pazzaglia

Here are the photos of the event. So far, I only have photos of the second cooking demonstration. I hope that one of the food bloggers that attended the first, will send me pictures of that! See the photos here!

Great to meet you and am happy to know if there is anything that can be improved. I'm looking forward to hearing about your pressure cooking! Ciao, L

Thanks for the recipe, pazzaglia. Why both a trivet and a steamer basket? I should have said and/or steamer basket... some pressure cookers do not have steamer inserts with feet tall enough to keep them out of the water, so you need to use the basket in conjunction with the trivet! Ciao, L

June 18th at noon 3 pm in Seattle I will be doing a Free cooking demonstration to show anyone who is curious, or is a big fan, of pressure cooking! Both demonstartions will have 20 spaces each and will be held in the allrecipes.com demonstration kitchens. If you really want to come, reserve a space quickly so that if both classes are filled I have time to beg them to plan another one before I fly back home to Europe! If you did not reserve a space, you can also show up and they will try to let you in (maybe standing room), anyway! Classes are free and open to the public but pre-registration is requested by contacting Kerry at City Kitchens at Kerry@citykitchens.biz by Friday the 17th. Attendees will meet at City Kitchens gourmet cookware store at 1527 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101. All class participants will be eligible for a special discount at City Kitchens Commercial Interests, if any: - I offered to do these events for free (I am being reimbursed by Fissler for the TAXI I am taking to get there) - Fissler USA, is providing the Pressure Cookers and paying for the food - City Kitchens is providing all the gadgets (and offering a discount to attendees) - allrecipes.com is providing the space I hope to meet some of you there! L Host Note: Click here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.

So gad that something like Modernist Cuisine spurred this purchase for you guys and you are finding daily uses for it. My personal goal is to get anyone who is just cooking, pressure cooking! Be sure to blog about pressure cooking, tell your friends, relatives and anyone who will listen at the supermarket how great this is - not just fast, but flavorful and healthy (and very green, too) - very few things, today, can boast all of these things and have them actually be true! Ciao, L

Yes, there is a sliding scale of how much steam escapes depending on the manufacturer - I have an old weight-modified Barazzoni, Fagor Futuro, Kuhn-Rikon Duromatic and 6 or so Fissler models (I stopped counting after the first three). I rotate all of them regularly in my recipe photographs to be fair (except for the old guy, he is retired now). I noticed that from most to least in releasing steam during cooking Fagor is most (with a constant whisp, but sooo much better than my old weight-modified model!), next Kuhn Rikon (with a light percalating sound and occasional wisps) and last are my Fisslers (their latest model shuts the valve like a dream - no steam, no smell, no anything - made me wonder if it worked the first time I used it!) The signal is not as accurate as a gauge. It works on a "range" and pops up during that "range". The Kuhn Rikon valve is a good visual example of this "range". It has a rod that rises as pressure is building. It has two rings around that rod but it marks from 1PSI (when the rod starts to rise) to 8PSI (when it reaches the first ring) to 15 PSI (when it reaches the second ring) to 18 PSI (when the safety kicks-in and it begins to release pressure). So with the Kuhn, you could actually lower the heat anywhere during the rod's rise and cook at that pressure - but cooking pressure may vary if you lower the heat right at the ring, or just under it, or between the two. I'm happy to give fellow eGulleters a preview of a a modernist-esque recipe I'm publishing at the end of June (see my forum avatar for the result). It's actually a popular Indian sweet made with Paneer. You put little balls in your pressure cooker and then when you open it they have inflated into beautiful little sponges!!! All the recipes out there are for the old "whistling" and "spitting" pressure cookers so I will have instructions and cooking times for the new ones - and you can make it in your Fagor! I went against the trend (serving in a glass - I had 8 meals presented to me this way while I was traveling last month so I'm sooo over the trend) but these little balls would not be out of place stacked in a beautiful a little cylindrical glass as a sweet finish to any Modernist Cuisine -inspired dinner! The best part is that it's served chilled so it can even be made days ahead of time!!! I'm on an international kick right now, but this is by far one my favorite recipes - the effect and flavor achieved for the ease can't be beat - so I can't wait to publish it for everyone to try! Confession time: I just watched Marcel's Quantum Kitchen and when I saw his crazy gnocchi fail at the Chrysler dinner I was yelling at my TV, "Put them in the pressure cooker.. don't gellify them!!" I was really watching hoping pressure cookers would get a lot more "face" time but they were only mentioned once in the series and for a ho-hum pulled pork - everyone is pressure cooking pulled pork... how many people are blowing up paneer!?!?! The show could do without all of the "is he going to make it?!?!" and "is it safe to put a tiger in the backyard?" cheap reality-tv-drama-buidling teasers but otherwise it was great entertainment. Ciao, L

