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How to Save Time and Money with Your Pressure Cooker

Too busy to cook, but never thought of using an electric pressure cooker? Now’s the time to change! Not only can soups can be ready in two minutes, but there are a number of pressure cooker recipes, which would normally take hours to cook in a conventional oven, that can be made and enjoyed at the end of a busy day in no time at all. Whether you opt for a power pressure cooker or an induction pressure cooker, they really are simple to use, produce quick results and the food is tasty to try. Don’t believe us? Read on for an induction into pressure cooking.

1) It’s super speedy 
For those who live busy lifestyles, a pressure cooker is the perfect answer for whipping up delicious food in a very short amount of time. It’s even quicker than a conventional oven and in some cases, a microwave! Old, traditional recipes that are sometimes forgotten about because they require hours of prepping and cooking in a conventional oven – like a steak and kidney pudding or steamed suet pudding – can be quickly done in a pressure cooker with the same fantastic results.

2) It saves you pounds! 
Once the required cooking pressure has been reached, the heat is usually then turned down for the remainder of the quick cooking time, saving you lots of pennies! If you’re a big family, holding a dinner party, or even like to prepare your meals for the rest of the week, a pressure cooker is a great economical investment, as when cooking double the amount of ingredients, it doesn’t mean a longer cooking time – saving you money in fuel…again! But not only that, a pressure cooker can cook cheap cuts of meat quickly and tenderly. Yum!

3) It leaves food tasting and looking delicious 
A pressure cooker works in three main ways for your food. Firstly, it seals in all the steam when cooking, which results in more flavoursome meals. Secondly, it helps prevent the loss of colour – especially vegetables, so your carrots will still look as fresh from the ground as when you pulled them out (ahem!). Thirdly, due to the short cooking time, the small amount of liquid and lack of light and air means your food will come out more nutritious, as all the vitamins and minerals have been retained.

4) It doesn’t leave any smells 
As only a small amount of steam escapes when using a pressure cooker, there’s less condensation on the windows and fewer smells lingering in the kitchen. As a consequence, foods you may have steered clear of before like stews or steamed puddings can be cooked, without the need to use a whole can of room spray afterwards. Result!

5) It’s great when on holiday 
Camping, caravanning or boating holidays are usually self-catering, and time and space for cooking is not always well provided. A pressure cooker is an invaluable piece of kit for these types of holidays, as they’re compact, easy to transport and do the job in a very short amount of time – meaning you have more time to top up that tan!

6) It’s easy to use 
If cooking isn’t your specialty, a pressure cooker allows you to create delicious, complex-looking meals in a very simple way, in a short amount of time. Invite those friends round and show off your cooking skills!

7) It will change your outlook on food 
There are many recipes that can be made in a pressure cooker – the easiest of which is soup. Once you have tried homemade soup, you will be reluctant to use soup from a can or tin again. Not only will you feel smug for making something entirely from scratch, the flavor will be delicious too.

For soup, fish, meat, poultry, puddings and preserve recipes to use in your pressure cooker, read: Pressure Cooking Properly Explained: Save Time & Money With Your Pressure Cooker by Dianne Page