Most foods can be cooked at the
higher pressure (second red ring) or
15 pounds per square inch (psi).
Foods that have a tendency to foam such as rice
and soups must be cooked on the first red ring.
Instruction manuals and recipes will indicate
if cooking at the first red ring is desired and
cooking times are already adjusted.
Yes. As you have probably experi-
enced, it takes much longer to cook
foods such as beans and brown rice
at higher elevations.This is due to the fact that
the temperature at which they come to a boil,
and therefore cook, is lower than it would be at
sea level. This “law of nature” makes a pressure
cooker extremely valuable at higher elevations
because it allows the user to raise the cooking
temperature and this speeds cooking. In order to
compensate for the lower external pressure at
elevations above 2000 feet, the cooking times in
a pressure cooker must be altered according to
the formula below.
The weight-valve system on older pressure cookers and on some contem-
porary pressure cookers has no clear indication of when full pressure is
achieved; the user must guess as to when this has occurred. Obviously,
the spring-valve system of the DUROMATIC pressure cooker by KUHN
RIKON allows the user greater accuracy in timing and, consequently,
superior cooking results.
A weight-valve system allows a great deal of steam to escape. When a
large amount of steam is escaping, there is a constant hissing noise, an
increased likelihood of a clogged valve, and greater evaporation of mois-
ture. The spring-valve system of the DUROMATIC pressure cooker allows
cooking with less water (thereby retaining more of the vitamins, minerals
and natural taste of the food), almost eliminates clogged valves, and is
much quieter than cooking with a weight-valve system.
At which
pressure do
I cook most
foods?
Must I
alter
cooking
times at
higher
elevations?
For every 1000 ft above 2000 ft elevation, increase cooking time by 5%
6
Cooking at first red ring Cooking at second red ring
