Never cook these 6 things in a pressure cooker - Times of India (2024)

FAQs

What should you never cook in a pressure cooker? ›

Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.

According to a study conducted by the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, pressure cooking reduces the lectin content from food. Lectin is a harmful chemical that reduces the nutritional value of food by hindering the absorption of minerals.

If there's one food group you should avoid in the Instant Pot, it's dairy. The high heat and pressure can cause milk and cheese to curdle, separate or clump together.

The advantages of cooking in a pressure cooker are that the cooking process is quick, takes less time than other cookware, saves energy, and seals the nutrients in the food without allowing it to disappear through water. It is durable and easy to clean.

Cooking methods vary in their ability to retain nutrients, and pressure cooking stands out. Research, including a study from the 1990s, suggests that pressure cooking retains about 90 to 95 percent of food nutrients, outperforming other methods like steaming, roasting, and especially boiling.

Cooking rice in a pressure cooker is generally considered a healthier option compared to traditional methods . The high pressure and high-temperature environment of a pressure cooker helps to retain more nutrients in the rice .

Disadvantages of cooking food in a pressure cooker

However, starchy foods may form acrylamide, a harmful chemical, when pressure cooked. Consumption of this chemical on a regular basis may lead to health issues like cancer, infertility, and neurological disorders.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

Pressure cookers are adept at breaking down the connective tissues in meats, rendering them tender and flavorful. This allows for the preparation of delectable curries, biryanis, and stews with meats that might otherwise require hours of simmering.

What happens if you don't soak dal? ›

1> Longer Cooking Time: Beans and lentils that haven't been soaked will generally take longer to cook compared to soaked ones. Soaking helps to soften the beans, reducing the time needed for cooking. No, it's not necessary to soak dried beans/lentils (but some people like to do it, or are used to doing it).

Both slow cookers and pressure cookers do a good job of tenderizing tough meat, but each makes meat more edible in a different way. A pressure cooker is an enclosed pot with a lid that locks to form an airtight seal.

To be clear, you can use a small amount of oil (one to two tablespoons) to saute using your Instant Pot — in fact, most models even have a specific mode for that. But, under no circ*mstance should you ever fill your Instant Pot to the brim with cooking oil and use it as an improvised deep fryer.

Cooking Rice, Grains, and Beans

A pressure cooker removes many of those variables and speeds up the process considerably. For instance, Kenji's pressure cooker mushroom risotto only takes five minutes to cook the rice to a perfect al dente, compared to the 45-plus minutes it takes following a more conventional method.

The pressure cookers used can inactivate up to 10¹⁰ CFU/mL bacteria and 10⁷ CFU/mL fungi.