Maximum Filling Guidelines
Always respect the filling guidelines – not following them could affect the pressure cooker’s safety mechanisms! This rule applies to both electric and stove top pressure cookers.
– These foods either expand during cooking or generate lots of foam (or both). Beans can swell to twice their size during cooking and some grains even more. They also generate lots of foam and bubbles – which climb up the sides of the cooker to block or spray out of the valves.
Max 2/3 Full for Everything Else – Foods that don’t generally get any larger during cooking, bubble or foam are in this category and this includes meats, vegetables, soups and stocks.
If your recipe has lots of different ingredients, say a soup with vegetables and some beans, then you can go up to 2/3 full but if you’re cooking only one primary ingredient, say a bean chili, then you should respect that ingredient’s maximum capacity – 1/2 full .
Timing Adjustments for High-Altitude Pressure Cooking
The pressure inside the cooker is affected by external pressure. If you live a high-altitude the cooking time for pressure-cooked foods will also be affected.
formula to adjust high-altitude pressure cooking times
Increase pressure cooking time by 5% for every 1000 ft above 2000 ft elevation (see table, below). Multiply the recommended cooking time by the number on the table. The result will likely be a decimal value just round that up to the next minute.Stove top Pressure Cooker Adjustments for Heat Source
Electric or Halogen Cooktop– Since these cooktops do not change temperature quickly and could result in scorching the food. Start the pressure cooker on a high-heat burner while pre-heating a low-heat burner. When the cooker reaches pressure, turn off the high-heat burner and carefully move the cooker to the low-heat burner to maintain pressure.- Induction Cooktop– Bring cooker to pressure on medium heat setting, supervise for the first few minutes at pressure as the cooker may need additional adjustments. Then lower the heat setting to maintain pressure
- Gas Cooktop– Bring cooker to pressure on high flame (that is not larger than the cooker base) and when the cooker reaches pressure lower the flame to low or medium low (depending on your model) to maintain it..