Pressure Cooking Hints                                  PRESCOOK.TXT
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       Are you busy? Maybe you live at a high elevation. Pressure cooking may
       be the answer to your healthy eating needs. With pressure cooking, you
       can create soul-satisfying bean and grain dishes in 30% or less time. 
       We recommend trading in your old jiggle top pressure cooker for one of
       the new generation models: they are safer, simpler, quieter and more
       versatile. Other vital equipment includes an accurate timer and a flame
       tamer, an inexpensive item available from hardware stores which shields
       food from being scorched on high heat. The times listed in this guide
       are general, and err on the undercooked side. Times are recommended for
       gas stoves; electric may require slight adjustment. 
       Experiment, adjust, and enjoy with these tips.
        
       Read instructions included with your pressure cooker!

       Place unsoaked grains or rice, or pre-soaked beans in pressure cooker.
       (See Bean section for soaking tips.) 
       
       Presoaking grains or brown rice overnight shortens their stated cooking
       times by 40%. 

        Add the water or cooking liquid with no salt added for beans, or salt
        added for rice and grains. 
        (Exceptions: do not salt before cooking amaranth, kamut, spelt,
        wheat berries, triticale, or wehani rice. 
        Also, do add salt to lima, and black soybeans to keep their skins on.)

        Lock the lid in place, and set any other locking mechanisms according 
        to your pressure cooker's instructions.

        Heat flame tamer on high heat for about 1 minute. 
        Set your pressure cooker on the flame tamer.

        Bring cooker to high pressure over high heat. 
        This will take anywhere from 20 seconds to 30 minutes. 

        Begin timing when pressure is up. 
        [On older models, this is when the pressure weight jiggles or hisses.]
        On newer models, when the heat indicator shows high. 

        Lower heat to medium or medium low, just high enough to maintain high
        pressure. 

        Cook food for the time allotted in our listing.
        Release pressure when time is up. 

        Natural release method: allow heat to lower naturally by removing 
        cooker from heat and waiting for the indicator to go down, 
        3 to 20 minutes. 

        For beans, this is especially important as the quick release method
        (running cooker under cold water to bring pressure  down fast) 
        can cause beans to burst. 

        For rice and grains, quick pressure release is recommended after 10
        minutes of natural pressure release time. 

        Quick release method: place cooker in sink, tilt away from you, 
        and allow very cold water to run over it until pressure drops, 15 
        to 60 seconds. Some cookers allow you to vent the steam on the stove 
        top, but we recommend the cold water method. 
        
        If they aren't tender after the pressure is down, beans and grains can
        be simmered on the stove top with the lid on, but not locked down. 
        Test often, and add liquid if necessary. 
        If beans are very hard, you may want to return hem to high pressure 
        with the lid locked for a few more minutes, then let the pressure come
        down again naturally.