PRESSURE COOKER

Your cooker is the centerpiece of your kitchen without which there is no cooking.

You should use a pressure cooker that complement your cooking style, but don’t forget that you’ll also want one that is beneficial for your cooking and health.

 All I can say is that the Pressure Cooker does what its meant to do, cook perfectly. Easy to use, easy to clean and dry.

Pressure cookers are basically life-savers. Whether you are hostler or have just started a new family, this cookware will help you to make delicious delicacies and it can be prepared in very short time.

When food is cooked in a pressure cooker in comparison to other cookware, its faster because the steam tenderizes the food, infusing it with flavors while retaining the nutrients and juices!

The pressure cooker is an appliance one can use to cook food faster. This quality of pressure cooker stands it out from other methods of cooking.

India Being a moderate economy, mostly people are working and they don’t get enough free time to look after their family or dear one after coming from their jobs or works. In this case when they want to cook for the family and have a good time  Pressure cooker saves some of their precious time in cooking so they can spend the saved time with their loved ones

They don’t have to stand in the kitchen for too long waiting for the dishes to get prepared, they can just use pressure cooker to cook food which saves a lot of time.

 

Why Pressure cooker is needed?

Boiling and steaming are the two common methods in Indian cooking which everyone use for lentils, rice, idlys and dhokla among other things.

The use of ovens are not very common in Indian households. Meats are also pressure-cooked more often than baked.

Also in India many people lives at mountain areas,  so If you live in a mountainous area, you have to use a pressure cooker to boil food such as potatoes, as the water at higher altitudes boils at too low a temperature to cook food.

A Comfort Pressure Cooker is ideal when it comes to  fast cooking with less water than boiling which allow food to be prepared much quicker.

It also has many other benefits when it comes to use a pressure cooking,  the temperature within the cooker rise to a level that is greater than boiling, this in turn kills bacteria and viruses and also is energy efficient due to this short cooking time.

 

 

How it Works

Using a pressure cooker to prepare food not only reduces the cook time but it also saves energy. Using a pressure cooker is a skill, learn how to use a Indian pressure cooker.

The main components of a Indian pressure cooker are as follows:

• the bottom
• the cover
• the rubber ring
• and the whistle

 

What happens inside a cooker?

Pressure cookers work by sealing the cooking water in an airtight pot. When you heat the pot, the water turns to steam, and creates pressure. Water under pressure is considerably hotter than water boiling in an open pot. To control the pressure, a valve vents steam through a pressure control mechanism, such a metal weight resting on top of a metal tube through the lid of the cooker. When the pressure reaches the right level, the weight will jiggle ,and release excess steam pressure.

 

How to use an Indian Pressure Cooker

 

1. Add at least an inch of water to the cooker
2. Add water to your pots – this changes based on what you are cooking and to what degree you want to cook something.
3. Cover the Cooker pot with the lid and make sure that it is properly sealed.
4. Put the whistle on and light the stove.
5. Wait until you hear a long whistle.
6. Turn the heat to low and vary cooking times based on what you are cooking.

 

NOTE : if you are cooking just rice or veggies, you can turn off the heat in a couple of minutes after the pressure is reached. But if you are cooking daal or chickpeas, keep the heat on and cook under pressure for at least 15 minutes.

Types of Pressure cookers

Now there are especially two materials out of which pressure cookers are made of.

1. Aluminum made
2. Steel made

There are many people who use aluminum pressure cookers for cooking food. but if you’ll ask me I would highly recommend to use a steel pressure cooker.

 

What are the side effects of cooking with aluminum utensils? Why are people switching to steel made pressure cookers?

If you are simply talking about the use of an Aluminum Pressure Cooker for its basic purpose, i.e., cook rice and lentils, the it is ok to use it.

There are many reasons why a person should not use aluminum pressure cookers.

• When we prepare food one of the most using ingredient is tomato but aluminum and acidic foods like tomato, vinegar do not go together.
• Acidic food are items like Tomatoes, Veggies sprinkled with Vinegar or Lime/Lemon or Orange juice or wine, tamarind, curd, etc. The acid in the food can and will react with the aluminum metal to produce harmful chemical salts and compounds.
• Foods that are cooked in aluminum vessels can absorb aluminums because aluminum has a quality of its own which make it to dissolves into food and water during cooking process.
• Absorption of aluminum can result in a metallic flavor in your food, which is generally unpleasant.
• The dissolved aluminum will go into our blood stream causing a multitude of effects like hyper acidity, ulcers , indigestion, flatulence, skin problems like pigmentation, eczema , dandruff and chronic inflammation of the intestine.
• Aluminum is also known to affect the brain causing dementia and Alzheimer's.
• portion of aluminum into your food also corrodes the cooking vessel

 

That’s why It is better to cook in a stainless steel or cast iron vessels. And these are the main reason why people are switching to steel made pressure cookers.

 

 

Which pressure cooker is better, steel or aluminum?

You are asking this “Which pressure cooker is better, steel or aluminum?.”

Both are equally good, But still I highly recommend using a steel made pressure cooker.

• It is elegant in appearance, so if you want your this cookware to look elegant while cooking you should choose this steel one.
• Cleaning is easier and is also more stronger than aluminum,
• Stainless steel is a sturdy material that resists scratches and corrosion and as a result, they retain a shiny look for years.
• When we cook food in aluminum vessels aluminum dissolves into food and during the cooking. Also aluminum will reduce the growth of bone. So replacing aluminum vessels with stainless steel is often effective in curing these problems.
• As for Stainless Steel, it has to be heated much more for it to soften. Additionally, it is still quite strong. Hence, it is quite possible to make a stainless steel pressure cooker capable of withstanding normal cooking pressures (with safety margins) even if softened fully.
• An aluminum pressure cooker offers more heat conductivity and is easily available at a lesser budget. However, it is not as durable as stainless steel pressure cookers.
• On the other hand, a stainless steel pressure cooker is costlier than aluminum cookers These pressure cookers are more durable and are highly popular due to their glossy finishing.
• Pressure cookers made with stainless steel material are more durable and popular than aluminum pressure cookers.
• Aluminum pressure cookers are soft and lightweight. They are prone to dents and scratches if a hard object brushes against

Hence, it is better to opt for a stainless steel pressure cooker for its long-lasting capability.

 

Choose the right size

Size of a pressure cooker is the most important part, you need to look at. So, choose the size based on your family members. Pressure cookers come in different sixes from 1.5 liters to 12 liters.

 

When you are purchasing a pressure cooker please recommend this table before buying it. you can see in this table and now you can easily choose the right size pressure cooker for your cooking.

Size                        Family Members

1.5 liters                   1 - 2 members

2 liters                      2 - 3 members

3 liters                      3 - 4 members

3.5 liters                   4 - 5 members

4 liters                      4 - 6 members

5 liters                      5 - 7 members

6 liters                      6 - 8 members

7 liters                      7 - 9 members

8 liters                      8 - 10 members

10 liters                   10 - 12 members

12 liters                   12 - 15 members