I received a gift of a pressure cooker for my birthday a couple of months ago

[gollygee]

I have done nothing with it yet. It's an electric one, which I understand isn't as desirable as a stove-top one, but it's programmable and I like the idea of being able to program it in advance.

I googled "pressure cooker" hoping to find recipe suggestions here, but of course all that came up were links about the Boston Marathon.

If you have a pressure cooker, what do you do with it? My memories of pressure cookers all involve my mom and warnings to stay away from it and not mess with it. I guess I've become a bit scared of them from childhood, but apparently there's nothing to be worried about with this electric one.

It has a non-stick coating in the pot, which made me less interested, but then I saw that I can order a stainless steel pot. I've been reading about pressure cookers a bit here and there, and now I'm thinking about trying this one out.

[BainsBane]

1. I've used it for beans

and boiled peanuts.

[Warpy]

2. Google is kinda dumb

in that you have to tell it everything you're looking for or it'll only turn up the latest news stories, people who want to sell you stuff you don't need, and porn or woo pages that don't tell you anything at all.

Googling "Pressure Cooker Recipes" netted 3,730,000 pages, some of which are certain to contain recipes. The first page did.

You are not going to believe that first pressure cooker whole chicken and pot roast.

[NYC_SKP]

3. I know this from a scientific point of view:

A pressure cooker will allow you to cook well above boiling temperatures without the liquid boiling.

Things should cook hotter and faster and without losing moisture as it's a closed system.

Now, from Cooks Illustrated:

Pressure cookers can be intimidating. Before I began testing them, I had heard countless stories about ­exploding ­cookers—usually ones belonging to someone’s grandmother. This made the whole enterprise seem mysterious and dangerous, or at least very messy. But after spending weeks testing 12 models of pressure cookers, I can report that they are as safe as any other cookware—and definitely worth getting to know. Pressure cookers are surprisingly simple to use and in less than an hour can produce food that tastes as if you spent all day over the stove. You don’t have to tell a soul that your savory, fork-tender pot roast, pulled pork, short ribs, or stew cooked in record time—and most of that time was hands-off. Dried beans are creamy and tender after just 10 minutes under pressure. Risotto needs just 6 minutes under pressure to reach the perfect consistency. Recipes once saved for weekends, or the slow cooker, can be started when you get home from work.

Pressure cookers function based on a very simple principle: In a tightly sealed pot, the boiling point of liquid is higher. As the pot heats up, pressure begins to build. This pressure makes it more difficult for water molecules to turn to vapor—therefore raising the boiling point from 212 to 250 degrees. Why does this matter? The superheated steam generated in the cooker makes food cook faster. And because the pot stays closed, cooking requires much less liquid than usual, and flavors concentrate. As a bonus, this method also uses less energy: Once pressure is reached, you cook with the heat turned down as low as possible, and cooking times are short.

Pressure cookers have been around for a long time. In 1679, French mathematician and physicist Denis Papin invented the “steam digester,” the earliest-known pressure cooker; still, it wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that smaller pressure cookers were introduced for home cooks. After World War II, demand boomed for pressure cookers, and some accounts note that unscrupulous manufacturers made shoddy cookers that were prone to explosions. Older cookers had “jiggle tops” that rattled and puffed while they cooked. Today’s models use spring-loaded valves, which are silent and vent mere wisps of steam when pressurized. In other words, today’s pressure cookers are quieter and simpler and have many more safety features than your grandmother’s cooker did.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment/overview.asp?docid=41600

[eridani]

4. I use mine mainly for beans

Cuts the cooking time substantially. Very useful for soups and stews.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I have a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker which...

I think is vastly superior to, and safer than, the stovetop ones available. For one thing, it shuts itself off if it gets too hot while stovetop ones might just blow up if the relief valve gets clogged. (Although any pressure cooker blowing up nowadays is an extreme rarity) It also shuts itself off when the cooking is done so you don't have to worry over it.

It has a "simmer" setting, which implies it could be used as a crockpot, although I haven't tried that yet. Has a few other settings, too,

I mainly use it for chickens and large cuts like corned beef and pork roasts that I want to cook through. Works very fast for them, but the skin doesn't get crisp if that's important. (There is a "crisp" setting that might help, although I've never tried it.) Seems that the pressure helps infuse any spices or flavorings so the fast cooking doesn't mean no flavor. It does mean tender-- very tender.

It might be usable on its low pressure setting for veggies, but I haven't had the need or interest to try. Beans and things, though, it definitely works, as Eridiani said above.

It has the non-stick pot, but that doesn't bother me. Temperatures don't get high enough to cause problems with whatever that coating is. If you feel more comfortable with the stainless steel pot, go for it but do use the thing.

Just read the instructions that came with it-- things like how high to fill it, what the different settings mean, times and settings for different foods... all these are important. And there may be recipes in there.

One last thing-- with summer coming, any excuse to not turn on the stove or oven is worthwhile exploring, and this gadget will not significantly heat up the kitchen.

[dem in texas]

6. I used to use a pressure cooker all the time.

Back in the 70's we lived in the country and I had a large garden. A pressure cooker is a must if you can vegetables from the garden. I also used it to cook dry beans, pot roasts and stews. Stews were my favorite thing cooked in the pressure cooker. It shortens the cooking time by a huge amount which is good for dry beans and tougher cuts of meat. Mine was the stove top kind and I never had a problem with it.

[Lucinda]

7. I'm still a little skittish - but here is a link to a blog with some interesting recipes

for electric pressure cookers:

http://peggyunderpressure.com/

[Warpy]

10. Don't be. They only blew up a lot in the 30s

and now when some self appointed savior of the world packs one with fireworks.

They're quite safe now, both the pressure valve and relief valve getting stuck is a remote possibility, even with split peas.

Even in the 30s, it was more a case of the lid blowing off and the kitchen redecorated with soup du jour than shrapnel killing Mama.

[wildeyed]

8. You can make the best pot roast with a pressure cooker.

More tender than regular stovetop or crockpot. I also use mine to make beans, stock, brown rice; anything that requires a long cook time.

[gollygee]

9. I have water in it now to make sure it works

It took a while to get to the pressure it needed to get to before the clock started counting down.

I am going to try making a curry in it tonight. Fingers are crossed.

[Jazzgirl]

11. I use it for short ribs, oxtails, greens, pot roast,

Anything that you can braise can be cooked in a pressure cooker. I don't have an eletric one. I do have two stovetop cookers and love them both. I'm not sure I would want the electric one but I do know I have plenty of control of the ones I have. You also use a lot less water so food isn't quite as 'wet".