Introduction
Twenty years ago, I bought a copy of Lorna Sass’s Cooking Under Pressure and spent the next six months making everything from pot roast to, believe it or not, cheesecake. I was a convert, but, like most specialty kitchen tools, my pressure cooker ended up under the counter and, eventually, in the basement.
Since that time, two things have happened. First, pressure cookers have become both much better designed and also more reliable. Second, our test kitchen has spent the last year testing and developing recipes to make this appliance one that you will use, if not every day then at least every week. You can do almost anything in a pressure cooker, from Macaroni and Cheese to Barbecued Baby Back Ribs, and the results are always faster and usually better to boot. And some recipes are so spectacularly quick and delicious (Parmesan Risotto takes only 6 minutes of cooking under pressure) that you will never make them again using traditional methods.
Some of my favorite recipes are Farmhouse Chicken Noodle Soup (20 minutes under pressure), Italian Meatloaf (25 minutes), Sirloin Beef Roast with Mushroom Sauce (20 minutes), and, perhaps my favorite pressure cooker recipe of all time, a fabulous recipe for Chicken Broth that takes just 1 hour. I will use a pressure cooker for that last recipe alone. And, of course, pressure cookers are terrific for speeding up everyday chores such as cooking beans, rice, grains, and tough cuts of meat.
The best thing about the pressure cooker is that there are very few trade-offs for the time savings. Unlike a microwave oven, cooking under pressure actually produces better food, and there is nothing finicky about it—the shape or size of various items makes no difference in cooking time. You can put really good food on the table fast without feeling like you have taken shortcuts on quality.
In the many months of testing, we did come across an interesting fact. Almost all the times listed for basic pressure cooker recipes (vegetables, grains, etc.) were incorrect. We spent weeks testing the basics, getting the timing right, and we have included reliable charts so that you can use the pressure cooker as a useful cooking tool day in and day out. We also tested electric pressure cookers (we prefer stovetop models) since they very often produce different results. Now you can use either type and be guaranteed of success.
This of course reminds me of a story. Many years ago when telephones had party lines (I grew up with such a phone), each customer had their own “ring.” It seems that our road commissioner, Sonny, went to visit an old bachelor farmer who lived alone. The year before, the farmer’s friends suggested that he install a phone, which was now ringing insistently—one long and three short—as the commissioner walked through the door. Sonny asked, “Ain’t that your ring?” The old-timer guessed that it was. The commissioner then asked, “Well, why don’t you answer the damn thing?” “Sonny,” came the reply, “I had that phone put in for my convenience!”
That’s the problem with so many smart, new kitchen appliances. They are supposed to make your life easier, but so many of them actually make cooking harder since they have limited use or they take a lot of practice to use them well. Pressure Cooker Perfection is our attempt to take the mystery out of this incredibly useful kitchen tool, one that offers a two-for-one—faster food but also better food. It’s a hard combination to beat.
Now I know that all of this sounds a bit like a late-night infomercial. “It’s fast, it’s easy, and if you act now we will also send you…” Just as I have adopted the slow cooker as a key part of my repertoire (especially during the summer when I want to spend more time outside), the pressure cooker has now found its way back out of the basement and into my kitchen. In fact, it sits on a burner on the back of my stove all the time, a reminder that I can cook quickly and well simply by cooking under pressure.
CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL
Founder and Editor,
Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country
Host, America’s Test Kitchen and
Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen