Pressure Cookers for Poor People

[marbel]

13 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Well, I mean, no one expects a recipe for the oven to include the time it takes to preheat the oven, so I'm not sure why people are annoyed that the instant pot time doesn't include the preheat time? The pressure release time usually is mentioned in the recipe though. 

<snip>

With oven cooking, you can turn on the oven and have it preheat while you are doing other things.  With a pressure cooker (or at least the instant pot, which is the only kind I've ever used), you don't start "preheating" until all the food is prepped and in the pot. 

So, a recipe will say something like "cook this in only 8 minutes in the pressure cooker!" but since you can't preheat it, the time to build pressure does add to your cooking time and depending on the recipe, it can be a lot.  Obviously the directions are only going to include the actual cooking time because you have to set it, but the timing stated in the recipe title or header can be misleading to someone who is not familiar with how it all works. 

 

I think a pressure cooker is good for braises like chuck roasts, stews, recipes based on pork shoulder, etc. Beans are great in it. I will sometimes put a whole chicken in, cook in some water, take it out, take the meat off the bones, put the bones, skin, etc,. back in the pressure cooker, add more water, and end up with broth.  That is much quicker than doing the same thing on the stove.  And those foods tend to be cheaper.  But a slow cooker does those just as well, maybe better.

I stopped doing hard boiled eggs in the IP. It was too inconsistent. I went back to the stovetop for that and have been much happier. 

It is awesome for rice, but that alone wouldn't be a reason to buy one.

Edited October 17, 2020 by marbel

[Scarlett]

https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/kitchen/best-pressure-cookers
 

A good list of pressure cookers from earlier this year.  

Edited October 17, 2020 by Scarlett

[KungFuPanda]

13 hours ago, JHLWTM said:

I had a crock pot for years that didn’t get much use- DH felt it made meats too mushy. We are now vegan / whole  foods plants based and I use the IP several times a week, mostly for soups and stews. I think my plant based meals would get way too mushy in a crockpot. I don’t know if the IP saves us money, but I do think being vegan does!

 
I think so many crockpot recipes are written for workday-length cooking times when those recipes are really ready at the 6 hour mark. It’s the overcooking, not the slow cooking, that makes things mushy. ATK put out a slow cooker book that really addresses this problem. 
 

I think some of the claims about saving money are because you use cheaper cuts of meat in a crockpot/pressure cook and cook them in a way that makes them taste really good. That’s a bit of marketing there since a lot of people were never going to buy more expensive cuts of meat anyway. 

[Emba]

12 hours ago, Bootsie said:

How do you cook gumbo in a pressure cooker?  Do you cook your roux separately first?

This is the recipe:

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-gumbo/
 

you do cook the roux first

[BusyMom5]

Look at thrift stores for an old fashioned pressure cooker- but beware when you use it!  I did use one occasionally before I got an IP.  I was skeptical bc I usually use my crock pot and thought it was silly to buy another kitchen gadget.  I love it!  I use mine quite often and have cooked a turkey breast in it- I have also cooked one in my crock pot.  Its great for stews, soups,  roast- but if you have time, you can do all those things on the stove top.   It might be less electricity to use the IP, and it won't heat up your kitchen.  As far as it being a good investment,  that would depend on what you normally cook in it.  

[wathe]

The Instant pot (or other electronic pressure cooker) is almost certainly the most fuel efficient way to took tough beans or other long-cooking wet foods.  The housing is insulated, it doesn't draw much current, and cooks the food very quickly.  It should also fix your altitude problem as Regentrude has explained.  But the appliance itself is expensive.  Mine is in its fifth year with no issues, but IME, appliances with electronics do not last forever.  Another benefit is that you don't have to mind it while cooking.  You can turn it on, and walk away.  Even for rice.  I am a distracted cook, so this feature is great for me and keeps my family happy (fewer burnt dinners).

A manual pressure cooker will be the next best wrt to efficiency - less efficient in fuel use than an Instant post, but much cheaper to operate than long-cooking on the stovetop.  But the appliance itself is way less expensive, and will last forever.  It definitely needs minding while it use!

A slow cooker might work.  It won't change the lower boiling point/ altitude issue, so food will take even longer to cook and perhaps tough beans will never get cooked (I don't have altitude crock pot experience).  They are super cheap to buy.

I think it depends on your electricity/fuel rates, and how long you think you will be in your current living situation.

If this is likely to be a short term issue, and you are an attentive cook, then a manual pressure cooker will be cheaper.

If longer term, then the saved fuel costs of an electronic pressure cooker might outweigh the increased up-front cost.

If very long term (many years, say more than 5-10), then manual might have the edge, because it won't wear out or become obsolete the way electronic devices do.  (Things with electronics do not last forever.  MAybe 10-20years from now I will still be using my then-vintage instant pot.  But I doubt it.) 

