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Table of Contents
About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You’re Not to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part I: Stress-Free Cooking under Pressure Part II: Making the Best and Safest Use of Your Pressure Cooker Part III: Preparing Delicious Recipes in Your Pressure Cooker Part IV: The Part of Tens Part V: Appendixes Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here
Part I: Stress-Free Cooking under Pressure Part II: Making the Best and Safest Use of Your Pressure Cooker Part III: Preparing Delicious Recipes in Your Pressure Cooker Part IV: The Part of Tens Part V: Appendixes
Chapter 1: Cooking with Pressure 101 Not Your Parents’ Pressure Cooker What Makes a Pot a Pressure Cooker? Surveying What’s Out There Get Cookin’! Presenting six steps to cooking in your pressure cooker Adapting your favorite recipes Chapter 2: The Pressure Cooker: Fact versus Fiction Dispelling Fears about Pressure Cookers A pre–WW II timesaver The untimely demise of the pressure cooker Design changes: A safer, more convenient product Looking at the Benefits of Using a Pressure Cooker Fixing food fast Making cooking convenient and clean Saving energy Offering multifunctionality Doing food deliciously Keeping nutrients in and contaminants out Chapter 3: Exploring Modern Pressure-Cooker Options to Find What You Like Best Putting Price First Picking the Stove or the Plug On the stove With a cord Beyond Pressure: Exploring Other Features of Electric Cookers Slowing it down: The slow-cooker program Fluffing it up: The rice program
Not Your Parents’ Pressure Cooker What Makes a Pot a Pressure Cooker? Surveying What’s Out There Get Cookin’! Presenting six steps to cooking in your pressure cooker Adapting your favorite recipes
Presenting six steps to cooking in your pressure cooker Adapting your favorite recipes
Dispelling Fears about Pressure Cookers A pre–WW II timesaver The untimely demise of the pressure cooker Design changes: A safer, more convenient product Looking at the Benefits of Using a Pressure Cooker Fixing food fast Making cooking convenient and clean Saving energy Offering multifunctionality Doing food deliciously Keeping nutrients in and contaminants out
A pre–WW II timesaver The untimely demise of the pressure cooker Design changes: A safer, more convenient product
Fixing food fast Making cooking convenient and clean Saving energy Offering multifunctionality Doing food deliciously Keeping nutrients in and contaminants out
Putting Price First Picking the Stove or the Plug On the stove With a cord Beyond Pressure: Exploring Other Features of Electric Cookers Slowing it down: The slow-cooker program Fluffing it up: The rice program
On the stove With a cord
Slowing it down: The slow-cooker program Fluffing it up: The rice program
Chapter 4: Understanding How Pressure Cookers Work The Science of the Pressure Cooker The Nuts and Bolts of Stovetop Models Looking at the pot and its cover Relying on the ever-important rubber gasket Regulating pressure (and safety) with valves Examining the Cord, Plug, and Buttons of Electric Models Guidelines for Easy Pressure Cooking Letting Off Some Steam Natural-release method Quick-release methods Doing a Trial Run Chapter 5: Pressure Cooking Basics from Start to Finish First Things First To Get Cooking Under Pressure Keep it clean Inspect the gasket Check the valves Fill the pressure cooker properly Look, listen, and smell Surveying the Three Ways to Cook in a Pressure Cooker Introducing Stop-and-Go Cooking Scenario I: The long and the short of it Scenario II: Soup versus stock Looking at the High and Low of Pressure Determining whether your cooker has reached high pressure Maintaining pressure Now You’re Cooking Is it done yet? Opening the pressure cooker safely A Primer on Pressure Canning Having the right equipment on hand Knowing how long to cook Walking through the steps Diving into pressure canning Keeping Your Pressure Cooker Squeaky Clean and Shiny Storing Your Pressure Cooker Help Is But a Phone Call Away Chapter 6: From the Pot to the Pressure Cooker Preparing the Best Ingredients for Pressure Cooking Meat and poultry Fruits and vegetables Dried beans, legumes, and grains Adjusting Liquids Filling the Pressure Cooker Determining Cooking Times Converting Favorite Recipes for the Pressure Cooker
The Science of the Pressure Cooker The Nuts and Bolts of Stovetop Models Looking at the pot and its cover Relying on the ever-important rubber gasket Regulating pressure (and safety) with valves Examining the Cord, Plug, and Buttons of Electric Models Guidelines for Easy Pressure Cooking Letting Off Some Steam Natural-release method Quick-release methods Doing a Trial Run
Looking at the pot and its cover Relying on the ever-important rubber gasket Regulating pressure (and safety) with valves
Natural-release method Quick-release methods
First Things First To Get Cooking Under Pressure Keep it clean Inspect the gasket Check the valves Fill the pressure cooker properly Look, listen, and smell Surveying the Three Ways to Cook in a Pressure Cooker Introducing Stop-and-Go Cooking Scenario I: The long and the short of it Scenario II: Soup versus stock Looking at the High and Low of Pressure Determining whether your cooker has reached high pressure Maintaining pressure Now You’re Cooking Is it done yet? Opening the pressure cooker safely A Primer on Pressure Canning Having the right equipment on hand Knowing how long to cook Walking through the steps Diving into pressure canning Keeping Your Pressure Cooker Squeaky Clean and Shiny Storing Your Pressure Cooker Help Is But a Phone Call Away
