Pressure Cookers – what's cooking?

[Kerry Beal]

I've noticed with the advent of Modernist Cuisine a lot of us seem to be getting new pressure cookers these days. There are threads on what to buy, how to use them, how to adapt recipes for them - but so far nothing to keep track of the variety of things we are making.

I've got plans to caramelize milk powder and a few other things from Ideas in Food, I want to use it to precook chichchirron and stock, and of course want to get to the Carrot Soup from MC - but so far I've done a couple of artichokes and cooked the spuds for mashed potatoes last night in record time.

So what's everyone else making in theirs?

[jmolinari]

I made beans last night. I've previously tried to use it for beans, but "guessing" the cooking time makes them prone to be either overcooked or exploded. The addition of calcium chloride make them bulletproof beans:)

[mkayahara]

I've been doing lots of beans in the pressure cooker, too. No calcium chloride for me: there's already so much calcium in my water that beans take forever to get soft at atmospheric pressure. I use the method learned from Ideas in Food: 5 minutes at low pressure in water alone, drain, 25 minutes at high pressure with liquid, seasoning and garnish. Works like a charm every time.

[jmolinari]

My beans took 1.25-1.5 hrs at high pressure to soften....then again they're from 2006 harvest

[gfweb]

How's the texture of the mashed potatoes? I guess that you can't do the twice cooked method in the PC.

[rancho_gordo]

Deborah Madison suggests for beans: 20 minutes at high, unsoaked, slow release and then about 20 minutes in the open air. This should be fine for most beans. Diana Kennedy, who lives at a high altitude, likes to cook hers in a PC and then "finishes" them in a clay pot on the stove.

In a PC there's no evaporation so the beans can taste a little stale or dull, especially compared to clay pot beans.

[Kerry Beal]

How's the texture of the mashed potatoes? I guess that you can't do the twice cooked method in the PC.

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.

[Emily_R]

Most recently I've been making artichokes -- 12 minutes at high pressure, quick release = perfectly cooked and ready for butter, lemon, and salt!

I've struggled with beans in the PC, and have ultimately concluded that they're not worth it for me - I'll just make beans in the oven when I have time at home to monitor them...

[pazzaglia]

I've got plans to caramelize milk powder and a few other things from Ideas in Food, I want to use it to precook chichchirron and stock, and of course want to get to the Carrot Soup from MC - but so far I've done a couple of artichokes and cooked the spuds for mashed potatoes last night in record time.

Wow, have you caramelized milk powder yet? Sounds intriguing!

My beans took 1.25-1.5 hrs at high pressure to soften....then again they're from 2006 harvest

Most recently I've been making artichokes -- 12 minutes at high pressure, quick release = perfectly cooked and ready for butter, lemon, and salt!

I've struggled with beans in the PC, and have ultimately concluded that they're not worth it for me - I'll just make beans in the oven when I have time at home to monitor them...

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).

How's the texture of the mashed potatoes? I guess that you can't do the twice cooked method in the PC.

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

[lesliec]

Since getting mine I've done the MC carrot soup twice - highly recommended - and a sorta kinda version of their autoclaved onion soup. For the latter I didn't use jars; just chucked evrything in. The result was to my taste just OK, not best onion soup ever (although wifey was very happy with it). I need to experiment more with that one.

And I've also done a stew, making it up as I went along - diced beef, tossed in flour; browned in oil and removed; diced carrot/cerlery/onion/garlic, browned likewise; all added back to PC; seasoned (salt & pepper and probably some fresh herbs); a cup or so of red wine added then pressure cook for ... I dunno, maybe 40 minutes (it was a little while ago). Great result, as good as or better than I'd expect from braising the meat for a few hours.

And now one of my foodie friends is getting one as well.

[EnriqueB]

A pressure cooker was my first pot when I left my parents' home and started to cook on my own.

Stocks and beans, always. Purees.

Most vegetables, steamed. Steaming on the PC for very short times seems to be the cooking method that preserves most vitamins and minerals (but beware that cooking further than "aldente" with this method may produce the opposite effect).

