Pressure Cookers: A Kitchen Classic Basic

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Some of my first cooking memories as a child are of a loud hissing noise emanating from my mom's little kitchen.  This was usually on a weekend when mom's Roast Beef Dinner with Potatoes and Carrots were usually   oursundaydinnermenun    .I remember my first Christmas being married.  One of the top three items on my wish list was for a pressure cooker.  I wanted one REALLY bad and I must have told a lot of people because I ended up getting two that year.  No problem.  My sister got two waffle makers, so we each swapped our extra appliances.  Perfect.

I used that little cooker for a LONG time.  It was perfect for the two of us as I was working full time and it was a fast way to cook a small roast when I got home from a long day.  I actually still have it even though it's a few decades old now.  I went on to buy a 12 quart pressure cooker too.  I use that almost exclusively for canning, but I did use it different times when I was cooking a roast beef dinner for a lot of people.  

What's so great about pressure cooking? 

1) It's first and foremost advantage is its ability to cook fast...really fast.  How about cutting down on the cooking time from 3 hours to 1 hour?  That's right.  It can cut cooking time by 1/3 on many recipes. Why is that an advantage?  Well, knowing that you're food will turn out well and cook fast easy makes cooking at home an advantage.  Especially if you're working full time or just busy in general.  It makes meal planning a bit easier too.  You don't have to start a meal 6-8 hours in advance when you're too busy to plan on what's for supper.  I love my crockpot too, but it definitely takes thought to get a meal together when you slow cook.

2) It's my favorite way to cook dried beans.  
Cooking dried beans in a pressure cooker is a dream!  I actually purchased my latest pressure cooker (electric) with cooking beans in mind.  It's so fast and easy and of course, so much better and economical than a can of salted canned beans.  I also like the idea of being able to store lots of dried beans in the pantry with rice.  They're great to have on hand.  (Read my post, 3 Fool-Proof Ways to Cook Dried Beans.

3) It's a great way to cook leaner cuts of meat which means saving $$$.
Go ahead and buy those round steaks and roasts.  I love my crockpot and they do a nice job of cooking, but if I'm short on time...my pressure cooker comes to the rescue!  My sister made a roast beef dinner complete with carrots and potatoes for her family and hungry guests in an hour.  With this kind of efficiency; it;s time to "watch out Rachel Ray, this could be the new 30 60 minute meal sensation!"  Also, if you tend to cook game meat, especially tough cuts of venison, a pressure cooker does a great job tenderizing the meat.

4) A pressure cooker is an excellent way to make quick quality broth/stock.
I was reading a few articles online about making stock with a pressure cooker.  Chefs do this in the kitchen and a recipe for it is in my pressure cooker cooking guide.  It takes about an hour...wow.  I've actually made soup up in a hurry by using the pressure cooker.  

How about the nutritional aspect of pressure cooking? 
A great question to be sure. Even though some vitamins are lost during cooking, the amount of vitamins lost is the same as standard cooking.  And if you consume the cooking liquid, you will regain some of the lost nutrients. According to this Eating Well  online article, "In the case of grains and legumes, although the vitamins and heat-sensitive vitamins and phytonutrients are vulnerable to deterioration, the net result of pressure-cooking is a positive nutritional gain—from the increased digestibility of the macronutrients (protein, fiber and starch) and the increased bioavailability of the essential minerals."  In other words, the beans are actually more easily digested with less "beanly" side effects.

What kind of pressure cooker works for you?
There are so many models to choose from and nowadays they are so much easier to use.  I have an electric model (my latest purchase) and I can put pinto beans in DRY and have them come out fully cooked within 40 minutes!!!  It's miraculous!  I am pretty in "love" with the electric version.  It sautes, browns, warms, and automatically shuts down when finished.  It also doesn't make any noise.  Seriously.  It's a great pressure cooker to start off with as it is so easy to use.  
My one tip?  Get the largest capacity pressure cooker you can afford (mine was under $90.)  You'll want to be able to cook up enough for the family and have extras.  

You may find a pressure cooker at a yard sale.  If you do and it's an old model, make sure you have an instruction book so you can buy a new gasket, and release valve for your cooker.  On my old models, there are only three parts that would need replacing.  The gasket is a rubber seal that can get cracked, brittle or stretched out if too old.  I would suggest asking someone who knows about pressure cookers before purchasing an old one.  Unless the one you find is still in its box and looks new.  These older models are a little trickier to use but if you are patient, completely fine.  I personally love the electric model and plan on keeping this version busy in the kitchen!

This is my electric pressure cooker...LOVE!!

There you have it.  I've come a long way (over 20 years!) since my first Mirro pressure cooker.  And I can't think of getting through my homemaking years without it.  I hope this helps you to make up your mind about this very valuable basic appliance.  It's a bit of an investment, but if you're into cooking, it's definitely an item you'll want to consider.

What are your experiences with a pressure cooker?

Blessings! 

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3 Fool-Proof Ways to Cook Dried Beans

Cold weather in our area means lots of soups and stews featuring pintos, black, limas, garbanzos, navy and great northern beans.  Yep, lots of beans.  But having incorporated lots of these protein rich gems into our diet, I had to rethink the can and visit the world of dried beans. After all, when you cook your own beans, they are much more economical AND you control the amount of sodium that is in them.  I tend to use a light salt (half salt and half potassium) to control the amount of sodium.  You have no choice when buying the canned beans.
But how do you cook them so they are firm and meaty, not mushy or too crunchy?  A great question, and one I'm here to talk about.  I love cooking dried beans and once you master a few basic methods and understand how they cook, it's easy to produce large amounts of beans to cook with and extra to freeze.  Remember, lentils and split peas have short cooking times and don't require pre-soaking, so this post will be about pintos, black and large limas.

