How Does A Pressure Cooker Work?

When preparing meals with conventional cookware, it will be necessary to allot a certain amount of time for the food to properly cook.  This will be especially necessary when cooking meats, which can contain harmful bacteria.  In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to return home from work and make a meal for the family from scratch.  It can take hours to get dinner on the table when cooking in this manner, so often all that is done is to throw a ‘TV dinner’ into the microwave.  However, there is a way to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals even if your time is limited, and that is by using a pressure cooker.  pressure cookers are much heavier than ordinary pots as they must stand up to the pressurethat builds up during cooking.

Steam And Pressure

pressure cookers will cook food in only about one third of the time needed because of the high pressure and temperature inside the pot.  An ordinary pot can only raise the temperature of the food inside it to 212 F, regardless of how much heat you apply.  The steam produced by the cooking process escapes from the pot, even one with a cover, and this is why the temperature of the contents cannot go above the boiling point.  A pressure cooker, however, creates a sealed environment that prevents the steam from leaving.  Steam has a greater volume than water and when it is trapped and unable to escape, it will create a higher pressure, up to 15 pounds per square inch.  It is this increased pressure that raises the temperature inside the pressure cooker as high as 250 F.  

How To Use A pressure cooker

It is easy to prepare a complete meal, if so desired, in a pressure cooker.  The desired food and the proper amount of water are placed into the cooker.  The lid is put on and then be sealed to the bottom section of the appliance – usually by twisting it to engage locking flanges, or sometimes by engaging toggles or arms, depending on the manufacturer.  The cooker is then put on the heat source, which will be turned to high.  As the contents of the cooker heat, and steam is produced, the pressure and temperature will climb.  When the proper pressure is reached, the heat is lowered to maintain it.  Some cookers will vent steam automatically, but others will have a safety valve that will have to be placed on the cooker, usually once the correct pressure has been achieved.

Because steam expands so greatly inside the pressure cooker, you should remember never to overfill the pot.  Most pressure cookers should never be filled more than two thirds, and half-filled is even better.  Never put too much liquid into the cooker, either, as too much steam will be produced.  Always use pressure cooker recipes when preparing a meal using this equipment.  Make sure to clean your cooker completely after each use, especially the lid.

Depending upon the food in the cooker, dinner or any other meal will usually be done in fifteen to twenty minutes.  When the food is ready, you can cool the pot beneath the faucet or use the quick release method and then open the cooker.Modern pots will not allow the top to be removed until the steam has been safely vented.