A pressure cooker steams food with pressure. It is a sealed vessel which is made up of metal pan body, two handles, a sealing ring also known as a gasket, a steam vent that regulates the level of pressure in the pan, locking lid, pressure gauge, and a pressure indicator pin. It also consists of a trivet, steamer basket and a metal divider and many more features and accessories among others.
Pressure cooking is a faster way of cooking foods. It is a method of cooking that is faster than the conventional cooking method.
Some people see pressure cooker as a kind of investment in health as well as time and it is believed that having a pressure cooker in your home can help to minimize cost, thus maximizing savings.
Having a pressure cooker as part of your kitchen utensils in your various home has a lot of benefits attached to it. One of its key benefits falls in the aspect of health as the utilization of the cooker according to studies carried out by various researchers, retains about 50% nutrients (including vitamins and minerals).
In addition to the above, other benefits that the pressure cooker has included its fast nature, as it cooks food faster than conventional cooking method as discussed earlier. For instance, a meal that might take 5 minutes to cook using the conventional cooking method, might actually take 2 minutes or less if the pressure cooker is used. It is always very easy and safe to use as it just requires little water and monitoring. Also possesses great safety mechanism as well as safety backups.
More so, the pressure cooker uses less gas and electricity and reduces spillage on the cooking oven (if the stovetop pressure cooker is utilized), thus making the cooking process clean and smooth.
Often times, people are usually in a kind of dilemma when it comes to choosing a perfect pressure cooker for their homes. Below are a few things that need to be put into consideration in order to get an idea or superb pressure cooker that suits your home need:
◆ SIZE
The size of pressure cookers varies, as they often range from 4 quarts to 30 quarts and this is one of the most important criteria for choosing a perfect pressure cooker for your home. You may want to consider the quantity of food you cook for the family when choosing the size of the pressure cooker but is advisable to go for a bigger pressure cooker to be on a safer side. Asides considering the size of one’s family, according to research conducted, the pressure cooker should be filled at most, two-thirds above and halfway if one is cooking food that foams.
It is therefore desirable to consider buying a minimum of 6 quarts pressure cooker and a maximum of 8 quarts. But If one can afford 12 quarts, it’s very okay as this might save a single man or lady that uses a smaller pressure cooker of say, 4 quarts, the stress of having to look for a way to cook a larger amount of food when his/her friends come around.
◆ QUALITY
Choosing a pressure cooker that is highly made up of durable and quality stainless steel is an ideal option, as stainless steels come in different categories with varying qualities. For a stainless steel to be considered as a perfect stainless, it should at least have 10.5% chromium.
When purchasing a pressure cooker, it is important to confirm the components of the metal or steel used to make such a cooker and this composition is usually stated at the bottom of the pressure cooker. A pressure cooker that has a composition of chromium of at least 10.5% to 18 and a nickel of up to 10% is an ideal cooker as steel that has chromium has resistance to stain as well as corrosion with the nickel which protects the chromium layer and gives it a good shine.
It is also important to avoid nonstick coatings because they can get scratched by sharp objects or kitchen utensils and once scratched, can get easily damaged which might become a hindrance to achieving its designed purpose.
◆ FUNCTIONS
To get an ideal pressure cooker, it is important to take note of its functions or settings. A pressure cooker should have at least, two pressure settings. Basically, high and low-pressure settings. The high-pressure setting is perfect for foods that take the longest time to cook while the low-pressure setting is used for food that requires lesser cooking time such as fish, pasta etc.
◆ CHECK PRODUCT REVIEW
Reading users product review can serve as a guide to choose a perfect pressure cooker as comments from various users can give a clearer picture on what is and what is not about the product you want to purchase such as the pros and cons of the product. It can also give you an idea of the price and other details that you may require.
◆ GETTING A PERFECT BRAND
Finally, having known all necessary things to consider when getting a pressure cooker, the next question is what brand can give you all you want. It is important to purchase from a highly known and reputable company such as Power Pressure Cooker as this will give you a high sense of security in terms of quality and replacement of certain part of the cooker when the need arises.