 Let's start with a few dried bean basics.  First of all, make sure to rinse your beans well and sort through them.  I have actually found bits of debris that I would NOT want to eat so you won't want to skip this step!.The actual cooking part it pretty easy and I've found three foolproof ways to cook them that work well and which one you choose depends on how much time you have, what equipment you own and how much you want to make.  They all work well and have their advantages.  So I encourage you to try the easiest one for you. 

#1 Long-soaking Method Stovetop:  This involves thinking ahead so you'll want to clean your beans and then measure out how many cups of beans you'll be needing.  You will get about 3 cups of cooked beans from 1 cup of dried.  When cooking beans this way, it makes sense to cook a large batch.  Some to use now and some to freeze for later as they freeze quite well.  The larger the beans (like the large limas) will require longer soaking times. Large lima beans can soak for up to 24 hours. When soaking for extended amount of time, make sure to change the water several times so it doesn't ferment.  Adding a tsp of salt  per pound of beans to the soaking water will help the skins hold their shape and promote more even cooking.   By soaking the beans ahead of time, it will cut the cooking time, ensure even cooking and helps to remove indigestible "oligosaccharides" which are gas producing.  I usually do this the night before and drain the beans in the morning and put in a non-reactive aluminum pan.  Cover with water so it's an inch above the beans.  DO NOT add salt OR tomato sauce OR vinegar at this time.  This will inhibit the beans from absorbing the much needed water.  You CAN add a variety of herbs at this time though.  I like to add a mix of sage, rosemary and thyme.  If you have the herb savory, this also tastes pretty great.  If definitely gives the beans more flavor.  Boil the beans for the first 10 minutes and then turn down the heat to simmer.  This can take 1-2 hours.  I find that it actually takes an average of an hour and a half.  Add any acidic ingredients only AFTER the beans are almost tender.  Stir the beans gently with a wooden spoon to prevent the beans from breaking apart.  Make sure they are always covered with water as well.  You can salt the beans halfway through the cooking time, their skins should be soft enough to absorb the salt.  Allow the beans to cool at least partially in their cooking liquid before draining them.
I like this method when I need to make lots of beans as I can use a large pan for them.  

#2 Using a Slow Cooker: Where would we be without one of these most practical kitchen appliances?  Cooking dried beans in them is another great use for this Americana classic. Follow the long soaking or quick soak method* and cook your beans on low heat overnight or all day.  If you're at work, you will come home to some great cooked beans ready to use.  My crockpot gets really hot on the low setting, so my beans are done much sooner.  You'll want to experiment a bit with your cooker to know how long it takes to cook.  I just check them periodically to see how close they are to being done.  You can only make as many beans as your slow cooker can hold, so this method is good for small to medium sized batches..
  

#3 Using a Pressure Cooker:  This is by far and away my most favorite way to quick cook beans.  How to cook your beans will depend upon your cookers instructions, but here are a few pluses.  You can use a *quick soak method by putting your beans in a saucepan, bring it to a boil for about 2 minutes and then remove from heat, cover and let sit for an hour.  Make sure to drain and rinse beans before final cooking.  I have an electric pressure cooker that I use primarily for beans.  I tend to cook my beans in less time then is suggested in the pressure cooker guide.  I'll be putting the beans in chili or soup, so if they aren't quite done they can finish cooking there.  I would rather under-cook the beans just a tad than to overcook them and see them turn to mush.  With my electric pressure cooker, I don't even have to pre-soak the beans at all.  This is invaluable when I want to make dinner and make it fast!  This makes the smallest amount of beans for me, so I use this method when I'm in a hurry.

The Five Bean Test: Use this test when cooking on the stove or in the crockpot.  I saw this little tip on a Food Network show and it's great.  Since the beans don't always cook at the same rate, take your wooden spoon and gather 5 beans from different places in the pot.  Blow on the beans and if the skin wrinkles on all the beans, then they are usually done.  You'll also want to eat them to make sure they're not chewy.  

Add-ins: Remember, in order to give your beans great flavor, try adding herbs (be creative), onion, garlic for a vegetarian option.  You can also use pork ribs, smoked pig's feet, bacon, and those leftover ham bones from Christmas or Easter.  I generally only season beans with meat when they'll be in a non-chili dish.  Otherwise, I use tomatoes and greens to give them great flavor. 

Well, that's the scoop.  There are a few more ways to cook beans, especially if you're making Boston Baked Beans and the like.  But this will get you started on the successful road to making great cooked beans every time.  

One more tip: I freeze my extra beans in a quart bag for one recipe of chili.  Make sure to use your cooking water as well.  It has nutrients in it as well and I often add it to our chilis. I usually freeze the water in with the beans and they turn out well.  I often use 3 cups of beans for one batch of chili or soup.

Hope this helps! For a great book all about dried legumes...check out "Beans" by Aliza Green.  I found it at our local library and bought a used copy on Amazon.  It has some great general cooking info as well as lots of recipes!

What's your favorite way to cook dried beans?

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