Stove top pressure cookers

[Gina M]

I've got 3 different sizes of pressure cooker - 3l, 6l & 7l but can only use one at a time as they all use the same lid but means I can use the best sized one for what I want to cook. Always take the 3l one away in the MH with us when we go away, particularly in the colder weather.

At home I mainly use it to cook pulses and stews.

I've got a small Pressure King Pro but not that impressed with it - glad I bought it second hand and didn't pay full price for it! Much prefer my hob ones.

I have an Instant Pot it and it cooks a chicken the same time as you did in your stove top one. I was scared of it at first, as a kid I was terrified of mum's pressure cooker I always thought it would one day explode. I have gone back to my slow cooker as I can put everything in it in the morning then just leave it all day. Instant Pot now in the gadget graveyard shed

 

[Caggsie1]

We bought a big stainless steel Khun Rikon one after we wore out our old Prestige aluminium one. It's great for big hams and makes a lovely curry.

I’ve two of these, no weights at all on mine. I have large and a small one for the Mh. Love my pressure cookers. My first foray into them was when first got married, they petrified me so I bought an auto one. Brill bit of kit

both came from Lakeland.

 

[L' Hobo]

Have never used a pressure cooker, although teacher demonstrated one at school , i think.
Son swears by his, he is vegan and uses it for his dried pulses, curries, soup. We are limited to space in the motorhome too wont be on my wish list any time soon. But might be worth thinking about for winter and on gas only, something else to be used once and shoved in the back of a cupboard perhaps.
Editted to add just looked at the Kuhn Rikon. HOW MUCH? think i will be giving it a miss, that is an awful lot of wine or quite a few meals out

Interesting that you baulk at the price of the pressure cooker and later admit to having THREE Remoska's?

 

[Gina M]

Our first pressure cooker was one of the Prestige ones with weights on the top.
I was boiling up some hops & malt to make stout, when it was cooling down I took the weights off too soon. We had beautiful fountain of malt liquid hitting the ceiling & showering down on us, too hot to get near or stop.
House smelt like a brewery for months.

I once showered the whole of the kitchen with beef stew when I turned the valve off on my Instant Pot that was the day it got kicked out.

 

[MattR]

30mins seems a very long time, was that after pre-soaking them and why not put them in with the chicken?
(I have never cooked turtle beans?)

I cooked tukey drumsticks this evening for around 28 mins in chicken stock, onions, garlic, rosemary & tymne plus chicken stock . It was delicious.

I then cooked a chicken in stock with black beans, lemons, tymne, rosemary & lots of pepper for 20 mins plus around 10 mins resting time. Stunningly good.

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[L' Hobo]

I cooked tukey drumsticks this evening for around 28 mins in chicken stock, onions, garlic, rosemary & tymne plus chicken stock . It was delicious.

I then cooked a chicken in stock with black beans, lemons, tymne, rosemary & lots of pepper for 20 mins plus around 10 mins resting time. Stunningly good.

That sound delicious!

At the moment, after all the support the Ninja has on Fun, I have succumbed and am experimenting with a British made
4.8ltr Cleverchef Pro.
It's similar to the Ninja but half the price.

So far, I have cooked a whole chicken, first sealing it, onion and garlic, in Olive oil and then adding stock, closing the lid, dial in the pressure cooking setting and waited.

3/4hr later, (after waiting an extra 10 minutes to depressurise, one cannot put it under a cold tap, I don't think) I undid the lid and, although the chicken was slightly overcooked, it was moist and delicious.

Since then, I have done a chicken thigh curry with similar results.

The dishes, so far, are nothing I could not have done in the old pressure cooker EXCEPT the electric one has a 24hr timer which one can dial in and leave (not tried that yet) plus, there is a pressure cooker menu programme which one can also setup and leave.
(with the price of gas now rising, I am being drawn to the Cleverchef especially while on site Hook up.)
Having said that, I'm yet to try it on a EHU but as it, according to the packaging, only draws 1000watts, it should be okay?

The only downsides, for me are, the menu. The lettering is very small and if you are using it at kitchen table level, one has to keep bending to read it.
It could have been much clearer, and not being able to cool the top quickly by dousing it with cold water!
AND
as one is not always on EHU, It then becomes a large bit of useless equipment when one has always got gas in the van!

Decisions, decisions.........?

PS. There is a DIY setting on the Cleverchef so, after I get to know the chef better, I'll possibly be using that most of the time?

 

[sciac2001]

We’ve been using our pressure cooker in the mh since we bought a handy sized WMF in Germany in 2014.
Indispensable bit of kit.
Broiled chicken - sounds bland but very tasty when cooked with veg and makes superb stock for the rice we accompany it with - has been a regular, as have many other recipes. (We bought the kindle version of The Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Phipps which we have found to be very good. Along with my mother’s scribbled favourites.)
Loved the cooker so much that we bought its big brother for home use.

