Pressure-cook

To pressure-cook is to cook food in a sealed pot, a pressure cooker, that traps steam. The pressure raises the boiling point of water from 100°C (212°F) to about 115 to 121°C (240 to 250°F). Food cooks much faster at that heat: dried beans in under an hour without soaking, tough cuts of beef in about an hour, and stock in less time than on the stove. Stovetop and electric multi-cookers both work this way.

How to do it

1. Brown meat or soften aromatics first, using the pot on the stove or the sauté setting.
2. Add at least the minimum liquid your cooker's manual asks for, often 250 ml (1 cup). It needs water to make steam.
3. Never fill more than two thirds full, or half full for beans, grains and other foods that foam.
4. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and bring it up to pressure.
5. Cook for the time in your recipe, counted from when it reaches pressure.
6. Release the pressure: natural release (wait for the pin to drop, 10 to 30 minutes) for meat, beans and foamy foods; quick release (open the valve) for vegetables and delicate food.
7. Open the lid away from you only when the pressure is fully down.

How to tell it is done

Check the food after releasing. Meat should be fork-tender, beans creamy all the way through. If not, lock the lid and cook a few minutes more.

Why it works

Water boils at a higher temperature under pressure, and food cooks faster in hotter water and steam. The sealed pot also loses almost no liquid, so you need less of it than for a braise on the stove.

Common mistakes

• Too little liquid. The cooker shows a burn warning or scorches the bottom.
• Overfilling. Foam can block the valve.
• Thickening before cooking. Flour and cornstarch can stick and scorch. Thicken after.
• Quick release with beans or soup. Hot liquid can spray out of the valve.
• Using it for canning when it is not rated for that. Pressure canning needs a canner tested to hold a known pressure.