4 days Ago By [email protected] (Bobby Lewis)
Grains are a staple in diets all over the world, and pressure cookers can quickly cook many grains with relatively little effort. However, when Daily Meal spoke with chef Maricel Gentile, cooking instructor, founder of Maricel's Kitchen, and author of Maricel's Simply Asian Cookbook , she reminded us that convenience comes at a considerable cost. She warned, "Pressure cookers are built for speed, not precision, and that often compromises texture and flavor.
" Not only will a pressure cooker rob you of the opportunity to adjust water levels or stir the grains as they cook, but the end product will suffer from a lack of proper flavor and lost chances for additional texture. Grains that should be fluffy and aromatic can come out overcooked and bland. What's more, certain grains can even be dangerous in a pressure cooker.
Residue left behind on critical parts of a pressure cooker will not only increase the likelihood of poorly cooked food, but an explosion. Pressure cookers are too harsh for good grains When considering cooking grains, chef Maricel Gentile noted, "Grains are not all created equal ..
. they are all influenced in flavor, texture, aroma, and varietal by geography, weather, planting and harvesting methods. That means each grain has its own needs.
" Needs such as cook time, heat level, and stirring requirements versus set-it-and-forget-it options can vary depending on the grain. This is especially true of rice, a grain with many of its own varieties, and not choosing the correct one for each meal is one of the mistakes you're making when cooking rice . Gentile pointed out that delicate aromatic grains like basmati or jasmine rice "need gentle heat and the right water ratio to bloom.
Under pressure, you can't open the lid to check doneness — and it's very easy to overshoot by just one minute." Most pressure cookers have timers, but they're no match for checking the grains yourself during the cooking process. There is, she warned, a potential safety issue with grains in a pressure cooker: "Starchy grains like oatmeal or white rice produce foam while cooking.
" On the stovetop, this is not an issue. "But in a sealed pressure cooker, the foam can clog the release valve or spill over into the gasket." Buildup, such as starchy foam, must remain clear of valves and gaskets, or the pressure cooker could explode.
Pressure cookers shut the door on flavor "Sometimes a dish actually calls for a crispy or charred rice," Maricel Gentile reminded us. Pressure cookers won't produce the crunchy layer that the stovetop method does if you leave your fried rice in the pan a bit longer . "You can use [crispy rice] in paella, Persian rice dishes, Korean dishes, and [we] Filipinos like it just with some vinegar, bagoong, [and] even dip it with sugar," Gentile said.
Pressure cookers also deny your grains the opportunity to develop a more delicate flavor. She explained, "When cooked slowly on a stovetop or in a rice cooker, they take on the flavor of your broth, aromatics, even other additives like coconut milk," which is one of the 12 rice additions you've never thought of . "Pressure cooking seals the pot, so you don't get the reduction of flavors — you just get 'steamed-through.
'" Chef Gentile advised that rice cookers offer a good balance of convenience and quality, including built-in guardrails against overcooking, but it's not the absolute best. "The stovetop method, while time-consuming, goes even further and provides the most control, allowing you to fine-tune moisture, heat, and aroma as you go," she said..
