Pressure Cookers For Dummies®

by Tom Lacalamita

Pressure Cookers For Dummies gives you the lowdown on the different types of pressure cookers that exist. It also has special features of pressure cookers -- including new safety valves -- to make sure you get the modern pressure cooker best equipped to suit your needs. It includes 80 delicious recipes for quick dishes such as, soups, chilis, and stews; roasts and poultry; rice dishes; beans; vegetables; and desserts, jams, and compotes. Pressure Cookers For Dummies offers tips on adapting your favorite recipes plus several comparison recipes -- made the traditional way. Every recipe Includes preparation times, cooking times, and nutrition information.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2001

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The For Dummies books are pretty much exactly as advertised: a gentle introduction to any subject. So it is with Pressure Cookers For Dummies. This how-to manual takes you through the basics of the various types of pressure cookers and the way in which they work.

However, the book also boasts quite a few lovely pressure cooker recipes to tempt even longtime pressure-cooker users. (I've been using the pressure cooker my Cuban mother bought in the Bronx in 1962 until not so long ago. Thank you, Mamita!) The sauerbraten and ropa vieja recipes merit particular attention, as they shave hours off the cooking.

In short, the book's worth a peek whether you're a newbie or an old hand. Buy the book if you're a novice; otherwise, head to your public library.

[D.w. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good points in this book, but there are also things that should be here, and were not. It seems like the Dummies editors are taking short cuts and not making their books for dummies but for a select few.

The Dummies series was great at one time. Not comprehensive about the subject but it not only got you started, but you would be pretty well advanced by the time you were done with a book. Her Lacalamita is very enthusiastic about his passion.

But he is repetitive and that eats into the space he should be teaching. Then he has packed the book with recipes. Such a relation of recipes to material that it is more cookbook then guidebook.

And cookbooks have pictures. What do these meals look like when they are prepared? Who knows. The Author did not include that.

What about the accoutrements for your kitchen to make this journey doable. They are described, and the author does supply on occasion teensy drawings that you can't tell what the additional equipment you need is. So he doesn't show us all, or show it well.

And with all the recipes he doesn't show you what you should be preparing.

You will get some recipes and they will probably be good. You will get some general knowledge that he will repeat and repeat and repeat. The book has an index. He certainly did not need to hammer home the relationship of food to water more than twice.

So middle of the road. The book should have about 100 photographs and illustrations that it does not. Or it should be half the size that it is.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this cookbook. I made one recipe and it was just fine. I checked this out from the library. I wouldn't mind owning this, but it wasn't compelling enough for me to purchase my own copy. I enjoyed the tips and tricks sections.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not modern enough for newer Foodi etc. Cookers

Kept talking about putting it on the eye of the stove. Desperately needs updating. Some recipes, some theory and cleaning. Needs info on the electronic settings of newer pots.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

KSKS

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out as a library book, but will be buying a copy. It has far more vegetarian recipes than the other book I looked at and makes the functioning of the cooker very clear. One caveat is that it does sometimes employ a cold water release for the stove-top cookers, which online sources warn against using. Since I have an electric cooker, I can easily ignore that. One thing I'm very grateful for is the clarification of water amounts. This makes it clear that when my manual says 8 cups of water for a pound of beans(2 cups) it should be dividing that into 4 for soaking and 4 for cooking! With that clarification, future bean lunches should be a lot less soupy.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far of all the pressure cooking books, this one has had the most successful recipes for my family. There are no pictures, which means me liking it is somewhat unusual as I love cookbooks with pictures, but I did like the idea of normal recipes on one side, and the pressure cooker side on the other. Recipes I have tried that we especially loved were pasta fagioli, corn chowder, ... and will add more as I try them. Good pressure cooking cookbook for me.

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of pressure cooker cookbooks lately. This one is a must-read. "Dummies" title aside, it does cover some basic information that new pressure cooker owners need to know, and that regular cookbooks don't cover. It does a better job of describing how to clean the cooker and inspect the gasket than the owner's manual did, for instance. It also has some recipes that I will use.