Keep it clean Inspect the gasket Check the valves Fill the pressure cooker properly Look, listen, and smell
Scenario I: The long and the short of it Scenario II: Soup versus stock
Determining whether your cooker has reached high pressure Maintaining pressure
Is it done yet? Opening the pressure cooker safely
Having the right equipment on hand Knowing how long to cook Walking through the steps Diving into pressure canning
Preparing the Best Ingredients for Pressure Cooking Meat and poultry Fruits and vegetables Dried beans, legumes, and grains Adjusting Liquids Filling the Pressure Cooker Determining Cooking Times Converting Favorite Recipes for the Pressure Cooker
Meat and poultry Fruits and vegetables Dried beans, legumes, and grains
Chapter 7: Spoon Foods: Stocks, Soups, and Great Grain Dishes Stocking Up on Stocks Making stock Using and storing stock Acquiring the key ingredients Soup under Pressure Discovering the Goodness of Grain Chapter 8: Fork-Tender Stews Flavor, Flavor, Flavor: The Makings of a Great Stew! A cut above the rest: Selecting your meat Browning your meat Sautéing and deglazing Season away! Adding the veggies Stews: Meals of Convenience Chapter 9: Enjoying Roasts and Prime Poultry Any Day of the Week Producing Fabulous Results in Half the Time Recognizing That Not All Cuts Are Created Equal Making the most of beef Picking pork Looking at lamb Perusing poultry Keeping Meats Out of Hot Water (Or Other Liquids) Is It Done Yet? A Roast in Every Pot Chapter 10: Dried Beans and the Pressure Cooker: A Match Made in Heaven! Beans: A Powerhouse of Good Things “Dried” Doesn’t Mean “All Dried Up” To Soak or Not to Soak? That Is the Question Overnight soaking Quick soaking Getting the Hang of Cooking Beans A Potful of Beans Is a Cook’s Best Friend Chapter 11: Vegetables: Nature’s Nourishing Bounty Saving Time and Nutrients Steaming Your Vegetables Eat Those Veggies! Chapter 12: Dynamite Desserts and Fabulous Fruits Using the Pressure Cooker as a Hot Water Bath Cheesecakes, Custards, and Other Tasty Treats Fruit Sauces, Chutneys, and Sparkling Jars of Fruit Chapter 13: Recipes for Special Diets Exploring Some Common Special Diets Discovering the Protein Punch of Beans Adapting Existing Recipes Pressure Cooking for Special Diets
Stocking Up on Stocks Making stock Using and storing stock Acquiring the key ingredients Soup under Pressure Discovering the Goodness of Grain
Making stock Using and storing stock Acquiring the key ingredients
Flavor, Flavor, Flavor: The Makings of a Great Stew! A cut above the rest: Selecting your meat Browning your meat Sautéing and deglazing Season away! Adding the veggies Stews: Meals of Convenience
A cut above the rest: Selecting your meat Browning your meat Sautéing and deglazing Season away! Adding the veggies
Producing Fabulous Results in Half the Time Recognizing That Not All Cuts Are Created Equal Making the most of beef Picking pork Looking at lamb Perusing poultry Keeping Meats Out of Hot Water (Or Other Liquids) Is It Done Yet? A Roast in Every Pot
Making the most of beef Picking pork Looking at lamb Perusing poultry
Beans: A Powerhouse of Good Things “Dried” Doesn’t Mean “All Dried Up” To Soak or Not to Soak? That Is the Question Overnight soaking Quick soaking Getting the Hang of Cooking Beans A Potful of Beans Is a Cook’s Best Friend
Overnight soaking Quick soaking
Saving Time and Nutrients Steaming Your Vegetables Eat Those Veggies!
Using the Pressure Cooker as a Hot Water Bath Cheesecakes, Custards, and Other Tasty Treats Fruit Sauces, Chutneys, and Sparkling Jars of Fruit
Exploring Some Common Special Diets Discovering the Protein Punch of Beans Adapting Existing Recipes Pressure Cooking for Special Diets
Chapter 14: Ten Problems and How to Handle Them The Cover Won’t Close The Cooker’s Pressure Won’t Rise Your Cooker Is Leaking Steam The Safety Valves Went Off The Pressure Indicator Doesn’t Rise The Cover Won’t Open Your Food Is Underwhelming Your Food Is Overcooked Your Food and Pot Are a Charred Mess Your Stovetop Pressure Cooker Is Less Than Shiny Chapter 15: Ten Tips for Great Pressure Cooking Keeping It Safe Determining What a Pressure Cooker Can Hold Using Enough Liquid Intensifying Flavors by Searing and Browning First Cooking under Pressure at High Altitudes Building the Right Amount of Pressure Releasing Pressure without Burning Yourself Avoiding the “Too Hard” Scenario Avoiding the “Too Soft” Scenario Keeping It Clean
The Cover Won’t Close The Cooker’s Pressure Won’t Rise Your Cooker Is Leaking Steam The Safety Valves Went Off The Pressure Indicator Doesn’t Rise The Cover Won’t Open Your Food Is Underwhelming Your Food Is Overcooked Your Food and Pot Are a Charred Mess Your Stovetop Pressure Cooker Is Less Than Shiny
Keeping It Safe Determining What a Pressure Cooker Can Hold Using Enough Liquid Intensifying Flavors by Searing and Browning First Cooking under Pressure at High Altitudes Building the Right Amount of Pressure Releasing Pressure without Burning Yourself Avoiding the “Too Hard” Scenario Avoiding the “Too Soft” Scenario Keeping It Clean
Appendix A: Recommended Cooking Times Under Pressure Appendix B: Metric Conversion Guide