jaime88 - A song of pressure cookers and hot boxes

November 2009


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jaime88

	Fri, Apr. 3rd, 2009 02:25 pm

A song of pressure cookers and hot boxes

I've just gotten a pressure cooker - Fagor Duo that came up cheap on ebay, needed two small parts replaced, and now fully functional - the duo refers to it having a low and a high pressure setting.

In experimenting with it, I began to suspect that it would be very efficient to bring the pressure cooker up to temp/pressure, and then put it in a hot box (of course my hot box would look much cooler and have higher insulative value, but why quibble) to finish cooking without burning additional gas. Has anyone tried this? I can't find anything about using the two methods together - in my cursory search of the intarweb.

Also I"m seeking suggestions, tips, and etc about using a pressure cooker. What are the many things one can do with a pressure cooker? It's got to be good for more than beans!

Current Location: Santa Fe
Current Mood: Curious

catalyticdragon

Catalytic Dragon

	Fri, Apr. 3rd, 2009 09:08 pm (UTC)

pressure cookers are *awesome* for cooking perfect artichokes =)

adammaker

Adam

	Sat, Apr. 4th, 2009 12:42 am (UTC)

More after dinner, but you might want to follow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_flask_cooking for recipes for your completed contraption.

http://thermalcooker.wordpress.com/category/recipes-all/

Edited at 2009-04-04 12:43 am (UTC)

jaime88

	Sat, Apr. 4th, 2009 01:16 am (UTC)

At this point I'm thinkin' simple. Cut the flame, and put a sort of 'tea cozzy' over the PC - cut to the right size, quilted/insulated, opening for the steam vent. It only has to stay hot/at pressure for max 20min?

adammaker

Adam

	Sat, Apr. 4th, 2009 01:57 am (UTC)

Like these?
http://zenstoves.net/PotAccessories.htm
-
How much power/heat are you trying to save?

Edited at 2009-04-04 01:57 am (UTC)

jaime88

	Sat, Apr. 4th, 2009 04:43 am (UTC)

Around the house, it's just to not have the burner going. The ROI would be pretty long. But if I can get/ make a cheap one out of say...
Mylar bubble wrap, aluminum foil, aluminum tape, duct tape around the house.

And then I thought about using them at the Rainbow Gathering. Wow this could be fun.

I'd also like to have something working off heat from a solar parabolic cooker, so it's totally off the grid. But that's another project.

Thanks for the links, just what I wanted to see.

aisa0

none of the above

	Sat, Apr. 4th, 2009 07:24 pm (UTC)

Using a hot box would keep the temperature higher while the pressure cooker let off steam. That part of the process is important for finishing the cooking, but I don't have a good sense of how relatively important it is compared to cooking at pressure.

To answer, we'd need to know what temperature the water was at when the pressure cooker was at full pressure, vs the temperature it was at when coming down (which I think will approach boiling at room temperature right before loosing pressure and no longer boiling.

I suspect you might be able to reduce the cooking time by a minute or two, but that is only a wild guess.

dekadentman

	Tue, Apr. 7th, 2009 10:29 pm (UTC)

LOL I could tell you a few recapies for the presure cooker but they are all include Felonie arrest warrents lol

jaime88

	Wed, Apr. 8th, 2009 04:02 am (UTC)

Heh, we'll just leave those aside, then.