Modern p
ressure cookers are safe to use, without the dangers of “blowing up” that they had 50 years ago. Locking lids, easy-to-read pressure indications and pressure relief valves all make them safer. Most feature a quick pressure release mechanism so that you don’t have to use precious water to cool them down. Still, there are a number of things to consider when buying one:
ressure cookers are safe to use, without the dangers of “blowing up” that they had 50 years ago. Locking lids, easy-to-read pressure indications and pressure relief valves all make them safer. Most feature a quick pressure release mechanism so that you don’t have to use precious water to cool them down. Still, there are a number of things to consider when buying one:Size. The size pressure cooker you need is dependent on several factors: number of people on board, what you want to cook in the pressure cooker and the stowage space available. For two of us, I bought an 8-quart pressure cooker and it was just too big – the food filled it less than half full and I had no convenient place to store it and thus didn’t use it many times when it would have been helpful.
A very important safety consideration is not to buy a bigger pot than will fit in your pot restraints – you absolutely don’t want a pressure cooker flying across the boat!
I’ve seen pressure cookers ranging in size from very small (1-1/2 quarts) to large enough for home canning. Pressure cookers can be filled no more than 2/3 full – they need at least 1/3 air space to work correctly. The most useful size for two people is probably 4 or 6 quarts (visualize a gallon — 4-quart — milk jug and think if it’d be large enough for what you’d want to cook). If you’re going to use recipes designed for a pressure cooker, most are designed for a 6-quart size. If you’re simply going to adapt your own recipes, or ones designed for stove top cooking, you can use whatever size best fits. Are you going to want to cook a whole chicken? If so, and if you have room to stow it, you’ll need a larger pressure cooker.
Pressure. The better pressure cookers use 15 pounds of pressure, meaning that foods cook at 257 degrees Farenheit. More importantly, unless stated otherwise, pressure cooker recipes assume 15 psi in their timing. Many cheaper pressure cookers use 12 psi and cooking times in recipes have to be increased by 20%.
Some pressure cookers have two pressure settings: one at 15 psi and another lower setting for “delicate” foods. In general, those “delicate” foods are generally better cooked traditionally, but if your goal is simply reducing cooking time for everything, they are worth looking at.
It’s helpful if the cooker has an easy-to-read pressure indicator. This lets you know that things are working correctly AND when it’s safe to open the pressure cooker. Older ones just used the “jiggling” of the pressure weight to show if there was pressure, which was hard for novices to correctly interpret.
Material. As always with things to be used in a boat galley, high quality stainless steel is best. Many pressure cookers are stainless, but some are still aluminum. Aluminum pans can’t be used with acidic foods such as tomatoes as the acidity in the tomato will cause a reaction with the aluminum, causing the tomatoes to absorb some of the aluminum and the aluminum to pit. I’ve never seen a pressure cooker with a non-stick interior.
Safety Features. Most of the following are common sense, but they gain added importance aboard a boat.
- Don’t buy a pressure cooker that is too big for your pot restraints. A pressure cooker flying around the boat is even more dangerous than a regular pan.
- Don’t buy a pressure cooker that is too large for you to comfortably lift when fully loaded, even if the boat is rolling some.
- Make sure the cooker has two handles so you can lift it with both hands.
- The lid must lock.
Other Features. Some pressure cookers have steamer inserts, pasta baskets and trivets for cooking special items.
One Final Thing: Timing is the key to great results with a pressure cooker. I wear a watch with a timer on it so I’ll hear the beep even if I’m up on deck. But I know that many cruisers have no intention of ever wearing a watch again, and for them a good timer with a loud ding is essential! Read more about my favorite timers.
Best Pressure Cookers (available from Amazon.com):
Best overall: Fagor Duo Stainless Pressure Cookers, available in a variety of sizes, have heavy bottoms, with less tendency to scorch food when browning it, two pressure settings, high-quality stainless steel construction and good handles for lifting heavy pots, particularly if the boat is rolling a bit.
Best Budget Pressure Cookers: The Presto Stainless Steel Pressure Cookers cost about 1/3 less than the Fagor Duo for the same size. The sacrifice is that the bottoms aren’t as heavy and require more attention if you’re pre-browning food so it doesn’t scorch, the handles aren’t as convenient, and there is just one pressure setting.
Small Pressure Cookers: If you really need a small pressure cooker and don’t mind aluminum (or don’t intend to use it with acidic foods like tomatoes), the Hawkins Aluminum pressure cookers come in sizes as small as 1-1/2 quarts.
