People often avoid using a pressure cooker because of its ill-famed complex using method that sometimes results in accidents. Though I will advise you to keep your head up from the rumors, because pressure cookers are safer these days as long as you use it correctly.

Pressure cookers are always less time consuming and also gives you a variety of flavors rather than only boiled foods. If you are living in high altitude then pressure cookers will help you in boiling your food 70% faster than normal cooking, as the boiling point of water increase in high altitude.

Rules to follow:

There are two types of pressure cooker available in the market.
•    Stovetop Pressure Cooker
•    Electric Pressure Cooker

How to use?

Stovetop Pressure Cooker:

Do’s:

•    Fill the pressure cooker only up to 2/3rd of the whole space.
•    Leave the 1/3rd space for building pressure.
•    Also give the pressure cooker space to release pressure.
•    If you are cooking for less than 10 minutes then make sure the cooker have at least ½ cup of water.
•    For more than 10 minutes cooking time the cooker needs at least 2 cups of water.
•    If your gasket needs oil for maintenance, oil it accordingly to the manual.

Don’ts:

•    Don't fill the pressure cooker full, otherwise, it will clog the steam vents and can result in dangerous accident.
•    Don’t fill the pressure cooker more than ½ in case of cooking materials that expands like rice.
•    Don’t use excessive oil into your gasket. It is a bad practice.
•    Never store the lid in any way that gasket will crush. Store separately.
•    Don't point the steam release valve towards the stovetop otherwise, you can get some nasty burns.
•    Never put pressure to open the cooker while it is hot. Open the pressure release valve and let the pressure release or you can wait till it cools down.

Electric Pressure Cooker:

These pressure cookers are easy to use and much safer than the stovetop ones. So the instructions are very brief.

Before cooking:

•    You can use the simmer or browning settings and cook any food you want.
•    Always add the required amount of liquid.
•    After locking the lid and turning the pressure release valve properly set the cooker to a high or low setting.
•    You can set the timer.
•    See if the pressure indicator valve is on.

After cooking:

•    Once the cooking is over you can open the cooker slowly or quickly.
•    You can wait 10-15 minutes until the cooker cools down.
•    Or you can use a long spoon and lift the pressure release valve to release the pressure.

How to choose a pressure cooker?

You can choose your cooker according to your need and the preference of using method from AllKitchenFind. We have a detailed content on ratings of each type of Pressure cooker.

Author: Ruchi Gupta
I have been an active blogger for more than 15 years and have extensive experience writing for varied genres. I am well abreast with the skills needed for online marketing and have taken a weekend professional course on internet marketing and SEO to enhance my qualifications in online field.