inductioncook

Isn't the convention to talk about the additional pressure beyond normal. 1 bar + whatever additional pressure is provided by the pressure cooker?

Is that the same booklet that contains recipes that comes with the unit, or does that unit have a separate instruction book?

Where is the information about 1.2 bar from? I'm not sure that is the model used in the books but it is certainly a Kuhn-Rikon.

Some of the complexities are discussed by nathanm and douglasbaldwin here:

Ozcook is asking VERY good questions, and we don't really have answers here. A braise cooked without pressure at 95-100 degrees C will get dry and fairly tough, because although some of the collagen has gelatinized, collagen also will have contracted, toughening the meat. But this doesn't happen in cooking below the boiling point at 120C or 250F in a pressure cooker. It's a very complicated topic and I don't think anyone in the world really knows the answer right now. In some cases, the pressure cooker does a better job than a regular braise. Why is that and when does it happen? My anecdotal observation is that the pressure cooker is better for lamb stew (such as navarin d'agneau) and equal or not as good for veal (blanquette de veau). And pazzaglia says that the results in a pressure cooker depend in large measure on how the pressure is released: now that is a very interesting concept.

"Wont help. The software is based on a product immersed in water which has a very different heat transfer rate than air in an oven." True, but it will give an approximation and an idea of the asymptotic curves involved. And if it's a steam oven the results, over a long time, will be very close, and over many hours in a conventional oven that will develop high humidity the results should not be so far off. And since it's also a timer, one could check the temperature as it goes along and adjust based on the difference between what it projects and what has actually happening.

Best of luck!

If you have an iPad, there is a nimble calculator/timer for low temperature cooking app by Polyscience that would help you calculate time based on both room temperature and refrigerator temperature.

What temperature are you aiming for and what temperature are you cooking at? With multihour cooking, you should be able to adjust the time to begin from a cold state if that's better for you.

Modernist Cuisine at Home has a beautiful cut-away photograph. Pages 30-31. Reproduced here: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1271&bih=679&tbm=isch&tbnid=DeD_AR9GlG94yM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2012/10/experimenting_with_chefs_must-.html&docid=VDjveaNEdDRtMM&imgurl=http://media.cleveland.com/taste_impact/photo/mcpressurejpg-5bdde0d28a5c9139.jpg&w=1024&h=645&ei=BWaLUF-KscoBpfiAMA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=519&vpy=162&dur=1613&hovh=178&hovw=283&tx=141&ty=78&sig=116440888251552061421&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=235&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:78 (or you can find it through a Google search, Modernist Cuisine Home Pressure Cooker and then after the results come click "Images." Is this the Kuhn-Rikon 5 liter? Or 7? It looks like it holds a lot!

There no substantial benefit to the long handle. Some cookers call the long handle "helper handle". It's designed to give the cook better leverage when twisting off the lid, and more distance when carrying around the pressure cooker - in newer German pressure cooker models the handle houses some of the functionality and pressure selection mechanisms. I spend all of my time ensuring that the long handle doesn't stick out from the cook-top, or over an open flame, so to me they are more of a bother than a help! Ciao, L Thanks. I'm wondering if the long handle also has a role in a slightly different locking mechanism. This Modernist Cuisine picture suggests that is the case: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39553803@N06/8064451499/sizes/h/in/photostream/

I don't have the latest book, so I cannot confirm whether a single pressure will cover all of the recipes there. Maybe someone here with the time, inclination, and book can answer. The only problem with your math is not calculating for the height of a trivet/rack for keeping the jar from touching the bottom of the pressure cooker. The height of those varies between manufacturers and models. I think the link to a specific model was unintentional. I have not seen "top", yet. But from Kuhn's description it seems to solve one of the FEW peeves I have about the Kuhn - which is standing there for two minutes holding the button down to release pressure. Instead, you get to twist something and WALK AWAY to do something else for those two minutes. The "twist to release" feature is something I already use and appreciate with the Fagor Futuro and Magefesa Ideal So, I don't see any drawbacks to it from what I've heard and read. Ciao, L In the US the "Top" valve only seems to be available with the long-handled models, while in Europe Kuhn-Rikon makes it for the stockpots as well. I can't see any benefit to the long handle, can you?

Has anyone had experience with both the normal, older Kuhn-Rikon valve and the newer "Top Model", that has a plastic knob that can be twisted to allow various styles of release? I notice that the Modernist Cuisine site, after recommending the normal models under "Gear", had a blog post linking to the "Top Model" and calling it their favorite. I know pazzaglia's blog mentioned she would post about this when she had more information.

It's also awfully good just cooked quickly by conventional means until the center is at least 50 degrees C. A lot of people marinate or rub it but it is such a flavorful cut -- maybe the most flavorful steak of all -- that seems a shame to me. Some times in France it is "butterflied" and opened up and seared quickly. That's called an "onglet ouvert."

I do it at 52 degrees C for about 40 minutes, or until caught up to that temperature, then sear in a pan or under a salamander (broiler) or use a blowtorch. Don't cook it for 48 hours. Nice post by aveserfi.

How was it?

I think cuttlefish, too. Squid is just wrong as a translation, whatever marketers are saying; I'm baffled by the mixed label on the jar. The only term to cover both would be cephalopod, but that includes octopus, too.

What sort of cheese are you using for this process?

I thought Testaccio was mainly butchers -- fish stores too?

There are still very high quality canned tunas, packed in olive oil, from Italy.

Good luck. Patricia Wells has just come out with a very nice book on cooking with truffles and I see that is the sort of procedure she uses as well, having learned it from Joel Robuchon, who wrote her foreward.

They have this at Laurent.

All truffles have less flavor if they are actually cold, so if you are shaving them you should be sure they are at room temperature. Perigord truffles (tuber melanosporum) can stand up to cooking but the taste changes. Before about 25 years ago it was unheard of for anyone in France to shave black truffles over a dish; everything was cooked in some way. Then some truffle merchants, like the Pebeyres in Cahors, started using Italian truffle shavers and showing the device to their customers. Now it's common. Some of the best truffle dishes involve a combination of cooked truffles and bits that are just warmed slightly by the heart of the dish. Burgundy truffles, like white truffles, are known for losing their aroma completely when cooked, so your omelette must have gotten them to just the right temperature. For mashed potatoes, both methods you describe should work, and a combination might be the best. Good luck! Having four ounces of Perigord truffles puts you in a very nice position!

With bread fermentation, many of the more sour bacteria multiply faster at higher temperatures, and you may be the victim of that here.

I am happy to report that the two editions are indeed identical. All temperatures are in Celsius, all weights in grams, no changes to the text. Bravo!