Friday, March 30, 2018

Pressure Cooking- Is It Safe? A Video

You might not have known, but I have a Youtube channel. I haven't posted so many videos on it, especially not recently, but my ten year old son, Lee, really wants me to be making videos, growing my channel and my subscriber base, and I decided I'll humor him and post videos on Youtube, and then share them with you here. (He decided to take over my channel and make all the thumbnails and headers and is teaching himself how to do that.)

When I announce on Facebook that I would be making Youtube videos, the request I got from so many people was to do one on pressure cookers, about how they work, how to use them, what to use them for, safety features, etc... Basically, reassuring people about how they work so they won't be scared to use them.




Apologies about the video quality- Mike took it, we don't have a tripod yet, and he didn't realize the camera should have been held sideways. Oh well. Hope it helps!

For more information about pressure cookers, and ways to use them to save money, see my other post on pressure cookers.

After making this video but before posting it, a friend, who bought a new pressure cooker posted a video of him pressure cooking, wanting to know if the hissing sound he heard was right and what he should be hearing when using a pressure cooker. So I have an addendum to add to this video- when using your pressure cooker, it takes time to reach what is known as "pressure". The bigger the pot, the longer it'll take to reach pressure. Once it reaches pressure, if you have the type of valve I showed in the video, it'll pop up. Either way, it will start hissing softly. The more pressurized it gets, the louder it will hiss, releasing the built up steam. Once it starts hissing, you want to lower the temperature so that it is only a soft hiss. This hiss lets you know that it is still at pressure, and doing what you want it to do as a pressure cooker.

Now for those of you who ask, why so many pressure cookers? Just for example, today, while my beef was cooking, I simultaneously was boiling potatoes in another pressure cooker and beets in another. I use different sized pressure cookers for different tasks, and I often use multiple ones at once.

I just bought my last two pressure cookers last week when I saw them being sold at my grocery store at an astonishingly low price.

Do you use a pressure cooker? How many do you have if so? What is your favorite thing to do with a pressure cooker?
If you've been afraid to use a pressure cooker in the past, was this video reassuring at all for you that they're safe to use?

9 comments:

  1. I've been pressure cooking for at least 45 years. A couple of years ago, I bought two Instant Pots and they have more than paid for themselves, but I also have two stovetop pressure cookers and two pressure canners. I love pressure cooking!

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    1. I still need pressure canners! But they don't really sell them locally and it's hard for me to justify the expense.

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  2. I loved using my pressure cooker which was a much ,much older model. Penny try to speak a bit slower,. I could not catch some of what you said.

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    1. Thanks for the reminder to speak slower! I tend to speak very quickly. This is even slower than I normally talk. :-D My mother had an older model pressure cooker growing up but she rarely used it.

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  3. Excellent video and I hope you make more. Lee is correct.

    I have four pressure cookers, including the ginormous canner. (Hint: do not pressure cook the Thanksgiving turkey. It was delicious but horrific to look at.) Mine get a lot of use, although I've had little luck with cornmeal mush and rice; I keep burning them.

    I've never had a safety problem with any of the cookers; modern design (I have two Kuhn Rikons and a Fagor, all bought on sale) is extremely good. The canner is an older All-American, bought full price and not regretted. Design is different from the European ones but again there's never been a problem, though I have to remember to get the gauge checked at the cooperative extension every year. Just follow the instructions. I use a heat diffuser on my gas stove and that's been helpful to minimize burning. (Mostly. Still can't get those grains right.)

    Meat is incredible in the pressure cooker (the canner is used to can meat) and if you get the timing right vegetables are also great.

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    1. I love cooking squash in the pressure cooker. And putting in my steamer insert to steam veggies. Yea, pressure cooked poultry does look funny sometimes, but yea, they look better roasted. Anything that needs to be mixed can't be pressure cooked. What type of pressure cooker and how have you tried to cook rice? How many minutes?

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  4. I loved the video! It's nice seeing you on video. You're responsible for me learning to use a pressure cooker. I started with a small stove-top pressure cooker and have graduated to an electric pressure cooker. Are you familiar with the Hip Pressure Cooking website? I love it for its recipes.

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  5. I have two Instant Pots and I love them I make soup, beans, rice, sweet potatoes etc in my Instant pots . I use it just about everyday. Tonight I made a wonderful lentil soup in my Instant pot- then I made sweet potatoes.

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  6. Pressure cookers are so different now! My mum reached over ours for the salt and just at that moment the valve blew and the underside of her arm was quite badly burned. I’ve never had one of my own but these look way safer. Thanks for the video!

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