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There is no reason to suspect that you could not use generic pressure cooker instructions for something like rice. You may need to experiment and make adjustments, but that is true for all cooking.
There are SOOOOO many pressure cooker recipes online, they will give you the exact cooking time and the ingredients to use (to include the fluid needed for each). The electric cookers are extremely safe as long as you have moved the top to the complete lock position.
Here is a good place to start for cookbooks or just recipes and info online.
These electric cookers are NOT dangerous like those our mothers used on the stove top. They have several safety features that prevent them from exploding like the old ones did if not used correctly.
Hope this helps ya! Love mine, made a beef stew in 25 minutes the other day....Yummy!
Never seen gas-boiled cookers. Can search in my area. I googled for this stuff.
Is it true that they cook quick, tasty and save time and gas? How long is cooked 300 grams of rice (for two persons)?
Yeah for Rice, just few minutes. Such Pressure Cookers are also available at Asian Grocery Stores plus Amazon. They come with recipe books also. Recipies are also available online.
I bought my first electric pressure cooker and it came with very limited directions. There are buttons you press for different categories, but I don't know how much water to put in and how to prepare. For instance, I have a bag of red potatoes, I have miscellaneous dried beans, wild rice mixtures.
Any suggestions as to how to learn? I'm a little scared of it exploding, which I know is stupid.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hello luv!
Try looking up Lorna Sass, she has tons of books and sort of is a guru on pressure cooking.
No, the manuals for most PCs aren't that great nor self explanatory. Have a Magefesa and the accompanying book was of very little use besides covering the basics. This however is all you need, once that is mastered you can learn the rest on one's own.
Thing to learn first is what is the minimum amount of water/fluid required to bring up pressure. Mine is only 1/4 cup. The manual should tell you this information. The other thing you need to know is how high the pressure goes since that will affect how fast things cook. Again check owner's manual or read up online.
Much of the rest is likely going to be trial and error. Take a recipe closest to what you want to make then change key things to get it where you want. For instance making pork chops or loin roast I've used a recipe for "South Seas" pork to get an idea of timing.
You'll also need to know the maximum fill level for your PC. Basically it comes down to physics; all steam producing things from boilers to whatever require a space between fluid and top for steam to gather. Boilers have sight glasses, you'll have to find out what the limit is for your PC. Mine is about 2/3 full. However certain foods such as rice which tend to foam may require a lower level and or other restrictions.
As for your PC "blowing up", while in theory it could happen the things have been safety system to death. However it is wise to familiarize how yours builds up pressure and when to reduce. You also never want to allow the thing to boil "dry" and or leave it going unattended for long. Never for instance set the thing on high then go off yakking on telephone losing track of time.
Never seen gas-boiled cookers. Can search in my area. I googled for this stuff.
Is it true that they cook quick, tasty and save time and gas? How long is cooked 300 grams of rice (for two persons)?
Time taken to cook rice will be same irrespective of the amount of rice. You turn off the gas after first whistle, and open up d cooker once the pressure has escaped from the cooker. It is recommended to soak rice for 15 mins before cooking.
Beans are recommended to be soaked overnight, and take three whistles, generally. The more you use the pressure cooker, the more you understand it's cooking properties.
As already mentioned, you can buy these off Amazon as well. Buy brands like Hawkins and Prestige.
My experience with pressure cookers has been high altitude cooking at ski resorts where the lower boiling point of water means that things don't cook properly. The cooking time depends on the amount of pressure and that is very specific to the pressure cooker and how you adjust it. I've always gone with the minimum possible pressure and just used sea level recipes and cooking times. Basmati rice is 2:1 water/rice just like at sea level in a covered sauce pan. The first time you use the pressure cooker, just pop the cover halfway through the normal cooking time to see how it's doing and make your adjustment from there. The higher the pressure, the shorter the cooking time.
I bought my first electric pressure cooker and it came with very limited directions. There are buttons you press for different categories, but I don't know how much water to put in and how to prepare. For instance, I have a bag of red potatoes, I have miscellaneous dried beans, wild rice mixtures.
