Save with Pressure Cookers

Benefits of Pressure Cooking

Principles of Pressure Cooking

Ordinary, open-pot cooking is done at the boiling point of water which produces steam at sea level at 100°C. Pressure cooking works by sealing the steam in a pot so that there is a rise in pressure to a safe, controlled extent which raises the boiling point of water and therefore the cooking temperature. A good Pressure Cooker cooks food at 121°C at a pressure of about 1 kgf/cm² (15 pounds per square inch psi). The invention of the pressure cooker has revolutionised cooking in kitchens the world over. Pressure cooking has five major benefits:

1. Pressure Cooking Saves Time

According to our studies, it takes on an average 53% less time to cook in a pressure cooker when compared to conventional open pot cooking. This takes into account the time required to bring the cooker to full pressure as well as the time during which the food is cooked under full pressure. The longer an item takes to cook, the greater is the time saved through pressure cooking.
The chart below gives examples of five basic foods of an average Indian home and the time saved when they are cooked in a 5 litre pressure cooker with maximum recommended quantities:
This benefit extends to other cereals, pulses, vegetables and meats as well. And substantial saving in time allows the homemaker to devote more attention to the management of her household and pursue her other interests.

2. Pressure Cooking Saves Money

Because you cook faster in a pressure cooker, you save fuel and therefore money. A family saves at least half the gas, kerosene or electricity it would otherwise need, by using a pressure cooker to cook daily meals. For an average family that uses about 12 LPG cylinders in a year, this translates to a saving of about 6 cylinders each year, which is about Rs. 6,000 at current subsidised fuel prices, in other words your gas cylinder may last up to double the time. So a pressure cooker will pay for itself in a few months! Cooking two or more dishes simultaneously in a pressure cooker saves even more time, fuel, and money. Economical foods such as legumes (dals, dried peas and beans) and tough cuts of meat can be cooked to perfection in a fraction of the normal time.

3. Pressure Cooking is Healthy Pressure Cooking Retains Nutritive Elements Better.

Scientific literature indicates that certain nutritive elements such as proteins and vitamins are better retained by pressure cooking. Steaming is ideal for low-calorie, low-fat cooking.
Pressure Cooking is Completely Hygienic. The pressure cooker plays a vital role in safeguarding good health. The pressure cooking temperature of 121°C is sufficient to destroy all harmful bacteria and render food completely hygienic, some of which bacteria are immune to ordinary boiling which takes place at 100°C. Babies’ feeding bottles, bandages, injection syringes and a host of other items can be conveniently sterilised in a pressure cooker.
Water boiled under pressure for 20 minutes in a pressure cooker is one of the surest methods of sterilising drinking water.
Pressure Cooking reduces exposure to Indoor Air Pollution.
The Government of India 2011 Census states that two of every three homes in India (66 percent) use biomass – firewood, crop residue or cow dung – as their primary cooking fuel. Studies by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research indicate that air pollution exposure levels in India are among the highest in the world. Indoor Air Pollution can lead to heart disease, respiratory infections, lung cancer and cataracts, and causes lakhs of deaths each year. As pressure cooking reduces cooking time by half, and since one doesn't need to be close to the pressure cooker once the lid has been shut, exposure to poisonous smoke from the chulha can be reduced by up to 75%, saving lives.

4. Pressure Cooking improves Taste

Quick cooking in steam under pressure may better evoke the natural flavours of the food – producing delicious results. The closed cooking impregnates food with juices and aromas which could be lost in open pot cooking.