Older pressure cookers that emit vapor in spurts (or jiggles), maintain pressure by releasing vapor when it reaches over-pressure, as you noted. Imagine a wavy line of temperature and pressure with the peaks being when the pressure cooker releases vapor, then the pressure dips only to build up again. And so it continues... Newer spring-valve non-venting pressure cookers regulate pressure with temperature - you need a MUCH, MUCH smaller flame to keep pressure. Here, the line to denote pressure and temperature is fairly constant ensuring even cooking and diminished evaporation. A newer pressure cooker SHOULD NOT be realeasing vapor while it is under pressure - cooking this way means that you are operating it on too-high heat and in over-pressure. Releasing vapor is one of the first safety mechanisims and should be avoided. Always operate your pressure cooker at the lowest heat setting you can get to, without loosing pressure. This is how a spring-valve pressure cooker, like your Fagor, operates... 1. Use the minimum amount of liquid (or more) in the pressure cooker. Close and lock the lid. 2. Put the pressure cooker on high heat: - oxygen and steam will escpe - then, it will "stop" and the pressure indicator will pop up If the pressure cooker does not reach pressure, check: that you have the correct amount of minimum liquid, you placed the rubber gasket correctly in the top, locked the handle, set the pressure setting to 1 or 2. 3. Turn the heat down to medium-low heat and start timing for your recipe. - during operation a faint whisp of steam will exit the valve. If the pressure indicator were to go down, you turned the heat down too low. If the pressure cooker begins emitting large amounts of vapor, turn the heat down. It will take a couple of recipes to get the right heat setting to avoid going in over-pressure or loosing pressure. If you have a steamer basket, try my "steamy, naked carrot flowers" recipe. It's a great beginner recipe to introduces you to the flavor a pressure cooker can retain - and speed, too! It's not the most "modernist" recipe out there... but it will help you get the hang of pressure cooking! Ciao, L

You only need to transfer it to a glass jar if the condensed milk comes in a tube and not a can -as is often the case in Europe! No need to poke holes in the can unless you are making it in a pan with no pressure. Here is my recipe for Dulche de leche.... Dulche de leche in the Pressure Cooker - caramelized condensed milk 1 Can Condensed Milk OR 3 to 4 Tubes of Condesed Milk and small glass canning jar and lid Accessories: Steamer Basket Trivet If the condensed milk comes in a tube, transfer the contents into a small jar, leaving about 3/4" of an inch "head space" - the space between the rim of the jar and the contents inside. Twist the top closed firmly but not as tight as possible. If your condensed milk is in a can, remove the paper label. Prepare the pressure cooker by adding the trivet and steamer basket. Place the can or jar on the steamer basket, being careful that it does not touch the sides of the pressure cooker (especially if you are doing more than one). Fill with water to cover the jar/can. You may need to put the can on it's side to make sure it is fully submerged. Ensure not to exceed the "maximum capacity" of your pressure cooker (sometimes noted as a little dash inside the pan). Close and lock the lid. Bring the heat to high until the pressure cooker reaches pressure and then turn it down to the minimum heat the pressure cooker will need to keep pressure. Cook at HIGH pressure for 30 minutes or LOW pressure for 45 minutes. When cooking time is up, open the pressure cooker using the Natural method - move the pressure cooker to a cool burner and don't do anything (this could take from 30 min to an hour because the pressure cooker is full). When the pressure cooker unlocks, remove the lid but do not remove the can/jar. Wait about an hour when the water is warm enough for you to submerge your hand and then carefully remove jar/vase and put on a towel or rack to cool. DO NOT try to open the jar/can before it is completely cooled as the contents may be under pressure and they could spray out and burn you. buen apetito! la paz ; )

