Must say I get really fed up with all those Migros/Coop offers - but this time I 'cracked' and saved 2 cards of Coop vouchers to buy the pressure cooker.

I've never had one- so would love your favourite recipes and tips. Thanks all!

I also have never had a pressure-cooker but have been curious as to 1) how they actually work and 2) what you can actually make with them.

I guess my Italian mother-in-law uses one to cook meat and it's always so melt-in-your-mouth tender. Would love to be able to cook like that!

Still time to get yours from the Coop special offer

My mum used to do a great beef stew in it. Through everything in and leave it for a few hours, don't know the recipe though.

Must have been yummy - a few hours in a pressure cooker are the equivalent of a few days in a normal pot/pan.

Fry onions, garlic and a couple of chilis in oil. Add a hacked up chicken and fry briefly just to brown the skin. Season (plenty of salt). Cover in cheap tinned tomatoes, add chopped potatoes (big pieces) and peas. Bring to pressure for 15 minutes. Serve with garlic bread.

They work by heating the liquid inside to over 100 degrees. The boiling point of the liquid is raised due to it being under pressure*. The main thing they're used for is casseroles or other "liquidy" dishes.

They used to be a trendy way to heat a Christmas pudding instead of waiting for it to simmer on the hob for an hour, until people started popping them in the microwave for 2 minutes instead.

* Boiling point is linked to pressure. At very high altitudes water boils at enough degrees under 100 to make a noticable difference to a decent cuppa!

Thanks for the info, for a moment, I mixed it with a slow cooker.

I cook dried beans in it, beef stew, chicken cacciatore, soups/minetrone, straccotto, chili, boiled dinner, really any wet dish that benefits from a longer cooking time but when you don't have much time.

I also steam veggies and potatoes. They take 5-10 mins. Well, a bit longer with the getting up to temp and cooling down. But it's much quicker than with a regular pot. It takes practice though. You'll have lots of soup while learning.

Thanks, I'll have to give it a try.

I've used mine like twice in 10 years, and only for cooking dried beans.

Tom

I don't own one any more. On a cheap hob it can take too long to get up to pressure. I use a bamboo steamer in a wok for steaming stuff, a microwave for quick heating, and simply wait longer for casseroles to cook the normal way

I did like my chicken casserole above, but the pressure cooker was simply too big to be kept in my small kitchen only to be used a couple of times a year.

We use ours constantly. Braised meats are some of my favourite foods, particularly at this time of the year. I love the fact that the end result always comes out perfectly.

Some classic dishes that always turn out well are --

Blanquette de veau: Add cubed stewing veal, small onions, carrots and mushrooms, as well as a large onion studded with cloves. Add a bouquet garni, salt and white pepper. Cover with cold water and cook about 30 minutes after pressure has built. Remove lid, thicken with flour and add double cream. Serve with rice.

Braised beef (also works with venison): take cubed beef and brown well on all sides. Add sliced onions and fry until translucent. Add carrots, beef stock, a can of tomatoes, bay leaf, fresh rosemary, and a good slug of balsamic vinegar. Cook under pressure 40-45 minutes. Remove lid and thicken sauce.

Pot au feu: Brown stewing beef well on all sides. Add onions, carrots, cabbage, turnips, swede, leeks, potatoes, beef stock and a bouquet garni. Season and cook for 35-40 minutes under pressure.

Braised pork: Cut a filet of pork into medallions about 4-5cm thick. Brown well, adding sliced onions, salt, pepper, and sage. Add braising liquid (we usually either use a good, dark beer or apple cider) and cook for 20 minutes under pressure. For a beer braising sauce, remove lid and thicken. For a cider braising sauce, thicken and finish with cream.

Loads of other possibilities, but these four get served often in our house.

Haven't you got phones to answer?

How could I have forgotten? They're going to expel me from Alsace if I don't also mention that you can use your pressure cooker to make a fantastic choucroute garnie. Mmmmm....

I love my Coop special offer pressure cooker! It's invaluable in my tiny apartment where the 'kitchen' is two hotplates and a sink.

This beef in red wine recipe from Lorna Sass is my favourite.
http://pressurecookingwithlornasass....ube-provencal/

As you get to know cooking times, you can use inexpensive meat (if liked...) with some beans and veggies to create a great meal in a short time.

If you are interested in indian food... pressure cooker can be very handy. Following are some easy recipes...

Mixed Vegetable Pulao (rice with vegitables)
http://www.hawkinscookers.com/8.1.re...aspx?rcp_cd=54

Lentil Soup
http://www.hawkinscookers.com/8.1.re...spx?rcp_cd=132

Rajma (Kidney Beans Curry)
http://www.hawkinscookers.com/8.1.re...aspx?rcp_cd=69

Murghi ma Kaju (Chicken with Cashew Nuts)
http://www.hawkinscookers.com/8.1.re...aspx?rcp_cd=57

I realised at the weekend that I still have my pressure cooker, pushed right at the back of a cupboard in my flat in London. Now I've gone through this thread I'm tempted to bring it to Basel! I might start using it again.

I know I had problems before when using it on an electric hob as it didn't get hot enough, but hopefully this one here is OK (in London I have a gas hob with one of those triple-ring wok burner things).

Rendang (Indonesian). I normally using regular pan or wok just it takes long time until it's ready but if I have pressure cooker I would definitely use it.

I love my pressure cooker! Couldn't live without it!
Everything takes so much less time when it comes to cooking stuff really through. You can use the "less" quality meat and make amazing things with it. It always comes out tender, juicy and flavorful. The pressure that get's applied basically rips apart any tough meat and pushes flavor in.

I cook all kind of stews in there. I like stews because they're so versatile. Pork with tomatillos is one of my favorite.
Also the meatrrrroaf goes in there. Or Fleischvögel (roulades).
Or Borscht. Throw everything in, cook, finito.
Potatoes, red beetroots are done so fast in there.
Sauerkraut (or soaked beans), put a smoked ham on top or some bacon... cook for 15 min on high.
Newest discovery: Salt, pepper (add other spices if you want), stuff onion, garlic, rosemary in the cavity and put the whole chicken in. Cook for 15 - 20 min on high. It turns out incredibly juicy! (Okay one slight disadvantage: no crispy skin. )

Here's the ULTIMATE pressure cooker time chart
http://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cooke...ure_cooker.php

Interesting, I think pressure cookers are going to be 2013's 'fad' as Cook's Illustrated not only just did a product rating on them (Fissler came out on top as the only one to reach 250F on the stovetop, Fagor second, Kuhn Rikon didn't fare very well at all) but they're also publishing a new collection of pressure cooker recipes in March entitled "Pressure Cooker Perfection" ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936493411/ ). And a "Miss Vickie" seems to be a popular place for recipes - http://www.MissVickie.com/

I may have to try one as my crazy german mother had one and it nearly exploded once while we were canning tomatoes so, I've always been a bit shy of them.