(Part 3) Best pressure cookers according to redditors

Depends on the food item and your infrastructure.

Drying is good for a lot of fruits and for herbs and such.

Cold storage. We have multiple freezers. A stand up 23 cu ft, a 19 cu ft chest plus the regular fridge freezer and the freezer on the back/beer fridge in basement. We have been buying half pigs and half or 1/4 cows for the freezers and we freeze a lot of vegetables. Sweet corn does really well frozen, so do a lot of the squashes and green beans.

Canning. Canning does quite a lot of foods. There are two types, pressure canning and water bath canning. The water bath canning is for high acid, high sugar, low risk foods like jellies and most tomato sauces if prepared correctly. Pickling is also usually water bath. All the low acid, higher risk stuff goes in a pressure canning systems.


Root cellar storage. Cool/cold room storage. If you have access to the right conditions, this is a great way to store lots of stuff like potatoes, carrots, beets, etc.

Some sources to get you started:
The starter book that is indispensable for canners: Ball blue book

The more advanced Ball full book
You can find either one at a book store, online, or at most used book stores.

USDA site has a lot of info. You want tried and tested recipes and methods. Botulism sucks. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html


Purdue University has a really good set of links and add ons to the USDA guides as well. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/usdacanning/

You can also search the (food item, canning, extension) and there is probably a state agricultural extension that has some guide for it.

NDSU has a good guide for freezing stuff. It will get you started. Each food item will have specifics to getting a good freeze. Some things need blanched and some don't. Some need to be pre-frozen spread out on cookie sheets then dumped in a bag and some don't, etc.


Interesting root cellar idea that can be done fairly cheap. https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/root-cellaring/a-precast-septic-tank-root-cellar-zbcz1503

Root cellar list of what to store and what conditions. https://extension2.missouri.edu/mp562

Best way to get started: get a big ass boiler and a couple of dozens of pint mason jars and a couple of dozens of 1/2 pint mason jars. Start with a couple of batches of different pickles/pickled vegetables. Make a batch or two of jams and jellies. If you get a couple dozen wide mouth jars you can practice a little freezing as well. The idea is to build up your equipment.

For a full canning rig you need all kinds of stuff and if you really get into it usually large stuff. Like the ginormous pressure cooker that holds a goodly number of quarts or two full courses of pint jars in it. something like this guy. But you can start with whatever you have available. If you do the water bath stuff and start to get into it and want to get into pressure canning you should get a larger pressure canner that will do at least 6 quarts at a time. We have a medium one that we can do a limited batch of stuff in, or one round of jars and then a huge one like I linked to. Just slowly build up your equipment as you can and get the best quality you can when you buy stuff. If you try and do the I will buy the cheap one, and see if I like it, it costs you more. Usually the cheap one is crappy and wont do a good job. And you will either decide it is not worth the trouble or will eventually realize the quality one is worth the money and buy it anyway.

Get a good set of tools. You can can without them, but shouldn't. Decent set with the basic pieces.

I also find that a pair of the latex coated gloves are helpful. We have one person pull jars form the hiow water bath (keeping them sterile) and the second person will put the funnel in and spoon the food into the jar. You have to wipe the top of the jar and place a heated lid on it and screw the top onto the jar. The jar will be close to 200F. I will be the jar person and wear the heavy latex coated glove on my left hand to hold the jar stable and to screw the lid on so I don't get burned. Never have seen anyone give the tip before, but it works really well and I have less burnt fingers and fewer spills or dropped jars that way. Something like this.

If you want to absolutely floor your BF, then consider making kothu roti. It is a very popular street food dish in Sri Lanka, and has tons of variations. Kothu means "chopped" or "cut". It is originally a leftover dish. The idea is to take leftover flatbreads such as roti or plain paratha (you can buy them in an Indian store - fresh or frozen), fine dice the roti or paratha, stir fry it with Sri Lankan spices (such as curry leaves, garlic, turmeric powder, and coriander powder) and, add an egg and any leftovers such as yesterday's chicken or sausages, and stir fry it for a couple of minutes. If you see the video above, the street food kothu vendors will then continue to mix and chop the stir fry while making a clanging sound with their spoons/scoops.

Sri Lankan cuisine is very similar to Tamil and Kerala cuisine (part of South India and very close to Sri Lanka as well). In my previous reply, the video I shared was about North Indian cooking. When most people talk about "Indian food" or what they eat in an Indian restaurant, they usually refer to North Indian food, in fact, specifically Punjabi food.

Tamil and Kerala and Sri Lankan cuisines are quite different from your typical "Indian food" aka Punjabi food. The spices are different, the cooking techniques are different, the ingredients are quite significantly different. And the food is a lot more coastal cooking - lots more seafood and coastal/tropical flavors and ingredients like using fresh and dessicated coconut, coconut milk, etc. Tamarind is also extensively used as the acid or souring agent, and black peppers are mainly used for spice.

On a side note, South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking is ancient and predates the adoption of "New World" vegetables like chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes etc. I mean, a lot of recipes have adopted these veggies over time, but a lot of them still use the more traditional spices and vegetables like black pepper and tamarind.

If you want to learn more about South Indian cooking, look at Vah Chef's videos on youtube. He also has a recipe for kothu. Also try making appam and stew. Here's a separate recipe for just appams because the batter is key, and so is the technique. It is like making crepes - a bit hard in the beginning but once you get the hang of it, becomes easier. Similarly, consider making egg curry with a tamarind based curry.

