Introductions – Cooking in an Electric Pressure Cooker

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I brought home a digital 8qt. pressure cooker sometime in 2009.  And I’ve been obsessed with it since.  Come on, I even gave it a name!  I named her Peggy!!!  Yes, it’s a she!!!

I don’t know what the heck I was doing before a pressure cooker came into my life.  Cooking before a pressure cooker was just uneventful.  But cooking after a pressure cooker has just been mouth-watering and tasty!!!

I’ve always been afraid of pressure cookers.  I thought people were crazy to want to use one and risk the chance of having food blow up in their kitchen, sending red staining sauces onto their ceilings.  I’ve heard loads of horror stories from friends, relatives and neighbors.  But that was back in the dark ages, when people used old-fashioned stove-top pressure cookers that had an annoying rattling valve on the lid.  And these old-fashioned models always had gauges that you had to constantly mess with.  No sir, I don’t like it!

My pressure cooker is 100% digital and automatic.  I pretty much set it and forget it.  Except for the part where I turn the valve to exhaust the hot pressure, that’s my favorite part!  Choo-choo!!!  I decided that since I was so in love with my digital pressure cooker, I just had to share the love with other cooks as well.  I mean, it made cooking just so much easier, quicker and tastier!  Who wouldn’t want to bask in all the lovely goodness?

So I decided to start a blog.  A blog about cooking with my pressure cooker, including recipes and my oh-so-fabulously-amateur photos!  Enjoy!!!

Featured Product Stats:
Elite Platinum by Maxi-Matic
8 Qt. Digital Pressure Cooker

Model EPC-807

 

55 Replies to “Introductions – Cooking in an Electric Pressure Cooker”

  1. When I use my digital pressure cooker; I bought an Elite Platinum 8 Qt Elite Pressure Cooker model EPC-808; how do I program it f I am cooking smaller portions? For example if I select the poultry button and I have have less than 2-3 pounds? What if I only have three pieces of chickien; how do I program it? The book does not give this inforamtion.

    By the way I Loove my pressure cooker

    1. You can easily just program the cooker for like 3-5 minutes using the SET PRESSURE COOK TIME button. It gives you more control. I personally rarely use the preset menu food buttons.

  2. Kathie says: Reply

    I just purchased my Elite 8 qt Pressure Cooker and I just discovered your site. I’ve only done chicken breasts and so far, so good! Tomorrow….WE DO RIBS! Thanks for such a great site! And all the best on your upcoming marriage!

  3. Kathie says: Reply

    Oh yeah…a question. I was interested in the response re small portions. Do I still always have to have 2 – 3 cups of liquid for say, 2-3 lbs of something? Many thanks! You rock!

    1. Patty says: Reply

      Hi Kathie, thanks for your well wishes. The wedding is coming up quick and the anxiety and dreams have started. hehe
      For smaller portions, as long as you have about half an inch of liquid on the bottom of the pot, it should be fine. The food do not need to be fully immersed.

  4. Jerry says: Reply

    Hi! There,
    We just bought an Elite Electric 6 qt. model…haven’t used it yet. Would like more recipes for plant based vegans and soups…
    love your site…

  5. Sherry Bachman says: Reply

    I am thinking of purchasing the 8qt cooker, but I am looking to can in qt jars, but have found no info for this. Has anyone used it for this

    1. TRB says: Reply

      If I remember correctly, the directions for my Elite said to limit canning to 1 pint jars or less. I canned pear cactus jelly last year in the microwave, so I can’t wait to get my pressure cooking going. Can anyone tell me where the last piece of plastic goes. It is not much bigger than 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Thank you so much for being there. And Happy New Year 2016.

      1. Bethy says: Reply

        Hi.
        I think the piece of plastic you are referring to is the little cup snapped onto the side where the lid tilts up. It is used to catch the condensation from the lid that drips down when lifted up.
        Happy Secular New Year to One and All!

    2. CB says: Reply

      Ball “Blue Book Guide to Preserving” has a decent section on canning low acid foods using a pressure cooker. I bought mine at Walmart. http://www.Freshpreserving.com may be useful too.

