ShareThisHow a pressure cooker works
OK, maybe you flunked physics in high school. We won't test you on this, but science has everything to do with how a pressure cooker works.
Water boils at 212 degrees and no matter how much you boil it, it will never get hotter. The steam that escapes is also that temperature. So by trapping the steam in the cooking vessel through a very tight-fitting lid, which creates pressure, the temperature rises and the food inside cooks more quickly because the steam is infused into the food.
So why doesn't the food fall apart? Well, some of it does, depending on its water content and how long it's cooked. For instance, the onion in the accompanying stew recipe is put in at the same time as the beef and disintegrates into the broth, thickening and flavoring the melange. The other vegetables are only cooked for about 5 minutes, so they retain their shape.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Must credit St. Petersburg TimesSidebar to PRESSURECOOKER
