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This time-saving gadget has spooked a generation of British cooks. It’s neither a knife nor a mini blow torch nor a razor-sharp mandoline. Nope, the evil item that might be lurking in your kitchen cabinet doesn’t breathe fire or cut off fingers—this wolf in sheep’s clothing is the pressure cooker, a pressured pot that cooks food in record time without sacrificing flavor.
Tim Hayward, writer for the Guardian’s Word of Mouth food blog, has seen French, German, Berber, and Kenyan cooks putting pressure cookers to use. In his travels, he found that everyone loves a pressure cooker:
Everyone, that is, except the British who, when asked, would gabble incoherently about jets of steam, the terrifying jiggling rattle of the weights on top and, invariably, about the sister of a friend of their mother who was horribly mutilated when one exploded.
His commenters quickly back up this claim. OuLiPo says:
I was in a kitchen once when one exploded. Well, it didn’t actually explode, just shot the weight off the top with a loud bang and filled the room with steam. It could have been nasty if anyone had been hit by the weight or had been leaning over the top when it went off–the jet of steam went straight up. At any rate, this is not something that only happens to a Friend of a Friend. On the other hand, it was about twenty-five years ago and the design may have improved since.
Another firsthand account of a pressure cooker explosion comes from elzbelz:
Ooh, I still remember leek and potato soup dripping from my mum’s ceiling in the seventies when the pressure cooker exploded! She has redecorated, but if you look closely you can still see the stain.
EvilClanger, who also had a pressure cooker in the ’70s, adds, “Using one was always something of an experience and most members of the household gave the cooker a wide berth when it was at full pressure, hissing, rattling and twitching away. It pretty much defined the concept of a bomb waiting to go off.” Even spekki, who is pro-pressure cookers, points out an article about terrorists armed with pressure cooker bombs.
But not everyone is terrified by this potentially explosive pot. Reader Ieuan says, “The pressure cooker is one of the greatest inventions known to man, or woman. A kitchen without one is not a kitchen.” And according to the Digest, there are plenty of Chowhounds out there who are pressure cooking without fear. Are the British the only ones who are afraid of these things?
I've been using pressure cookers since my grandmother gave me her 4 Qt. Presto from the 1940's. Typically, I make soup, but have tried several other recipes with varying degrees of success. I do have a question which I'm hoping someone with far more experience can answer.
I've since moved up to an 8 Qt. Stainless Cuisinart Cooker (also a 6 Qt. Sitram) and have been quite happy with the results....+READ
I've been using pressure cookers since my grandmother gave me her 4 Qt. Presto from the 1940's. Typically, I make soup, but have tried several other recipes with varying degrees of success. I do have a question which I'm hoping someone with far more experience can answer.
I've since moved up to an 8 Qt. Stainless Cuisinart Cooker (also a 6 Qt. Sitram) and have been quite happy with the results. However, at times, especially around the holidays, I wish I had a much larger Cooker to yield greater quantities of soup. I see many brands of Pressure Cooker/Canners on the market and was wondering if anyone might recommend one of these specifically for "Cooking" as opposed to "Canning." (There's a 21 Qt. All-American, but everything I've read about it talks only about it's Canning abilities.) Any advice?-COLLAPSE
We now use on of the new-fangled electric pressure cookers. They are nowhere near as intimidating as the old stove top ones.
Just the ticket for doing things such as short ribs, chuck/pot roasts and my all time fave corned beef. The main trick is to not overcook the food so it does not come out tasting like "British food".
The (Asian) Indians use them all the time and their food tends to be quite tasty.
No, the Brits aren't the only ones afraid of them. I teach pressure cooking and MANY Americans are truly scared by the pressure cooker and all the stories that they heard.
What they don't realize is that there are truly new and improved pressure cookers that are quiet, fast and energy effiicient, and that...+READ
The (Asian) Indians use them all the time and their food tends to be quite tasty.
No, the Brits aren't the only ones afraid of them. I teach pressure cooking and MANY Americans are truly scared by the pressure cooker and all the stories that they heard.
What they don't realize is that there are truly new and improved pressure cookers that are quiet, fast and energy effiicient, and that produce incredible food from 30 second summer squash to 45 minute tender pot roast. And did I mention no-stir risotto in 6 minutes and most beans cooked in less than 15 minutes?
I say, "Get over the fear, and bring your cooking up to speed this summer." You'll also keep your house cool.-COLLAPSE
I've heard Tony Bourdain talk about these -- he's afraid of them too. That's enough for me. Nothing I've ever eaten from one tasted especially good. In fact it tasted like .... British food.