Edited October 17, 2020 by wathe

[Pen]

A slow cooker may make water issue worse if more of the water  evaporates  leaving more concentrated minerals.  And I do not think would help altitude issue. 

And I am not sure how a stove top pressure cooker would be on a poor stove.  It would be expected to reduce fuel / cooking time — but if stove is really bad it may not function well on the poor stove. 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Pen

[Hunter]

Thank you all so much!!!

The mineral content of the free water may mean that cooking dried beans is just not cost efficient here. Canned beans might be the cheapest option.

My gut says I will be here this winter, but not long-term. Who knows what this pandemic will bring. Whether it is my personality at fault or not, big changes happen to me or by me. Whenever I leave, my good stuff gets rehomed to happy people. I tend to buy things that are easy to give way quickly, because that is always what happens. My relative booked my flight on Sunday and I flew out at dawn on Thursday. I flew with a carry-on and a shoulder bag and pre-mailed two large priority boxes. Everything else had to be given away before I left. LOL. 

If we get another stimulus check, money won't be an issue, and I don't care if I leave behind an expensive item. I never think of items as waste as long as they are properly rehomed. If a stove-top model shows up cheap here, I will grab it. I have seen them in the past, but had no idea what was what. Otherwise I will wait and see what comes of stim checks and Black Friday and offers that I get because I have good credit. I'll sit until something too good to pass up is offered to me. 

My faith just grows and grows. It is like seeing the wind. You don't need proof it is "real", or know its name, and you don't need to know the science and the cause, but you eventually learn some of the rules of living with it. If I just take a chill pill and move with the flow, what I need to stay alive gets dropped in my lap. It might not be what I need to do it "right" or look "normal", but I don't die and I grow as a writer and storyteller.

So, I am interested to see what drops in my lap for pressure cooking. LOL. Internationally, the aluminum pressure cooker reigns. This might be a good time to practice learning to use one. I traveled across the entire country, and now am near the Pacific instead of the Atlantic and I feel that keenly. My relative keeps getting offered a job in Vietnam. I don't know. I feel ... this weird feeling, that the pacific might be the next jump.

[Hunter]

An expat in the Philippines experimenting with a pressure cooker on a hot plate.

 

[Pen]

17 minutes ago, Hunter said:

Thank you all so much!!!

The mineral content of the free water may mean that cooking dried beans is just not cost efficient here.

 

I am not understanding how minerals are causing cooking problems for beans?

We have high mineral water and beans cook fine it it. Or at least normal as I expect since I don’t have a low mineral experience for comparison.

Soaking at least over night to soften before cooking helps hugely IME 

 

I do see how high altitude / bad stove would be a problem. 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Hunter said:

My faith just grows and grows. It is like seeing the wind. You don't need proof it is "real", or know its name, and you don't need to know the science and the cause, but you eventually learn some of the rules of living with it. If I just take a chill pill and move with the flow, what I need to stay alive gets dropped in my lap. It might not be what I need to do it "right" or look "normal", but I don't die and I grow as a writer and storyteller.

 

👍

17 minutes ago, Hunter said:

So, I am interested to see what drops in my lap for pressure cooking. LOL. Internationally, the aluminum pressure cooker reigns. This might be a good time to practice learning to use one. I traveled across the entire country, and now am near the Pacific instead of the Atlantic and I feel that keenly. My relative keeps getting offered a job in Vietnam. I don't know. I feel ... this weird feeling, that the pacific might be the next jump.

 

Maybe someone in area has an IP that they didn’t end up using and would gift it?

Could you post on an area NexDoor or FB type thing that you are in need?

too bad this isn’t a major Konmari purge time

[katilac]

 

4 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I think you would get a lot of use out of an electric skillet.  I used two for a year and a half when I did not have a cook top.  I was amazed at what I could do with those...Dh and I had two teen boys to feed at the time...obviously you would only need one.  

I was coming to suggest an electric skillet as well! Extremely versatile and will use much less energy than OP's stovetop. It can be a griddle for pancakes and eggs, you can sautee, braise, pan fry, pan broil, all the things. Not too expensive, often at thrift stores, and almost certainly on Black Friday sales. 

3 hours ago, marbel said:

With oven cooking, you can turn on the oven and have it preheat while you are doing other things.  With a pressure cooker (or at least the instant pot, which is the only kind I've ever used), you don't start "preheating" until all the food is prepped and in the pot. 

So, a recipe will say something like "cook this in only 8 minutes in the pressure cooker!" but since you can't preheat it, the time to build pressure does add to your cooking time and depending on the recipe, it can be a lot.  Obviously the directions are only going to include the actual cooking time because you have to set it, but the timing stated in the recipe title or header can be misleading to someone who is not familiar with how it all works. 

