# Why use a pressure cooker?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 29, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786 "2024-01-29T01:22:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/61 "2024-01-29T18:32:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> > [@kaylasdad99](#):
> >
> > Where the hell are you finding JUMBO eggs (what I call “the right size for eggs to be”)?
>
> I don’t think I’ve ever seen a (suburban) grocery store that did NOT stock them. Except perhaps during one of those periodic egg shortages from either COVID or some disease that ran through the chicken world a few years ago. No such issues here in early 2024.
>
> I wonder where (generally) on Earth you live that you _don’t_ find them?
Someone else mentioned large and medium, but not extra large. Is “jumbo” just another name for extra large? If so, they may be labeled the latter at @kaylasdad99’s stores
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/62 "2024-01-29T18:40:33Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> Is “jumbo” just another name for extra large?
[ ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0471/4404/2652/files/egg-size-comparison-chart-according-to-american-standards_1024x1024.png?v=1605147579)
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/63 "2024-01-29T19:05:50Z")
> [@bump](#):
>
> Well yeah, that’s because a instant pot _is_ a pressure cooker, among other things.
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> Basically, anything you use **an instant pot for on the pressure setting** , you can do in a pressure cooker.
How is that not what I stated?
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### Author:  [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/64 "2024-01-29T19:47:19Z")
I use my pressure cooker to make the most amazing “baked” potatoes. Pop 2 of those bad boys in the cooker on a trivet over 1 cup of water, _make sure you pierce them_, and set for 18-25 minutes, depending on size. (I use normal-sized spuds, not the giant restaurant-sized Godzilla ones. Say 5-6" long.) Let them do a natural release. Top as you will. We use chili, sour cream, or BBQ chicken.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/65 "2024-01-29T22:03:14Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#):
>
> I use my pressure cooker to make the most amazing “baked” potatoes.
Do they come out like baked potatoes or more like steamed potatoes? (I like them both ways)
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### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/66 "2024-01-29T22:28:00Z")
When I was young my dad used to cook ribs, potatoes, and sauerkraut in a pressure cooker. I have no idea how they were prepared, but I remember the ribs being fall-off-the-bone tender and the potatoes soft but not mushy.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/67 "2024-01-29T22:57:49Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> …really worth having a bomb in your kitchen?
Danger is The Best Spice!
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/68 "2024-01-29T23:04:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> If you’re afraid of modern pressure cooker explosions, you had better not keep carbonated sodas or beer in the home. They can get up to pressures greater than your typical pressure cooker.
I am unaware of any injuries happening from an exploding soda can.
Pressure cookers do explode and cause injury (you can even [see some examples of it on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pressure+cooker+explosion)). Maybe it is a small number in the grand scheme of things but it seems over 4,000 people per year are sent to the hospital by them (and some die). Not to mention the explosion includes hot liquid spraying all over and cause burns.
Again, I am not trying to over-state the issue at all. People get injured by all sorts of things in a kitchen and there is nothing unusual about a pressure cooker in this regard (frankly, my mandoline is what scares the shit out of me the most in my kitchen).
But, I don’t think suggesting a soda can is comparable to a pressure cooker is right either.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/69 "2024-01-29T23:19:29Z")
Home brewers might disagree.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/70 "2024-01-29T23:56:02Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I am unaware of any injuries happening from an exploding soda can.
Have you looked for any data on the subject? Exploding soda bottles, at least, both [plastic](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003497511015827) and [glass](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8943365_Serious_eye_injuries_caused_by_bottles_containing_carbonated_drinks), are definitely responsible for documented injuries.
And I’d like to see a cite for your “over 4000 people per year” statistic? Because [this 2023 NIH study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37666516/) seems to suggest a much smaller number, at least in the US.
> [@](#):
>
> The NEISS query identified 759 actual pressure cooker injuries between 2003 and 2019, yielding a national estimate of 28 337 (95% CI 24 588 to 32,086) injuries treated in US emergency departments, 1667 cases annually. Analysis of case narratives resulted in the identification of four predominant precipitating or contributing factors to injury: burning agent, struck by product, injured while opening and other.
By comparison, about 350,000 people each year are injured by kitchen knives. I’m not trying to minimize the importance of safety precautions in using any kind of pressure cooker, but I think your perception of them as somehow disproportionately hazardous may not be justified. (Especially considering that some of the injuries involving them are bound to be burns, a type of injury common to the use of many types of heated food vessels.)
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### Author:  [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/71 "2024-01-30T00:06:09Z")
I never thought to try baked potatoes. Now I need to!