 

[MattR]

That sound delicious!

At the moment, after all the support the Ninja has on Fun, I have succumbed and am experimenting with a British made
4.8ltr Cleverchef Pro.
It's similar to the Ninja but half the price.

So far, I have cooked a whole chicken, first sealing it, onion and garlic, in Olive oil and then adding stock, closing the lid, dial in the pressure cooking setting and waited.

3/4hr later, (after waiting an extra 10 minutes to depressurise, one cannot put it under a cold tap, I don't think) I undid the lid and, although the chicken was slightly overcooked, it was moist and delicious.

Since then, I have done a chicken thigh curry with similar results.

The dishes, so far, are nothing I could not have done in the old pressure cooker EXCEPT the electric one has a 24hr timer which one can dial in and leave (not tried that yet) plus, there is a pressure cooker menu programme which one can also setup and leave.
(with the price of gas now rising, I am being drawn to the Cleverchef especially while on site Hook up.)
Having said that, I'm yet to try it on a EHU but as it, according to the packaging, only draws 1000watts, it should be okay?

The only downsides, for me are, the menu. The lettering is very small and if you are using it at kitchen table level, one has to keep bending to read it.
It could have been much clearer, and not being able to cool the top quickly by dousing it with cold water!
AND
as one is not always on EHU, It then becomes a large bit of useless equipment when one has always got gas in the van!

Decisions, decisions.........?

I like the idea of an electric gadget but they all seem so big and some are too tall to use under our wall units.

Our chicken was cooked with 6 mins searing for colour but this is probably unnecessary, 18 mins on high and then natural release (around 8 mins) so a whole chicken cooked in 32 mins. Next time, I'll cook it for 16 mins as it was just going into over-cooked territory.

I cooked it with 500g of black beans, approx 0.75l of chicken stock, 2 big carrots, herbs & pepper.

I use a fork to gently lift the pressure valve rather than put it under the tap to speed up pressure release.

 

[L' Hobo]

We’ve been using our pressure cooker in the mh since we bought a handy sized WMF in Germany in 2014.
Indispensable bit of kit.
Broiled chicken - sounds bland but very tasty when cooked with veg and makes superb stock for the rice we accompany it with - has been a regular, as have many other recipes. (We bought the kindle version of The Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Phipps which we have found to be very good. Along with my mother’s scribbled favourites.)
Loved the cooker so much that we bought its big brother for home use.

I agree, I've had my old 6ltr one at home/van and used it for 25yrs but with the rise in gas prices, up by 50%?, and nearly always on site EHU, (the EHU prices are bound to rise too but for heating, that's a must) I was looking for a possible, more cost efficient, alternative but baulked at the high price of Ninja without trying something cheaper first.

 

[Lenny HB]

I have succumbed and am experimenting with a British made
4.8ltr Cleverchef Pro.
It's similar to the Ninja but half the price.

Half the price because it doesn't have a air fryer like the Ninja.
Anyone with a Ninja probably uses the air fryer above any other function.

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[TheAleMan]

We use the small 4.7 litre Ninja both at home and in the van. Fortunate enough to have the storage capacity under one of the side benches. Excellent pressure cooker as well as the other bits

We use our Ninja Foodie in the van all the time. It’s so versatile we now wouldn’t be without it. Love it.

 

[Lenny HB]

We use our Ninja Foodie in the van all the time. It’s so versatile we now wouldn’t be without it. Love it.

Looked at one for the van but too big would have been a good excuse to fit Lithium.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

We use our Ninja Foodie in the van all the time. It’s so versatile we now wouldn’t be without it. Love it.

Yes, we use it a lot. Having the relative luxury of the van on the front drive of Dux Towers it is easy to pack only what we need for a trip. I never realised how much junk we carry until I emptied the garage and temporarily stowed it whilst doing some full width shelving.

 

[PebblesJnr]

try spag bol in it! brilliant! Brown mince and onions, mix 2 spoons soy, wostershire, hot sauce (if you like spicy) with 1 cup stock and 2 cups water. add any other veg or beans (our spag bal has whatever we have to hand) mix well and then place pasta on top and just push into liquid, dont stir in 7 mins once up to pressure and 5 mins before releasing pressure, then mix well. if too runny add a bit of cornflour to thicken. use any shaoe pasta you have but dont leave under pressure for too long as it overcooks quickly

 

[ManTheVan]

I regularly use our pressure cooker (Stainless steel Prestige) that was a wedding present nearly 32 years ago, but only at home. They also made a small one that a fellow skipper friend had on his boat, although I’ve not seen one that small for a long time.

The Prestige has a quick steam release function, which is really useful at times.

The pressure cooker is just brilliant at cooking the tough muscle that has spent its life working really hard (oxtail, shin, cheek) but that yield the very most unctuous flavours when cooked properly.

