How well do you know your Pressure Cooker ?

A confused girl (like me) calling a Pressure Cooker manufacturer-"Hello ! The thing that whistles is missing.I want a spare !" ..Wrong guy & confused picks up- "Hello Ma'am.I'm already,will I be ok ?"

As I said in my previous post,if there is any cookware that is abUSED in my lab of edible experiments ,the kitchen,then that ought to be my mighty "Pressure Cooker !" . That was one of the cookware I brought with me for sure when I first came to US,the one I ,most of the time, buy whenever I visit India,the one if someone visits India from US,my parents would ask me if I want one,the one that scares my hubby whenever I am scanning the cookware section of any supermarket,the one which eventually becomes handicapped/with missing parts within a short period of time -the ONE and only my mighty "Pressure Cooker".

A handful of P.C. and its weights I own-between me and U....

I love my pressure cooker a lot because it just decreases the pressure of cooking for me meaning helps me in reducing the cooking time yet makes healthy (because of its steaming properties,it retains the minerals and vitamins of any vegetables cooked so) and tasty dishes fast for my family .So,I use them a lot ,abuse them a lot,eventually it becomes partially or completely useless and if it is completely useless, I end up buying another one but if a part is not working and can be replaced then I go for that option better ,but then the real problem arises ; Well,when a part of my pressure cooker is missing or should be replaced , I would be left wondering ,"What the heck is it called ?"

Then I ask my mom as usual ,confuse her too but later on somehow we would figure it out that we both are talking about the same part ,but then with a lapse of time, my memory also lapses and I would often ,either totally forget the name or get confuse with the name like the "weight" and the "Valve" for example.Then I would thank God that I've internet and my darlo Google ,that would later clarify my doubts and ease the pressure cooking in my brain...

So,I realized it's high time and since I've a blog I must store the details of this cookware and soothe the pressure not only in cooking but also in my mind and even for blogging purpose .So that ,next time ,I must not torture my mother or a friend or even Google ..Peace to all !!

So,here are the all abouts' of a pressure cooker- the vital knicks and knacks of a pressure cooker - or say,an Anatomy of a humble pressure cooker :

An Indian Pressure Cooker ! Image credit :Hawkins

An American Pressure cooker -Image :Presto's

Obviously,I owned both of them .Very soon I will be opening an antique showroom displaying the pressure cookers I owned till date .But I am learning to be more careful now -the optimum utilization of available resources in a cost efficient way....

So,here are the other important points to remember :

•  Before using it for the first time or after every use,always wash the lid ,the gasket,the weight and the body in little soapy warm water.The safety valve should be clean and shouldn't be obstructed with any left over food particles.
• Any label can be removed from the cooker like the price tag etc using a vegetable oil on it or using warm water over it.
• Always cook with water,cut the vegetables or any meats in uniform sizes and never cook food beyond the 2/3rd level of the pressure cooker's capacity.
• Never throw the instruction booklet that came with it (if you do,ask me,I've a set of them now piling up)and always refer for the optimum use of the cooker otherwise you will keep on buying like me :D .

Now,I can stop playing Pictionary and start referring this Pressure Cooker Dictionary forever stored in my virtual space !

With pressure whoops pleasure ,