Use a Pressure Cooker?

[valley ranch]

Just wondering if you use a Pressure Cooker regularly. I just pulled one out the other day and cooked a bean dish, rinsed them and added a number of other items, no soaking. I think it came out very nice.

Not sure why it's used so infrequently.

 

[journey11]

I don't know why I don't use mine more often either!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I just asked my DW why we don't use ours very often and she said "I don't know, I just never think about it".

We do use our pressure caners (as well as water bath caners) all the time during harvest times.

There must be a psychological reason for not using the pressure cooker.

 

[digitS']

Mom used hers quite often sometime after I left home. She was one of those people who relied on stress as a motivation (like me ). Perpetually, a half mile behind but catching up ..! So, things didn't have much time to cook. The rocker type valve was probably a psychological reassurance.

Meat, we seldom have meals where it is a dominant feature. Stir-fries with their fresh vegetables and limiting meat are the focus of our menu, instead. I've found that dry beans just aren't gonna make much of a difference for DW and me.

I don't know what that leaves for the pressure cooker. It doesn't leave much use for the slow cooker. About a year ago, we got a combo type machine - slow or pressure. I thought we might find regular use for it. Thank Heavens the Bread Machine was a gift and not purchased, years ago! All three of these machines sit unused, month after month. A kinda funny thing is that an electric wok was long ago relegated to basement shelves. We don't use that thing either!

Steve
who mostly uses the microwave for heating water ...

 

[jackb]

I frequently use a small one designed for use in a microwave oven; soup takes 22 minutes and it will steam an artichoke in about 15 minutes.

 

[digitS']

I frequently use a small one designed for use in a microwave oven; soup takes 22 minutes and it will steam an artichoke in about 15 minutes.

Oh! Hey!!

!

Steve
who mostly uses the microwave for heating water ...

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i have 2 old cookers that belonged to my grandmother but after all the info i read i am uneasy using them. 1 i am unsure of it's age & the other i know might be from the late 80's or early 90's since it is by Presto. i don't know if i have all the correct parts to go with them. my mom last year got me a pressure canner so i hope to get a lot of use out of that this year.

 

[so lucky]

At one time you could take your pressure valve to the county extension office for them to check its accuracy. This service may not be available anymore, since there are so few folks who preserve food. Or even cook. But I bet you can get replacement parts for your Presto. An important thing would be the lid's rubber gasket, which can degrade with time. Those simple ones with the rocker valve haven't changed much. I guess I don't use mine as much as I could because the sound of the steam whooshing and the rocking sets my nerves on edge.

 

[Ridgerunner]

@Chickie'sMomaInNH take yours into your extension agent and get them to check it out. Call before you go, sometimes they have one person in the region that does that kind of stuff so scheduling may be involved. They will tell you if it is safe, if you need to replace certain parts, and if you gauge is working properly. Get them to check out the gauge on that pressure canner too. Hopefully that will give you enough confidence to use it.

What's wrong with stuff from the 80's or 90's? I'm older than that and I still work, maybe not as well as I used to but at least I haven't had to replace any parts yet, well other than some teeth. Presto made some decent stuff but there is a fair chance the gasket or something else might need to be replaced.

I'm a lot like Smiles, Junior. I use my Presto canner, both pressure and water bath, a lot but our pressure cooker hardly ever gets used. When it is used it's mainly for beans, black eyed peas, or meat but hat is pretty rarely.

 

[thistlebloom]

My mom used the pressure cooker a lot. Mostly for beans, but sometimes meat.

Dh and I got one for a wedding gift and I used it for a few years, but it was aluminum
and we eliminated all aluminum cookware about then.

I'm not a great pre planner for meals, I kind of go in streaks, and I can see how a pressure cooker would be handy for somebody with my tendencies.
You know, - it's dinnertime and I suddenly realize I have no idea what we're having....

I do use the slow cooker a lot (on those days when I think ahead).