Pressure Cookers

lustyd

lustyd

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Hi all I was just watching Delos and realised I've never owned a pressure cooker but possibly should. I don't know what to look for, presumably steel is better than aluminium as per normal pans. Stowage on board looks like a consideration, any recommendations in terms of handle design? What size should I get for a couple of us? What else have I not thought about?
 
I prefer a slow cooker to cooking with pressure in a confined space that is floating just incase something goes very, very wrong and the darn thing explodes.
 
Normal cooking for me. Slow cooking is too slow on board and pressure cooking imho is only good for making the inedible scarcely edible.
 
The modern pressure cooker designs are much safer. We have a Kuhn Rikon tall model, but I see they also do a frying pan version which looks more versatile for use on board

Perfect for curries and stews
 
We use a small stainless steel pressure cooker you can make excellent meals. Beef stews and taties and veg,curries . Any number of meals in under an hour. Great when you've been busy . Ours even comes home and goes in the campervan. Highly recommend.
 
My day job is in food and drink (I am a reformed chef) and my pressure cooker is my most used piece of non-basic kitchen kit at home (after knives, normal pots and pans etc). I haven’t yet got one for my (recently acquired) boat but I definitely will.

IMO you want a modern one with pressure indicators. These tell you if you are at medium pressure or high pressure (roughly 6 and 12psi); modern recipes are based around these standards. They also mean you can cook without ever venting steam (good for cabin humidity if on a small boat) if you keep an eye on the visual indicator. They are very safe, very easy to use and are relatively quiet if they go over pressure and vent (unlike the thing my grandmother used which shook and rattled like a volcano that was about to blow).

In terms of brands, the German and Swiss ones tend to be best quality (though pricier than others). I’ve been eyeing a Kuhn Rico (available without protruding handles) for my boat. Seb also make ones without long handles but IME their build quamity isn’t quite as good. I don’t know where you are, but you’ll find the same pressure cookers are dramatically cheaper in France or Germany (where their use is more established) than in the UK.

If you don’t already use one and have recipes you like, I strongly recommend this book which is excellent. A lot of great one pot food in there, ideal for the boat. Anyone who thinks the pressure cooker is just for boiling veg is missing a huge trick. The Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Over 150 Simple, Essential, Time-Saving Recipes: Amazon.co.uk: Phipps, Catherine: 8601300065427: Books

As for people who question their safety on a boat: there’s a good reason why almost all the Vendée skippers used them (even if only to rehydrate freeze dried food). Do you think an open saucepan is safer in lumpy seas, or a sealed one with a clamped on lid (and plenty of safety devices built in)? Add in huge time and fuel savings and - for me - it is a no-brainer.
 
mullet said:
My day job is in food and drink (I am a reformed chef) and my pressure cooker is my most used piece of non-basic kitchen kit at home (after knives, normal pots and pans etc). I haven’t yet got one for my (recently acquired) boat but I definitely will.

IMO you want a modern one with pressure indicators. These tell you if you are at medium pressure or high pressure (roughly 6 and 12psi); modern recipes are based around these standards. They also mean you can cook without ever venting steam (good for cabin humidity if on a small boat) if you keep an eye on the visual indicator. They are very safe, very easy to use and are relatively quiet if they go over pressure and vent (unlike the thing my grandmother used which shook and rattled like a volcano that was about to blow).

In terms of brands, the German and Swiss ones tend to be best quality (though pricier than others). I’ve been eyeing a Kuhn Rico (available without protruding handles) for my boat. Seb also make ones without long handles but IME their build quamity isn’t quite as good. I don’t know where you are, but you’ll find the same pressure cookers are dramatically cheaper in France or Germany (where their use is more established) than in the UK.