This. 

2 hours ago, Emba said:

This is the recipe:

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-gumbo/
 

you do cook the roux first

I had to click, because I'm from Louisiana and generally horrified at gumbo recipes, lol. I'm very impressed that they actually have you make a roux! 

1 hour ago, Pen said:

A slow cooker may make water issue worse if more of the water  evaporates  leaving more concentrated minerals.  

Slow cooker have very little liquid evaporation, because the food stays covered. 

[Hunter]

I think the minerals act like salted water and make beans tough. Maybe the beans I used were just too old or dry? I just know that nothing familiar was happening in that pot and it was freaking me out. I had noticed that pasta did not boil the same, but it was not until I started trying to cook longer cooking things did I realize that something was up.

My relative lives on take-out food since the pandemic and restaurants before that. And so do all his peers and loved-ones.

Googling cooking in the area, did not bring up what I needed. The people with blogs were the type that lived in the gated communities with houses with water filter systems installed and they were seldom cooking poor people food with poor people tools. And I could not understand the Spanish videos.

I really have not been able to find anyone local that is scientifically analyzing the big picture of what we are dealing with. They have adapted by trial and error by accident not plan. My neighbors either don't speak English or tell me how to just let my utility bill get sky high and then set up the utility company from being banned from turning it off. The English speakers that are retired veterans live on BBQ meat and beer. They do what they must to survive with what they have for resources. But their version of coping are not an option for me. I need to use this as practice to learn how to conserve fuel. I have a resource that they don't. I have you all and I know how to self-educate.

[katilac]

8 minutes ago, Hunter said:

I think the minerals act like salted water and make beans tough.  

I have found a potential solution for this: add a small amount of baking soda, like one teaspoon per cup of dried beans. I've seen this mentioned on several sites. This one also recommends brining the beans before cooking. 

[Pen]

15 minutes ago, Hunter said:

I think the minerals act like salted water and make beans tough. Maybe the beans I used were just too old or dry? I just know that nothing familiar was happening in that pot and it was freaking me out. I had noticed that pasta did not boil the same, but it was not until I started trying to cook longer cooking things did I realize that something was up.

My relative lives on take-out food since the pandemic and restaurants before that. And so do all his peers and loved-ones.

Googling cooking in the area, did not bring up what I needed. The people with blogs were the type that lived in the gated communities with houses with water filter systems installed and they were seldom cooking poor people food with poor people tools. And I could not understand the Spanish videos.

I really have not been able to find anyone local that is scientifically analyzing the big picture of what we are dealing with. They have adapted by trial and error by accident not plan. My neighbors either don't speak English or tell me how to just let my utility bill get sky high and then set up the utility company from being banned from turning it off. The English speakers that are retired veterans live on BBQ meat and beer. They do what they must to survive with what they have for resources. But their version of coping are not an option for me. I need to use this as practice to learn how to conserve fuel. I have a resource that they don't. I have you all and I know how to self-educate.

 

Is there a University Agricultural Extension office you can call?

If not impossible to reach due to CV19 etc this is the sort of thing the food handlers parts should be able to help answer.

you can also test some beans in an overnight or two day cold water soak to see if they soften at all.  Drain off water and rinse if you are going to eat them.  

If they will sprout slightly that would increase nutrition probably (garbanzos mung and adzuki tend to sprout more readily IME than black beans or kidney beans).  (Sprouted = barest bump of root starting, not into plant stage or obvious root)  If there’s too much salt in the water or they are too old or treated they may not sprout at all.  Our water is okay for sprouts even with high mineral. 

 

*You might also want to shift to using usually faster cooking legumes like lentils. *

Edited October 17, 2020 by Pen

[regentrude]

18 minutes ago, Hunter said:

I think the minerals act like salted water and make beans tough. Maybe the beans I used were just too old or dry? I just know that nothing familiar was happening in that pot and it was freaking me out. I had noticed that pasta did not boil the same, but it was not until I started trying to cook longer cooking things did I realize that something was up.

How high is your elevation? Altitude adds a lot of cooking time and alters the texture of dishes.

[Sherry in OH]

Even at low altitudes dried beans can take hours to cook.  One trick that helps with hard water and older beans is to add a pinch of baking soda to the soaking water. Soak the beans for at least 24 hours, changing the soaking water daily.  Drain and rinse the beans before putting in a cooking pot with fresh water.  Add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water.  

Although lentils and split peas do require presoaking, presoaking will lessen cooking time.  You may find that if you cook them in your cast iron pan, you can turn off the heat once they come to a boil.

