My Nana has been convincing me to use a pressure cooker since she bought a new one recently. She’s been using her old pressure cooker for a long time and has been one of her favorite tools ever since. But I’m kind of intimidated by its loud noise. So, I’m still a bit hesitant to try it. Moreover, I’m used to the traditional cooking methods she taught me. I’m not sure if I can really switch to pressure cooking. However, my Nana is persistent, so she told me the real difference between pressure cooking vs traditional cooking methods.
Grandma is a traditional cook, but for her to recommend her new pressure cooker is something that amazes me. So, I gave it a shot, and I just can’t get enough pressure cooking. It’s really convenient and offers tons of fantastic benefits.
If you are also curious to understand the difference between pressure cooking vs traditional cooking, my Nana and I conducted a comparison that may provide some insight.
Difference Between Pressure Cooking vs Traditional Cooking
My Nana and I had an enjoyable experience trying to cook various dishes with her brand-new pressure cooker. We discovered a huge contrast between the usual cooking process and the pressure cooking process. Through experimentation, we found that using a pressure cooker can yield very different results than traditional food preparation methods.
Speed
When it comes to speed, pressure cooking is quicker compared to other methods. We cooked the same dish using the two methods, and the process is quicker with a pressure cooker. Pressure cooking is a method of food preparation that utilizes pressure to speed up the cooking process, unlike traditional methods, which can take a much longer time. This technique relies on trapping steam inside a sealed vessel, thus raising the boiling point of water and resulting in more rapid cooking times.
Using a pressure cooker when making meals that usually require an hour or more to cook on a regular stovetop can greatly reduce the time it takes to prepare them. For example, I can cook difficult-to-cook staples such as dry beans and hardy brown rice almost half the time using a pressure cooker instead of conventional methods.
Flavor
Pressure cooking helps preserve nutrients and vitamins within the ingredients while allowing for high-flavor meals with less fat and fewer calories than other forms of preparation. The high temperature used during this process also reduces overall cook time, making it an efficient way to prepare meals quickly without compromising flavor or nutrition.
This type of cooking can bring out the natural sweetness of certain ingredients, creating a unique and delicious taste that is hard to replicate with any other method. This is especially important in creating the perfect sear on steak or poultry, as it can help to create a delicious crust that seals in juices and flavor. The high temperature also helps to lock in nutrition, making pressure cooking one of the healthiest and most efficient ways to cook.
However, since the food is securely sealed in the pressure cooker and has no contact with air, there is a possibility that some of the ingredients may remain uncooked. This could result in an unpleasant experience if these uncooked items are consumed. So, it’s important to know the right dish to cook in a pressure cooker to avoid those kinds of issues.
Energy Efficiency
Because pressure cookers require less time to prepare meals than other cooking techniques, they also provide an advantage in terms of energy efficiency. By using a pressure cooker, you can reduce the amount of energy you need to make your food, as you can cook meal half the time that other methods would require. This makes them an ideal choice for anyone looking to save time and energy when it comes to meal preparation.
A typical household oven requires a whopping 2,000 watts of electricity to roast food adequately. In comparison, a pressure cooker is far more economical and efficient, needing only approximately 6 kilowatt-hours of power to operate effectively. This ultimately saves you money on energy costs in the long run.
Disadvantages of Pressure Cooking vs Traditional Cooking
Although we assess that pressure cooking allows the process to speed up, this method has certain drawbacks.
Difficult to Cook Various Ingredients
When using a pressure cooker, we cannot cook multiple ingredients simultaneously since they often require varying cooking times. Therefore, using other pots and cookware to prepare a single dish is necessary. This can be quite inconvenient but is essential if you want all your ingredients cooked properly.
You can’t Open to Check
Another major disadvantage of pressure cooking is that we cannot open the lid to check on the progress of the food or add any seasonings while it is cooking. This means you should season and add all ingredients before closing the lid and engaging the locking mechanism, making it difficult to adjust flavors while preparing a meal.
Can’t Cook All Meals
Pressure cookers are an incredibly versatile kitchen appliance, perfect for preparing a wide range of dishes. They are particularly well-suited for making hearty stews and warming soups in a fraction of the time they usually take. However, some recipes may not be suitable for pressure cooking. Delicate fish or vegetables can be damaged by the intense heat and steam produced by the cooker.
Hard to Control
One of the most common problems we’ve encountered when using a pressure cooker is that it can be difficult to accurately regulate heat and humidity levels. So, it definitely affects both the texture and flavor of food. Moreover, if you’ll be cooking dishes that require a particular temperature, it will be challenging to do so in a pressure cooker.
Requires Proper Utensils
Another thing about pressure cooking is the fact that it requires special utensils and tools for safe use and, if not used correctly, could lead to potentially hazardous situations. Therefore, although pressure cooking may be a convenient way to speed up meals, you should use it with caution.