[Brown Hornet]

I too just recently jumped on the pressure cooker bandwagon. I made butternut squash soup last night based loosely on a recipe that came with the pressure cooker. Although it wasn't necessarily better than the butternut squash soup I usually make, it was certainly much quicker to make and just as good. By comparison, in less time than it would take just to roast the butternut squash in the oven I had my soup made start to finish using the pressure cooker.

My next experiment will be the MC carrot soup and maybe some stews or curries.

[gdenby]

One of the many reasons I bought MC was finding that there were clever uses for pressure cookers. I got a PC several years ago to make soups for my sodium restricted father. The ease and superior taste of the soup was so great that we have not bought commercial soup since.

So, I've done the carrot soup, and did a variant with rutabaga. While the caramel flavor was nice, the tang of the rutabaga was cooked away.

While working on potato purees, I baked some russets, and saved the skin. Used those for pressure cooked roast potato stock. It was cloudy from disintegrated starch, but the flavor was essence of baked.

Looking forward to canned roux, and rendered lard.

[AnythingButPlainChocolate]

My favourite thing to cook in my PC is rice pudding. Rather than cooking for hours in the oven I can make this sweet treat in about 15 minutes! Very nice with Amaretto drizzled in and crushed Amaretti biscuits on top!

[mkayahara]

As I finished off a jar of dulce de leche yesterday, I thought to myself that pressure cooker seems like the perfect tool for making your own. But I've never made my own dulce de leche, so I don't exactly know how to go about it! I checked in Modernist Cuisine, and came up empty - no surprise, given that it's explicitly not a pastry book. Anyone have any tips?

[jmolinari]

I think there was a good eats episode where he made DDL by simmering or boiling a can of condensed milk for hours...it would stand to reason then that the same thing could be done in a pressure cooker in much less time.

I thikn for safety i would put a couple vent holes in the can though.

[mkayahara]

Hehe. Yeah, I was actually wondering about transferring the condensed milk to a Mason jar, sort of along the lines of the Modernist Cuisine onion soup, and adding a touch of baking soda to it to promote the caramelization reactions. If possible, I'd prefer to start with fresh ingredients, but I recognize that condensed milk has a long history of being turned into dulce de leche at home.

[jmolinari]

I think that's a good start..

is DDL not normally made from condensed milk? I'm not sure what the stuff is...

[vice]

Check Ideas in Food. They've talked on the blog about caramelized coconut milk and yogurt, both done in the pressure cooker.

[pazzaglia]

As I finished off a jar of dulce de leche yesterday, I thought to myself that pressure cooker seems like the perfect tool for making your own. But I've never made my own dulce de leche, so I don't exactly know how to go about it! I checked in Modernist Cuisine, and came up empty - no surprise, given that it's explicitly not a pastry book. Anyone have any tips?

I think there was a good eats episode where he made DDL by simmering or boiling a can of condensed milk for hours...it would stand to reason then that the same thing could be done in a pressure cooker in much less time.

I thikn for safety i would put a couple vent holes in the can though.

Check Ideas in Food. They've talked on the blog about caramelized coconut milk and yogurt, both done in the pressure cooker.

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 ; )

Edited May 29, 2011 by pazzaglia (log)

[alanjesq]

I made beans last night. I've previously tried to use it for beans, but "guessing" the cooking time makes them prone to be either overcooked or exploded. The addition of calcium chloride make them bulletproof beans:)

Where does one buy calcium chloride, as above?

alanjesq

[Dr Able Lawrence]

Modernist Cooking suggests specific pressures for pressure cooking

Indian pressure cookers dont allow us to set pressures

we can only adjust cooking time

[Dr Able Lawrence]

If you pre-soak beans in water overnight (cold water would do), you need less cooking time. Even ten minutes will cook chick peas. If you do not have adequate soaking time, you can soak it in warm water ( I just microwave the water briefly) and the beans will absorb water and swell up in 30-60 minutes (sort of poor mans sue vide). It will save you energy and is a common practice in Indian kitchens

[mkayahara]

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.

Thanks for the recipe, pazzaglia. Why both a trivet and a steamer basket?

[pazzaglia]

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.

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