I love that I can go from a bag of dried beans to chili in about an hour. I never thought I needed a pressure cooker until my sister gave me one for Christmas a few years ago. Now I use it weekly.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/72 "2024-01-30T00:08:46Z")
> [@Kimstu](#):
>
> I’m not trying to minimize the importance of safety precautions in using any kind of pressure cooker, but I think your perception of them as somehow disproportionately hazardous may not be justified. (Especially considering that some of the injuries involving them are bound to be burns, a type of injury common to the use of many types of heated food vessels.)
I’d guess that a lot of the injuries are from opening the lid before releasing enough pressure.
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### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/73 "2024-01-30T00:15:07Z")
> [@TruCelt](#):
>
> But I can steam 36 jumbo eggs at a time, and **the peels will ALWAYS fall off easily.**
> **[Dash Rapid Egg Cooker | Perfect Eggs Every Time](https://bydash.com/products/rapid-egg-cooker)**
>
> The Dash Rapid Egg Cooker delivers perfectly cooked eggs in less time than it takes to boil water on the stove. Eggs cook in minutes and the auto-shut off feature prevents overcooking so you never have to worry about monitoring the process. Nonstick,...
Same results with this. If you ever use one of these, you will never go back.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/74 "2024-01-30T00:21:20Z")
I’d also like to know how many are specifically from Instant Pots vs stovetop pressure cookers. I don’t feel the least bit worried around my Instant Pot, but when I had one of those stovetop pressure cookers – those I always felt just a wee bit nervous about. You can just look over at the InstantPot and visually see if the pressure is completely released. There’s a little pop-up mechanism that springs up to seal as it comes to pressure, and when the pressure is low enough, it pops back down, allowing you to open it. Plus there’s a separate pressure release on top, as well.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/75 "2024-01-30T00:31:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I don’t feel the least bit worried around my Instant Pot, but when I had one of those stovetop pressure cookers – those I always felt just a wee bit nervous about.
I deal with potential hazards of my stovetop pressure cooker by leaving it the hell alone after I’ve removed it from the heat, till I’m sure that the pressure has decreased to a safe level. Wedging a spoon under the steam valve to keep it open (not a dangerous hack, a manufacturer-recommended suggestion) also facilitates depressurizing.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/76 "2024-01-30T00:34:23Z")
Yeah, actually, that’s the nice thing about the electronic ones. If you’re worried at all, you can set it, leave the room, and come back when you can see it’s done and the pressure is released. There’s a timer, you have visual feedback, you don’t have to physically get back near the pressure cooker until the cooking process is over if you don’t want to. And, hell, even if it goes haywire, you can throw the breakers and shut it off without having to near it.
With a conventional stovetop cooker, you have to physically adjust the heat, and get in there and turn off the stove when you reach the end of your cooking time.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/77 "2024-01-30T00:37:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> With a conventional stovetop cooker, you have to physically adjust the heat, and get in there and turn off the stove when you reach the end of your cooking time.
True, as for any other type of stovetop cooking vessel (aka “ordinary pot”). No question that the electronic cookers of whatever kind do a lot more of the work.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/78 "2024-01-30T00:42:48Z")
But, yeah, I seem to recall when I had my stovetop model that I probably waited way more longer than necessary after turning off the heat to make sure it was depressurized. I mean, this was just this cheap Imusa brand I bought for maybe $20 back in 2010? I ended up using it very sparingly because of my nervousness with it. Where I use my Instant Pot three times a week on average, the Imusa was maybe twice a month.
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### Author:  [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/79 "2024-01-30T00:45:00Z")
> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> Hell, even the kitchen sink has hot water that comes out at about 210°
I hope you meant to type 120˚F? 210˚F, aside from being a criminally negligent temperature for faucet water ([140F is enough to scald in 1 second](https://www.dshs.wa.gov/sites/default/files/DDA/dda/documents/How%20Hot%20is%20Your%20Water.pdf)), it’s physically rather improbable. A water heater would have to be literally boiling for water to reach a faucet at anything near 210˚F, and all sorts of relief valves should be opening to depressurize the entire system well below that temperature.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-a-pressure-cooker/996786/80 "2024-01-30T00:55:43Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#):
>
> I use my pressure cooker to make the most amazing “baked” potatoes.
So these come out with stiff, thickened, crunchy unto difficult to cut, and oh-so-salty skins? Because that is by far the best part of a baked potato. The white part could be thrown away uneaten for all I care. If the skins are not crisp, it’s merely a tasteless boiled potato by another name.
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