  6. Ken says: Reply

    Have you cooked “dried beans” in your pressure cooker yet? If so, please tell me about it. I ordered an Elite 8qt cooker that should arrive this week. I am looking forward to it.

    1. Patty says: Reply

      If you find my recipes for chili, I talk about cooking dried beans.

  7. Wanda says: Reply

    Does your pressure cooker make noise when it is under pressure?

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      No, what kind of noise are you hearing? Once it’s under pressure and the P appears on the LCD screen, it should be pretty quiet.

  8. Lyn says: Reply

    I don’t like the Teflon coated pot for my 6qt Elite pressure cooker. Amazon sells a 6qt stainless steel replacement pot for electric pressure cookers that is getting rave revues. Is it all right to switch to this stainless steel pot?

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      It is highly not recommended to use a non-brand pot that is not made specifically with this pressure cooker. It is risking pressure leak or dangerous pressure build up.

      1. Lyn says: Reply

        Thank you for your reply. Not what I wanted to hear but that’s the way it goes. Too late to return the pressure cooker, so I’ll be kicking it to the curb. Why do companies continue to use toxic Teflon? I’ll be getting an Instant Pot. Hard lesson learned. Thanks.

        1. patee333 says: Reply

          What color is your pot? Is it a dark gray/black? Or is it a goldish color? As far as I know, TEFLON is just the brandname of a particular nonstick material and if it didn’t come with a Teflon sticker on the material, then it’s not teflon and is just a generic nonstick coating. You can always try selling the pressure cooker to someone else if it’s brand new. I believe nonstick is only toxic if it’s damaged and still used afterwards.

  9. Mary dils says: Reply

    what does rrp on screen mean?

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      It means the control panel is malfunctioning. Try calling customer service.

      1. Ann says: Reply

        In my manual for the EPC-808, it states that it’ll display “rrP” while the unit is pressurizing…

    2. Ann says: Reply

      My manual for the EPC-808 states that “rrP” will display when the unit is pressurizing.

  10. Danie says: Reply

    How do I cook rice on the automatic setting. 1 Cup rice to how much water?

  11. Karen Burgan says: Reply

    I lost my manual somehow?!? Anyway ( maybe I’m getting old) but the directions on the lid are confusing to me. One side says to put it on exhaust, the other says airtight, which is correct ? Is there a way to reset the time of cooking if its not tender enough?

  12. Kathy says: Reply

    Dear,Peggy what does P O mean on the led power pressure cooker and also the instructions on how to use the led panel are hard to understand. Thank you mrs banks

  13. JIm says: Reply

    Peggy,
    I just bought my first pressure cooker, it is also an Elite by Maxi-Matic. Ive read the manual back to front to be safe. When I used it for the first time today to cook a prok butt for pulled pork, I noticed the release valve seems to make a good bit of noise the whole time even though I had it closed. I havent been able to find anything on the web as to if this is correct. Should the valve be hissing/making noise while cooking?
    Thanks!!

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      Hi, are you talking about the black valve knob? How high is the liquid inside the pot? It shouldn’t sputter constantly. Once it pressurizes and seals, it should stop and be pretty silent.

      1. JIm says: Reply

        Yes, its the pressure valve that can be used to release the pressure manually. I have it set to Airtight but noticed it has made noise the whole time. I placed 2 cups of liquid inside so it was only about 1/4 full, and set the meat cook time to 55 min.

        1. patee333 says: Reply

          Is it a loud hissing noise? Or a quite small wispy noise? Does the letter P ever appear on the display meaning it has pressurized?

          1. JIm says:

            It was a constant wispy noise that I could hear clearly 20 ft away over the tv. It was pressurized and it did finish cooking and was perfect so Im going to assume it was supposed to make this much noise.

        2. Ricky says: Reply

          Mine did that too. The valve was stuck, so I lightly tapped on the lid next to the valve and it stopped.

  14. Peg says: Reply

    What if I only want to “slow” cook a really small roast or just a few shortribs. How do I determine the cook time, temp., liquid, etc.?