Other staples are sambar (a tamarind based lentil and veggie soup, usually had with rice), and rasam (again a tamarind and tomato based broth, eaten with rice).

If you want a really elevated gourmet but simple to make dish, consider making Chef Vineet Bhatia's pan-fried chicken made with rasam powder, served with idi-appam or string hoppers. This dish is well worth making and is also super elegant. It is literally a Michelin star dish as Vineet Bhatia is a Michelin star chef and I think this is what he serves in his restaurant.

Idiyappams are a South Indian rice noodle dish, and you will need a special press. It costs about $20 and is well worth buying it. You will also need a steamer to cook this. Or an idly steamer.

This is a bit too much effort to be honest. You could just make the chicken-rasam dish above and serve it with white rice (or any other bread). Of you can pair it with lemon rice or tamarind rice

Hope I haven't overloaded you with too much information! This barely scratches the surface of South Indian cooking. You can also google "south indian fish curry" or "south indian prawn curry" or "chettinad recipe". Chettinad is a part of Tamilnadu that is known for its meat and seafood dishes. It is also more on the spicy side, so be warned!

Microwave pressure cooker.

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Microwave-Cookware-BPA-Free-Microwavable/dp/B00L8XOZU4/

I got this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00DC4N3EQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1473370482&sr=1-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

Though I'm thinking of upgrading to a fancier one,with more features.

Great stew in about an hour, pulled pork in the same... Meat that just melts in your mouth. I've even made doner kebabs!

I've ordered a replacement with an aluminium pot - it should be immune to whatever causes this. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00888X526/

I'll cancel if anyone responds with other solutions.

Cheers.

I bought [this](
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BERGI2W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472995599&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=large+pressure+cooker&dpPl=1&dpID=41ToZt2XWYL&ref=plSrch)

We waterbath canned it last night. Pickle method, but I'm not sure on the ph, so I'm reprocessing it.

I get the lid part, whats the benefit to combining all the contents, rinsing the jars and redistributing the contents?

Try this: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00KZK16X0/

https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Stainless-Dishwasher-Pressure-6-3-Quart/dp/B00K0JY7XW

I just had parboiled rice in there with water, 1 part rice, 2 parts water. Sorry, I already poured sauce over I can't show.

One of these! https://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-D6-Stainless-Function/dp/B00DW5EXCG

I'm very happy with my tfal.


T-fal P25144 Stainless Steel Dishwasher Safe PTFE PFOA and Cadmium Free 10 / 15-PSI Pressure Cooker Cookware, 8.5-Quart, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TQJWF04/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GE7eAbN2SEX0E

I recommend buying the following pressure cookers while you're in the US:

https://www.amazon.com/Magefesa-01OPPRAPL47-Practika-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B00OQ2WFFG/ $85.99 for 4qt+6qt. set with steaming basket, trivet, and glass lid. They share the same pressure lid.

https://www.amazon.com/V-2L-Stainless-Sandwich-Pressure-2-Liter/dp/B00EYZT85K/ $35.71 2L pressure cooker.

http://www.amazon.in/Pigeon-All-Super-Cooker-litres/dp/B00JWMU1RO?tag=googinhydr18418-21

I am using this one. Pressure cooker mode works better than standard Hawkins pressure cookers.

One of my friends got the 5l one too, non stick coating on that model is inferior. Other than, it that works ok.

I got a pressure cooker, works as a saucepan too if you get a normal lid (was like 700 yen) https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B006LTDKA6/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_exQPDb9WTA0EY

You can probably find smaller and cheaper.

Propane or butane camping stove powered.

(I guess you though the electric ones were the only kind available?)

Mine is actually a discontinued t-fal cooker I got on ebay for < $40

This one!

I do, and I've used the three-piece for 10 years now. Mostly, I use the 01745 (16 qt) lid with the 01781 model (edit to add) when I need the larger canner.

Nearly all my pots are from WMF. But careful: they started to produce pretty mediocre-quality products in china, too. So always look for origin: germany.

This are just awesome:
http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Function-Piece-Casserole-Cookware/dp/B002MPQHUS/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1452675245&sr=1-3&keywords=wmf+cookware

I also own this two pressure cookers but only use it for normal cooking which needs some space (for example chili):
http://www.amazon.com/WMF-0793919300-Perfect-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0094KTIFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1452675446&sr=1-1&keywords=wmf+pressure+cooker

There are also "new" types of non-stick coated pans. I use one like this one. This are not teflon but "stone-derived":
http://www.amazon.com/WMF-0793919300-Perfect-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0094KTIFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1452675446&sr=1-1&keywords=wmf+pressure+cooker

I also would recommend a good old iron pan for things you want really well roasted. This one is also not bad:
http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Function-Frying-Pan-9-Inch/dp/B0052CGHI0/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1452675725&sr=1-2&keywords=wmf+pan

http://www.amazon.it/gp/bestsellers/kitchen/652502031/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_k_1_4_last

Io mi trovo bene con una Lagostina Acticook presa a 100€ ma non è più in vendita e il nuovo modello (Clipsò + Precision) costa 150€ e non porta nessuna novità tecnica.