Do you have a favorite pressure cooker? or a hated one? Let others know why you like or dislike yours.
The one comprehensive galley reference needed aboard every boat
I love my Fagor Duo! Best purchase I’ve made for our galley (besides the oven conversion from CNG to propane). Brown rice now only takes 12 minutes, instead of 30+ minutes. I could not recommend it enough. Thanks for the tips!
Amazing. I have been looking for a small PCooker that will fit in my 8″ wide Sea Swing Kero stove with no luck. The Hawkins 1.5L is perfect. How is it that I never heard of Hawkins even after googling pressure cookers dozens of times.
Oh well, thanks for the tip!
Glad to be of help! I understand about trying to find things . . . I sometimes wonder where the hours went when I’m looking for something.
-C
Cuisinart makes an electric pressure cooker that you can also use as a crock pot, and you don’t have to worry about how much room is on your stove. We got ours from Costco for about $60 in store, which is a lot less than the $90-$100 I see it advertised for elsewhere. This is a good option if you like the idea of a pressure cooker but are nervous about the safety issues even with the safeguards of the newer stovetop models (which are very safe, but still make many people uncomfortable.) It has low and high pressure modes, as well as a saute mode to brown food before sealing it up and cooking under pressure. It also has a simmer mode.
Before buying an electric pressure cooker, be sure you’ll have enough power for it! Few boats have sufficient solar or wind power, or want to run a generator long enough to produce the power needed. But if you’re at a dock with shore power, this could be an option.
Kuhn Rikon from Switzerland makes a nice pressure cooker.
We have a Fagor 8qt with the two pots, and strainer. A fantastic piece of equipment that cleans up like its new. We use both the ‘frying pan’ lower sided pan just about every day but not always as a pressure cooker. The larger
‘pot’ gets used often and again not always as a pressure cooker….. those two pieces and a small non-stick and small sauce pan are enough to have onboard for us, and we cook a LOT.
Just my opinion, go ahead and spend the money on a high quality pressure cooker. You will have it for years and years. I can not say enough good things about the Fagor brand.
Sami
m/v Deja vu
I have been doing a bit more pressure cooking at home these days to get use to it and test some recipes. I love the idea of using less fuel and spending less time cooking and heating up the galley. Mine is a 6 qt SS Revere. I’m always on the lookout for good recipes and smart ways to convert recipes.
Gotta get one of these soon .. thanks for the info!
I’ve used my Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker the most. It’s about 10 inch and the bottom is shallow like a fry pan so it does dual duty.
Rice is simple just add rice and 2 times the water, bring to pressure, sit aside until pressure drops and I have perfect rice.
It is not a piece of equipment you should be cheap with buying…..get the best.
I love my Kuhn Rikon PC and have cooked successfully with both on and off the boat. Very efficient for “fast food” and heavy stainless so it can be used as a dutch oven or deep frying pan and cleans up like a dream. Curious, what do you have that you are not so pleased with?
The one I got was an 8-quart one and the reason I didn’t like it was that it was just too big to fit into any convenient storage area . . . so it was a total pain to get out or put away, and it was too large for almost anything that I’d make for just two people. I used it some, but if I’d had one that was just a little smaller, it would have fit into the storage area right in the galley and I would have used it a lot more, particularly in rolly anchorages where I would have loved the locking lid.
I have a 6 Qt. Fissler Pressure Cooker. It has a blue button that raises up to the first white line for medium and the second white line for high. Very simple. It has 2 handles that don’t get hot so it is easy to lift off the stove. It is great on the boat because it isn’t too big and it cooks fast so you don’t use much propane. Some of our favorite meals are ribs, stew, and beer can chicken. Love it!
I love my old 6 quart S/S Presto pressure cooker on board. Yes, it is large…but that’s what I need on occasion. Large enough to steam a whole Maine lobster, and just the right pot to steam clams or mussels…I use sea water when possible. I also use it to make faux baked potatoes by wrapping them in aluminum foil and cooking for 10 minutes. If I want steamed potatoes, I just peel and cut into small chunks and cook for 7 minutes.
It saves me time, water and stove fuel (alcohol stove) and it’s my one “go to” pot.
PS. Having said all that…this is one pot that I never use under way.
I’m lucky……I grew up with pressure cookers……the old Mirro-Matic, with the jiggler on top and three settings (15, 10, and 5 psi). Since I grew up with my mom using them all the time…..I knew how they should sound when they are “jiggling”. I have multiple sizes at home (all inherited from my mom), and keep a 4 qt on the boat. I also use it without pressure to cook and drain pasta.