You seem to have a combination of an inefficient range and high electricity costs.  You might find that once you factor in the energy costs to cook the beans, canned beans are more economical than dried.   

Are you able to construct a solar oven?  

[Liz CA]

For those using crockpots for dinners - and you would have to throw stuff in and then come back 12 hours later, are you worried about leaving chicken out in relatively low temp? Maybe I am paranoid about this?

[Ditto]

I use my crock pot quite a bit and love it.  I don't any other devices and get by just fine. I had a rice maker until it finally died.  I considered replacing it but decided to try it the good old fashioned way on the stove, turns out rice is super easy to cook on the stove, and we all liked it better than the rice maker.   I have never had an interest in an InstantPot or an air fryer (though the air fryer is quite intriguing).   

[73349]

I can't weigh in on Instant Pots, but I did want to throw out there for you that you can choose recipes/ingredients with an eye to cooking time. There's pasta that will be done in 6 minutes (typically smaller shapes), and pasta that needs 14, so if they're made of the same ingredients, you can pick the faster ones. As a PP pointed out, lentils are faster than other beans--I can cook red lentils, unsoaked, in half an hour. If it takes a long time to boil water, a couple of scrambled eggs should use less fuel than two hard-boiled ones. So in addition to the tools, you might be able to tweak your food.

Stir-fry recipes are designed to minimize fuel use (vs. the longer-cooking recipes of northern Europe, which in many cases developed in areas with plenty of wood to burn). The smaller you cut things (greater surface area to volume), the faster they will cook through.

If potatoes and sweet potatoes are a significant part of your diet, a small crock-pot (the $10 kind) could help. They're much better after 6-8 hours on low than 1 in the oven, and it takes far less electricity per hour to heat the smaller volume of air.

Not all recipes require water to actually boil, even if they say that--pasta water, for example, needs to be hot, but not quite that hot. When you do have to boil water, an electric kettle is often more efficient than a stove burner. Or if you have a microwave, you might experiment with that.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[73349]

36 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

For those using crockpots for dinners - and you would have to throw stuff in and then come back 12 hours later, are you worried about leaving chicken out in relatively low temp? Maybe I am paranoid about this?

USDA specifically notes that a slow cooker is a safe way to keep foods warm until serving: https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/4-steps-to-food-safety#separate

And a good way to leave food unattended at a safe cooking temperature: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/appliances-and-thermometers/slow-cookers-and-food-safety/ct_index

Edited October 17, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[Hunter]

You all are SOOOO much help! Thanks! and people read these boards that are not even registered. Who knows who is going to benefit from this conversation.

I think I might be about 2,500 feet right now. Which really is not that high, but I immediately noticed that cooking was not going as expected. Because we are in a valley, I had no idea that we were still elevated at all. Filtered water boils faster, but sometimes the unfiltered water does not come to a boil at all. The "impurities" need to be boiled off before liquid can turn into a gas? I need a thermometer, because even if that water is not boiling, it might be hot enough to cook. 

There is no one website that discusses all these things. My research requires learning each thing in general and then applying it to my situation.

Sprouting and brining and baking soda is something I will research. Thanks!!!!

I am going to check the University Agricultural Extension offices for all the desert and mountain states. Thanks! Little by little I should learn some of what I need.

I'm finding some stovetop pressure cooker information on youtube. People using the stovetop cookers are doing cheaper and more adventurous and inventive things. But I will watch some of the IP videos too.

When I am outside and look up at the mountains, I am convinced that I will be crossing them. I am not looking forward to it or dreading it. I am anxious, because I don't know how it will happen, and I am not ready. But I trust if I cross them I will be ready. I am stretched by my adventures, but I survive. Really knowing how to use a stove-top pressure cooker seems like a good skill to learn.

If I try and talk about the water or cooking to my relative or any of his people, they just look pained and pick up the phone and order me some Chinese food or try and give me some money. LOL. I want to learn. This is an opportunity to learn, before I cross those mountains. Or climb up one. Or something. I ain't staying here. Even though I think that if I was allowed to stay that I could find my niche and be happy here. My gut and bones say this apartment is my covid-bunker and nothing else.

[Hunter]

20 minutes ago, Carolina Wren said:

I can't weigh in on Instant Pots, but I did want to throw out there for you that you can choose recipes/ingredients with an eye to cooking time. There's pasta that will be done in 6 minutes (typically smaller shapes), and pasta that needs 14, so if they're made of the same ingredients, you can pick the faster ones. As a PP pointed out, lentils are faster than other beans--I can cook red lentils, unsoaked, in half an hour. If it takes a long time to boil water, a couple of scrambled eggs should use less fuel than two hard-boiled ones. So in addition to the tools, you might be able to tweak your food.

