I grew up hearing my mother’s pressure cooker indicator giggling on her stove.
She swore by it as the fastest way to cook her potatoes and corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day. I even remember scraping potatoes off the ceiling once when she forgot to turn it off in time.
That memory always stuck in my mind and I cooked my potatoes in a pot until I finally gave in to an electric pressure cooker. With the automatic turn-off after you set the time, there is no danger in cooking with a pressure cooker.
I cooked two medium-sized Lehua taro, which I usually steam for two hours, in half the time in my electric pressure cooker.
The principle behind pressure cooking is boiling liquid (the minimum amount of liquid in the directions of the electric pressure cooker is 1 cup), either water or broth, inside a closed pressure cooker. The trapper steam increases the internal pressure and temperature and tremendously reduces cooking time.
A few tips and hints for cooking dried kidney beans:
• Add 2 tablespoons oil to minimize frothing.
• Do not fill the removable cooking pot more than halfway to allow the beans to expand in size.
• Use the natural release method instead of releasing the pressure from the cooker.
Cooking time for kidney beans is 30 minutes and if soaked overnight, 20-25 minutes. This is a great reduction in cooking time, if you have ever cooked beans on the stove.
Pressure cooking goes back to 1679 when French physicist Denis Papin invented a steam digester to reduce cooking time.
In 1864, Georg Gutbrod manufactured a pressure cooker of tinned cast iron.
In 1919, Spain granted a patent to Jose Alix Martinez. He invented an “olla express,” which literally means “express cooking pot.”
1n 1938, Alfred Vischer invented the Flex-Seal Speed Cooker in New York City for home use.
In 1939 at the New York World’s Fair, National Presto Industries introduced its pressure cooker, which is the brand my mother owned.
Some of the best rated pressure cookers, according to the BestReviews.com are:
• Best of the best: Instant Pot DUO60, 7-in-1, 6 quart/1,000 watts, stainless steel pot and exterior. It pressure cooks, slow cooks, cooks rice, sautés, browns, makes yogurt, steams and automatically keeps food warm. There are three settings for sautéing and slow cooking.
The All American 1921 has a capacity of 21 1/2 quarts for those who cook in quantity, as is the Presto 01781 with a 23-quart capacity.
• The Best buy for your buck: Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ/1,000 watts, 6-quart electric pressure cooker.
The T-fal P25107 also is well-rated.
The instructions in my manual say pressure cooking on high cooks food at 9 pounds per square inch and is more suitable to cook tougher meats and vegetables or other foods that are not so delicate. Low is 5 pounds per square inch and is more suitable to cook delicate foods such as tender vegetables and certain types of fish.
Four large artichokes would take 10 minutes, a whole beef brisket would take 45 minutes, both on high. Imagine, pork spareribs on high would be done in 25 minutes.
This chili con carne takes 15 minutes on high, so it’s a great meal to prepare after coming home from work.
Spicy Chili Con Carne
Serves: 6
Pressure cooking time: 15 minutes on high or 28 minutes on low
Sauté until onions are wilted:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Add and brown:
1 1/2 ground beef or turkey
Put all into pressure cooker, add:
2 tablespoons chili powder
Salt to taste
1 1/2 cups crushed tomato
1 cup beef stock
1 1/2 cups dried pinto or red kidney beans
1 green pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
Close and lock the lid and turn the pressure regulator to “pressure.” Bring to high pressure and cook for 15 minutes, or 28 minutes on low pressure.
When the cooking time is done, release the pressure and remove the lid.
Serve and garnish with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
Foodie bites
Don’t forget to enter your best honey recipe in the third annual Hawaii Honey Festival and National Hawaii Honey Challenge, slated for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 26 at Nani Mau Gardens. Enter by emailing Sonia Martinez at cubanwahine@hawaii.rr.com or for more information about the festival, email Peggy Beckett at peggy@thebeecompany.buzz. For vendor information, email jen-paradisenectars@yahoo.com
More information about the festival and other related honey classes will be my topic next week.
Oct. 9 is Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range from 6-8 p.m. at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort. Check out the website at www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com.
Oct. 18 is the 17th annual Taste of Hilo at Hilo Hongwanji’s Sangha Hall. Check out the website at www.jccih.org.
Email me at audreywilson808@gmail.com if you have questions.
