How Does A Pressure Cooker Work?

It’s difficult to imagine a world of home-cooked meals – especially comfort food – existing without the helpful kitchen appliance of a regular pressure cooker.
While not exactly the most sexy or attractive kitchen appliance – and very few pressure cookers have of the same kind of design aesthetic as Apple products – the truth of the matter is that there may not be a more personal and powerful small kitchen appliance that you can rely on for a broad number of dishes or cooking techniques. Pressure cookers have been around fordecades and decades, and give you the ability to transform ingredients into some of the most delicious meals you’ve ever had.
But exactly how does a pressure cooker work? We are going to break down all of the essential details for this kitchen technology – as well as outline a handful of primary applications and uses for the pressure cooker – in this quick and easy to read guide.
What is a pressure cooker supposed to do?
Before we dive directly into how a pressure cooker works, it’s essential to understand exactly what a pressure cooker is supposed to do in the first place.
While will dive deeper into the actual physics and principles behind the pressure cooker below as we explain exactly how a pressure cooker works, though just of the situation is that you’ll be using a rather simplified machine to speed up your cooking with the power of steam and pressure. Basically what we’re going to want to do is superheat water to around 212°F (the boiling point of water) and then use that steam inside of a pressurized cooking surface to speed up our cooking times dramatically.
Essential components of all pressure cookers
While all pressure cookers are built in manufactured differently, the truth of the matter is that they have a number of similar components and technologies to make the actual system work. The first thing is the actual cooking surface that you’ll be placing your ingredients inside of – what looks like a regular and every day pot or pan.
However, you’ll also notice that there is a hinged lid attached to the top of your pressure cooker – in the top will be adorned with a number of other little bits and pieces . A sealing ring goes around the entirety of the lid to make sure for an airtight seal when closed and locked, and overpressure plug make sure that steam has the ability to blow off when the pressure reaches dangerous levels, and is also a pressure regulator switch or not on the top of the lid as well. Finally, all pressure cookers come complete with a locking pin and handle – not only allowing you to safely move the pressure cooker around but also creating an airtight seal and system.
The principles behind cooking with pressure cookers
Even home cooks understand that water boils at 212°F – but once you reach that level you can’t “over boil” water. Sure, you can continue to raise the temperature – which are never going to be able to increase the temperature of the actual steam that it is producing.
However, the moment that you begin to place that steam under intense pressure (even with just say 15 psi or so), the pressure and heat of that steam increases from 212°F to around 257°F – a dramatic increase that can truly speed up the cooking time of any of your favorite dishes.
Not only are you going to be cooking your dishes at considerably higher temperatures, but you’re also going to be able to crank up the speed of your cooking because of the heat transfer properties that steam enjoys. While you’ll be able to stick your hand in an open 400° oven without burning yourself, just putting your hand over 212° steam will scold you and potentially burn you an instant. Now imagine what you’d be able to do with 257°F steam – the kind of steam that you’ll be able to get the moment you use your new pressure cooker.

Most estimates assume that you’ll be able to cut your cooking time (for variety of different meals) by at least two thirds – all depending upon the actual PSI settings that you’re using with your pressure cooker. However, at the very least you should be able to anticipate 50% reductions in your cooking times regardless of the settings that you’re using. This allows you to create world-class meals for the entire family in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise.
Perfect applications for your new pressure cooker
Now that you have all the information you need to properly  answer “how does a pressure cooker work?”, you’re probably a little bit excited to dive right into preparing your own world-class meals. There are a number of sites all throughout the Internet that can provide you with the kind of recipes you’re searching for – with focus on comfort foods like roasts, stews, chilies, and other one pot meals.
There are also a number of sites dedicated to helping you figure out how to pressure cook desserts – which can be a lot of fun the moment that you get started!