How Pressure Cooker Works: Everything You Need To Know

A pressure cooker is used for cooking food under pressurized heat. It's an excellent alternative to cooking your food faster and healthier. This article will cover how pressure cooker works and other things you need to know.

Pressure Cooker: How Does It Work

The pressure cooker doesn't look far from your regular pot. What makes it different is its specialized cover that locks and comes with thick rubber. The rubber acts as the seal to make sure steam won't come out of the pot while cooking. It also comes with a gauge or pop-up rod on its cover, which works as the cooker's indicator that it has reached the maximum pressure.

Using the pressure cooker is easy. All you need to do is put the food inside the pot and add enough water or any cooking-based liquid to cook the food. Cover the cooker and secure the lock. Next is put it on the stovetop if you are using a standard pressure cooking. If you are using an electric one, just simply set the timer.

Once the cooking process starts, the temperature rises, creating steam. The steam inside is trapped, causing the pot's atmospheric pressure to increase by 15 pounds above the normal sea-level pressure. The increase in pressure is also correlated to the rise in the water's boiling point from 212°F or 100°C to 250°F or 121°C making the food cook faster. Once the pressure reaches maximum pressure, its valve will allow steam to escape while maintaining a regular pressure inside the pot.

Pros And Cons Of Pressure Cooker

Here are some advantages and disadvantages that go with using a pressure cooker.

Advantages:

1. It cooks faster - Since pressure cookers increase the boiling point of the water, it enables the food to cook faster than the conventional way of cooking.
   
   
2. Makes food more flavorful - Since it is securely sealed during the cooking process, the food moisture and juices are also retained inside, thus making the food taste more flavorful.
   
   
3. Preserve nutrients - Because of its ability to cook the food faster, more natural food nutrients are retained.
   
   
4. Safe to use - Don't be scared to use a pressure cooker. It is safely designed with a valve or vent, making sure that once the pressure is too much, it will automatically release the steam to relieve the pressure.
   
   
5. Easy cleaning - Since you will only be using one pot, it is much easier to clean. Even with the electric pressure cooker, the pot inside can be detached for easy cleaning.

Disadvantages:

1. The process of releasing the pressure - This can take time as the natural way of releasing the pressure is to leave and let it cool. Another method is to carry the cooker to your sink and let the water run over it. This will make the release of pressure faster compared to waiting for it to cool down. You'll just have to deal will carrying the heavy pressure cooker.
   
   
2. Multiple Ingredients - If you are going to have multiple ingredients, for example, meat and vegetables, this can be a bit difficult. You'll have to start cooking with the one that's longer to cook. You need to release the pressure for you to open the cooker and add another ingredient.

Conclusion

Now you know how pressure cooker works. Given the pros and cons of using it, it's now up to you if you will pressure cooker a chance.