Sometimes when you’re in a hurry to get a meal on the table, you’re really under pressure to prepare a meal fast! It’s tempting to resort to fast food meals or use prepared foods with lots of chemicals in them. Instead, try cheap healthy cooking by using a nice pressure cooker.
Save Time
A pressure cooker makes meal preparation easy and will save lots of time in the kitchen. A meal can be ready three to ten times faster in a pressure cooker, sometimes even quicker than cooking the same food in a microwave!
How Does It Work?
A pressure cooker uses pressure to make the boiling point of water higher. For instance, at sea level, water can only heat up to 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) before it boils and turns into steam. But if the water is put under pressure and cannot escape, the temperature needed to make it boil increases. A pressure cooker allows water to become hotter, which allows food to cook faster.
Is It Safe?
Pressure cookers have come a long way baby! It’s not the hissing beastie of yesteryear, but has an updated design making it safe cookware. Early models didn’t have safety valves, and today there’s at least one, if not two or three, safety features on every cooker. Any cooking method can be dangerous – you’re more or less playing with fire after all! (Okay, some form of HEAT.) But if you read the manual and use simple safety precautions, you shouldn’t have a bit of trouble with a pressure cooker in the healthy kitchen.
A Pressure Cooker Will Work For YOU!
There are lots of good reasons to have a nice pressure cooker in the healthy kitchen. Besides saving time and the fact it’s quite safe, here are a few more:
- Saves Energy: Food doesn’t need to cook as long, so you use less of whatever the heat source is. Good for the environment AND your budget!
- Saves Money: A pressure cooker will also allow you to use some cheaper cuts of meat, because the higher heat will tenderize the meat while keeping the juices intact, making it more palatable.
- Saves Nutrients: Instead of vitamins boiling away in the pot, a pressure cooker preserves the flavor, colors and nutrients because it cooks fast in an airtight cooker.
On top of all that, it’s also easy! You can put everything in the post for a complete meal if you want to.
One Last Note - Don’t Fall For The High Altitude Myth
There’s a misconception that pressure cookers can’t be used at high altitudes. Don’t you believe it! Just about every manual that comes with a nice pressure cooker will have instructions on using the pressure cooker at higher altitudes. THIS INCLUDES USING A PRESSURE COOKER FOR CANNING! It’s merely a matter of changing the number of pounds of pressure according to your altitude.
For instance, when canning, the USDA states, “If using a dial gauge at high altitudes, the pressure in the canner must be increased by 1 pound of pressure for each 2,000 feet above sea level. If using a weighted gauge, the 15 pound weight must be used at all altitudes above 1,000 feet. You do not need to add additional processing time if the pressure of the canner is adequately adjusted.”
Just check your manual for specific instructions for your pressure cooker!
Work Better Under Pressure!
A nice pressure cooker is safe cookware to make cheap healthy cooking easier. Cause sometimes pressure is a good thing, and cooking under pressure is tops!