Wow.. that was quick! If you got the Blue Point, just note that they do not yet have the removable handles (the new Vitaquick coming out do), but you will not disappointed! . . Gekinaonna, I had a little chat with the Fissler USA rep yesterday and I found out that the Blue Point top can go in the dishwasher WHOLE! No dismantling - but you should remove the rubber/silicone gasket. The newer models, Vitavits, have a "self locking" handle (you do not need to slide the button to lock it) and could easily be damaged by the aggressive detergents in the dishwasher - so they need to be removed. Oh.. and why was I chatting with the "rep" you might be wondering?!?! I will be doing a Fissler pressure cooker demo in Seattle next month - no molecular gastronomy (sorry) lots of fast Italian recipes! Maybe something in Nashville, or thereabouts, too. All are invited, and I will post details for anyone who's interested when they are finalized - would love to meet some of you! Ciao, L

Thanks everyone, I will leave the chemistry calculations to the scientists of the group but will look at the package to see if the sodium content is noted (we have different nutritional info in Europe on the package) so I hope it's there so I can at least "ball park" the amount my mother-in-law uses with her cube. Thanks for the soy recommendation, too. But, I have to keep it "real" and "authentic" or I risk having my citizenship revoked by the Italian culinary police! Ciao, L

Wow, have you caramelized milk powder yet? Sounds intriguing! Don't give up on pressure cooking beans! A hour and a half at high sounds excessive for not obtaining ANY results. Pre-soak old beans to death - maybe even two days. Or you could try the quick-soak method (though it does a little damage to the exterior of the beans). A little wetter than usual - but I was using some rather old potatoes that I found at the bottom of the cooler drawer. Anxious to see how they turn out with 'good' potatoes. If the potatoes are too wet, try "pressure steaming" them using the trivet and rack. Takes about a minute or two longer but they come out fluffy. Even for boiling, you should just use the minimum amount of water. No need to cut potatoes, but the large ones on the bottom in contact with the water and bottom of the pan, and the smaller ones on top to "steam"! Right now I'm doing lots of experiments. Cauliflower and pasta in the pot now, a creme brulee' yesterday and a curry tomorrow! Ciao, L

Thanks for the quick reply. I am not trying to exactly replicate a bullion cube, just quantify it's saltiness and use an equivalent amount. Working on adapting my Southern Italian mother-in-law's sauce, and a bullion is her secret ingredient - I will use anchovies for the "umami" kick. Thanks, L

I'm making a recipe where it calls for bullion cube and, besides the obvious difference in "aromatics", I would like to use the same amount of "slatyness" that is found in the cube. Is there some kind of conversion I should make? The cube weighs about 11 grams and superficially it could take up the space of two tea spoons - but it has alot of other "stuff" in it so I'm thinking it should be less but... how much, less? Is there some kind of "bullion cube converter"? I'm pretty sure for an equivalent "aromatics" should be 1/2 carrot, 1/2 onion, 1/2 celery stick, parsely and a tad of tomato concentrate. Thanks! L

Oh...this is sooo pretty! I love the dark orange color. Bravo! L

P.S. If there is ever a discrepancy between what your user manual says (cooking times, washing instructions, oiling or not oiling the gasket, and other recommendations) the manual should always trump any advice that you get from a book, website or forum. Pressure cooker models, even from the same manufacturer, can operate differently in minute ways so it is always important to become familiar with your user manual to note these discrepancies and follow the manufacturer's advice.