I also use it to make marmalade. If you pressure cook the whole oranges in a bit of water, it takes maybe 20 mins to soften them completely, which really speeds up the process.

Any beans, chunky root veg, etc., also cook beautifully, as Mattyjwr has said. I wouldn’t be without my pressure cooker and I’d love to find a small one for the MH.

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[L' Hobo]

Half the price because it doesn't have a air fryer like the Ninja.
Anyone with a Ninja probably uses the air fryer above any other function.

No, but I can buy a separate air fryer (if I wanted one) for about £50 with the Cleverchef discount voucher and still save another £50 on the £169 price of a Ninja.

In the meantime, I will have to put up with roast chicken, potatoes and veg. It's a hard life but someone's got to live it!

 

[dobbyt]

I've been using a stove top (traditional type) pressure cooker recently to cook soups, stews etc. We have just cooked a whole chicken in it and it took approx. 35 mins - 5 mins to give it a bit of browning, 20 mins to cook (but this would be reduced to 17 next time) and 10 mins to naturally pressure release. It was really tasty (with lemon, paprika, garlic, caynne pepper, chicken stock, salt and lots of black pepper). It seems like an ideal way to cook a chicken while saving energy. Has anyone else done this?

Sorry to contradict. It does not save energy, just time! The makers are happy to let us believe and share that 'fact'.

A long time ago I believed but had my doubts so on a day when I had nothing better to do I set about logging the energy usage.

The plan was to boil potatoes in a normal lidded saucepan and, separately, a pressure cooker using the house meter to record the usage.

This is not going to be a scientific paper report but I will tell you it took twice as many units just to bring the cooker to pressure (115°C) compared to boiling and cooking potatoes (100°C) for 20 minutes. I was shocked.

Rather like getting to 70mph rather than 60mph that extra 15°C takes up a lot of energy.

 

[L' Hobo]

Sorry to contradict. It does not save energy, just time! The makers are happy to let us believe and share that 'fact'.

A long time ago I believed but had my doubts so on a day when I had nothing better to do I set about logging the energy usage.

The plan was to boil potatoes in a normal lidded saucepan and, separately, a pressure cooker using the house meter to record the usage.

This is not going to be a scientific paper report but I will tell you it took twice as many units just to bring the cooker to pressure (115°C) compared to boiling and cooking potatoes (100°C) for 20 minutes. I was shocked.

Rather like getting to 70mph rather than 60mph that extra 15°C takes up a lot of energy.

I'm sorry, I do not understand your concept.

If gas is coming through the ring at the same rate and a sealed container will raise heat quicker that an open one,
and the pressure cooker takes 7mins to cook potatoes and the saucepan take 20mins,
There must be a saving?

 

[TinaLes]

Love our old Prestige pressure cooker, like many TinaL is too scared to use it, she even leaves the kitchen when its hissing as she has sensitive ears.
I have the original recipe book somewhere, I do every Gammon joint in it, 8/10 minutes per LB after its reached pressure with heavy weight on top. I lift off the gas and place under cold water tap, covering the lid, the pressure reduces almost immediately, and the food inside doesn't over cook.
I then take the gammon out, cut off rind, brush honey & mustard all over it, then brown it off in the oven or the Remoska.

Diced lamb or beef for stews & curries is also great in the pressure cooker, but I am careful not to overcook, so max 8 mins per LB, adding no thickeners as it will stick and burn on the bottom.
EDIT: As any chef/Good Cook will tell you, Caramelisation is the key to getting max flavour, some of the meals I see presented that are just boiled, in various Eco Style Cookers, look so unappetising, it looks so bland, reminds me very much of life at home as a kid, where my mum overcooked most things, as she had loose fitting dentures!
Sure cook the meat but strain off the water, but then caramelise the meat in the pan on top of the hob, or coat it and place in the oven for 20/30 minutes, lets the fat reduce, and provides loads more flavour.
LES

 

[Puddleduck]

We have one of the new electric pressure cookers and it is superb. Actually we had two but our son took one look at them and permanently borrowed the larger one.

I hated the old type as I have childhood memories of the noise and steam - Mum is deaf and always insisted it wasn't up to pressure until it was ready to explode!!!!!! She won't use the electric one as she says it doesn't work because she can't hear it.

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[dobbyt]

I'm sorry, I do not understand your concept.

If gas is coming through the ring at the same rate and a sealed container will raise heat quicker that an open one,
and the pressure cooker takes 7mins to cook potatoes and the saucepan take 20mins,
There must be a saving?

I agree there are grounds for believing, on the face of it, there will be savings in energy because the cooking times are shorter and the lid keeps heat and steam in better but it is not just about the cooking times and lid sealing efficiency. The bringing to the boil uses most of the energy involved surprisingly.

