Cooking under Pressure

By Lorna J. Sass

Book Overview

The 20th Anniversary Edition of the classic cookbook from the leading authority on speed-cooking, Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass offers a mouthwatering array of extraordinary dishes that can be prepared in minutes--from classic ossobucco to chocolate cheesecake--using a pressure cooker. A James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and food writer who has written for the Washington Post, New York Times, Food & Wine, Woman's Day and other publications, Lorna Sass shows you how to turn out meals in one-third the time of conventional methods without sacrificing moisture, flavor, aroma, or nutritional content. Newly updated and revised for contemporary tastes and more efficient machines, Cooking Under Pressure is the cookbook that inspired a whole generation of home cooks to dust off their pressure cookers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688088147
• ISBN13: 9780688088149
• Release Date: November 1989
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.9" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Great information and alternatives

My initial disappointment at the lack of pictures was quickly overcome by the volume of information contained in a very usable format. Whether you are experienced (like me) or a novice to pressure cooking you will find useful tips. Also every recipe contains alternate ingredients--chicken alternatives for beef, kale for cabbage etc. Great for both reference or inspiration.

No Pressure, Pressure Cooking!

I bought my first pressure cooker in the seventies in college. For years, I used it mainly to cook beans, due to its speed. I bought this book when it was first issued and have referred to it countless times, since. Pressure cookers today are indeed different than the earlier models (including my old Mirro). With my old cooker, even though I never had an accident, I had to stay close at hand to monitor the pressure regular rattling, etc. Pressure cooking with a modern cooker is so much easier! My latest purchase, earlier this year, was an electric, programmable cooker from Salton that's as easy to use as my rice cooker or Crock Pot. It's true that some of the recipes in this book use ingredients that are not freely available in non-urban areas of the country. No problem: just adapt to what you want to cook! I read a review by a prior person who lamented that they must be a 'meat and potatoes' person. Fine: do your meat and potatoes here! I find that baked potatoes are much more delicious done in the cooker than in the microwave. The time required is rather a split between nuking and conventional baking. Pressure cooking can do wonders on tough meat the same way that a Crock Pot can. Just be sure and brown your meat first! However, I still use my cooker more for beans than anything. Sass gives a full and careful explanation of bean and legume cooking here, as safety must be considered.Since this book came out several other cookbooks have been released on pressure cooking. I've bought some, and the best alternative to this book is the one published by Presto, the maker of the original pressure cooker. It's an excellent reference also, and also recommended.

If your mother didn't teach you to use a pressure cooker..

get this book. I had heard that pressure cookers were the microwave ovens of the 50's. Then after several people blew them up by overloading them they lost favor. I borrowed one from a friend and bought this book. After making chilli in 20 minutes, and lentil soup in 10. I was a convert.I now own 2 cookers, one really large one (16qt)for making spagetti sauce and stew, and one medium large one (8qt) for soups.The one thing the book doesn't really cover, is that once the top is on, there is no stiring, (duh!) So if you leave it on high heat, it can burn the thick sauce recipes. So I always heat the mixture until just to simmering, lock the lid on and then cut the heat to medium. It takes a minute or two longer for the pressure to come up but I rarely burn soup any more.Also, if you haven't bought a pot, get a big one, when you fill a pressure cooker, you only fill it 1/2 way. So a 8qt pot, is really good for 4qts of soup. If you have time shop estate sales. That's where I got mine. The pots last a long time, and many who cooked in the 50's will have one that is just fine. (You can get new seals from the presto company.)

Good food FAST

We've tried nearly every meatless recipe in this book and, with the single exception of "peanut butter-carrot soup" (yes, you read that right!), they've been exceptionally good. One of the best things is how quickly all can be prepared. You can go from deciding to cook a bean dish for dinner to eating that same bean dish in well under an hour. No more overnight pre-soaks! The recipes are all easy to prepare and are really delicious. I'm getting copies for my mom and sister for Christmas! (Psst -- don't tell 'em!)

A pressure cooking bible for the novice and experienced

I bought this book in 1997 to learn about pressure cooking. Now I use it to adapt my Latina recipes to fast pressure cooking. I've made Ropa Vieja (Flank Steak) (25 minutes under pressure), Black Bean Soup (35 minutes under pressure), Coconut Bread Pudding (15 minutes under pressure), and Flan (an amazing 15 minutes under pressure).Though these recipes are not in Ms. Sass' book, you can easily adapt your favorite recipes by following her guidelines and expertise. A must-have book for all busy cooks.

Great approach to pressure cooker cooking; super recipes!

Pressure cooking is, unfortunately, very misunderstood. This book should go a long way towards changing that. It presents an excellent range of recipes, well organized and written, and every one of which we've tried has been fabulous. Because of the speed and flavor, we've been pressure cooker fans for three years, and this book opened our eyes to new possibilities. Ms. Sass's taste in spiciness tends to be a little milder than ours, but once you see where she's coming from, it's very easy to adjust. We'll try the vegetarian version of the book, too