Hi Kerry, the short answer is... you can do anything you want. I primarily chose this opening method in the first lesson because I did not want to suggest anyone making their first recipe to then carry a hot pressure cooker to their kitchen sink. For many people there is still a very large fear factor related to pressure cookers so I chose that on purpose not to add any additional fear or danger to the equation. There are three ways to open a stove-top pressure cooker and they are : Cold-water Quick- bringing the pressure cooker to the sink and running the pressure cooker top under under cold water being careful not to wet any of the valves (which takes about 20 seconds, but cannot be done on electrics for obvious reasons) - best for short-cooking veggies (like carrots in lesson 2) because you can open your pressure cooker quickly. The other advantage of this method is that it condenses all of the aroma in the vapor into liquid and drips it back in the pan (for example, if you were making Alinea's Pressure Cooked Turffle stock - you would want to keep every bit of this aroma!) Normal Release - releasing pressure by pushing a button, twisting a valve or liftng/removing the weight or jiggler (which takes about 1.5 to 2 minutes) - best for most uses except while cooking foamy foods- the biggest offenders being grains and beans - because the foam could either shoot out of the valve or force a grain/bean to clog the primary release hole (causing the secondary safety mechanism to kick in). This is why you might sometimes see recommendation not to cook grains or beans in electric or venting pressure cookers without modifications (like the addition of a spoon of oil), or ever - but, it's ok if you do it carefully and are aware of the possible problems. Natural Release - letting pressure release naturally from the pressure cooker by moving it to a cool burner and waiting without pushing, switching or moving anything else (depending on the fullness your pressure cooker at what level pressure you were cooking 5-15 minutes) - this is a great way to save extra energy by harnessing your pressure cooker's superior heat retention to continue cooking the foods. Best for slow-cooking foods like beans, tough cuts of meat... but I almost always use it when making tomato sauces and steaming rice (I'm working on a special article detailing a no-fail perfectly steamed rice form the pressure cooker!) Electric pressure cookers are problematic with this opening method because you cannot dismantle the bottom and remove the heat coil, it has to cool completely before the pressure begins to come down - one just needs to be aware that it will take a bit longer (sometimes up to 30 minutes) to achieve. As I alluded in the Natural Release, as long as your pressure cooker is still in pressure, or in the process of loosing pressure, it is still cooking the food inside - this can be harnessed to your advantage or be a disadvantage resulting in a tasteless mush of overcooked vegetables or meat. Have fun and enjoy your potato smash! BTW, it is sooo much better with the peels still on - but I had to make a recipe that even Europeans would cook and... you know, we peel everything and anything! Ciao, L

Linda, Chris and Kerry... It's very exciting, for me anyway, to hear about your experiences just getting started! If you decide to follow my Pressure Cooker Beginner Basics series, I would love feedback on how you liked or did not like the series. On the web not everything is written in stone so I would like to make any modifications or updates based on your feedback. Next year, I hope to add video, too! Obviously, I'm here too to answer any questions - even the most minute - you might have. Congratulations!!! L

You might be able to get away making those using a meat slicer (for thin "flakes") and a spiralizer (for cucumber spaghetti). You know... just until you find exactly what you saw!! Ciao, L

The way they mechanically cut Parmigiano and Grana in Italy is kind of like an apple slicer resulting in a cylindrical piece and lots of wedges. An experienced cutter using a specialty grana knife (that is used to stab and then separate the cheese using levarage) may use his skill to avoid getting a cylinder. At least here, in Italy, is shrink-wrapped and put in with all of the other pieces (with crust) and charge the same price per kilo as the wedges with the crust. As you noted, the advantage is that there is no crust so you can use it all. The disadvantage, at least with grana cheeses that are not well-aged, is that the cheese from the middle is a little wetter and tends to clump together when you grate it. Also, I noticed in my cylindrical center-cut cheeses there seems to be less crystillized sugar - this could be the result of the slower aging and evaporation from the center of the wheel. If your next wedge has a nice crust... save it and then toss it in boiling water when making polenta. Take it out before adding the polenta flour and then you could either fight over the flavorful, hot, soft crust or... let it cool and keep it in the freezer to use again, and again until it is fully dissolved. Mine disappears due to hungry kitchen loiterers immediately!!! I imagine, adding the crust to boiling water would flavor a soup or stock base - melting some of its fat in the liquid. L P.S. Do not pressure cook the cheese crust. ; )