If you don’t already use one and have recipes you like, I strongly recommend this book which is excellent. A lot of great one pot food in there, ideal for the boat. Anyone who thinks the pressure cooker is just for boiling veg is missing a huge trick. The Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Over 150 Simple, Essential, Time-Saving Recipes: Amazon.co.uk: Phipps, Catherine: 8601300065427: Books

As for people who question their safety on a boat: there’s a good reason why almost all the Vendée skippers used them (even if only to rehydrate freeze dried food). Do you think an open saucepan is safer in lumpy seas, or a sealed one with a clamped on lid (and plenty of safety devices built in)? Add in huge time and fuel savings and - for me - it is a no-brainer.
Click to expand...
Completely agree better much better put than my response
 
First Mate fancied a better sort of pressure cooking at home and went for an 'Instant Pot', a computerised electric one.

An excellent choice.

We are so impressed we invested in a smaller one for the boat.

We do have a big Genset which is used every morning we are away from shorepower for a tank of hot water, a good kick in the house bank plus charging all the devices and now cooking a meal.

Worth looking up the device and more especially the reveiws about them.

A very authentic Hungarian Goulash can be cooked, potatoes and all, in 45 minutes.

On the stove or in an oven usually over 3 hours.
 
Thanks all some good info there. I'm not sure I'm ready to invest in one of the high end ones but I feel like it's confirmed that they will be a useful addition to the galley :)
 
Imminent Gale warning..........

Shorten sail, take a fix (old school), pressure cooker on (sometimes x 2).
48 -72 hours of hot food and snacks without any further prep or people stood in front of cooker. Leave excess food in cooker, when food cools the seal helps preserve it, just add water and reheat.
If expecting prolonged bad weather, top up the second pc with water and ice cubes to keep food fresh, when required drain out the excess water, place on heat, lid on so no spillages, walk away from cooker until it's ready and then turn off cooker from side with zero risk of scalds.

Does main meals plus 3am mugs of piping hot stew to warm hands and hearts. Never sail without one.
 
I recently bought a stainless steel 3 litre one for the boat, having never owned one before. Have only made soups so far, but very easy to use and so quick. I store mine in the oven when not in use.
 
I have a 2l stainless pressure cooker on board which does the job but I find I use it less and less. Low temps and long cooking times in a decent pan with a tight lid are just as effective both in terms of gas consumption and cooking outcomes. This also allows you to check on cooking progress which a PC does not unless you cool it right down then go through the palaver of reheating it.
I appreciate that most domestic and marine cookers' detente settings are woefully inadequate and it takes a bit of twiddling to match heat input to heat loss so that the pan doesn't boil dry but maintains a low simmer but it is possible.
PCs are OK for beans and lentils or getting a large, tough joint on the go but not much else. Slow cookers are inefficient compared to a well controlled gas hob, even in a domestic setting where amps aren't an issue, they're only advantage being the timer.
That said, I've no idea why some peeps think modern PCs will explode. Do they also worry about their engines exploding which operate at many times greater pressure and lack a fusible plug, pressure relief valve etc.?
 
Last edited:
Quiddle said:
That said, I've no idea why some peeps think modern PCs will explode. Do they also worry about their engines exploding which operate at many times greater pressure and lack a fusible plug, pressure relief valve etc.?
Click to expand...
Do engines boil dry? Do outlet valves stick closed?

I usually single hand. You can often get distracted, with stuff. A slow cooker just keeps cooking, a PC boils dry and cremates your food at best or explodes at worst.
 
We have used pressure cooker with excellent results for many years in the boat, as well as wonderbag for slow cooking.
The wonderbag doubles as a nice pillow in the saloon when not in use :)
 
My escapades with pressure cookers have produced some nice meals and some disasters. When making a green lentil Dahl, it’s either soak over night, or pressure cook, not both. The 9 foot high velocity jet of puréed lentil spraying off the kitchen roof was a sight to behold.
 
You can cook food a bit quicker, which might matter on a long run, to save fuel.
Apart from that, they are a nuisance:
The aluminium gets extremly hot, hotter than boiling water, and it's aim in life is to give you a nasty burn.
They are hard to clean, which uses up the time saved cooking.
You have to measure the water level and ingredients to avoid catastrophes.
You can't easily taste the food, add spices, etc, all the things you normally do when cooking.
If anyone is near Cowes and wants one free, I have one, smallish size, free or it goes to the tip!
Horrible things, never again.
 
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