How to Troubleshoot Common Pressure Cooker Issues?

Pressure cookers are frequently used items in the kitchen, particularly when you are fond of cooking large meals and like to serve meaty dishes. Lentils, beans and oats are other commonly cooked items in a pressure cooker. The pressure methodology of the cooker reduces the cooking time greatly and makes a busy lifestyle a little less hectic and tiring. If you are a working mom, you can easily cook meals after coming home in the evening without worrying about being late for dinner or having to wake up early in the morning to prepare the dinner meal.

Such usability and ease of service has made pressure cookers an inevitable part of our kitchen and most of the time we can’t go a day without using the cooker. However, like all mechanical things, a pressure cooker can stop functioning as well for some minor or major reasons which can cause a lot of imbalance regarding the cooking time and might make the cooking all the more frustrating.

In a scenario, when your pressure cooker stops functioning all of a sudden, check user’s manual for troubleshooting problems or follow the following troubleshooting steps to quickly fix your pressure cooker.

1. Most commonly, steam leaks around the lid of the cooker and prevents the pressure from building up which hampers the cooking process. Check the gasket of your cooker, it should be fixed properly and there shouldn’t be any food residues or cracks along its rim. Sometimes washing the gasket with cold water and fixing it back again can resolve the issue and also make sure that you fix the gasket in the right direction, any words or stamp on the gasket must be facing upwards.

2. Sometimes, your cooker doesn’t cook the food properly in the estimated time. There are several reasons for this as well. Filling the cooker too much with food or water can prevent the food from cooking properly. Frozen foods or thick liquids might also require more time than your estimated time for cooking the same food otherwise. Moreover, loosely held cooker lid or handles can also cause lack in the pressure build up. So, be sure to keep them in a correct position to let the cooker work properly.

3. Another common problem with pressure cookers is the water oozing out of the pressure valve or dripping of vapors along the rim of the lid. This may seem dangerous to the new users, but in actuality there is nothing to worry about. Pressure cookers that use pressure regulating weights, tend to drip out some water during the pressure build up process and generally go away after the required pressure level is acquired. Sometimes food residues get layered inside the vent pipe which can also cause a similar issue. For that purpose, you must clean the valve regularly.

4. A worn out gasket or an old pressure valve can also prevent the pressure to build up and maintain its level. You should check it out and take care of it. In case its severely damaged, you should replace as soon as possible.

5. Pressure build up inside the cooker can also cause the cooker lid to get jammed in its position and it doesn’t open even after turning off the flame. Pouring cold water on the cooker can help release the pressure or heating cooker on a high flame without pressure valve, will also help to release the pressure and the lid will come off easily.

Last Saying

If all these troubleshooting solutions don’t solve your problem, then your cooker might need a replacement and the gasket or pressure valves are too worn out to support the pressure build up and accurate cooking process.

Although, such issues come off and on and can be solved easily if you know the actual process clearly. In homes, where pressure cooker has a daily use, can have small issues and you may not be able to take it to an expert and it would be better for you to handle and troubleshoot issues that are easily manageable and don’t need a lot of effort. Most of such issues can easily be fixed through little repair or replacing minor parts.