Stir-fry recipes are designed to minimize fuel use (vs. the longer-cooking recipes of northern Europe, which in many cases developed in areas with plenty of wood to burn). The smaller you cut things (greater surface area to volume), the faster they will cook through.

If potatoes and sweet potatoes are a significant part of your diet, a small crock-pot (the $10 kind) could help. They're much better after 6-8 hours on low than 1 in the oven, and it takes far less electricity per hour to heat the smaller volume of air.

Not all recipes require water to actually boil, even if they say that--pasta water, for example, needs to be hot, but not quite that hot. When you do have to boil water, an electric kettle is often more efficient than a stove burner. Or if you have a microwave, you might experiment with that.

Yes, to all this. That is what I have been doing is just trying not to use fuel. I eat a LOT of raw food. I would like to include more whole and dark meat chicken and broth cooked in bones. And some kind of legume IF I can do it cheaper than canned.

Cooking unsoaked lentils and split peas did NOT work. Yes, to Sherry in OH that suggested soaking the lentils and split peas too. Duh! I should have thought of that. Or maybe even sprouting them a bit. I need to learn the latest research on the toxicity of eating too many sprouts.

The electric kettles break from the high mineral content of the water. I use the filtered water in the kettle for my tea, and make a big thermos of tea when I boil the water, that lasts me a few hours.

[wathe]

39 minutes ago, Hunter said:

You all are SOOOO much help! Thanks! and people read these boards that are not even registered. Who knows who is going to benefit from this conversation.

I think I might be about 2,500 feet right now. Which really is not that high, but I immediately noticed that cooking was not going as expected. Because we are in a valley, I had no idea that we were still elevated at all. Filtered water boils faster, but sometimes the unfiltered water does not come to a boil at all. The "impurities" need to be boiled off before liquid can turn into a gas? I need a thermometer, because even if that water is not boiling, it might be hot enough to cook. 

There is no one website that discusses all these things. My research requires learning each thing in general and then applying it to my situation.

Sprouting and brining and baking soda is something I will research. Thanks!!!!

I am going to check the University Agricultural Extension offices for all the desert and mountain states. Thanks! Little by little I should learn some of what I need.

I'm finding some stovetop pressure cooker information on youtube. People using the stovetop cookers are doing cheaper and more adventurous and inventive things. But I will watch some of the IP videos too.

When I am outside and look up at the mountains, I am convinced that I will be crossing them. I am not looking forward to it or dreading it. I am anxious, because I don't know how it will happen, and I am not ready. But I trust if I cross them I will be ready. I am stretched by my adventures, but I survive. Really knowing how to use a stove-top pressure cooker seems like a good skill to learn.

If I try and talk about the water or cooking to my relative or any of his people, they just look pained and pick up the phone and order me some Chinese food or try and give me some money. LOL. I want to learn. This is an opportunity to learn, before I cross those mountains. Or climb up one. Or something. I ain't staying here. Even though I think that if I was allowed to stay that I could find my niche and be happy here. My gut and bones say this apartment is my covid-bunker and nothing else.

Dissolved salts will increase the boiling point of water

[Hunter]

4 minutes ago, wathe said:

Dissolved salts will increase the boiling point of water

You would think the calcium and magnesium would just neutralize the elevation, but instead, stuff just seems to not cook right at all. Pasta is sticky and undercooked. The beans just don't soften.

I don't know what is going on in those pots. LOL.

Popcorn is all mucked up!

[prairiewindmomma]

Hunter:

 1. You may want to google the term “total dissolved solids”. It is the technical term for when there are a lot of minerals and gunk in the water. If you have high TDS and you have kidney issues, it’s a problem. (Don’t know if that’s an issue for you, but wanted to point that out.)

2. If you think you might like Indian food, look in that direction—lots of lentils, potatoes, and inexpensive ingredients and most of the recipes rely on pressure cookers. Many Indian food recipes YouTube videos are done in English. 🙂 

3. Best wishes! I love hearing of your adventures and resilience—it brings me hope and courage.

[Pen]

IME split peas don’t sprout - peas (any such seeds) have to be whole.  

Let me know what you find on sprouts toxicity.

I think alfalfa sprouts have had Canav anine issues. 

If you sprout normal legume foods you would be cooking and then still cook them —not eat as raw sproyluts— (like garbanzo beans) I think it both reduces cooking time hugely and also increases nutrition , while the cooking helps kill microbes that might have started growing. 

Please do share what you learn on that. 

 

 

[Pen]

 

Beans can take a lot of cooking and soaking, but spaghetti should not need that.  

2500 feet isn’t a lot higher than people in my area are at and we have lots of minerals in water yet stuff does cook.  I wonder if main problem might be the stove you are using. 

