Pressure cookers

[Didereaux]

First, I believe you leave the weight OFF the pressure cooker when baking bread or such..I always have.  Afterall you want to bake, not steam the stuff. ;)

Next thing is that when camping out in the mountains, hunting and such, I baked biscuits and cornbread in a small high sided cast iron skillet with a cast lid.  Works great.  They are heavy though and less versatile so I prefer the pressure cooker on the boat.

The only reason most regular cooking pots and pans don't bake well is because they do not distribute and hold heat evenly in all sections, particularly up the sides...hence, burned bottoms and raw tops on your delicasy.

LAst point, to prevent burned bottoms use a small plate on the bottom of the pot(pressure or other).  One came with my pressure cooker, but you can make one easily, cut a circle slightly smaller than the pot, but leave three or four 'tabls' about 3/8 inch around the outside.  When you have it cut out bend the tabs down  so that the dough is kept off the bottom an inch or so...added benefit is that the bottom cooks with dry heat and do browns evenly.

Hey, if an old guy can do it how hard can it be?  ;)

didereaux

[Pixie Dust]

Good results this time-
Used my pressure cooker on the alcohol stove, trivet in bottom.  This time I used a 7 cup clear glass pyrex dish, preheated the closed pressure cooker while preparing the biscuits, covered the dish with foil. Placed in cooker, no gasket, no pressure gauge on.   Moved the pot periodically over the burner so not heating in only one spot. This time, turned out perfect, no burned bottoms.   :) I also replaced my seal which has been a positive too.  Obtains pressure faster.  Pressure cooker now on the boat, several other pots removed.  :) More room for food.

[Zen]

Congrats, Connie.

So far I have only used mine for Artichokes, which were prefect BTW  ;)

[Kailyst]

I JUST found this Camping Pressure Cooker and thought I'd pass it on here. Looks interesting.

[Pixie Dust]

Well, my 1947 pressure cooker lost its relief valve.   :(  I was baking pizzas and it fell out, into my pizza pie.   At least it did not happen while under pressure.  Guess it has lived its life expectancy.  It was a Mirro and in an old hardware store, I found the discontinued gaskets, but not the relief valve. 
I ended up hitting Target last night and picked up a SS 8 qt for $50. 
Cooked some nice pinto beans in it today.   I am back in business.  It stresses over and over though not to use with dry heat.  Not sure I will be able to bake my biscuits in it without melting something else.   :(

[Pixie Dust]

My 1947 pressure cooker lost its relief plug.  Actually it melted and since the model is discontinued, I can no longer find the part.   :(  Glad it was during baking and not while under pressure.  :o
I hit Target and bought a SS 8 qt for 50.   It says to not use without water, so this weekend, I tried biscuits (you know me, gotta have my biscuits) with water and under steam.  It worked.  I did everything as in the earlier post, although I used the gaskets etc.  I covered the pyrex dish tightly with foil so water and steam could not enter the dish.  They baked fine, even with the steam.  Did not bown on top but that does not affect taste.  ;)

[LauraG]

Hey Connie,
You can still use your old pressure cooker for dry baking. It should make little difference that the rubber pressure release is gone.

[Pixie Dust]

Good Point Laura!!  Then I do not have to worry about melting the new one.  I think I can find room for both on my wee vessel.   :)

[s/v Faith]

I gave away my 5q pressure cooker, and was looking for a smaller replacement for my 4q presto pressure cooker as it is not very easy to stow onboard.

  I found this Hawkins 1.5l pressure cooker on Ebay today.

  At 1.5l (1.58q), it should fit nicely onboard.  ;D

Doing price checks online, I found it at a couple of places for just a couple bucks more then I ended up paying on E-bay.

  Will post impressions when it arrives.

[CharlieJ]

Looks great, but at 1.58 quarts, you GOTTA be eating alone ;D

I saw a really nice 2 qt stainless one at a restaurant supply house- too small for the two of us.

[s/v Faith]

Looks great, but at 1.58 quarts, you GOTTA be eating alone ;D

I saw a really nice 2 qt stainless one at a restaurant supply house- too small for the two of us.

Oh man.....  ::)

  That 4 quart one just does not want to fit ANYWHERE......   :-[

[Lynx]

I picked up a Kuhn Riko Duromatic Thermal-cooker


http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/pressure_cookers/pressure.php3?id=46

Not cheep but it should last a life time. Comes with all the bells and whistles.

