[Magdalen] Medical update (& honestly, getting' a little scary).

[Roger Stokes]

On 06/05/2016 20:12, ME Michaud wrote:
> I bought an Instant Pot for Florida and I really like it. Mine came from
> Amazon, at deep discount. It's Canadian, so it has a congee setting.
>
> One thing I've noticed: I love soups but tend to overcook them in the
> LeCrueset. So I make great vegetable stews. In the Instant Pot stuff stays
> separate, and it makes a better soup. It also steams and makes rice.
>
> Having also observed my mother's stovetop pressure cooker catastrophe, I
> was scared to death of the same, but the Instant Pot has very good
> fail-safe operation.

The original pressure cookers were less robust and easy to use than more 
modern ones.  Old style electric hobs (such as I have) also have a slow 
response to adjusting the desired heat level, typically several 
minutes.  This means the plate is still pumping heat into the pot some 
time after you have turned it down or off.  The pressure release valve 
has a certain capacity in terms of the steam it can release per minute.  
Seek to exceed that and you are going to have pressure build up within 
the pot.  Modern devices are much more user-friendly to avoid or 
mitigate thise problems.

Roger