Pressure cooking, anyone?

[emordnilap]

Suprised ppl don't think you could use them over a wood fire... they'd take longer but once they're at pressure they need very little heat to maintain.

It's the flames licking up the sides to the rubber gasket that would worry me.

Tip: for beans, let the thing cool on its own otherwise they burst. For mushy peas, run it under the cold tap so the peas do burst.

[Brad]

Much better off with a rocket stove (with pan skirt) and a hay box cooker.

Have you got plans/instructions for this-looks good

[mikepepler]

Have you got plans/instructions for this-looks good

video on this site:
http://aprovecho.org/web-content/media/ ... rocket.htm

[Brad]

Many thanks Mike

[mikepepler]

Have you got plans/instructions for this-looks good

video on this site:
http://aprovecho.org/web-content/media/ ... rocket.htm

I realised I should also put in a plug for my employer here, as Aprovecho are one of our past winners.

Technical summary here:
http://www.ashdenawards.org/technical_s ... ern_africa

A video here:
http://www.ashdenawards.org/video_2006_malawi

and photos here:
http://www.ashdenawards.org/projects_2006_photos#apro

[Susukino]

(a) Ours is stainless steel. I would not advise anyone to use an aluminium one.

My mum's pressure cooker is aluminium and she's had it for at least 35 years and it still works! (With, as you rightly point out, the mandatory seal replacements.)

Suss

[emordnilap]

(a) Ours is stainless steel. I would not advise anyone to use an aluminium one.

My mum's pressure cooker is aluminium and she's had it for at least 35 years and it still works! (With, as you rightly point out, the mandatory seal replacements.)

Suss

Great. The performance of pressure cookers wasn't disputed.

I'm going to presume, though, you read post number 4.

[Susukino]

Great. The performance of pressure cookers wasn't disputed.

I'm going to presume, though, you read post number 4.

I didn't until you just pointed that out - but it explains a lot about my family. :-)

Suss

[Downshiftgal]

Hi Tatters, I've got my Mum's old one and it's a high-dome (tall lid) Prestige. I use it a fair bit, and it works much better on an open flame like a gas hob than on an electric/woodstove top.

Even better is the fact that I've got her original 1950s instruction manual.

I'll photocopy it and post it out next week. If you don't get it, remind me, as my brain is a tad overflowing at the moment!

[snowdrift]

Pressure cookers are often used by groups going on long treks away from easy fuel supplies. A meal cooked in one uses significantly less kerosene/propane than just boiling. You can cook anything that you'd normally boil. You can also open them without letting them cool if you don't mind large jets of steam

Aluminium ones are necessary if you are carrying them by human or animal power, plus they don't rust.

I'm not sure if the fuel saving is worth it for domestic regular use, although of course the time saving may be handy.

A more practical approach to saving fuel when cooking is stir-frying, in my opinion.

[emordnilap]

A more practical approach to saving fuel when cooking is stir-frying, in my opinion.

Agreed. Steaming is good too, i. You can stack three or four steaming pans over your boiling spuds! Better taste as well. It's an art to steam a variety of foods and have them all to be ready at once but definitely one worth cultivating.

But the old pressure cooker is great for rice and (dried) beans.

Oh, must point out we follow a vegan diet, in case it wasn't obvious.

[AllanH]

I doubt if its a common usage but I use my pressure cooker as a steriliser to kill off any contaminants (unwanted fungi, bacteria, etc) in material to be used as substrate for growing mushrooms on (only Shiitake & Oysters at the moment) so that the fungi can quickly colonise it before being spread outside to start a mushroom pile or put into logs.