What you describe sounds like what happens here if there’s not good contact between pot and burner so that heat is inconsistent and not overall high enough for good boil. 

 

Or maybe your stove stove just doesn’t heat up hot enough or maybe the thermostat is glitchy so it doesn’t maintain heat...   

I assume you bring water to rolling boil first, then add your pasta? 

 

Quote

. I would like to include more whole and dark meat chicken and broth cooked in bones.

 

IP on recook after most of the meat solids are removed can cook chicken bones skin etc  for more than just one time to produce a broth — maybe 2 broths  till bones are so soft they can just be disintegrated into the soup liquids on 3rd or so time. . 

ETA: There’s a preview of a National Geographic of Gordon Ramsey learning about Vikings and Sami cooking that shows multiple uses of same stock. (And stock pot going along with more and more added has been a tradition in many northern cultures—)

 

Quote

And some kind of legume IF I can do it cheaper than canned.

 

Thoretically should be possible

 

 

You might want to look up how to descale kettles and pots.  (I use a little vinegar from time to time for my descaling)

also it may be harder than carrying water from store but there’s a freezing water process that can be used to get rid of some minerals in smallish batches. ... if you have a freezer 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Pen

[KungFuPanda]

Is 2500 feet even high enough to affect cooking?  Maybe you're just not used to your new stove? If it's really bad, getting your hands on an instant pot can be your best bet because you could saute stuff.  You could also reliably cook beans and rice which are definitely budget staples.  I doubt that canned beans are ever cheaper than dried.  You have to consider that beans will triple their volume when cooked.  You'll get about 6 cups of cooked beans out of a pound of dried. 

[Pen]

11 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Is 2500 feet even high enough to affect cooking? 

It can make cooking take longer even at 2500 feet and can slightly reduce temperature of a boil .   Evaporation also tends to increase.

 

11 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Maybe you're just not used to your new stove? If it's really bad, getting your hands on an instant pot can be your best bet because you could saute stuff.  You could also reliably cook beans and rice which are definitely budget staples.  I doubt that canned beans are ever cheaper than dried.  You have to consider that beans will triple their volume when cooked.  You'll get about 6 cups of cooked beans out of a pound of dried. 

 

I also tend to think it sounds like it may be a stove problem and that a working IP might help a lot.  Sauté, pressure cook, slow cook, maybe make yoghurt, reheat things...

[IfIOnly]

I'm curious. What size IP y'all would recommend for a single person?

We have a 8 quart, but that makes sense for our large family of 7 with 4 teens boys. 😉

[Pen]

7 minutes ago, IfIOnly said:

I'm curious. What size IP y'all would recommend for a single person?

We have a 8 quart, but that makes sense for our large family of 7 with 4 teens boys. 😉

 

6qt   Minimum unless no space for that

I think too small is impractical and being able to easily fit a small chicken or roast or head of cauliflower/ broccoli etc  helps

a big soup with leftovers helps. 

[Pen]

Cooked in sauté  in IP — greens (here dandelion greens and green onions) stay green and with some texture if added later than meat  - not ugly and mushy 

makes it more like stir fry done this way

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Pen

[Hunter]

Lots to get caught up on here. I will read it all when I get a chance.

I just bought this in one of the local stores. Imusa 7.2 quart. I paid $22.00

https://www.imusausa.com/product/imusa-stovetop-natural-finish-basic-pressure-cooker-7-2-quarts-silver/

 

[Emba]

Granted, I’ve never lived near sea level, so I don’t know how things actually cook at low altitude. I live somewhere around 4,000 ft now and have lived at 5,000+ and close to 11,000. 
 

ive never had the problems you’re describing. I’ve also only cooked beans without a pressure cooker maybe twice, except lentils. And lentils don’t take much longer than the package says they should, though it is a little longer ( no more than 5-10 minutes longer, I think, at current altitude but it’s been a long time since I fixed them).  I really think you need to look at your stove. Maybe if that is the problem, an electric burner would work. Is that the same thing as a hot plate?

 Also, I’ve dealt with pretty mineral-heavy water, but never what you’re describing. I’m not sure how much that has to do with what’s going on.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Emba

[Emba]

Good luck with the new pressure cooker. I think a lot of electric pressure cooker recipes can be pretty easily adapted to stovetop, and there are a ton of instant pot recipes out there.

 Check the library too. Mine hasn’t caught up to the instant pot trend, so still has quite a few Cookbooks for traditional pressure cookers.

[KungFuPanda]

Woot! Congratulations! It's tricky to find recipes because Instant Pot recipes have taken over the internet.  I either google "stovetop pressure cooker recipes" or I just go by the cook times listed after it comes up to pressure.  Having a pressure cooker means that your chicken bones can live a second life at bone broth!

