Cooking Under Pressure: The Ins and Outs of How Pressure Cookers Works

Whether you are in a hurry for the office or you have guests for dinner, a pressure cooker helps you prepare the meal easily and quickly. This is what makes the pressure cooker one of the kitchen appliances that is present in almost every Nepali kitchen.

Whether it be your favourite dal or butter chicken, a pressure cooker helps you prepare them in a matter of minutes. But have you ever wondered how a pressure cooker works to help you prepare your favourite food instantly? So, to answer this question, in this blog, we’ll be going through in detail about the working of pressure cookers.

Pressure Cooker – A Brief History 

The invention of the pressure cooker can be traced back to the late 16th century and the early 17th century. French physicist and mathematician Denis Papin in 1679 invented the “steam digester” which was initially designed to extract fat and collagen from bones. 

In the beginning “steam digester” did not have any steam release mechanism and would only trap the steam. However, later Papin created a steam-release valve to release the steam and prevent explosions. 

These steam digesters were used for industrial and scientific purposes during the initial days. Then in the 19th century, finally pressure cookers were introduced to household kitchens. Alfred Vischer in 1938 introduced the Flex-Seal Speed Cooker which was designed for household use. 

It was in the 20th century when the pressure cooker gained widespread popularity. Today pressure cookers are one of the common kitchen appliances found in almost all kitchens worldwide. 

Understanding How Pressure Cooker Works

Now that we know the history of pressure cookers, it’s time for us to find out how pressure cookers work. So, let’s dive into knowing how a pressure cooker makes it possible to create your favourite dish instantly. 

As the name suggests, the application of pressure in the pressure cooker is the science behind the working of a pressure cooker. Here’s how a pressure cooker works:

Steam Buildup

A pressure cooker consists of a tight sealing lid that locks in place. This lid helps in creating a sealed environment inside the pressure cooker. When a pressure cooker comes into contact with heat the liquid particles inside the pressure cooker boil up and turn into steam. 

Removal of Trapped Air 

When the steam inside the pressure cooker increases, the existing air trapped inside the pressure cooker is released by the pressure cooker automatically with the help of a valve. This is to ensure that no air remains in the pressure cooker and it gets filled by the steam. 

Increase of Pressure

The tight sealing lid prevents steam in the pressure cooker from escaping. The increase in steam buildup in the pressure cooker raises the pressure inside the pressure cooker. 

Cooking 

When the pressure inside the pressure cooker increases above the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius) the high temperature cooks food inside the pressure cooker. The high temperature inside the pressure cooker helps in cooking foods faster than other conventional methods. 

Pressure Release

When the food inside the pressure cooker gets cooked through high pressure then the food is finally cooked. The last step in the cooking involves the removal of the trapped steam through the valve and then finally the cooking process is completed.

Advantages of Pressure Cooking 

When it comes to versatility and faster cooking, only a few kitchens can match pressure cookers. However, besides them, there are other advantages of pressure cooking too. Let’s find out the advantages of pressure cooker cooking,

Retention of Nutrients and Food Taste 

One of the advantages of pressure cooking is that it helps in the retention of nutrients present in the food along with its flavour. This is primarily because of the short cooking period along with the minimal use of water. It helps in the retention of nutrients along with preserving the original taste of foods.

Saves Energy 

We know that pressure cooking is faster than other cooking methods such as steaming and boiling. Faster cooking ultimately helps save energy as well as the time involved in the cooking process making it more efficient than other cooking alternatives.

Easy to Clean, Use and Maintain

The other advantage of using a pressure cooker is that it is easy to clean, use as well as maintain. It can be operated with minimal monitoring when cooking and provides users with high convenience. 

Versatility 

From cooking your favourite dal to butter chicken, you can use a pressure cooker for several recipes, within just 15 minutes. This makes the pressure cooker one of the most versatile kitchen appliances.

Reduced Cooking Time 

It has been found that pressure cooker cooks food 70% faster than conventional cooking methods. This reduced cooking ultimately saves energy, and time as well as retains the nutrients present in the food, and also makes it flavourful.

Conclusion 

The history of pressure cookers dates back to the 17th century when French physicist and mathematician Denis Papin invented the “steam digester”. Initially, the pressure cooker was used for industrial and scientific purposes. It was then in the 19th century pressure cookers were introduced in household kitchens. 

Despite being present in almost every kitchen, many of us do not know how does pressure cooker works to cook food fast and conveniently. The high pressure and temperature that the steam buildups in the sealed pressure cooker container is what makes food cook instantly in a pressure cooker. 

There have been instances where accidents have occurred while using the pressure cooker. While user faults also result in accidents, the use of low-quality pressure cookers is also a major cause. With high-quality pressure cookers from Better Home Appliances, make sure you upgrade your kitchen safety.