don't eat much meat anymore so I only use mine now for articokes. I like it but don't use it that much.
cbag1
13 years ago
We have two. One is a low pressure stove top model, and the other one is electric. The stove top model holds a little more, and is very safe since it works on low pressure. Both work great and came from QVC. I really like them.
lynn_d
13 years ago
Socks, I love my electric pressure cooker! I use it all the time, one of my favorites is beef short ribs. Because they take hours to make I didn't make them very often but they take an hour in the pressure cooker. Mine is from HSN, Wolfgang Puck's.
Dash2
13 years ago
I have 2. Both are stove top cookers. One is 6 quart. The other is a 10 quart. I couldn't/wouldn't be without at least one.

Just about anything you'd do in a crock pot can be done in the pressure cooker in 1/4 the time it would take in a slow cooker. It makes the best pulled pork and pot roast you can imagine. Definately company-worthy meals.

It's just two of us and I do not feel either pot is unnecessary. The constant harping about pots exploding is as out of date as bustles and corsets. Today's modern pots have more than enough safety features built into them that it is nearly impossible for an explosion to happen.

Of course, if the cook doesn't take adequate care, or tries to force the pot to open before it's ready - anything is possible.
lazypup
13 years ago
And for the record, the electric ones work at the same pressure as the stove top ones
cynic
13 years ago
Yarnlover brings up a good point that's often overlooked. The new ones have extra safety release features as long as they're maintained and working properly. Any cooking has inherent dangers. Handles can break, glass can shatter or you could drop a pan on your foot or cut yourself with a knife. But if you learn to use it properly the risks are minimized.

I thought about an electric one. That idea intrigued me. The one had various pressure levels too which seemed to make a lot of sense. But I really can't think of enough uses for it for me to be practical for me to purchase one. Whether it's something you should get depends on your needs.

Joyful' suggestion to ask around is a good idea and checking to see what others here are doing can be helpful if they'd say what they use them for and if/how it's advantageous over other methods.
bulldinkie
13 years ago
Thats why I never got one, I heard they can blow.
Cricketm
13 years ago
I have one (6 quarts)....it makes the best stew, soup, scallop potatoes....go for it. Read the directions and don't overload your pot and you won't have any trouble. I have never had a problem.
lisa_fla
13 years ago
Its funny you should bring this up. I just brought in an unopened one in the box I bought on clearance years ago. Its been sitting in the garage all this time. I even got a pressure cooker cookbook from the library. After looking at it, I am uncertain if I really need this item. Its a 4 qt one-I think 6 qt would have been better. Its a stove-top version. I didn't even know they made electric ones. I will read the cookbook and then decide whether or not to keep it, but I'm leaning towards craigslist. There are 5 of us here, but I usually have 6 people for dinner, its probably too small anyway?
jannie
13 years ago
I have a pressure cooker and love it. Never had any problems, accidents, mishaps. It is tops for soups and stews, and makes absolutely the BEST mashed potatoes. My mother never had one, she was afraid of an explosion. My DH taught me to use one when we got married. We even have two pressure tops-I lost the first top, ordered another from the company, then found the first. I've seen infomercials for pressure cookers starring Montel Williams. Mine is either Presto or Mirro, not sure of the brand. But whatever it is, I love it. Oh, and it's good for canning and jelly-making, too!
socks
Original Author
13 years ago
Jannie, Montel Williams is what got me thinking about a pressure cooker since he's selling one on QVC. (I would not buy that one though.) I'm looking at the Presto 4-qt. which seems a little small even for just two people or the 6-qt.
ruthieg__tx
13 years ago
I have 5 which includes a pressure canner. If you have one that blows up it will be practically an act of God unless you have a cooker that is so old that it doesn't even work properly. Cooks Illustrated attempted to get one to blow up using several of the best known and nothing they did would make it happen. I think I would like to have an electric because I see how they are used on Iron Chef and I think you could do anything to them and they would be perfect.

I have heard lots of stories of them blowing up like the ones above but never met actually met anyone who had it happen.
User
13 years ago
I have 4 pressure cookers. I have been married 39 years and they are ones that I inherited and ones I got when I first got married. I can with the huge ones and the medium and small ones I use at least once or twice a week. I could not have raised 5 children and worked outside the home without them. Never had an accident, spill, or mishap with NONE of mine. I have them serviced EVERY spring. New parts that need to be replaced etc. THAT is the key to them and keeping them in TOP NOTCH CONDITION. One lady who's husband services my pressure cookers told me that if I ever wanted to sell mine that there were women who would buy mine. That there were alot of women who were wanting them because my were made by Presto and you could still get parts for them whereas Mirro only has after market parts. Also mine have the raised lids and you can even can in my smallest pressure cooker. (small jars for jellies, jams) I do not know much about today's pressure cookers but I dearly love mine...I assume they are probably "safer". But as far as working better,I doubt that I just am so fond of my old ones. Just can't teach this old dog new tricks. LOL
kathyg_in_mi
13 years ago
Love my old 6 quart PC, but since moving and now having an electric stove, I hated trying to get it to the right pressure, so I bought an electric PC. Love it! So far have made beef stew in it and German Potato Salad.
Yummy!
Kathy G in MI
yayagal
13 years ago
I've always used one and love it as it's speedy and all the nutrients stay in the pot. I recently bought a Magifesa (not sure of the spelling) It automatically opens if the pressure builds too high. That's never happened but it's a good feature.
vala55
13 years ago
I used one for years, it makes the best pot roast I've ever tasted. For one thing you don't make pea soup in it or cook beans. I know people do and get away with it, but they are asking for trouble. It stops up the tiny vent. I have never made a roast in the oven, they are not as good as a pot roast in a PC and they are way to much trouble. I cooked the roast until it is almost done, then let the pressure go down and add potatoes, onion and carrots and cook until it's done.
lynn_d
13 years ago
I love mine because of my lifestyle. I work at home and I know that people think that means I work only when I wish to do so but nothing could be further from the truth. Every day this week I was in my office at 730 in the morning and didn't walk out until at least 6pm, two nights it was nearly 9 till the light got turned out.

So when I have a few minutes around 4 or so I can fix our supper, put it in the pressure cooker and set it, supper is then ready when we are ready to eat. I just love not having to monitor the pressure. If I set it for 40 minutes the timer starts counting down once the proper pressure is reached. I can then let it be and the pressure will drop, or I can switch it to vent and it will disperse quickly.

Makes life a lot easier.
susan_on
13 years ago
How do you know how long to cook the meat for? I cooked a roast in my once, and it didn't seem tender.

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