[Hunter]

People with kidney and certain other problems don't drink the water. We have water vending machines and water mills everywhere. The vending machines in my area get too hot to use safely, and the water comes out hot enough to melt a plastic jug. I have no idea what the toxins the water is absorbing in the machines, but it is not safe to store hot water in a reused plastic water bottle. I have to walk a 1/2 mile to the closest water mill. That has taps on the outside of a building. 

Access to water is not a right in the USA. And the water laws are more state than federal, now.

I do not know WHY things cook as they do. I have been in two different kitchens: one gas and one electric, 30 minutes away from each other. I don't know what is up here exactly. Like I said, people that blog have stuff I don't. They talk about the elevation and baking mostly.

When combining the issues, the chemical reactions might be something very different from the separate issues. I don't know. My relative and his peeps don't cook, and like I said, if I try and talk to them, they just feed me, and that isn't what I was looking for. They are a totally different social and income class that I am, and they feel guilt about that. Not just my relative, but someone with him when I called him promised to have his back if he brought me here, and he did. A total stranger was very very very good to me. He is known in his circle for being a jerk, but he is just ... misunderstood, LOL, and my relative is looking forward to defending him when he needs it the most by telling this story of his part in carting my butt across this country. LOL. 

I did not have to move to this slum. I kinda had to fight them to let me come here. I live in a place they would fear to live. I am here for a reason. Everywhere I go is for a reason, and I have learned to trust that. I feel safe and on track.

The top of my list is to cook chicken with bones in it, and Indian food. And closer to Christmas I would like to play around with baking in it, just for ... the learning opportunity, because ... I just never know where I will end out. LOL. 

My first inclination was that the pot was too big for me, but it is not. It is tall, and I will be able to layer food, and cook enough food for multiple meals. It is the right size for meat with bones. It is the right size to bake. God or whatever is in charge knew what I needed and planted it on the shelf. I trust that. He/it always does.

 

[Bootsie]

9 hours ago, Emba said:

This is the recipe:

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-gumbo/
 

you do cook the roux first

Thanks. 

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Hunter said:

Lots to get caught up on here. I will read it all when I get a chance.

I just bought this in one of the local stores. Imusa 7.2 quart. I paid $22.00

https://www.imusausa.com/product/imusa-stovetop-natural-finish-basic-pressure-cooker-7-2-quarts-silver/

 

 

Looks like you should know soon if issue is high altitude or if it’s the stove.

 

[Hunter]

If I get into the right groove at youtube, the stovetop videos come up. Starting with the expat videos got me into them.

It is the same for ricecookers and crockpots. The new videos for all the expensive models have taken over. You have to get into the grooves for the overseas videos.

I was glad to get an American brand of the pressure cooker to be able to replace the gasket more easily, but so much of the shopping here is products from Mexico and China. The shopkeepers here have access to amazingly supply lines that are diverse, flexible, and personal. This slum is not a food desert or missing the basic tools to live. These shop keepers keep us supplied. They have no steady access to American name brands, and only get the overstock, but they have access to food and clothes and tools, and do a nice job of choosing the gems from the mud.

I am going to buy some chicken tomorrow, and give this baby a test run. First I will watch some videos tonight.

[Pen]

 

3 minutes ago, Hunter said:

I am going to buy some chicken tomorrow, and give this baby a test run. First I will watch some videos tonight.

 

Videos sound good!  Have fun!!!

 

I recommend a first test run of just water to make sure you understand the workings .

Perhaps A second test on something less expensive than chicken. Maybe cook some potato or rice.   Then a chicken.  Which could go with the potato or rice.  😁

 

once you catch on to it you can probably use recipes meant for IP too - 

[fairfarmhand]

Found this on Tough Beans

https://kitchensavvy.com/tough-beans#:~:text=Beans cooked in water that,cells%2C making them more firm.

"Beans cooked in water that contains a high level of calcium can take a very long time to cook, or may never soften at all.  The calcium combines with the pectins between cells in the beans.  The strengthened pectins reinforce the walls of the cells, making them more firm.  Also, acidic ingredients such as ketchup, tomatoes or vinegar used in the recipe can slow down dissolving of the cell walls, contributing to the sense that the beans haven't cooked completely.  Once the beans have softened, however, these ingredients can be added without affecting the final texture.

Some cooks may add a small amount of baking soda to encourage beans to soften, although in doing so they risk turning the beans to mush as well as affecting the flavor.

Sugar can act in the same way as calcium to prevent the beans from softening, so molasses is a triple threat to cooking beans, as it is acidic and contains both sugar and significant amounts of calcium."

[Hunter]

Yes, I will practice on some water first and then potatoes. Good idea!

