# Pressure Cooking



## ystanley (Feb 17, 2009)

Ok, so enough of the negative... My hubby bought me a pressure cooker a few weeks ago so I could learn how to use it before we head out on our adventure. I have tried a few things in it. Burned the spaghettti but the soy chicken with rice was great! Anyone have any good recipes for this? Keeping in mind that my darling hubby is the pickiest eater known to man! Thanks for all your support!


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## rdstanley (Sep 23, 2006)

... Keeping in mind that my darling hubby is the pickiest eater known to man! ...

I'm not picky, i just know what i like...


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

Hmm... my pressure cooker came with a little book that said, among other things, not to cook pasta in it. So we've mostly stuck with rice. We also noticed that it took forever to pressurize on our little kerosene stove, and so we've sort of... put it... on... the back burner omg I'm so sorry.

Anyway, mostly we've just chopped up all sorts of yummy vegetables, tossed them in, added water to cover, pressurized, and cooked for about five minutes. Always very very tasty, hard to mess up. However that same little book came with a variety of recipes that we haven't tried. Maybe tonight will be the night... I'll let you know how it goes.


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## eryka (Mar 16, 2006)

They're best for things that would ordinarily take a lot of time and that use a fair amount of water, think bean soups or stews. (Pasta just doesn't cook for long enough to be worthwhile, and timing is too critical.) Look for a book "Cooking Under Pressure" by Lorna Sass - lots of good ideas.


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## ystanley (Feb 17, 2009)

AdamLein said:


> Hmm... my pressure cooker came with a little book that said, among other things, not to cook pasta in it.
> 
> Yeah, mine came with the same book... I found a pasta recipe online and figured I'd give it a try. Disater!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I cooked the soy chicken at home and at the boat and have to say it did take more time to bring up to pressure at the boat. The recipe says to cook for 4 minutes not including the time to bring up to pressure. At home it took about 20 minutes and on the boat about 30 minutes. Not sure it will go on the back burner just yet, I like the idea of a lid that can lock on.


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## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

We haven't really explored the potential of our pressure cooker either, but we still use it all the time. It is a nice, big pot with a lid that seals shut which we like. We eat a lot of potatos and veggies while at anchor and the PC really cuts down on the amount of water and fuel we use to cook things that normally take a long time. I've read about pressure cooker bread which is appealing and could really be great since we don't have an oven.


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## JHJensen (Sep 9, 2008)

*Pressure cookers*

I have been using a pressure cooker for years and the new ones are much safer and less likely to spray the contents through the vent on to the overhead  as in yesteryear. Unless you like lentil soup on the overhead...amazing how much stuff can spray through that small vent hole..:laugher but one can also be hurt very badly.

There are some great books out there you can find and your local bookstore and some websites as well. Here is one of my favorites: Miss Vickie's Guide to Modern Pressure Cookery

Books: " The Pressured Cook" Amazon.com: The Pressured Cook: Over 75 One-Pot Meals In Minutes, Made In Today's 100% Safe Pressure Cookers: Lorna J. Sass: Books

In todays economy I think you will also find the pressure cooker has application at home as well.

John 

I bring one with me when I am teaching folks about life aboard.


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

Folks, what sort of stove do you use and how big is your pot? Ours is about as large as a standard stove pot, and all we have to heat it up is a little brass kerosene stove. It takes forever to pressurize (an hour in cold weather! as opposed to maybe five minutes at home). I'm thinking of switching down to a smaller pot because sadly this one isn't really getting used.


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

Okay back onto the question of what to cook. Last night's experimental data permits only one conclusion: do not cook chopped up apples in a pressure cooker.


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## JHJensen (Sep 9, 2008)

*Dare we ask? Pressure cooking experiments....*



AdamLein said:


> Okay back onto the question of what to cook. Last night's experimental data permits only one conclusion: do not cook chopped up apples in a pressure cooker.


Adam,
What happened to your apples and what were you trying to make? Did they foam all over or what?

A smaller cooker may be the way to go. We used to have a small one we used with a Svea single burner gas stove for cooking in the mountains in the winter. I don't remember the brand, but there are smaller ones out there. I have two. A six or seven quart and an aluminum one that is about 2 quarts.

