8 Food Items That Should Not Be Cooked In Pressure Cookers

A pressure cooker is one of the major kitchen utensils when it comes to cooking food. And if you belong to a brown family then listening to the whistle of a pressure cooker 5 times a day is a normal deal for you. Our moms love making us the best of delicacies a lot of which are made on pressure cookers. However, do you know there are many food items that should not be cooked in pressure cookers? Why? Because they can turn out to be more than just fatal. If you are a cooking enthusiast yourself then this article is a must-read for you.

Here is a curated list of food items that are a big NO-NO to be cooked in pressure cookers:

1. Noodles

Cooking noodles in a pressure cooker sounds more than just absurd. However, there are people who still cook it like this. It is important to note that noodles are never the appropriate food item to be cooked in pressure cookers. Why? Because they can foam and sputter which can easily clog the pressure cooker. To the extent that its release valve gets damaged.

2. Potatoes

While cooking noodles in a pressure cooker sure sounds absurd you must be like what is the harm with potatoes? Yes, we agree that potatoes are one of the most used food items when it comes to cooking with a pressure cooker. However, it is still not a suggestible food item to be cooked like that. The reason is that the starch it produces inside the cooker can be very harmful.

3. Rice

Rice is another most cooked item in pressure cookers especially when it comes to South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. However, it is also an item not to be cooked in pressure cookers. Health issues are associated when we cook rice in pressure cookers because the starch releases a fatal chemical. This chemical is called Acrylamide.

4. Fried foods

Every cooking enthusiast knows what moist-heat cooking is and what dry-heat cooking is. Pressure cookers are the best-suited utensils for moist-heat cooking and never for dry-heat cooking. Therefore, no one should ever do frying in pressure cookers which is a form of dry-heat cooking.

5. Creamy sauce

It is a big NO-NO to cook dairy items in pressure cookers. We have seen plenty of times that people cook pasta in cookers but using dairy products with it is never suggested. If you wish to cook pasta with creamy sauce always opt for big and open pans. Cooking milk or cheese in pressure cookers can cause them to clump together which is not good.

6. Fish

Fish is another item that is best suited to be cooked in open-lid pans. There you can easily check how is it being cooked and make sure to not overcook it. The same cannot be checked in pressure cookers.

7. Steak

Steak is mostly cooked in pressure cookers however it easily breaks downs tough meat which might not be liked by everyone. Although it does make the steak taste good.

8. Seafood

Shrimps and Oysters are some of the seafood items that are very delicate. Furthermore, cooking them in pressure cookers could be a disaster. The taste is terrible so it is advisable to cook it in open lid utensils.

Hope this was helpful for you. Do share your thoughts via the comments below. 

Also read: 13 Dangerous Food Combinations That You Must Avoid