spin off of beans and rice thread--pressure cooker recommendations?

[alef]

I ate beans a lot growing up, but just don't take the time to cook them much. I'm considering getting a pressure cooker--can anyone recommend a good and decent priced one? I have a huge pressure canner but that isn't what I want for cooking beans...

[dbmamaz]

I got the instant pot.  Its not maybe cheap .  . i was thinking that, kinda ruins the point of being budget conscious to go spend over $100 on a pressure cooker in order to eat more beans!   I think on the Hip Pressure Cooking website she might have some stove-top models she recommends?  The Instant Pot is self-contained like a slow cooker, also has slow cooker functions.  

[LaxMom]

I have a Cuisinart electric one that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond. We love it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000MPA044

[Tullia]

We also love our Cuisinart electric--bought it at Costco on a whim after seeing people praise pressure cookers on these boards. I love it for vegetables and for roasts. However, it's not my favorite way to cook beans because we prefer thick broth and I've never been able to achieve that in my pressure cooker. I prefer my mother's method which she thinks is the best balance of maintaining nutritional value, energy use, easy preparation and a (relatively) short cooking time: 

• sort and clean beans
• cover with water and soak overnight in the refrigerator
• drain after the beans have soaked at least 8 hours
• add more water and cook on high in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours
• add seasonings after the beans have cooked for a couple of hours

The beans always come out tender even at our high altitude. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have a Rapida pressure cooker that I like.  It goes on the stovetop.  I also like the cookbook "Pressure Perfect".

[goldberry]

We also love our Cuisinart electric--bought it at Costco on a whim after seeing people praise pressure cookers on these boards. I love it for vegetables and for roasts. However, it's not my favorite way to cook beans because we prefer thick broth and I've never been able to achieve that in my pressure cooker. I prefer my mother's method which she thinks is the best balance of maintaining nutritional value, energy use, easy preparation and a (relatively) short cooking time: 

• sort and clean beans
• cover with water and soak overnight in the refrigerator
• drain after the beans have soaked at least 8 hours
• add more water and cook on high in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours
• add seasonings after the beans have cooked for a couple of hours

The beans always come out tender even at our high altitude. 

 

What kind of beans?  What altitude are you at?

 

I am at 9500 ft and once cooked beans for 2 days straight and finally dumped them in the trash. :cursing:

[dbmamaz]

If you have hard water, the beans wont soften.  I finally started  using filtered water (my fridge has a built-in filter) and they come out much softer.  

 

plans for my pressure cooker this week:

• made dog food in it (its just rice and ground chicken, but i dont have to stir or worry about burning in the PC)
• currently making broth from my ham bone
• tomorrow will cook some beans for the ham soup, and probably cook the soup in the PC as well
• next day i'm cooking a whole chicken in it - it was a slow cooker recipe hubby loved, and i like it better in the PC
• 2 days later, I'll be making baked beans in it
• 2 days after that I'll be making refries . . . 

ok, not all weeks are that busy lol

[Tullia]

What kind of beans?  What altitude are you at?

 

I am at 9500 ft and once cooked beans for 2 days straight and finally dumped them in the trash. :cursing:

 

Ah, yes...btdt....We're only about 6700 ft, but even so I tend to waaay overcook things when I visit my mom and help in her kitchen.  I usually cook locally grown pintos or bolitas.  A farmer in a nearby town grows both bolitas and pintos and people reserve a share of the crop on the website and then drive from northern NM and southern Colo. in the fall. Many older people remember their grandparents growing bolitas, but they're not as easy as pintos to harvest with modern machinery as so it's now mostly a specialty crop.  Those who do grow bolitas sell all they can grow even though they're more expensive. 

 

My tips for cooking beans:

• Plan ahead; if I want fast I hold my nose and open a can. :ohmy:
• Hard water results in hard beans even after long cooking, so I use filtered water and add some salt. 
• I try to buy and use new crop or seal beans in buckets with O2 absorber packets. 
• My absolute favorite method is to put sorted, rinsed beans into room temp salted water and turn the slow cooker on low for 20-24 hours. 

 

Dh does not like to wake to the smell of beans cooking so I use my mom's method. My pressure cooker makes beans which are acceptable for use in recipes, but for us the broth is too watery--especially when we want a bowl of beans served with skillet cornbread.