Operation Manual

13
Frying Prior to Pressure Cooking
•
Some recipes require light frying before pressure cooking.
Frying or browning in a small amount of butter, oil or other fat
can be done in the pressure cooker body without the lid.
•
Browning meat and poultry before pressure cooking helps to
seal in the juices and improves the appearance and taste of the
food. If you want to eliminate the additional fat and/or save time,
browning can be omitted – it is not necessary for pressure
cooking.
•
Brown pieces of food in small
batches to keep the oil
temperature high so the food is
seared but does not cook.
Brown all sides evenly.
•
After frying, remove cooker
body from heat before adding
liquid to the cooker.
•
It is a safety requirement that
deep-frying, involving more
than
1
/2 cup oil or frying for
more than 20 minutes at a
time, is not done in the
pressure cooker body.
•
Do not pressure fry in this pressure cooker. It is designed
to be operated only with liquid which produces steam.
Water
•
There must be enough water (or stock, juice, vinegar, beer or
wine) in the pressure cooker to make steam throughout the
entire pressure cooking time and prevent burning. Oils and fats
do not produce steam.
•
The minimum quantity of cooking liquid required is
1 cup for the first 10 minutes of pressure cooking time plus
1
/2 cup for every subsequent 10 minutes or part thereof. This
quantity will prevent boiling dry provided you reduce the heat
when cooker has reached full operating pressure.
•
Some of the recipes have less (or more) cooking liquid
than the amount prescribed in the preceding paragraph. Foods
such as meat, fish, poultry, tomatoes and other vegetables give off
juices during cooking
(whereas legumes and rice
absorb liquid). The recipes
and charts reflect this.
•
Do not cook with less cooking
liquid than stated in the
recipe as you run the risk of
either a ruined recipe or
having to replace a safety
valve – or both.
•
If you open the cooker and
decide to cook longer, always
check that there is enough
cooking liquid to bring back
to pressure and cook further.
•
The Hawkins Pressure Cooker should never be used as an oven for
dry heating or baking as it may reduce the strength of the metal.
Timing
•
Start timing recipes when the pressure cooker reaches full
operating pressure (first whistle).
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