Cooking with a pressure cooker saves time and preserves nutrients, but requires good instructions. Using the pressure cooker is easy if you know the basics.
How to start cooking with the pressure cooker
If you want to cook with a pressure cooker, first choose the right size for the number of servings you need. For example, models with a capacity of 6 litres upwards are suitable for families of 4 people and more. Everything below that is suitable for smaller households (4.5 litres) and single servings (3.5 litres).
- Before you start cooking, check that the lid, the inset sealing ring and the valves of the pressure cooker are intact. The moving parts for the pressure indicator and the handles should also be inspected.
- Fill the pot with the food to be cooked. This can be vegetables, fish or meat. Loose vegetables can be placed in a cooking sieve that matches the pot, and meat can be lightly braised with fat beforehand. Or you can add all the ingredients for a stew or soup according to the recipe.
- Add the appropriate amount of liquid, which is important to create enough steam. At the same time, you prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pot.
- Small pressure cookers with a volume of about 3 litres should be supplemented with at least 125 ml, medium pressure cookers with a volume of 4 litres with about 250 ml and larger pressure cookers with a volume of 6 litres or more with about 750 ml of liquid.
- In total, do not fill the pressure cooker higher than up to three quarters of the total volume. For foods that produce foam, are thick or swell strongly, you should even use only half the pot height. This is the case, for example, when cooking pulses and stews.
- Now put the lid on and close it so that the handle clicks into place. With most pot models you will hear and feel this closing clearly. Push the lid of the pressure pot closed so that pressure can build up in the pot.
- Place the pot on a stovetop that matches the diameter of the pot and start the energy supply. Set the desired steam pressure level on the lid (knob on the handle).
The cooking time starts with a hiss
Depending on how much you increase the pressure in the pot and which food is to be cooked, the cooking time will turn out. The higher the pressure – level 2 is the highest for most cooking pots – the higher the cooking temperature inside, the shorter the cooking time required. This preserves vitamins and brings colour and taste benefits.
- As soon as the steam builds up pressure in the pot, your pot will indicate this. For example, a pin or a kind of button on the lid will lift up. There are usually two markings on it.
- At cooking level 1 (1st mark is visible), the food is cooked at about 110 degrees Celsius. This level is suitable for delicate foods such as vegetables or fish with a short cooking time.
- You can use cooking level 2 (2nd mark) for cooking and braising meat, side dishes such as potatoes, soups or stews. You can also use it to preserve or sterilise canned vegetables or fruit. The temperature at level 2 is around 120 degrees Celsius.
- Once the temperature and pressure level have been reached, you will usually also hear this from a slight hissing sound. Now the valve of the lid starts to open to release excess steam. If there is a lot of additional energy, a lot of steam will sometimes come out.
- Now the actual cooking time of your dish begins. You should reduce or stop the energy supply at this point at the latest.
- The more experience you have with your saucepan and the feature of your cooker, the more accurately you will find out whether you can turn down the temperature even before the cooking point is reached. This varies quite a bit from pot to pot and from cooker to cooker.
At the end, reduce the pressure carefully
For an optimal result, it is especially important with vegetables and fish to precisely match the cooking time and then lower the temperature in the pot as quickly as possible. Meat, on the other hand, is usually forgiving if the cooking time is overrun a little. After the estimated cooking time has elapsed, reduce the pressure in the pot.
- Move the slider in the direction of “open valve”. Caution: Sometimes a lot of hot steam comes out suddenly. Always make sure that no one is standing in the “steam direction”.
- Beware: If the steam hits your skin directly, you risk severe scalding. The outside of the pot also gets very hot. Therefore, always use the pot handles to operate the pot.
- Do this until no more steam comes out and the pressure indicator has lowered completely. Do not use this procedure with foaming and viscous food.
- You can lower the pressure and temperature in the pot quite quickly by first removing it from the hob and holding it under cold water. Make sure that no water runs into the handle or valves.
- You can also just wait for the pressure and temperature to reduce without adding more heat. During this time, however, the contents will still cook a little more.
- After the pressure has disappeared, release the lock on the lid handle. Now you can open the lid safely and examine your food.
- After use, you should carefully rinse the lid by hand and carefully clean the valves and the sealing ring again.
Guideline cooking times for various foods
You will gather experience values for which foods you need to cook for how long quite quickly yourself. Make a note of what you have had good or bad results with. In the beginning, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:
- potatoes, stage 2, 7 minutes
- Cauliflower, stage 2, 3 minutes
- Broccoli, stage 1, 3 minutes
- Beans, fresh green, speed 1, 7 minutes
- Rice, stage 2, 7 minutes
- Goulash, half&half, speed 2, 20-30 minutes (depending on quantity)
- Lentil soup, stage 2, 15 minutes
- Vegetable soup, stage 1, 10 minutes
- Beef soup, stage 2, 30 minutes
