Pressure cooker - Steam

[geoffr]

Each time I see a thread on pressure cookers I've read them as I love using our pressure cooker at home, but haven't found an answer to the one question I have about using it on the boat - what to do with the steam?

On our cat there isn't much room above the stove, so any steam escaping at high speed will hit the bottom of the deck. Although it is protected with an AL sheet I'm worried about all the water which will condense there. (I even have a bit of this at home with the vent above the stove). How do you solve this problem?

[Cheechako]

It seems we just had the cooker on for maybe 20 mins and shut off... let it do it's thing with no added heat after that. No steam. Were we doing it "wrong"?

[Sea Dreaming]

Once your cooker reaches pressure turn the heat down low (but high enough to maintain pressure )and the escaping steam is pretty low. Just wipe down after cooking! Of course vents, ports or hatches can be opened and you can even use a fan to disperse the moisture.

Cheechako, many foods can be cooked as you describe. I am not a good planner for the extra cook time required for that method, so I usually leave the heat on but I have tried turning off the stove and I know it works well.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, seems, after you turn off, no further steam is released so it just stays pressurized.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by geoffr

so any steam escaping at high speed will hit the bottom of the deck.

Is this when you are releasing the pressure? if so stick it in the sink and pour on cold water first to take the heat out and the pressure will drop reducing the amount of steam produced.

Pete

[geoffr]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Is this when you are releasing the pressure? if so stick it in the sink and pour on cold water first to take the heat out and the pressure will drop reducing the amount of steam produced.

Pete

Pete - no this is during cooking. I bring it up to pressure, then reduce the stove to a lower setting. Once the amount of time has passed I turn off the heat and let it sit until the pressure is gone.

- I am often cooking beans which have soaked overnight, so they are taking 10-20 minutes at pressure - I don't think just turning off the heat after getting up to pressure will work.... please correct me if I'm wrong!

[Hydra]

Before releasing the steam pressure, I just set the pressure cooker on the highest step of the companionway, with the hatch open. Then, the mist goes outside. No need to cool the cooker first.

Alain

[JPA Cate]

Well, with fresh water being at a premium, I'd suggest dipping a bucket of sea water up, and dribbling that over the cooker in the sink.

Perhaps, you could install an opening port to allow cooking steam to exit the boat, and just give ventilation to the cook?

Ann

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by geoffr

Pete - no this is during cooking. I bring it up to pressure, then reduce the stove to a lower setting. Once the amount of time has passed I turn off the heat and let it sit until the pressure is gone.

- I am often cooking beans which have soaked overnight, so they are taking 10-20 minutes at pressure - I don't think just turning off the heat after getting up to pressure will work.... please correct me if I'm wrong!

Do you have the old type that has the rocking valve? The new ones don't steam
as much, maybe you're running it at high flame. As said above, just wipe afterwards.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by geoffr

Pete - no this is during cooking. I bring it up to pressure, then reduce the stove to a lower setting. Once the amount of time has passed I turn off the heat and let it sit until the pressure is gone.

- I am often cooking beans which have soaked overnight, so they are taking 10-20 minutes at pressure - I don't think just turning off the heat after getting up to pressure will work.... please correct me if I'm wrong!

Two things:

1. Turning off heat after the food reaches pressure, if you insulate your pot after turning off the heat you created an effective slowcooker. No, this is not pressure cooking but it does save gas, keeps heat out your cabin and keeps moisture too. But this is a slow method instead or cooking under pressure, which is a fast method.

2. If you are using a jiggle top weighted cooker: after the pot has reached pressure (that first burst of steam) turn the heat down until you get 1 soft burst every three minutes or so. The pot should not blow like a freight train. Think of the weight like a sail, if you become over powered let out the sail to spill more air right? The weight on a jiggle top cooker works pretty much the same way. As heat builds the pressure inside the pot builds but the weight prevents the pressure from escaping until it exceeds the weight of the jiggler, the extra pressure then pushed the weight up allowing some pressure to escape until the weight settles back down and the pressure starts to build all over again. So the point is to moderate the heat so that pressure is maintained with little excess building up needing to be released.

[Toaster]

Yes, newer pressure cookers don't seem to steam as much - I have a "Fagor" brand that is great, I liked it so much I bought one for home, too. Never clogs. I think you end up with less steam than if you boiled food in a saucepan with a lid.

I do generally bring it to pressure and then switch off the flame as soon as it starts to steam at pressure. The food cooks just fine, usually I add about 10-20% to the cooking time, or I will just leave it until it has cooled completely (usually because I forget about it). Presoaked beans (mostly what I cook) do just fine like this, just cook a full batch. Or if you find they are not cooking, then it's easy to reheat it halfway through, up to steam pressure again.

I always let it cool naturally (no water) and then open the lid outside in the cockpit. The big blast of steam is short lived.

[zeehag]

i merely open mine after sitting it on back deck until the proper time. steam goes outside not inside. is easy if you think about it. many ways to do it.
while cooking there is no more steam than regular cooking creates.
condensation? no, havent got that, but my coachhouse is not plastic--is wood.

[Meanderthal]

Natural release reduces the intensity of the steam, but if you want to capture it...YMMV and be vewy vewy careful, but I keep a bunch of microfiber shop towels on hand, and like to capture the quick release steam in a towel and use the now warm and damp towel to clean face and hands.

However, that is a pro move requiring some skill and necessitated by overwintering on a boat in Alaska in a marina with no running water from Oct-May.

[weavis]

I use the Electric instant pot. I have taken it aboard large boats with enough power to run it (1000W) and use the natural release function that does not steam into the room...
This is the pot in pot method that cooks rice in 4 minutes and reheats the previously made curry in the bottom pot.... I leave it to natural release, about 8 mins.
Enough for 2 large servings from the tiffin pots.

[NornaBiron]

I regularly cook dried chickpeas and beans in our pressure cooker. I bring it to pressure and then tuck it into my Wonderbag for a couple of hours. Very little steam produced and a tiny amount of gas used