My small one is a Hawkins....I don't remember what site I got it at. Try Google. A side note; almost every Indian household uses a pressure cooker. Their 1.5 liter cooker is around $20.00.

John


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

No John, it didn't foam all over, it just smelled in such a way that made my face scrunch up.

Anyway I got my PC from Canadian Tire -- cheap, but not a great variety of sizes. Perhaps the internet will come to my rescue.


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

A pessure cooker is an invaluable device.The advice on the books are spot on.
Rice:- double water to rice in pot bring up to pressure then turn off and get other stuff ready.
Beef joint to cook while on the way:- smear meat with mustard,sear meat on all sides add 2 cups of beef stock.bring up to pressure then wrap pot with weight in sleeping bag and safely secure in v-berth or other safe corner.If you do this in the morning before you set off meat will be ready in the evening when you get to an anchorage.
Have fun
Ellinor


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd second Miss Vickie's website...


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

AdamLein said:


> Folks, what sort of stove do you use and how big is your pot? Ours is about as large as a standard stove pot, and all we have to heat it up is a little brass kerosene stove. It takes forever to pressurize (an hour in cold weather! as opposed to maybe five minutes at home). I'm thinking of switching down to a smaller pot because sadly this one isn't really getting used.


What we do on the smaller boat with no stove top is to put a plank across the cockpit and put a Coleman stove on it (pegged into place if necessary, but we don't cook underway). We use one of those little one-pound bottles, same as on the Force Ten BBQ and this is fine for any meal. If the burners are good enough to do a skillet full of stew, bacon or even a wok, it will be fine for a pressure cooker.

What you have sounds more like the Forespar "bulkhead stoves" good for coffee and soup or heating up something from a can.

I am looking at Magefusa pressure cookers for our cruising cutter. Thoughts?


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

Keldee said:


> If you do this in the morning before you set off meat will be ready in the evening when you get to an anchorage.
> Have fun Ellinor


We do this with a Koolatron when we are sailing and don't want to eat up amps on our sloop, which has limited battery capacity. Basically, we bring frozen foods and very cold drinks from home and run the Koolatron from shore power while we are stowing stuff for day trips, etc. Then we motor out, with the Koolatron still running on ship's power as the alternator is charging. When we start sailing, we pull the plug and stow the Koolatron in the coolest part of the boat wrapped in a sleeping bag. Usually, eight to ten hours can pass before the frozen stuff is thawed, right in time for docking or anchoring and dinner! The bonus is having a chilly sleeping bag on a warm night.

Our icebox is so poorly insulated at this stage that I just keep dry goods in it, as to redo it properly would mean cutting apart the galley.


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

Yes, most iceboxes are made that way.We have increased insulation and changed the configuration of icebox on 2 boats with good results.
When we lived on our Tartan 27 for 2 years we had a small but very well insulated icebox that did us fine.When we were without ice at times in the Bahamas not too much valuable space was wasted


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## ystanley (Feb 17, 2009)

AdamLein said:


> Okay back onto the question of what to cook. Last night's experimental data permits only one conclusion: do not cook chopped up apples in a pressure cooker.


We have a Hillerange gimbled 2-burner stove/oven. It's old but does the trick. The pressure cooker is one we found at the Walmart for less than $30. Presto 6 qt. No sense spending a lot of money if it will end up on the back burnerr.
I was planning on trying a recipe from the book this weekend but may forgo now... Oatmeal Apple Crisp... What happened to your apples???????


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## marinegirl405 (Jun 7, 2007)

I purchased a pressure cooker for our boat for several reasons - less time to cook, less fuel used, less water used, and less heat/moisture escaping into the cabin when cooking. All that, and of course the safety factor of an enclosed pot, with nothing to spill - It had to be worth a try.

I resisted for several years with memories of my mother and our home "jiggle top" pressure cooker from the 70's. Modern pressure cookers are much safer.

