Q: How do pressure cookers work?
A: The principle of pressure cooking is quite simple -- and extremely effective. The temperature of water cannot rise above the temperature of boiling, and boiling temperature is dependent on surrounding air pressure. When heat is applied to a pressure cooker, the air pressure and the boiling point inside rise hand-in-hand. This allows cooking temperatures inside your food to rise to higher levels inside than they could otherwise.
For example, at sea level (where the pressure is 14.7 lbs per square inch), the boiling point of water is 212° F, the highest temperature that can be reached by water at that elevation. The boiling point is raised 38° (to 250° F) under the additional 15 pounds of pressure that can be obtained in a pressure cooker, and this higher temperature cooks your food much more quickly.
A secondary benefit of the increased pressure is that it softens the fibers in food, tenderizing even the toughest of meats and beans.
The increased internal temperature and the tenderizing effect on the fibrous nature of foods cooked under pressure combine to decrease normal cooking times by two-thirds or more.
Q: How is the Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Pressure Cooker's valve different from the old style weight valve?
| A: The spring valve of the Duromatic pressure cooker by Kuhn Rikon allows the user to know when the interior of the pan achieves pressure, allowing greater accuracy in the timing of cooking. When the first red ring appears, the internal pressure has been raised 8 pounds per square inch (psi) above the external pressure. When the second red ring appears, internal pressure has been raised 15 psi above the external pressure. The Quick Cuisine cookbook (included with every cooker) tells exactly how to use the ring indicator for each recipe, and provides guidelines and tables for using the same techniques for any food you may wish to prepare. The weight valve system on older pressure cookers and on some contemporary pressure cookers gives no clear indication of when full pressure is achieved; the user must guess as to when this has occurred. Kuhn Rikon's spring valve system, by providing more accurate timing, allows superior cooking results. A weight valve system allows a great deal of steam to escape. When a large amount of steam is escaping, there is a constant hissing noise, an increased likelihood of a clogged valve, and greater evaporation of moisture. Duromatic's valve allows cooking with less water (thereby retaining more of the vitamins, minerals and natural taste of the food), almost completely eliminates clogged valves, and is much quieter than cooking with a weight-valve system. |  
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Q: At which temperature do I cook most foods?
A: Most foods can be cooked at the higher pressure (second red ring; 15 pounds per square inch.) Foods that have a tendency to foam, such as rice and soups, are cooked at the first red ring. Instruction manuals and recipes will indicate if cooking at the first red ring is desired.
Q: Should cooking times be adjusted at higher elevations?
A: Yes. Pressure cooking offers the same advantages at higher elevations as it does at lower elevations. But the increase in pressure within the cooker is relative, meaning that it is capable of doubling the normal pressure at a given elevation. Because this is true, for every 1000' of elevation over 2000', cooking times with a pressure cooker should be increased 5% over sea level pressure cooking times.
Q: What are the benefits of using a pressure cooker?
1.) Healthy Meals: Because very little water is used in pressure cooking and because the pressure cooker is a closed system, few vitamins or minerals are lost to the cooking water or dissipated into the air. Because they are not exposed to oxygen, vegetables not only retain their vitamins and minerals, but their vivid color as well.
Low fat, high protein beans and legumes, healthy additions to any diet, are frequently avoided because of their long cooking time under normal cooking conditions. In a pressure cooker, however, most beans and legumes can be cooked in less than 15 minutes.
2.) Better Taste: This is a direct result of the health benefits explained above. Also, for dishes such as stews and pasta sauces the pressure actually causes the ingredients to quickly mingle and their flavors to intensify. Pressure cookers keep the flavor in the food.
3.) Faster Cooking: The cooking times for most foods in the pressure cooker are approximately a quarter to a third the times for those same foods cooked in traditional manners and are, in many instances, faster even than a microwave. Some sample times:
