The electric pressure cooker has been a relatively new innovation in our modern world kitchen. However, apart from the built-in heating element, the design of an electric pressure cooker is almost similar to the stove-top models.
Advantages of An Electric Pressure Cooker
Stove-top pressure cookers present certain problems. The earliest models did not have any type of measuring system for the amount of pressure that was accumulating in the pot other than a steam release valve on the lid that opens when a certain level of pressure is reached. This made it difficult to judge how much cooking time was actually needed for different type of food. Later models started to include pressure gauges, but the technology still called for a degree of guess work. With the electric pressure cooker, most models have digital controls that allow for easy monitoring of the steam pressure in the cooker, as well as providing the ability to preset cooking times, hence better control over the cooking process.
The electric pressure cooker utilizes a clamping type of lock system for the lid, which creates a tighter seal than the interlocking lid design on older stove-top models. Many models also come with an added safety feature. When the lid is closed, a locking system is activated that will not allow the opening of the lid until the lock is manually deactivated. That allows the user to avoid the potential danger of being burned by steam or scalding water, which was a problem with some stove-top pressure cookers. There is also a quick-release feature on most electric pressure cooker that allows the user to release a small amount of steam and pressure, thus avoiding over cooking and the potential for unsafe levels of pressure being exceeded.
Another advantage of using the electric pressure cooker is that most models come with a removable cooking pot. This is an advantage not only in the cleaning process, but also because it will allow for the pot to be removed and placed on the stove top for further sautéing or browning, if needed. These removable cooking pots are either made of stainless steel or are coated with a non-stick surface, which is another advantage during clean-up
The advancements in locking designs and digital timing technology, along with features such as removable cooking pots and pressure-release mechanisms, have provided users of electric pressure cooker a high degree of control that was not available in most stove-top models. Electric pressure cooker also allows for even more convenience as they do not need to be monitored during the cooking process as the built-in timer will do the job for you.