Pressure Cooking - Advice Please

[bobconnie]

We are lucky fishermen! So we can a bunch of fish with our pressure cooker. We find that boat canned tuna and almost any other fish are far better then anything you can buy anywhere! We also carry a small fold up smoker! so we like to smoke some of the fish for a few hours then can it !! YUMMM ya can't beat it !! some folks just can't seem get over the idea that being aboard is no different then being home, just less room and ya need to PLAN ahead before ya start!! We were able to live aboard a lot cheaper then most, cus we were willing to do some extra work putting up food rather than buying it all!! Connies bread has been a great tradeing tool for us almost everywhere we have been !!!

[vfsurgpa]

Two questions: I have a pressure alcohol system, anyone use a pc with alcohol. I know that there is less heat from an alcohol flame. And, I keep seeing folks baking bread in a pc. Is this done on the stovetop? Under pressure? How do you not burn the bottom? I bake bread at home, never tried it in the boat galley.


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[dannc]

Years ago I bought this pressure cooker:

All American Pressure Canner 910 10 Quart

I would have bought a slightly larger version but we have a smooth glass top range and you have to be careful with how much weight and size of the pot is on the burner. This model works well enough but sometimes I wish I had a slightly larger cooker. Sometimes but not usually.

What is nice about this brand is that there is no gasket. Every once in a while you might need to put some petroleum jelly around the top of the pot. The pressure is regulated by a weight so as long as gravity works you can't over pressurize the pot.

The only negative about this cooker is cost, weight and maybe size. We can a fair amount and one thing I do is cook two gallons of beans at a time. One gallon we eat for a week or so and the second gallon is canned in four quarts. There really is not that much work to canning once the food is ready to preserve and making an extra gallon is not that much extra work.

We also have a dehydrator to preserve foods which is really nice. Not sure we could use our electric power dehydrator on a boat off the grid since it has to run for a good part of the day, sometimes over 24 hours in total. There are solar designs that work though.

Later,
Dan

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by vfsurgpa

I keep seeing folks baking bread in a pc. Is this done on the stovetop? Under pressure? How do you not burn the bottom? I bake bread at home, never tried it in the boat galley.


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Baking bread in the pressure cooker is pretty simple. Use your usual recipe and allow it to rise as normal. Grease the pressure cooker. Shape the dough and place it in the PC for its second rise. Once risen place the PC on the smallest ring with the highest heat for five minutes then turn the heat down to its lowest setting for 30-35 minutes. Turn the bread out and replace upside down for 5-10 minutes to brown the top.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE IS TO USE THE PC WITHOUT THE GASKET OR WEIGHT. With these instructions the PC is used as a stove top oven.

[austinrick]

I'd like to bring this thread back long enough to ask, as one of the last posters did, about PCs on an alcohol stove - in my case an Origo two burner stove. I have a 4-qt Presto stainless steel PC.

Can anyone advise me on what I could expect from that PC on that stove? Will it pressurize and cook before it runs me out of the cabin?

-thx!

[JPA Cate]

austinrick,

It should work okay, won't come up to pressure as fast as with propane. The weight will adjust the pressure within, and it will cook the stuff. Whether or not it will run you out of the cabin, I don't know. Were you concerned with getting too hot? or the noise of the weight jumping on its post?

I have used the pressure cooker without the gasket to "bake" bread when it was way too hot to use the oven, and have found that it's not worse than any pot with boiling water where it is "too hot" out. YMMV

[newhaul]

A PC will work just great on any heat source that will boil water and takes about a third of the time as cooking in a non pressure pan so will put less heat in the cabin
Jm2cw grew up canning meat, fruits and fish

[newhaul]

Sail net has a great thread on cooking and using a PC

[flagorio]

One tip that I use on my alcohol stove with pressure cooker is to preheat water/stock in my tea kettle while I brown my meat/risotto/onions/whatever and that way, by preheating in a separate pot, I don't wait as long to come up to pressure. I have burnt rice by starting with cold water in the pc.


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[Mystktravler]

I recommend Fagor...why would you want to use electricity? I also suggest you try using it in the Kitchen at home before taking it on the cruise, you will love it. You can cook bread, creme brûlée, veggies, meats and can everything! Not to mention you can use it for frying, roasting as well. It can be your only Pot......(well almost.)

[rumiko dan]

My wife bought the Fagor 5-piece set (I think it is this one Fagor Duo Pressure Cooker Combi | 918060778 ) before we cruised. We still use it a lot on land. It is a good quality, nesting, set. The pasta strainer bottom has 5 different grater options (big for cheese, medium, and small, etc). It is truly a multi-tasker - important on our small boat. We love it.

[sparrowhawk1]

Imho you don't have to look any further than Fagor. They are reasonably priced have a standard gasket that's easy to order ( yes the gaskets wear out after 3 to 5 years) and work just as well as a really expensive ones. Pressure cookers with weighted tops let out a lot of steam this makes it harder to judge how much water to add to food that you're cooking, And adds a lot of humidity to the boat. The four quart can be used as a frying pan or a pressure cooker but the 6 quart (Or is it liters) is the perfect size for just pressure cooking or steaming. Two of my favorite tricks are using a bowl inside of the pressure cooker, I use Pyrex glass bowls with Tupperware type lids ( for putting on after cooking to save the leftovers) Once I know how long and how much liquid to cook a grain I get perfect results every time.perfect for serving in. ( hey I'm a single guy I have a phobia against washing dishes if I don't have to) When I want to reheat I just take it out of my fridge, let the glass come up to room temperature or close to it and put it back in the pressure cooker ( with water and something to keep it off the bottom of course) My second favorite trick is I have an old cooler that I lined with an old blanket that works as a thermal cooker. not only does it save fuel, but when I'm traveling or doing boat projects I can cook a meal in the morning and put it in the thermal cooker and it will be ready whenever I'm hungry.

[Evastaffan]

Hej Jonas!


I went to look at Pressure Cookers when I was learning about it. Lots of good advice about pressure cookers as well as other info.


Lycka till!
Eva