Any suggestions as to how to learn? I'm a little scared of it exploding, which I know is stupid.
Any help would be appreciated.
A thumb of rule for cooking rice is, add rice , fill water . Dip your 3 big fingers in water and the water level should be upto the first line.. ( Last line in fact, since its upside down ) ..This level of water should cook anything.
I got this from a Cook, who at a time used to cook quarter barrel equivalent of rice..
I have an Instant Pot and I LOVE it - MUCH better and less scary than a regular stovetop type pressure cooker. Very versatile .. and I am now ordering a second one, an extra pot and one for a very dear friend as well.
Electric pressure cookers generally do not come to the same pressure as a stovetop one though so you may have to adjust your cooking time a bit (adding a few minutes). My IP has 2 pressures - low and high and neither comes near what you get in a stovetop model - and they are very well constructed - no worries about explosions .. you will see once you get over your initial fears.
You do need some liquid but definitely not usually 'to cover' the other ingredients. Rice is usually cooked with the same amount of liquid you would normally cook it with but in fact, I have done a whole chicken (which contains a fair bit of water itself) without any added liquid and it came out fine - with a LOT of liquid expressed into the pot which became 'stock' for future soups, etc. ... but you should probably add at least a half cup of liquid to most preparations. And if pressure cooking .. don't fill over 2/3rds full .. if using the pot for a non-pressure application there should be a 'max fill' line.
There are, as others mentioned, loads of recipes both online and on Facebook (I never go there but I am told this is the case) and you can buy many books too these days - check Amazon. Laura Pazzaglia is a well known cookbook author and expert on all things pressure cooker - both stovetop and electric - you could check for. There may be small nuances/differences between different electric pressure cookers but in general they all follow the same rules.
If you have more questions too .. I suggest you look up the Instant Pot thread(s) on the www.egullet.com forum website - there is a wealth of experience and information there.
If you are afraid of the machine, manufacturers often recommend you start by simply 'pressure cooking' a bit of water - nothing else - so you will get used to the timing/sights/sounds, etc. The next thing I would recommend is that you just throw a bunch of vegetables and maybe a bit of meat and a lot of water into the pot and press SOUP (most have that setting) and stand back and wait for dinner to be ready in less than half an hour.
Relax .. you are going to LOVE your new electric pressure cooker. It IS safe. Hold your breath and go for it .. you will see what I mean. Just remember to ensure that if you are actually 'pressure cooking' you close the valve when you start and that you release it carefully when the cooking is done (put on an oven glove if you are not sure if there is still pressure built up inside (steam is HOT)) - and the only trick there is knowing if you should release quickly when the timer goes off or if you should go for a slow 'natural' release (which may take a long as the original cooking time) - but that is learned either by trial and error or by reading the recipe. Use 'common sense' and if you have any cooking experience at all it will be somewhat intuitive in no time.
If you do a 'slow release' most electric pressure cookers will also just kick in a 'keep warm' cycle - I have used mine to keep stuff hot for DAYS at a time till I can finish eating it (and it is safe - keeps foods at slightly over 140 degrees) .. I just set it for up to 99 hours or let it default to 10 hours and then reset it as necessary.
Any thoughts why Mom's old pressure cooker is giving her fits trying to open it after cooking...
She cooked something last night and couldn't get it open. I took a look this morning and it was all I could do to get it open... it was locked solid and was cold with no pressure when I tried.
The gasket looks good.
She can't remember if she use to put vegetable oil on the rubber years ago
Any thoughts why Mom's old pressure cooker is giving her fits trying to open it after cooking...
She cooked something last night and couldn't get it open. I took a look this morning and it was all I could do to get it open... it was locked solid and was cold with no pressure when I tried.
The gasket looks good.
She can't remember if she use to put vegetable oil on the rubber years ago
Newer gaskets do not need added oil. Older gaskets deteriorate from excessive application of oil. (My own experience... meh).
The biggest cause of sticky gaskets is food residue that is trapped between the pot and gasket.
It literally glues them together.
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which I know is stupid.