Revisit what you have said and make real allowances for the time the rings are on at full volume for each utensil to reach its cooking temperature. It will not surprise you to know that it takes longer for the cooker to reach its operating(cooking) temperature of 115°C compared with a saucepan getting to 100°C. That difference will surprise you and in my 'experiment' it was well, well more than the lidded saucepan. That overrun is significant for this discussion.

Once at cooking temperature both rings will be put to simmer settings that will maintain the operating temperatures. The cooker's simmer level has to be higher than the saucepan's because of the higher temperature that has to be maintained.

Without having absolute numbers to give you it may be difficult to persuade but the overrun of full volume energy, mentioned above, needed to bring the cooker to temperature is way more than is needed to simmer the saucepan for 20 mins at 100°C.

Try it and see.

 

[L' Hobo]

It will not surprise you to know that it takes longer for the cooker to reach its operating(cooking) temperature of 115°C compared with a saucepan getting to 100°C. That difference will surprise you and in my 'experiment' it was well, well more than the lidded saucepan. That overrun is significant for this discussion.

Once at cooking temperature both rings will be put to simmer settings that will maintain the operating temperatures. The cooker's simmer level has to be higher than the saucepan's because of the higher temperature that has to be maintained.

While I agree with you in paragraph (1) I, in my experience, disagree with you strongly in paragraph (2)

Once my oven top gas cooker has reached it operating temperature, because little heat & pressure can escape, (unlike a saucepan with a loose fitting lid,) it take very little heat to keep it to operating pressure. (occasionally, it has to be moved off the heat)

But who cares as long as the food is cooked and enjoyed!

 

[MattR]

Sorry to contradict. It does not save energy, just time! The makers are happy to let us believe and share that 'fact'.

A long time ago I believed but had my doubts so on a day when I had nothing better to do I set about logging the energy usage.

The plan was to boil potatoes in a normal lidded saucepan and, separately, a pressure cooker using the house meter to record the usage.

This is not going to be a scientific paper report but I will tell you it took twice as many units just to bring the cooker to pressure (115°C) compared to boiling and cooking potatoes (100°C) for 20 minutes. I was shocked.

Rather like getting to 70mph rather than 60mph that extra 15°C takes up a lot of energy.

I haven't done a scientific study of it but as a comparison, my stove top pressure cooker gets to boiling temperature much faster than a standard saucepan and only needs low heat to continue boiling for around 5 mins. Then natural pressure release time continues to cook them without further energy being required. I estimate potatoes require peas than half the energy used for saucepan cooking tatties.

 

[fletche284]

I've been using a stove top (traditional type) pressure cooker recently to cook soups, stews etc. We have just cooked a whole chicken in it and it took approx. 35 mins - 5 mins to give it a bit of browning, 20 mins to cook (but this would be reduced to 17 next time) and 10 mins to naturally pressure release. It was really tasty (with lemon, paprika, garlic, caynne pepper, chicken stock, salt and lots of black pepper). It seems like an ideal way to cook a chicken while saving energy. Has anyone else done this?

We use one and always run under cold water tap to release pressure rather than wait 10 mins

 

[TheAleMan]

Looked at one for the van but too big would have been a good excuse to fit Lithium.

Well yes Lenny, our van is big enough to hide one in, and we do have a few lithiums knocking about which helps alot

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[L' Hobo]

We use one and always run under cold water tap to release pressure rather than wait 10 mins

This method can also be used if you want to add other ingredients to the pot that require different cooking times.

For instance, you could part cook a joint of beef, take the pressure off then add veg and potatoes and it would all be cooked at the same time.

 

[cyberyacht]

28 minutes cooking time!! How are we going to wean ourselves of Russian energy. We need "raw vittles" recipes.

 

[MattR]

28 minutes cooking time!! How are we going to wean ourselves of Russian energy. We need "raw vittles" recipes.

I'll start with at least halving the cooking time of a chicken on a single ring at medium / high for 18 mins rather than a heating a oven to star with. Raw chicken isn't something I am ready for yet

 

[Gillygrim]

In the early sixties my then husband, two babies and I loaded our Renault 4 with an old tent and went to France. Among our 'equipment' was my faithful old Prestige pressure cooker. Having cooked our evening meal in it I puzzled over how to release the pressure, not having a handy cold water tap. Finally I stood well back and lifted the weight with a handy stick. Almost immediately, there was a banging of doors as our fellow campers, all French, with very posh caravans rushed out to check their tyres, expecting to find them completely flat...... Nearly sixty years later I persuaded John to buy me a Clever Chef Pro and hope to use it later this year when we finally get to hop across the Channel again. It is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, DIY, Sous Vide, Keep Warm for 24 hours, and can delay start. So far I'm delighted with it !

 

[Jays2]

Does anyone cook pasta or rice in the pressure cooker?

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