Modern Home Kitchen

Whilst there’s a current (admirable in many cases and necessary in most) drive towards living frugally and saving money, there has been a considerable focus on cutting costs in the kitchen.  One of the popular forms of this has been to dust off the old crock pot and revert to slow cooking as a means of making the most of cheaper cuts of meat, saving fuel and of cooking cheaper, fresh ingredients rather than relying on expensive, fast food.   However, there is room for fast food: that of the speedily cooked pressure cooker kind, for all of the incentives for slow cooking also exist with pressure cookers too.  Let’s consider this:

• Pressure cookers give fast food because they save time.  Whatever its fuel source, the pressure cooker should have a tight fitting lid which seals entirely.  This seal means that a high cooking temperature is maintained and the food inside cooks under its own steam efficiently in terms of time and fuel consumption.

• The speed element of a pressure cooker is easily forgotten, but high quality cookers can offer a real speed advantage.  For example, the impressive range of presto pressure cooker cookware offers to cook food an average of three to ten times faster than ordinary cooking and, in some cases, such high quality pressure cookers can even cook some foods faster than a microwave – and without any lingering health concerns!

• Pressure cookers come in a range of sizes and types, including stainless steel pressure cooker items which sit on the stove top pressure cookers and electric pressure cookers, which do not require heat from the stove but can be plugged in and sat on a counter – ideal if you are trying to cook a Thanksgiving dinner on a two ring stove!

• Of course, where there’s a build up of steam there is pressure, so pressure cookers have a system of valve to allow small bursts of steam to be released to relieve the pressure.  Whilst the minimum valve requirement is three valves, some models such as the Kuhn rikon pressure cooker offer a five valve safety system to prevent excessive pressure build up.

• Whilst electric crock pots work fuel efficiently by using a low voltage and maintaining a regular temperature over a long period of time, an electric pressure cooker does this in reverse: the appliance heats quickly and the seal enables the food to cook quickly in its own steam which  speeds up the cooking process.  This saves on fuel because the cooking is completed more quickly!

• Additional fuel can be saved by the fact that many pressure cookers are of a large enough size to accommodate a range of foods to be cooked at the same time, saving fuel both by reducing the number of pans on or in the stove and by reducing the amount of hot water and elbow grease needed for washing up – with only one pot, washing up is minimal – again just like the slow cooker!

So, instead of thinking about having to cook long and slow in order to save money, take the pressure off yourself and consider the best pressure cooker for your needs!  You could be glad you did!

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