I have fond memories of my mom’s old shaker-top pressure cooker. She would use it to cook fresh corn from the farm stand or from our backyard garden, when the rhythm of the pressure regulator shushing and rocking along would presage the sweet, steamy aroma of corn blossoming through the kitchen.
I bought mine moons later, when I was going through a quasi-vegetarian stage in law school. I was cooking all manner of dried beans for protein, and I didn’t really have time for it, so I invested in a “second generation” pressure cooker that would cook by beans in 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Lorna Sass‘s fantastic vegetarian cookbook showed me the way, with easy, tasty recipes for lentil soup and pasta y fagioli that were ready in a snap. Genius!
A pressure cooker cooks food faster because water boils at a higher temperature under pressure. That sounds familiar from high school physics, doesn’t it? It might sound a little scary to be creating so much pent-up pressure in your kitchen, but don’t fret! Pressure cookers have vents that will let excess pressure escape before it becomes dangerous. (But when cooking foods like beans, be careful to use a “second generation” pressure cooker instead of my mom’s old shaker-top. An errant bean skin can cover the vent in old school cookers, which can be a recipe for disaster! Always follow the directions that accompany your pressure cooker.)
I’ve hauled my pressure cooker out of storage recently — they’re great for cooking soups, veggies, and yes, beans. My sister has been talking big about her pressure cooker version of potato leek soup, which I may wring out of her yet. Stay tuned!
Clacked by Molly B.
on Mar 09, 2009 @ 10:05 EST5EDT