[cubemonkey]

I've always had pressure cookers and canners as part of my household, but have never used one aboard. Canners generally are larger and can vary pressure, which ensures that food is preserved properly. Some foods require higher pressure, if they are low acid. So a dial control or the ability to add and subtract weights to the rocker, is important in order to get the right pressure for low and high acid foods. It also helps to be able to control the pressure depending on the quantity of jars to be canned. Having your jars explode is usually a disappointing outcome!

Cooking is generally less demanding than canning. You don't have spoilage or food poisoning to worry about, because you are going to eat the food right away. So you  can vary the time to cook, depending on the size of your cooker, and the volume of food. I assume with different fuels, there would be timing adjustments as well.

My favorite meals with a pressure cooker are ones that tend to take a long time in an open pot. So as mentioned, artichokes are perfect in a pressure cooker. Stuffed cabbage is another good meal out the cooker. Cabbage keeps well in storage for quite some time, and is lovely wrapped around your favorite rice concoction, uncooked of course. Roll them up, add some broth, or tomato sauce, or plain water, and put on the steam.

Also good candidates are the bigger vegetables, like winter squash, yams, yellow potatoes, parsnips, carrots. Anything that takes longer than 10 minutes on top of the stove is good for the cooker. These usually are good keepers, and will be nice to pull out near the end of along voyage. What a treat!

Also mentioned in previous posts were beans. These are the mainstay of a hearty diet at sea. Pea soup, black bean soup, pasta e fagioli, garbanzos (hummus anywhere, anytime!), Boston baked beans, etc etc. The only caution with beans is make sure there is plenty of room in the pot. Bean foam can clog the valve, as can any starchy vegetable. I think the rule of thumb is that any pot should not be filled over 1/3. And watch the pressure. If you have a rocker, it should be gently rocking, not madly vibrating. This might be the most problematic thing about cookers underway. You don't want the rocker to bounce off, releasing pressure suddenly. If you plan to be using your cooker underway, then perhaps you should invest in the cooker with a pressure dial.

It's kind of fun to see a whole new interest in an old-fashioned cooking method. I don't know that I would have considered bringing my cooker along, if not for this thread.

-elizabeth

[CharlieJ]

Elizabeth-

One other huge advantage to using a pressure cooker that may not have occurred to you. They have locking lids.

You don't always have to use pressure with a pressure cooker- remove the rubber gasket and weight ( or leave the gasket and remove the weight) and it's just a regular pot with a lid that won't come adrift should the boat toss the pot off the stove.

[cubemonkey]

One other huge advantage to using a pressure cooker that may not have occurred to you. They have locking lids.

Good point, Charlie. That is a nice safety feature for cooking under way, either with pressure or not. I think I would make sure I have a nice strong fiddle to secure the pot though. Pressure cookers are usually a heavy guage. I wouldn't want it to be a projectile inside a small cabin (or any cabin for that matter).

I'll add some of my recipes to the sailfar cookbook.

-elizabeth

[Captain Smollett]

Here's the kit we are looking at: Fagor 7 Piece

Or, the 6 - piece (missing the pasta basket).  These seem to be well made.

Any comments?

[cubemonkey]

Hi Cap'n,
Seems like a lot of pot for your money. Stainless is always nice, better than aluminum, at least from an aesthetic point of view. I looked at the Kuhn Riko link as well, to compare.

Both pots would satisfy the safety issue of a loose rocker, since the Fagor has the low/high heat knob. The Kuhn appears not to have any selector. So nothing to fly off the pot while underway.

I like the Fagor lid that fits 2 pot sizes. That would give you a lot more flexibility on a voyage. Less pots to bring, and more options.

I don't think your missing anything by not having the pasta basket. The steamer basked should work for most anything you'd want to drain, or lift off the bottom.

I might have to think about getting one of these for myself.

-elizabeth

[Captain Smollett]

Elizabeth,

Did you notice the bottom of the steamer was a grater?  Becky was sold on that model when she saw that.   ;) 

[Lynx]

I like everything execpt the long handle. It might be a problem.

[Captain Smollett]

We ordered the set today; if nothing else, it will give us some practice shoreside cooking with a pressure cooker.  That handle was a concern when I first saw it, but we'll see.  When I cook I generally turn the handles back anyway (years of working in restaurants where other people walk by the stoves all the time).

I'll report back after they get here and we have a chance to test 'em out.