Pressure Cookers

Davina · Post by **Davina** » 20 Sep 2007, 12:25

I've been moaning about being a working mum and never getting dinner ready in time.. I've been told that pressure cookers are

easy to use
Fast
use less energy
preserve more vitamins in cooking

Before I lay out Â£50 of my hard earned cash to buy one I thought I'd get your thoughts?? Are they as usful as this lady says? I tend to cook everything from scratch as it tends to be cheaper and you know what your eating and love making stews its just the 3 hours in the oven that does me in..

Any views would be greatly appreciated.

ged · Post by **ged** » 20 Sep 2007, 12:33

:mrgreen:
Hi Davina,
personal fave of mine is a slow cooker,very economical,far less dangerous than a pressure cooker!
atb
ged )c+

Post by Mo » 20 Sep 2007, 12:34

Wow, I've just voted.
I've never been 100% of anything before!
My Mother-in law said I needed one so her mother provided one for a wedding present.
I used to use it to start the fruit for jams and marmalade, till they said 'don't use aluminium'
I still speed up my Christmas Puds in it.
Prefer to stew meat in the oven.
Can't do steamed puddings successfully in it or in a pan.

You need to replace the rubber ring from time to time - and if they change the model you may need an obsolete one (ask before you buy). If you drop the lid or pan and bend it slightly, it may not seal properly.
I suppose I don't use mine enough to search for the replacement ring, it seals - ish-.

morph · Post by **morph** » 20 Sep 2007, 12:46

Haven't got one at all and there's not choice in the poll for that!!!

If you're looking for a pressure cooker, why not register with your local freecycle and see if you can get one from there. It's really good and you can get hold off some good stuff - I managed to get some seed pots and trats recently - shared the rest with a couple of friends with greenhouses!!

Post by **wendy** » 20 Sep 2007, 13:13

I haven't got one either, so can't vote LOL
I have to be honest and say when I used to go to my sister in law who used hers all the time, I wasn't over struck on the taste.
But I do have a slow cooker, but rarely see's the light of day. That may be a better choice, shove it in there before you go to work and hey presto! it is ready when you walk in the door.
Wendy

Post by Mo » 20 Sep 2007, 13:24

Brilliant idea morph - put a 'wanted' on Freecycle and promise to pass it on to someone else if you find you're not using it.

AnnaB · Post by **AnnaB** » 20 Sep 2007, 16:32

Hi Davina

Thanks for the poll but I don't have one either! I use a steamer not electric and it only uses one ring. You have to learn the cooking times of everything so know when to add each one. It is a double decker and has a bain marie which is useful for keeping things warm. Its gammon tonight and this will go into the water at the bottom.

I did try a pressure cooker years ago and didn't like it - too much messing about waiting for steam, weights, noise......

b_cos_1_can · Post by **b_cos_1_can** » 20 Sep 2007, 16:59

lol
i dont have one either! but my old boss used to swear by hers!
i have a slow cooker which is great for bunging it all in the night before or first thing in the morning and it all being ready for lunch or dinner next day! :-D

Jodi · Post by **Jodi** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:54

I've never used one, don't want one either.

When I was working, I'd cook "the night before" so each night, dinner would be ready when I got home (unless it was something really quick) and I could get the next nights meal ready without the rush.

Slow cookers are great - if you're organised, but great results.

I do my stews on the stove top, everything browned off then onto a very low heat. From start to finish, takes about an hour, and the smell in the house reminds me of being a little kid sitting in my Nanna's kitchen :-D

cheers
Jodi

derra · Post by **derra** » 24 Sep 2007, 22:35

I hate pressure cookers with a deep seated passion. Comes from the time my mother used one constantly. She also had a passion for overcooking everything in them so washing them up ( it was my chore till I left home) was a total nightmare. Ive a 35 year old pressure cooker in the stable, never used, mother bought it for me as christmas present before I married!

Derra

chucky egg · Post by **chucky egg** » 25 Sep 2007, 13:33

I don't have one either. My my swears by hers but to be honest the noise scars me...just waiting for it to 'go off'
I'll stick with a big saucepan with everything in it together..

Wendy (Chucky Egg)

Post by **Richard** » 27 Sep 2007, 18:09

Hope you don't mind Davina, but added 'Don't have one'
Sure it was an oversight.

I've used them and found them excellant, just a bit cumbersum. Ged, agree with you, but scared I may get back late and find myself homeless!!

Thanks, Richard

Post by Mo » 27 Sep 2007, 19:31

Just remembered what I use mine for.
Boiling gammon joints.
But not worth buying one just for that and Christmas Puddings.

Tania · Post by **Tania** » 27 Sep 2007, 21:15

I used to have one and used it a lot. Have been thinking of getting another but when I looked at them they seem "new fangled" and it put me off. I was always wary of it, can remember my mum's blowing the safety vent when I was a child and the kitchen being spray painted with stew!

Davina · Post by **Davina** » 28 Sep 2007, 11:23

Looking at your responses I think it would be much safer for me to stick to the slow cooker that I already have and cooking stews and suchlike the night before.. I'm notorious for forgetting pans :oops:

while going off to do exciting stuff like changing nappies or rocking and drooling in a corner for that spare 10 mins in a day!! I may try the stew in a pan...

Thank you so much for all your responses

Davina )c+