We tend to eat veggie meals aboard. Like eryka says - pressure cookers are best for things that would take a long time to cook otherwise - beans, rice, chilli, stews, soups, etc. In the pressure cooker it takes about a 1/3 of the time compared to just boiling on the stove top (Only start the timer once it is up to pressure, just as you would only start the timer in normal cooking, once the contents is boiling) . We also make lots of soups in the pressure cooker (especially potato soup). I started off with a few recipes, but like any cooking you will soon just do your own thing and invent recipes from what supplies you have in the cupboard.

Several people have mentioned Launa Sass's books - I have her "Great Vegetarian cooking under pressure", and it really helped me get started, and also to move on and try different things once I got bored with cooking the same thing too often. Her book helped me understand the principles of pressure cooking so I can adapt any recipe to the pressure cooker.

I don't know what size you have, we have a 4 qt cooker, which has always make plenty for 2 very hungry people, often with seconds and left overs. I would not go with a smaller (than 4Qt) pressure cooker, if you then also have to limit your portions.

Mine is a cute one with no big long handle, but two small stubs (so easier to store) - I think some brands sell it as a risotto cooker. It has two settings/marks for low or high pressure settings, and inside is a max level marker so I know not to fill it too full (and risk liquid overflowing through the vent). You have LOTS of options, but mine is a Kuhn Rikon Duromatic 3042, and its 4L (4Q) - is just plenty for us. It's an expensive make, but we just shopped around until we found one on EBay for a bargain.

There are plenty of pressure cooker recipes on line too - so you don't need to spend any money on a book here. Miss Vickie's Guide to Modern Pressure Cookery is a good all round site.

If your stove is taking a long time to get to pressure, then either you have a bad seal (purchase a new gasket), or your stove would be slow to cook anything.

If you are boiling over, you are putting in too much in the pot.

If you are burning food, (and provided you are not just cooking it for too long) then you may have a cheaper / older pressure cooker - You can resolve this in 2 ways - get a different pressure cooker with a double base and this helps spread the heat. Or purchase a Flame Tamer / Heat Diffuser (that does the same thing).

On my stove, if I use the pressure cooker, then I can't also use my frying pan, nor my biggest pot at the same time. So I plan my meals accordingly, and mostly concentrate on one-pot meals, or have whatever I'm cooking with something simple like cous-cous. If I make rice in the pressure cooker for one meal, I don't make "just enough" but make plenty so I can have left overs for egg-fried rice the next day.

I also carry a spare seal as they are difficult to find when you are out cruising.

I'm a total convert, and would not be without my pressure cooker aboard (or even if I moved back ashore now).


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

We are playing with our pressure cooker to get recepies for when we take of cruising. My only concern is...we are using propane at home. When we get on the boat, it has alcohol and will it work with the pressure cooker?


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

We have an Origo alcohol stove and our pressure cooker worked very well with it for extended cruising.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The pressure cooker doesn't know or care how you're heating it... CNG, butane, propane, charcoal, open wood fire, alcohol or diesel all would work.  You will have to just figure out what the main difference between how fast the propane heats the pressure cooker to full pressure and how fast the alcohol does it..and adjust your times accordingly.


JacquelineHaden said:


> We are playing with our pressure cooker to get recepies for when we take of cruising. My only concern is...we are using propane at home. When we get on the boat, it has alcohol and will it work with the pressure cooker?


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

A good small cooker is the Magefesa 010PPRAPL32 Practika Plus Stainless Steel 3.3 Qt. one. It is made in Spain and has an aluminium insert in the base for better heat distribution. Can be found on Amazon. Buy a spare seal as well asyou will not find one in your local hardware store. 

Ideal size for 2 people.


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

I ADORE pressure cookers.

I have four of them.

The lightweight pressure cooker is by far my most used pressure cooker.

The lightweight pressure cooker heats up very quickly on a small camp stove, and I like the fact that it uses a weight on top to control the pressure, though it also has a second safety device on it to relieve pressure if something goes wrong.

Originally I bought a small pressure cooker because I wanted to use it camping. Using a pressure cooker lets you cook "hard to cook" things like dried beans and lentils, and other dried foods, all of which are perfect for camping because they are lightweight (no water), nutritious, store for long periods of time, etc. Over time I have become so happy with my pressure cookers that I do not just use them for camping now, I actually prefer to cook in them (when a microwave isn't available), I use them all the time now.


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