Food News and Views March 27, 2008
Food and Dining Radio Show – 3.27.08
Linda Gassenheimer (LG)
Joseph Cooper (JC)
Fred Tasker (FT)
Vickie Smith (VS)
JC: I suppose we’ll be getting steamed up this afternoon?
LG: How long did you spend thinking about that [laughing]? Cooking under pressure is what we’re talking about here.
JC: I remember them from my youth.
LG: Yes. The old-style cookers made a lot of noise.
JC: There was an element of danger.
LG: There’s a new generation of pressure cookers. Vickie Smith is our guest and her new book is Miss Vickie’s Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes. Hello Vickie Smith. Our topic today is how to get the most out of your pressure cooker. Fred is here in his usual seat. He’s the wine critic for the Miami Herald. So Fred, what are we drinking today?
FT: I’m going to talk about making wine under pressure.
LG: I’m afraid to ask anymore.
FT: I’ll keep it steamy.
LG: Vickie Smith is joining us from
VS: Yes, the original one was invented to process food for Napoleon’s Army. It was a great break through.
FT: Cook up those tough chickens.
VS: Whatever they could find. It was originally for canning. Out of those great retorts went smaller and smaller until they got down to the size that we have them in our kitchen.
LG: They were popular in the first half of the twentieth century. Some really did blow their tops. [laughing]
VS: That problem occurred after WWII. Airplane parts manufacturers turned toward this industry. But they didn’t do very well and there was a problem with them that all stemmed from a short span of time.
LG: Now there’s a whole new generation of pressure cookers. How are they different?
VS: Today’s pressure cookers are as well made as the best pieces of cookware you find on the market. Plus the engineering is better. We no longer have that shaky valve. Now it’s all spring valves which are silent and there are no escaping clouds of steam. There are no rattling spitting liquids on your stove. Everything is done with turning a dial.
JC: What happens if you go too long?
VS: That’s a user error like any other type of cooking. But there are built-in safety systems.
Caller 1: My wife has started using one recently and we’ve gone to a plug-in version and no matter what it gets charred at the bottom.
VS: Unfortunately there’s not much of a work-around with it. I’ve heard this complaint a lot with these types. I do have a technique in my book called PIP which is an alternative technique that could help. With that system an oven proof pan will work but stainless steel works best.
LG: Vickie, why would I want to use a pressure cooker instead of my microwave?
VS: Time. If you can go home and put a meal on the table in 30 minutes that’s certainly better than take-out.
FT: What’s the time comparison?
VS: If I have a chuck roast and put that in my pressure cooker it’ll be done in 30 minutes. If you braise it it’ll take 2-3 hours. For a carving chicken it’ll take 20 minutes.
FT: Why does pressure cook things faster?
VS: Temperature is the difference. Not to be confusing, but pounds per square inch is a better indication of how things are cooking. So the combination of high heat plus pressure that forces everything deep inside, we’re cooking the outside and the inside at the same time.
LG: Somebody said to me they felt it was the best way to cook black beans. Why?
VS: Any kind of beans. I recommend soaking beans for a good texture and I don’t want them split. If I have a pot of beans I’m going to have beans on the table in 12 minutes.
LG: What about the flavor?
VS: Whatever is in the cooking broth will come up into the beans.
JC: What’s the price range for a good one?
VS: Slightly below $100 to $300.
LG: What would you look for?
VS: As I describe in the book, I look for stainless steel, a three-ply base, no non-stick finishes, three different options for release, a lid-lock for safety and that should do it. That’s all part of the new generation of cookware.
LG: I’m Linda Gassenheimer and we’re talking with Vickie Smith about cooking under pressure. We’ll take a break and be back with more.
[break]
LG: I’m Linda Gassenheimer and we’re talking with Vickie Smith about cooking under pressure. That’s pressure cooker cooking. Vickie has a new big book out and she’s giving us great tips. Now it’s dinner in minutes time. It’s Italian Gorgonzola Chicken with Sweet Pimento Linguine. If you want the recipe go to my website dinnerinminutes.com. This is a really simple recipe and it doesn’t break the calorie or fat bank, even with the cheese. Fred, drinking under pressure?
FT: I’m going to talk about the pressure winemakers are under to produce great wines. Writing a newspaper column I know 90% of the readers would prefer to have a great bottle of wine around $10. So what do winemakers have to do to justify charging $30 or $40? There’s a place in
LG: Does it really taste like a $70 bottle of wine?
FT: Well, that’s up to the individual. If you think it does then it does, and if you don’t then it doesn’t. It does add complexity. When you have different kinds of wood on it you’ll pick up on that. Rodney Strong Vineyard in
LG: French funk?
FT: They do all these things to make these wines special. I’m amazed at the amount of trouble they go to.
LG: Very interesting. Let’s go back to Vickie Smith who is joining us from
VS: It’s usually pretty easy. In the book I have charts with cooking time tables. You can use that. Another easy way is, if you have a chicken stew you like, look for a similar recipe and see what they’ve done with timing and use that as a guide to re-write the recipe.
LG: What cooks best?
VS: Almost everything. Anything from tender crisp vegetables, desserts, stews and soups, beans…anything.
LG: You mention dessert. You have an upside down chocolate fudge cake in the book.
FT: In a pressure cooker?!
VS: There are a lot of long-distance boaters who use pressure cookers on the ship. It makes a moist delicious rich chocolaty cake. It works, honestly.
LG: I’ve always had trouble cleaning them. One I had said I had to oil it and I gave up.
VS: The pot can go in the dish washer.
LG: Not the lid.
VS: No, that you wash in the sink. But any good degreasing dish soap will take care of residue that accumulates. And the spring valve just pops out and you wash it in the sink.
LG: You need to take it apart every time?
VS: No, unless you make something that foams up a lot.
LG: Tell us about your website.
VS: It’s www.missvickie.com.
LG: It’s been an interesting week. Thank you so much for joining us. Her book is Miss Vickie’s Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes. Fred, great advice as always and Joe you had a nice lunch today. Next week we’re talking with Miami Herald Restaurant Critic