BTW, I've been playing with my pressure cooker on a portable 2000watt induction cooktop. Made my pressure cooker polenta and it DID NOT scorch! Wow. Actually I'm really impressed that the speed and efficiency of brining pressure cookers to pressure is so brief, that the overall cooking time needs to be adjusted - since whatever is in the cooker is actually cooking also WHILE the pressure cooker is reaching pressure. Didn't get a chance to try the eggplant because we ran out of time. But anyone trying my pressure cooker recipes on an induction cook-top should add an additional minute of pressure cooking time to my recipes to compensate for the very quick rise to pressure! L

Sorry to be late in the conversation - I've been in Germany for a few days visiting a pressure cooker manufacturer! You would not believe how clean, and shiny the factory is, despite all of the metal cutting, polishing and machinery! Their inventory system is something out of the matrix - a 5-story warehouse with little robots going down small isle and moving up and down to take boxes in and out of their slots (and this was built 30 years ago)! I hope to write a brief description about my visit soon on my website. But back to the topic at hand, a few days ago.... Pressure Canning. Although I am not familiar with the technicalities (acidity and what not) of what has to be inside a canning jar. I do know that there are different standards on what pressure cooker size you can use to do canning. In the U.S. there is a standard that a pressure cooker cannot be called a pressure/cooker canner unless it is 10L or more - it has something to do with fitting a certain number of jars and cooking them all for the minimum recommended time by the USDA. Instead, in Europe, you can use any pressure cooker 4.5L or larger (for obvious reasons about the jar fitting inside). The cooking times according to my Euro Pressure Cooker (that reaches 13PSI) are: Marmalade, Low Pressure, 1-2 minutes Fruits/picked vegetables, Low Pressure, 8-10 minutes Vegetables/meat, High Pressure 20-25 minutes Remember to use a steamer basket or rack to keep the jar from touching the pan. Again, just to be clear, canning in a pressure cooker is not recommended in the U.S. unless you are using a pressure cooker/canner which is 10L or more. Ciao, L

SobaAddict70, Yes, and you are right. For some reason, Americans tend to over-complicate things. There are hundreds of recipes for "pizza sauce" but Italians don't make sauce to put on pizza. We put plain 'ol tomato puree on it. Sometimes we like to shake things up a bit and use chopped tomatoes. But there is not need to make a sauce!! Oh... we registered the "official" pizza recipe, too... just in case. ; ) L

The flavor of my same old recipes that I cooked in the U.S. improved 100-fold when I moved here (in Italy) and started using Italian ingredients. Finally, my husband began to concede that now "it tastes just like mamma used to make" - hearing those words spoken by an Italian man is a miracle. I used to have to grow my own zucchini (to harvest zucchini flowers) and artichokes (to cook the stems, too) in my sub-urban California front garden (to the dismay of my neighbors) to get anything close to what you can get here. Now, I don´t bother - I can pick them up at the store and farmer´s market here! Though, I do miss the variety I used to get in the U.S. Asian Eggplants, Long-life beans, butternut squash, habaneros... forgetaboutit. Time to smuggle some pepper seeds and freak out my well-appointed Italian neighbors. Ciao, L

Chris, the Italians made defining Ragu alla Bolognese easy. They registered the recipe in the annals of government as part of preserving our culinary "heritage." There may be many Ragu´s, but only one "official" Bolognese! http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=it&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fit.wikibooks.org%2Fwiki%2FLibro_di_cucina%2FRicette%2FRag%25C3%25B9_bolognese&act=url&act=url I was able to replicate it in the pressure cooker, with only the addition of one cup of water. I could only cut the cooking time down in half because the sauteeing and evaporation of each ingredient to create layer upon decadent layer of flavor are steps that cannot be skipped. There is no need to debate about what´s in the original. Ciao, L

You know, I've been wondering if you can make a paella with a crunchy bottom, in the pressure cooker. However, as you mentioned, you don't necessarily want the smoky smell to permeate the whole dish - paella is known for crunchiness not necessarily smokiness. Most likely, it's something that has to be made in the large pressure fry-pan and then "scorched" at the end with the top off. Tell me more about the risotto recipe you are using - maybe I can help you to make the "non-caramlized" version! ; ) Ciao, L