Food and cooking is an important activity of any household. The kitchen is the area in any household which brings the whole family together, share some good moments and enjoys food together. For any good meal to be shared by the family, the choice of ingredients and cooking technique used is important to make a good meal. The choice of ingredients and cooking technique should not only make a tasty meal, but healthy meal also.
From the time of evolution of human civilization, fire has been used for cooking purposes. As evolution happened, pots and vessels made out of clay and mud were used to cook the raw food. With the invention of copper, iron and other metals vessels made out of these materials were used which reduced cooking time and saved energy. The use of vessels made out of these materials with a lid has been in use for cooking purpose for a long time. This has been a well accepted method of cooking, but the downside is too much use of energy, uneven cooking and loss of nutrients.
The vessels which are used for cooking have also evolved with time; may be for material, type of bottom or tight lids which minimizes loss of heat. There are certain materials which are good conductors of heat, which enables cooking to happen fast thus saving on heat and time. Copper, iron and stainless steel are some of the materials which are used and have been known to be efficient for cooking purpose. One of the vessels most suitable and economical for cooking purpose is the pressure cooker which saves energy and time considerably.
The first and foremost advantage of the pressure cooker is the buildup of steam in the compartment, which enables cooking to happen in the least time possible. The pressure cooker makes use of the fact that a small increase in temperature reduces cooking time considerably. The pressure traps the escaping heat and keeps under pressure, which raises the temperature of boiling water and steam by 100 C reducing cooking time drastically.
The boiling of water by 100C can reduce cooking time from 1 hr to hr, and rising further to 110C can further bring it down to hr. The practical aspect of reducing cooking time is related to pressure-temperature relationship of steam. At temperatures above 130-140C, the pressure increases enormously for small increment in temperature. For all practical purposes 120C is an effective limit beyond which massively constructed pressure vessels would be needed.
The pressure cooker which is used for domestic use is made of heavy gauge aluminum and the pressure is regulated by weights which sit on a release valve. A pressure cooker has to have a safety valve, which prevents pressure to build inadvertently in the system beyond safe specified level. The pressure cooker works on the mechanism of allowing copious flow of steam through the safety valve before it is capped by weights. This ensures any extra air is released before cooking happens, even a small amount of air if present can diminish the heat transfer properties of steam.
The advantages of using pressure cooker for cooking purpose can be enumerated as; less cooking time, efficiency in fuel consumption, safe to use and needs less attention, loss of nutrients and flavors is less compared to open vessel cooking, food is cooked evenly, the pressure cooker indicates when cooking is about to complete, and there are less chances of scorching and burning of food. The pressure cooker is an easy to use vessel, but there are some safety concerns as well. The use of pressure cooker causes mixing of flavors and over cooking of food which may not be desirable.
From the time of evolution of human civilization, fire has been used for cooking purposes. As evolution happened, pots and vessels made out of clay and mud were used to cook the raw food. With the invention of copper, iron and other metals vessels made out of these materials were used which reduced cooking time and saved energy. The use of vessels made out of these materials with a lid has been in use for cooking purpose for a long time. This has been a well accepted method of cooking, but the downside is too much use of energy, uneven cooking and loss of nutrients.
The vessels which are used for cooking have also evolved with time; may be for material, type of bottom or tight lids which minimizes loss of heat. There are certain materials which are good conductors of heat, which enables cooking to happen fast thus saving on heat and time. Copper, iron and stainless steel are some of the materials which are used and have been known to be efficient for cooking purpose. One of the vessels most suitable and economical for cooking purpose is the pressure cooker which saves energy and time considerably.
The first and foremost advantage of the pressure cooker is the buildup of steam in the compartment, which enables cooking to happen in the least time possible. The pressure cooker makes use of the fact that a small increase in temperature reduces cooking time considerably. The pressure traps the escaping heat and keeps under pressure, which raises the temperature of boiling water and steam by 100 C reducing cooking time drastically.
The boiling of water by 100C can reduce cooking time from 1 hr to hr, and rising further to 110C can further bring it down to hr. The practical aspect of reducing cooking time is related to pressure-temperature relationship of steam. At temperatures above 130-140C, the pressure increases enormously for small increment in temperature. For all practical purposes 120C is an effective limit beyond which massively constructed pressure vessels would be needed.
The pressure cooker which is used for domestic use is made of heavy gauge aluminum and the pressure is regulated by weights which sit on a release valve. A pressure cooker has to have a safety valve, which prevents pressure to build inadvertently in the system beyond safe specified level. The pressure cooker works on the mechanism of allowing copious flow of steam through the safety valve before it is capped by weights. This ensures any extra air is released before cooking happens, even a small amount of air if present can diminish the heat transfer properties of steam.
The advantages of using pressure cooker for cooking purpose can be enumerated as; less cooking time, efficiency in fuel consumption, safe to use and needs less attention, loss of nutrients and flavors is less compared to open vessel cooking, food is cooked evenly, the pressure cooker indicates when cooking is about to complete, and there are less chances of scorching and burning of food. The pressure cooker is an easy to use vessel, but there are some safety concerns as well. The use of pressure cooker causes mixing of flavors and over cooking of food which may not be desirable.