9
Adding Food and Liquid
1. To cook with the Elite pressure cooker,
it is very important to use at least 1/2
a cup of liquid if you’re cooking for 10
minutes or less, or 2 cups of water
if you’re cooking for more than 10
minutes; NEVER USE LESS.
It is important to always use some
cooking liquid in a pressure cooker
since it is the liquid that creates
the steam necessary to build the
pressure. Without liquid the pressure
cooker cannot build any pressure.
You can use water, broth, wine or any
other kind of liquid to cook, except
oil. You can use oil to brown meat or
soften onions directly in your pressure
cooker before adding the rest of
the ingredients, but the oil should
never be the ONLY cooking liquid.
WARNING:
Pressure cookers are
NOT pressure fryers.
WARNING: Do not fill the pressure
cooker more than two thirds full
with liquid and food, or half full if
you’re cooking foods that expand
during cooking (for example rice
or other grains).
2. Never fill the pressure cooker more
than two thirds full. It is necessary
to leave enough space in the cooker
for it to be able to build pressure.
Fill only halfway when cooking with
foods that will either expand in size
and/or produce foam as they cook,
such as dried beans or other legumes
and grains. Also fill only halfway when
preparing soups or stock.
3. You can add food and liquid directly into
the pressure cooker, or, optionally, you
can steam your food in the stainless
steel steamer basket. To use the
stainless steel steamer basket, place
the metal support trivet on the bottom
of the pressure cooker, add at least half
a cup of liquid, and place the steamer
basket containing the food on top.
Closing the Lid and Cooking
1. When you’re ready to start cooking,
place the lid on the pressure cooker
pot by aligning the mark on the lid
with the mark on the top of the pot
handle (Fig. 6). Once these two marks
are aligned, press the lid down lightly,
then slide the lid handle to the left
(clockwise), bringing the pot and lid
handles together. Push the pressure
lock button up towards the center of
the lid to lock it (Fig. 7). If you don’t
push the lock to the closed position,
the cooker will not build any pressure.
This is a safety measure designed
to prevent accidental opening of the
cooker while under pressure. The lock
will block automatically as soon as
the pressure indicator has risen, and
will unblock only when the pressure
indicator has dropped again.
2. Once the pressure cooker is locked,
turn the operating valve to the
pressure setting if you cook with the
operating valve turned to the picture
of the steam, the pressure cooker
will not build pressure. The level of
pressure reached is a high pressure,
equivalent to 15 psi (15 pounds of
pressure per square inch (Fig. 15))
or low pressure, equivalent to 8psi
when on 1 (8 pounds of pressure per
square inch (Fig. 9)).
ENGLISH
