Pressure Cookers Revisited: Energy Saving in the Kitchen
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.31.07
Back in the early days of TreeHugger we looked at a designer pressure cooker, but since then we appear to have neglected this rather useful bit of eco kitchen equipment. Yes, they do suffer a bit from that grandma image, but boy do they save energy. Short of using a solar cooker, you’d be hard pressed to find a more efficient way of cooking. This TreeHugger has just been given a Fagor pressure cooker as a gift at his recent eco-wedding, and is delighted with the results. Cooking brown rice, which we’ve already seen is ‘greener’ than white, but which often takes A LOT of boiling, now only takes 20 minutes, and the appliance's instructions claim time savings of up to 70% on some recipes.
Of course, pressure cookers probably aren’t appropriate for every dish. The fact you have to depressurise each time you want to check progress makes adjusting seasoning, or improvising as you go along, a little hard, but for staples like grains, beans and potatoes, and many soups, there can hardly be a better way to cook. The recipe book enclosed with the device also includes a lot fancier creations, including risotto, paella, herb encrusted pork roast, and sweet and sour spare ribs – we are yet to try anything this fancy, but will be sure to give it a go. And in terms of the perennial safety worries, the design seems sturdy and safe, and the manufacturers claim that it cannot be opened until the pressure is 100% released. Once again, we learn that many of the eco-inventions we are searching for have been around for some time. Grandma was right all along…
I got for one for my birthday a few years ago and I found I could make soup out of virtually anything in about an hour. During times of especially low cash flow, it was a life saver. Throw in wilted day-old or leftover veggies, meats, even stale bread, some seasoning and thermodynamics takes care of the rest.
I'm experimenting this summer with a pressure canner, and will learn (without, I hope, too much trial and error) how to put away the loads of fresh veggies we get from our CSA (plug here for Wolf Pine Farm, Alfred, Maine). Found a huge 22 quart used canner on eBay for about $50 including shipping, big enough to put up 7 quarts at a time.
Should be fun, in a sweaty and overheated kind of way.
I can cook brown rice in my microwave rice cooker (Pampered Chef I believe is the maker) in 8 1/2 minutes and it comes out perfect with no stirring, fuss or prep.
I have a Fagor cooker too, and I never use it!!! Someone please point to some useful and tasty recipes. When I looked through the included cookbook, most of the recipes were with beef, which I eat maybe only once a month. Help!!
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Author's Note:
As mentioned in the above article, I've generally stuck to things like grains, or potatoes etc - things which don't need too much messing around with during cooking. It cuts the time for making masjed potatoes down for a start! I do remember using a friends pressure cooker to make lentil soup with some success, but we pretty much improvised the recipe - we just fried up onions, garlic, carrots, a few potatoes and puy lentils, added cumin seed, a little tabasco and stock, a can of tomatoes, and then pressurised and cooked for about 20-30 minutes I think (check Fagor's instructions for time to cook lentils). Maybe that helps?
I also use a microwave for cooking rice and other grains, and I can make 7 cooked cups of rice/barley mix in about 24 minutes. I also find the microwave to be superior for broccoli and asparagus.
I don't use mine that much, but one became a lifesaver on a remote expedition in Kyrgyzstan. We bought a pressure cooker in the market in Bishkek, and lots of dried beans and rice and whatnot. The reduced cooking time saved so much fuel and make our whole experience much better. Especially when you're running an MSR stove on gasoline, it gunks up pretty fast!
Pressure cookers have also been a lifesaver in third world countries. I know in Nepal, some of the local NGOs donated or sold at a loss pressure cookers to the guest houses along the main tourist hiking routes to help them save time, fuel, and money.
Treehugger:
Do you know if slow-cookers are also more energy efficient? My intuition says they are, and I can cook quite few dishs in them? Thanks! Laurel
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Author's comment:
Laurel - I've been wandering the same thing. I'll see what I can find out and get back to you.
The Fagor pressure cooker is fantastic...but to be fully energy effeicent...use it with a Fagor induction cook top...uses 80% less energy than a conventional electric cook top
I use mine regularly, even camping; it saves a lot of fuel. I'd be interested in recipes (vegetarian).
Also, about the decompressing thing. To save energy, subtract the time it takes to decompress from the total cooking time needed and let it decompress naturally. Iow, reduce cooking time by ten minutes or so and let it decompress on it's own. It'll cook the whole time. In the case of rice, you'd get to whistle stage, keep the flame going for under five minutes and then turn off the heat but not open it.
In the case of beans, if you pre-soak them, you can save even more energy. Soaked beans take FIVE MINUTES (assuming you let it decompress on its own), as compared to an hour if you don't pre-soak.
Pressure cookers are good. There's another energy effiecient way to cook that doesn't require buying any thing new that was mad in a a factory,shipped etc. It involves using a hot box,a box insulated with whatever materials are available where you are.You get the pot of beans,grains whtaever up to cooking temp.,put it in the hotbox,which holds temp and let it continue to cook with no additional energy. The pioneers of this approach are Approvecho Institute in Eugene Ore. They've been developing appropriate technology for over 25 years. CHeck out their cook stove designs
My mom uses her pressure cooker all the time and she's been a vegetarian for over 35 years. Artichokes cooked for 12 minute with fresh lemon and garlic come out perfectly, as do all sorts of beans and legumes. We love pressure cooked pinto beans, then refry them in a little olive oil, garlic, oregano and cumin. She also does a great dish with rice and chicken_ brown the chicken in olive oil, scrape up the stuff off the bottom, throw in some brown rice and onions , saute, then add vegetables and herbs: thyme, oregano, basil, lemon pepper, and vegetable broth instead of water for the rice. Pressure cook for 12-15 and voila- a perfect dinner. She also makes black bean soup in the cooker, with whole oranges or tangerines. Have fun and experiment, that's the best way to cook.