STOVETOP COOKING
Book teaches basics of electric pressure cookers and provides recipes and tips
Book teaches basics of electric pressure cookers, says food columnist
After several people asked my opinion about multifunction electric pressure cookers, such as Instant Pot, I invested in one and have been learning how to use it. Luckily, I have a copy of Marilyn Haugen’s “175 Best Multifunction Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes” (Robert Rose, Toronto, 2017) to refer to.
Stovetop pressure cookers have been around for a long time. Multifunction electric ones, which can be used to sauté and slow cook as well as cook foods under pressure, are more recent innovations. “Multicooker Basics”, the introductory chapter in Haugen’s book, provides an overview of how they work and what they can do. At the end of the book are charts of pressure cooking times for a number of basic foods.
Haugen confined her recipe selections to those that utilize the pressure cooking function and included no slow cooker recipes to prepare in the electric multifunction cookers. The instructions are tailored for use with these particular appliances, and not stovetop pressure cookers.
The book is in the trade paper format, with well-laid-out, welledited, readable recipes, 16 colour photographs and a good index. The table of contents lists chapters on breakfasts, soups, stews and chilies, main courses, side dishes, paleo dishes, vegetarian and vegan dishes, desserts and bonus recipes on stocks and sauces.
Most of the recipes I tried worked well and tasted good. Exceptions are as follows: The vegetables were mushy in Thai tofu, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with peanut sauce; the taste of the herb coating overpowered the flavours of the chicken, peppers and olives in the Mediterranean chicken breast rollups and the stated number of servings was underestimated in most recipes.
I will certainly make some recipes from this book again, especially for dishes such as soups that require long simmering on the stovetop to achieve the same tender meat and rich flavours as created in a much shorter time with the pressure cooker. This beef and barley soup has great flavour and just the right consistency for my taste.