Bringing a pressure cooker up to pressure/temperature

Cafe Society
1

We have a basic pressure cooker with a weighted doohickey that sits atop the main vent pipe. For years, when I’ve used it I add ingredients to the pot, put the weight on, turn up the heat, and wait for it to start doing its rhythmic shch-shch-shch thing. Then I turn down the heat and start timing.

However, I’ve recently read that I may have been doing a couple things wrongly over the years.

First, should I wait to put the weight on top until I start seeing steam coming out the vent?

Second, when cooking I’ve been setting the temperature at a level that keeps the shch-shch-shch going constantly. Should I keep the heat low enough so that it only vents/rocks every once in a while?

If the above are correct, how should I adjust my cooking timing? I’ve had generally good results so far, but will things improve?

2

I don’t use one, but my wife does.

She waits till the steam is coming out, drops on the weight, maintains the temperature at a level that keeps the shch-shch-shch going constantly, and then removes from the stove and runs under cold water to kill the steam.

She has her own internal timing that I’m not privy to.