  15. Cheryl says: Reply

    I have a Maxi-Matic 8qt elite pressure cooker and have been searching for info. on removing the pressure valve for cleaning. The manual says to just pull it up and off. But, this is not happening for me. I called customer support and was told to just pull it up and off and to pull hard. I do not have the hand strength to get it off. Do you have any suggestions or know how I can clean this valve if I can not get it off.
    Thank you so much for your time (Like your web site).
    Cheryl

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      If you are talking about the Black valve. They are right, you just pull up and it comes right off. It’s not tight. I’ll see if I can take a video of it and show you later.

  16. Mary says: Reply

    Hi, I just purchased my first pressure cooker from HSN. Its elite 10Qt. Digital. I was so excited to get it. Took it out of the box and it is freaking me out. I just stood staring at it and wondering why I wanted it so bad. I want to make pull pork but afraid I will do something wrong. Do you have any advice that this Scarry cat? Thank you for your help.

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      Relax. Full it with a few cups of water and just play around with the settings and functions until you become comfortable with it. Then try cooking some easy things like chicken.

  17. i received elite pressure cooker from a friend I’ve used it few times this last time making soup beans when I went back to check on them everything was off nothing would light up still will not do anything, did I blow it up or something I hate to throw it away still looks pretty new. I have no instructions with it.

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      Check both ends of the plug to make sure they are connected.
      If still no power, you may have blown the fuse. You can contact customer service at http://www.maxi-matic.com and they can send you a new fuse to change it out.

  18. Bethy says: Reply

    Hi. I just purchased my first pressure cooker, the EPC-808OR. I mainly purchased it because I read on Amazon that people love canning with it. Someone even posted a link to directions from the Maxi-Matic website, but it doesn’t work, and I cannot find any information on how to can with it. I’m particularly worried now (waiting for the cooker to come in the mail) that since there isn’t a button specifically for canning, I won’t know how to do it.
    Help, Please!

  19. Mary says: Reply

    Me unit is displaying OH, anyone know what that means?

  20. Cyndi says: Reply

    Hi, In March 2015, I purchased a 10 qt Elite Platinum pressure cooker from HSN. Have used it 6 or so times. Now, it’s the 1st week of October, it displays an e1 error message. Maxi-Matic wants ME to pay to return it to them. This is under 1 year warranty. Never again!

    1. Dave says: Reply

      Same thing happened to me.
      Elite 10 qt same model. used 6 times. E1 code

  21. Vivian says: Reply

    Can I cook a whole ham butt in my pressure cooker and how long?

  22. Jeesha says: Reply

    What is the cause elite non stick pressure cooker come smell after cooking smell?

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      If you place the cooking pot out under the sun for a few hours, it will get rid of the smell.

  23. Judy says: Reply

    I can’t even turn my elite epc607 model # on. Help …..

  24. Camille says: Reply

    I just got an elite 8 quart pressure cooker but the recipe books I have are all calling for a 6 quart. Would I just follow the recipe as is or do I have to add more time or liquid!?! please help. I have yet to use it and I am feeling a little intimidated.

  25. Jody Divita says: Reply

    What does it Ean when PO appears on the led screen while cooking?

    1. patee333 says: Reply

      What brand and model do you have? You may want to contact their customer support.

      1. Jody says: Reply

        Power pressure cooker xl

        1. patee333 says: Reply

          I’m not familiar with that brand, so yes, contact their customer support. It may be a circuit board problem.

          1. Jody says:

            OK thank you

    2. Rhonda S Bennett says: Reply

      PO means Pressure On

  26. Jim Berman says: Reply

    So, I recently moved into a new apartment.
    Love the Apartment, miss my gas stove.
    I have a gorgeous T-Fal Clipso 8 Qt Pressure cooker, and unfortunately it does NOT seem to like Electric stovetops.
    So, I bought an 8qt Elite Platinum EPC-808.
    Making the transition from a non-electric to an electric pressure cooker is so much easier with your advice.
    I especially love the fact that you know my pressure cooker model.
    I’ll keep following your site.
    It all looks SOOO tasty.

  27. Gail says: Reply

    My cook essentials instantpot will not let the programming work. I keep getting rrp. This istant pot has only been used once. What is happening?

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