I might skip bean cooking. That link that fairfarmhand posted lists calcium specifically and that is one of the major minerals that I am dealing with. If I air dry my dishes, I can scrape the minerals off the dishes. It is a significant amount. My hair is sticky with mineral residue about 1/3 as bad as if I washed it in ocean water.  Soap does not work as well, but water does gets things better. Like I said, water is not a right in the USA. I am lucky I have what I have. What is wrong with my water is a constant reminder to me that I do have water. I don't go a day without thinking about those with less water.

If I ever get back in school, I am going to write a paper on towns without water in the USA. There is no excuse for that! With my growing faith, I am regaining a sense of right and wrong. I am gaining a worldview. It is unjust to leave these people without water, in a country with such abundance.

The elevation is half a mile high. It doesn't sound as high in feet. Half a mile is something. 

Meat with bones is my priority. I really think broth made from skin and bones and all that stuff is healthy to eat. $22.00 is worth a year of two pots a week of boiled meat and veggies and broth. Those ingredients are cheap here, because the supply line from farmer to slum is pretty direct. I love being here and getting the chance to watch these people navigate around the bottlenecks created by those in power.

The chicken did cook in a regular pot, unlike the beans. It just cost me more than I wanted to pay to cook it. I am hopeful that some pressure and an insulated pot are going to reduce the cost of boiled meat and veggies. I am very hopeful this is going to work.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Hunter

[Pen]

If you didn’t use all the beans you had, you might see what happens on a cold soak of around 48 hours. 

[Carrie12345]

12 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Is 2500 feet even high enough to affect cooking?

Yes. My stovetop is somewhere between 2001 and 2010’, give or take. It seems like that should be meaningless and, frankly, it isn’t an enormous issue, but it’s enough that I had to adapt a little bit.  
My cookware does play a bigger role than that, though.  I have a thin bottom pot that boils water in almost normal amounts of time, and a thicker bottom pot that we only use when we’re forced to because it takes much longer. Cast iron operates beautifully, but we don’t boil water in it.

[Lanny]

OP I think the main purpose of a Pressure Cooker is to speed up the cooking process? My wife has a Pressure Cooker and she uses it extensively, but I don't think saving money for energy for the  stove is a motivation, although there is probably a reduction in the consumption of gas for our stove when she uses it.

If someone is going to buy a Pressure Cooker, that is one place where I believe buying a very high quality product is a must, for safety reasons. And, studying how to use it safely is also a must. Our Pressure Cooker was purchased probably in 1997.   The brand is "UNIVERSAL" and is made here in Colombia.

[gardenmom5]

an old fashioned pressure cooker.  Thrift stores have them.  I think dh bought our current one at a garage sale.  Here's one on amazon, that as of posting this, has an open box for $24.

[Hunter]

Water was a success.

I am going to go buy some potatoes for the next trial run. I like to cook potatoes in bulk the day I buy them. The roaches are too bad to store any food in the cabinets and I keep everything in the fridge. Potatoes starch changes in the fridge, so I don't like to store uncooked potatoes at home. I eat a fair amount of boiled potatoes dipped in ketchup.

Some good videos come up if you google "Hawkins pressure cooker." The Hawkins 1.5 liter seems to be popular with RVers and cruisers and some other interesting people. 

I have watched some baking videos from India, and I can see that an old stove top pressure cooker without gasket of the pressure thingy will always make a good stovetop oven. Also it is always still an insulated pot that will use less fuel, even without pressure. Stove top models are a good long-term investment.

I have been watching quite a few IP videos too, especially the baking and creative ones.

You really can do a lot with just a 2 burner stove and a cast-iron frying pan and pressure cooker.

 

[Hunter]

5 hours ago, Lanny said:

Our Pressure Cooker was purchased probably in 1997.   The brand is "UNIVERSAL" and is made here in Colombia.

 

4 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

 I think dh bought our current one at a garage sale.  Here's one on amazon, that as of posting this, has an open box for $24.

What are some of the main brands of stove-top cookers in the USA and overseas?

Imusa

Hawkins

Universal

Prestige

[KungFuPanda]

11 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Yes. My stovetop is somewhere between 2001 and 2010’, give or take. It seems like that should be meaningless and, frankly, it isn’t an enormous issue, but it’s enough that I had to adapt a little bit.  
My cookware does play a bigger role than that, though.  I have a thin bottom pot that boils water in almost normal amounts of time, and a thicker bottom pot that we only use when we’re forced to because it takes much longer. Cast iron operates beautifully, but we don’t boil water in it.

I grew up at 2500 feet and live at about 500. I’ve never noticed a difference between cooking at my house or my mom’s. My brother, who moved to Colorado, reports a big difference in cooking there. I just assumed you had to get out of the hills and into actual mountains before you had to learn to cook “at altitude.”