# Well, I guess I won't be getting a pressure cooker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237 "2013-04-20T18:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/21 "2013-04-21T06:35:35Z")
I bought mine at Williams Sonoma last year. The new ones are actually really easy and safe to use. Not like my moms pressure cooker that was really scary from what I remember. Anyhow cooking with one is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/22 "2013-04-21T09:59:51Z")
My mother had absolutely no fear of using a pressure cooker during the Korean War. The steam and the noise used to scare me. Nowadays I would think cooking with steam would destroy the vitamins and turn the contents into mush. Cheers, Singanas ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/23 "2013-04-21T10:57:03Z")
I bought a very nice one this winter (my first venture into a Sears in decades). Great for beans or sterilization of mushroom media. ETA: IANC ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/24 "2013-04-21T11:32:57Z")
I have an electric one. As safe and easy to use as a crockpot. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/25 "2013-04-21T14:13:57Z")
It’s pretty spectacular when the thing blows off the top. The contents get shot straight up and splatter all over the ceiling. I witnessed this this happen with my mother when I was a kid and a couple of years ago with my FIL. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/26 "2013-04-21T21:38:56Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > It’s pretty spectacular when the thing blows off the top. The contents get shot straight up and splatter all over the ceiling. I witnessed this this happen with my mother when I was a kid and a couple of years ago with my FIL. Yup, happened to my mother, too. The thing left a dent in the kitchen ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/27 "2013-04-22T13:04:49Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I can’t believe you Americans with pressure cookers in every home: sometimes multiple. > > Here in Canada we have to keep them at the cooking range, and can only transport them under strict conditions, and approved paperwork. Is Canada still running the Pressure Cooker Registry? Do cooking schools have an exemption for cookers of mass destruction? That’s anything over 6 liters. ---
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/28 "2013-04-22T13:38:24Z")
You want to talk about unfortunate timing? This past Friday evening, as the Boston police were collecting the second person responsible for the bombing, the Cooking channel was airing the Alton Brown Good Eats episode where he extols the virtues of pressure cookers…☹ ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/29 "2013-04-22T13:39:24Z")
I’ve had a nice new one for a few years but I’m too scared to use it. Even more so now! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/30 "2013-04-22T14:03:08Z")
Just read the instructions and you’ll be fine. Don’t overfill it as I suspect that clogging the vents is about the only way you can (conventionally) explode a modern one - the cooker should come with something about what volume you can cook in it - and follow the directions for releasing the pressure. And really for the latter issue, I’d worry more about steam burns than kablooey. I own a good-sized one that I’ve used for pressure canning quart-sized jars, but should try out some regular cooking in it too. I went to a fabulous farm-to-table, local cuisine restaurant in Traverse City, MI called The Cook’s House, and the head chef had a gigantic old-school pressure cooker in back from the 1920s. He’d used it that evening to make the entree of beef cheeks; per my husband, they were fabulous and falling-apart tender. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/31 "2013-04-22T16:13:41Z")
My mom also blew one up. She had to be treated for some pretty nasty burns to her face. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/32 "2013-04-22T16:31:39Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Is Canada still running the Pressure Cooker Registry? Do cooking schools have an exemption for cookers of mass destruction? That’s anything over 6 liters. Whew!! I guess I’m safe as mine’s 22 quarts (approximately 21 liters). ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/33 "2013-04-22T16:33:20Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Just read the instructions and you’ll be fine. Don’t overfill it as I suspect that clogging the vents is about the only way you can (conventionally) explode a modern one - the cooker should come with something about what volume you can cook in it - and follow the directions for releasing the pressure. And really for the latter issue, I’d worry more about steam burns than kablooey. > > I own a good-sized one that I’ve used for pressure canning quart-sized jars, but should try out some regular cooking in it too. Mine has a fill-line on the side to help you not overfill it. Mine’s also a big one for canning, although I did make a turkey in it once. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/34 "2013-04-23T02:13:00Z")
I live in Korea, where everyone uses pressure cookers, and I can’t remember hearing about anyone ever being injured by one. We got one ourselves a few months ago, and I was amused by how freaked out my SO was when he used it for the first time. I guess it’s a cultural difference. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/35 "2013-04-23T02:18:57Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I live in Korea, where everyone uses pressure cookers, and I can’t remember hearing about anyone ever being injured by one. We got one ourselves a few months ago, and I was amused by how freaked out my SO was when he used it for the first time. I guess it’s a cultural difference. Pressure cooker accidents are like fan death. Everyone says it happened to someone they know. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/36 "2013-04-23T02:56:50Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I live in Korea, where everyone uses pressure cookers, and I can’t remember hearing about anyone ever being injured by one. We got one ourselves a few months ago, and I was amused by how freaked out my SO was when he used it for the first time. I guess it’s a cultural difference. The nice, modern pressure cooker I recently bought was surprisingly expensive, but very well made. I cannot see how this one could possibly go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/37 "2013-04-23T04:14:46Z")
when I was in middle school a a couple of neighbors were cooking some Maine lobsters one of them brought back from a trip, in a pressure cooker, and the thing blew up and both of them were rushed to the ER with 2nd degree burns over 50% of their bodies. Since then I have never considered owning one. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/38 "2013-04-23T04:30:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The nice, modern pressure cooker I recently bought was surprisingly expensive, but very well made. I cannot see how this one could possibly go wrong. The pressure cooker I have is a relatively cheap one, but it’s got two emergency pressure release valves in addition to the little rocker that goes on top of the main vent. I can’t imagine how much bad luck I would need to have to have this thing fail. ---
**Author:** ![Pops\_Negro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/779978/32.png) [@Pops\_Negro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pops_Negro)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/39 "2013-04-23T04:34:43Z")
They’re the only way to cook dried beans unless you have the patience of Jobe. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237/40 "2013-04-23T04:46:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The pressure cooker I have is a relatively cheap one, but it’s got two emergency pressure release valves in addition to the little rocker that goes on top of the main vent. I can’t imagine how much bad luck I would need to have to have this thing fail. Unless you leave it unattended there’s zero chance of anything going wrong, assuming you know how to use it. Once it’s up to pressure you have to reduce the heat just to the point where some steam is still coming out, usually in little spurts. After that, as long as the steam keeps coming it can’t explode. Now if someone comes to the door and you open it and the dog runs out and you lunge after him but the door slams shut behind you and you don’t have your keys, or maybe there’s just something really good on TV, then things might get interesting. I’m sure you know this stuff puly, just getting it into the thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-guess-i-wont-be-getting-a-pressure-cooker/656237.md?page=3)