I already wrote why we bought a Hawkins Futura Pressure Cooker, why we love it so much and what kind of meals we use it for.
Why another post? Well, we had never expected it would resonate with so many people and, what’s more, how many (future) overlanders bought one for themselves as a result.
Readers asked:
- How do I use a pressure cooker?
- Can you share simple recipes?
Let’s answer both questions here.
How do I use this pressure cooker?
A pressure does look intimidating with that weird-looking lid and the hissing sound once the temperature inside the cooker has reached its boiling point. I totally identify with that feeling. It took me a while to be convinced a pressure cooker was a good purchase for our overland trip.
The Trial Run
Before potentially ruining a meal, it’s best to first try out the pressure cooker just with a bit of water. This way you get a feel for how it works.
Here is a rundown of what is recommended in the Hawkins Futura Cookbook. It is a simple way of familiarizing you with your brand-new, intimidating looking pressure cooker to prevent screwing up a meal.
It comes down to:
- Pouring two cups of water in the cooker body.
- Removing the pressure regulator from the lid and looking through the steam vent to ensure it’s clear (which is good practice before each cooking session because a clogged pressure regulator is something you definitely don’t want).
- Closing the lid without the pressure regulator.
- Place the cooker on a high flame.
- When the water boils, you will see steam exiting from the steam vent, and you can place the pressure regulator in position.
- In a little bit you will see the steam evaporating and hear that typical noise which indicates that the cooker has reached full pressure – your pressure cooking time starts now. When actually cooking food, this is the moment you would set your cooking timer. Note that at this point, you can turn down the heat to a minimal flame, saving energy.
Now you know how to bring the cooker to a boil.
Read More: Pressure Cooker Dish – Masala Gobi
There are 3 ways to end a cooking session:
1-Release Steam
- After the cooking time you will immediately release the steam by pressing on the pressure regulator.
- Make sure how the wind blows when cooking outside so the steam blows away from you!
- When all pressure is released you can open the lid and eat your food.
- This method I mostly use when steaming vegetables in the pressure cooker.
2-Turn Off the Heat
- For other foods, you turn off the heat but leave the lid on without releasing pressure for an additional time period (which is indicated in recipes).
- The food continues to cook thanks to the built-up pressure, but no longer needs gas and thus saves you energy.
- At the end of this time, you release the pressure as mentioned in #1.
- This method I often use for cooking rice in the pressure cooker.
3-Natural Cool Down
- The recipe says ‘natural cool down’.
- You turn off the heat and leave the lid on until the pressure inside the cooking body is gone.
- I un-click the far end of the handle and so the lid will fall down by itself when ready.
- This system I mostly use when cooking soup and legumes (beans and lentils).
So that now you know the basics and have seen for yourself how the cooker works, let’s move on to a couple of other points.
Important: Water
Quantities of different ingredients don’t matter much; however, the quantity of water is extremely important.
Because:
- Too much will overcook your food.
- Too little and your cooker will boil dry and the safety valve will blow (make sure you carry a spare with you).
How much water you need to add depends on:
- The brand of the pressure cooker.
- The size of your cooker and the quantity of food used.
- The type of food you cook – e.g. tomatoes already have much more liquid that e.g. the same quantity of carrots.
Coen, fortunately, loves manuals. He checks it for every meal and is very precise in how much water he adds. So do keep that in mind, especially when starting out with cooking in a pressure cooker.
It’s best to check the water quantities in the cookbook that came with your pressure cooker, as they may differ per brand.
Also Important: Time
For exactly the same reasons a minute too long or too short can screw things up, so check the timetables for that. Or go for the trial & error method but make sure your pressure cooker doesn’t boil dry.
Here is a general timing table in case you have another pressure cooker.
Read More: Landcruising Adventure’s Homemade Hummus
Can you share simple recipes
Maybe not all pressure cookers come with a cookbook, but ours – the Futura Hawkins – does. Not only do we have the Future Hawkins cookbook, but you can also download it as a PDF online or search for information on Google.
What do you think? Is a Hawkins Futura Pressure Cooker something for you?
Pressure Cooker Recipes
We share a collection of pressure-cooker recipes on this website. How to easily prepare rice or vegetables in a pressure cooker, soup, or hummus.
Tips, Suggestions, Contributions?
We hope you found this helpful. Questions? Fire away in the comment section below.
Originally published in 2014 / updated in September 2019
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Hi,
I read your blog about 3 months ago whilst preparing for our own South America trip and it inspired us to buy the same pressure cooker. We have used it almost on a daily basis now for the last 4 weeks and it is fantastic. Lentils, beans, soups … we have a lot of fun just trying new things out. How could we have ever done without this pressure cooker before is beyond us! It saves a lot of drinking water, time and propane and is so easy to clean. Thank you so much for recommending it. We consider it an essential part of our motor home equipment now!
Helen and Kirsten
Great to hear that. I can’t think what we would do without it either. 9 Years of steady use! The soups are new to us and pumpkin is something we are elated about. Please share your most favorite wholesome recipe with us!
Dear Landcruiser
Always a pleasure to read up your stories and a lot to learn for us since we will start for the Panamericana (with lots of detours and side trips of course) next year in V`Canada
We also wanted to buy a pressure cooker for our trip and your chosen model was high up on the list. It has one feature we didn’t like: The handle, because it is difficult to stow away. After a lengthy research in the internet we found a model we liked more and finally purchased one.
On our website is the full story:
http://www.underway.ch
You will find the link under “News”
I’m not sure if the direct link works:
http://www.underway.ch/panamericana/ausr%C3%BCstung/
Happy and safe travels and maybe we will meet in about 2 or 3 years on the way “down”
Ueli & Myrta
Hello Ueli, that looks like a nice little model. Would be interested to know how it holds up after a few years. Good luck and happy travels! And indeed maybe we’ll meet on the road.
Wat een goeie tip! Ik heb er een besteld via je link. Ideaal voor op reis! Wij zijn weer een langere reis aan het plannen 🙂
Bizar eigenlijk dat zo weinig mensen dit ook niet thuis gebruiken. Ik ook niet, maar het lijkt super handig.
Groetjes Maud
Wat goed om van je te horen, en leuk dat je ook ‘aan de pressure cooker’ gaat! Succes ermee en geniet er vooral van. Mocht je vragen hebben, laat het ons weten. En natuurlijk zijn we ook in voor goede overland-pressure cooker recepten 🙂
Hi Karin Marijke and Coen. Now August 2020 and your Pressure Cooker page is dead so I can’t comment there. I just wanted to add a camping tip I discovered with my (Italian Lagostina) pressure cooker. If I bring it to pressure and let it cool naturally without opening it stays hermetically sealed. I guess it would work with other pressure cookers as well.
How cool is that?
That means I don’t need to refrigerate it in order for it to stay fresh – it is effectively canned. I have kept soups, curries and stews for more than a week in the hot car and they were completely fresh when I opened. We can heat it, eat out of it and re-sterilize it too, so one big cook can keep us fed for ages without a refrigerator with days in between. Try it with a soup first! Your nose will tell you if it works with your pressure cooker.
Interesting. Never thought about that. I do keep food in the pressure cooker like that sometimes, when preparing food for later or the next day. However, I only keep it out of the fridge when in cold temps. Thanks for the share.
Hi Karin Marijke
The pressure cooker page is working again!
I think you are not eating meat these days but if you do this is a great way for preserving meat without a refrigerator. We have eaten a big curry over a week in this way this summer with days in between of something else for variety.
Nick
No meat indeed. But the pressure cooker is great for cooking beans and lentils (veggy curry :-)) and to cook on altitude, too. I imagine your curry must have been good.