The Truth About Pressure Cookers

Published July 1, 1996.

Many great dishes can be sped up for weekday suppers -- but not every one.

The Problem

Pressure cooker enthusiasts often claim that their machines can reduce the cooking time for just about any dish, but we've found it often takes several trial runs with a given recipe before we get it just right.

The Goal

We wanted to develop recipes that would allow readers to produce outstanding results right from the start, in any brand of pressure cooker.

The Solution

The recipes that seemed most successful and saved us the most time were made with foods that can tolerate some overcooking, such as stews and pot roasts. But we had the most fun with risotto--by taking just a little care, you can get a pressure cooker to make risotto in just 15 minutes, with little or no stirring.

list of recipes

America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.