To Steam or Not to Steam in the Pressure Cooker: What’s all the fuss about steaming?
Call me crazy, if you like, it’s been done before but I cannot understand why people are so gaga over steaming vegetables in the pressure cooker. Will someone please explain it to me?
The whole device is basically a giant steamer anyway. So why put your vegetables, or most anything else, that you are steaming over water when you can cook directly in the pot and get so much flavor? I understand steaming whole squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tamales and bean sausages but what is the benefit of steaming vegetables?
I hope that someone will help me understand this. I just filmed electric pressure cooker videos and made two different steamed vegetable dishes. One I seasoned with a Tuscan spice and the other I seasoned with curry, both after they were steamed. I am quite positive that had I cooked the vegetables directly in the pot with the seasonings and a bit of broth that they would be more flavorful and turn out just as well.
PRESSURE COOKED VEGETABLES SING, LOUD AND CLEAR.
THEY SAY EAT ME.” ~ The Veggie Queen
So, please tell me how I can help break you of your steaming habit? Perhaps I am standing (almost) alone in not having a love for steamed vegetables. Plain steamed veggies are (in my mind) boring. Pressure cooked vegetables sing, loud and clear. They say eat me.
You see, the liquid in the pressure cooker actually penetrates the cell wall of the vegetable and softens it, making it more nutritious and more digestible. Isn’t that wonderful?
So, the “crazy” lady here needs some assistance. I hope that you will leave a comment to help me wrap my head around why I would want to pressure steam vegetables instead of just cooking them to flavorful perfection?
Here is a photo of my “perfectly” cooked 1 minute broccoli.
Marty says
I have read this twice and I think I am doing a hybrid cooking technique.
For vegetables, I have been putting the trivet in with the vegetables on top, adding 1 cup of water to the IP, and then cooking for a minute or two on manual. If I didn’t use the trivet it seems some vegetables would be watery.
Brussels sprouts come out perfect unlike when I was using a saucepan on the stovetop with a steamer basket. I could never get them cooked perfectly. Potatoes – both sweet and yukon gold are creamy using the trivet.
Jill Nussinow says
Marty,
You are actually steaming.
I think that the issue that you have experienced with watery vegetables comes from cooking in too much water. Last night I cooked about 4 cups of halved Brussels sprouts in 1/2 cup water for 3 minutes with quick release. They were just right.
For whole foods such as potatoes, winter squash and beets, steaming is just fine. For other vegetables cooking right in the pot with liquid makes the vegetables more digestible as the liquid gets absorbed into the vegetables’ cell wall. Geeky science stuff that I Like.
For any vegetables that have a lot of liquid such as summer squash, bok choy or mushrooms, you use even less liquid because their liquid becomes part of the equation.
The whole goal is to get vegetables that you like it eat so do whatever works for you.
Suzanne Burke says
I am new to IP. Can you explain quick release? How do I set manual time setting?
Jill Nussinow says
Suzanne,
If you watch this video, I think that you will see the answers to both your questions. Certainly how to set the time.
To quick release, you only do this with vegetables by turning the knob and letting the steam out.
The more you use the pot, the easier it will be to keep using it.
Kirsten says
Hi, Jill~
Do you have a chart for approx. water amounts for different vegetables?
I am fairly new to the IPot and am always concerned that I do not have enough liquid in it.
Thanks
Jill Nussinow says
Kirsten,
My cooking charts have the time to cook and my recipes have the exact amounts that have worked for me. The general rule of thumb is that the harder the vegetable, the more liquid they need. Fast cooking vegetables such as green beans and broccoli, need 1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid for every 2 to 3 cups. Hard vegetables like cubed potatoes or carrots need 1/3 to 1/2 cup per 2 to 3 cups. Vegetables with a lot of liquid such as bok choy, summer squash or mushrooms need 3 to 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) per 2 to 3 cups.
Then, of course, there are variables regarding the age of vegetables. As they get older, they get drier.
I hope that this helps.
Jill
Kirsten says
Yes, this is very helpful! Thanks so much, Jill . (….and sorry for the double entry below, was having technical difficulties :-))
Jill Nussinow says
No problem Kirsten. Sometimes things happen in the tech world. Happy to get the answer to you, just once.
Nancy Nurse says
Judith great questions and I, too, look forward to Jill’s answers!
Daba says
Boiling, even in a pressure cooker, leaches the nutrients out of the veggies. While this is not a problem in a broth, it diminishes the nutrition of a side dish. There are extensive reports on research about raw versus cooked, steamed versus boiled. See “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry” 2008, for example.
Jill Nussinow says
Daba,
The point of my post is that you are NOT boiling in the pressure cooker when you use just a little liquid to cook in. You are cooking with steam, without air which destroys nutrients such as Vitamin CA, and it’s fast and easy. There are studies that show that pressure cooking is a good way to cook. For certain vegetables, raw is best. For others, such as carrots, cooked is better.
Judith says
Jill,
This comment brings me to a good point in the discussion. Although I love my IP and it and I are wed into perpetuity (unless it blows up), I would love to have some more tech data on it. For example, what in the world is the difference between the “Steaming” and the “Manual” function buttons in terms of pressures? Is there any? What makes the most difference between “steamed” rice and “pressure-adjust” cooked rice. Both are in closed vessels, both use water — just different amounts perhaps. What effect does increasing water have in addition to coming up to speed. My guess is that all variables have an effect, but that most of the effects are minimal unless something is seriously overcooked. Also, there are probably lots of overlap among the various programmed functions and it’s best to find one that always works (pressure, water, time) for you. All of the combinations should be tried and tasted. Also, someone said that IP cooking times for vegetables are so short, vitamin loss is very small if any. If you’re worried, drink the cooking water.
I use “Steam” only when I am cooking pre-soaked garbanzo beans because I can run a long cycle. Actually I cook my garbanzos for two hours because I like them soft and creamy. Always have and always will like all my beans soft. Another finding is that I can’t notice the difference between the two highest levels of pressure on “Pressure Adjust”.
Because I’m a long-time stove top pressure cooker, I still think in terms of PSI, and no electric pot has offered a comprehensible conversion formula to what is used now in electric pots. That said, we all know that max pressure on electric pots is not as high as those in stove top pots, and we adjust accordingly. Don’t mind that as the IP has many other advantages. I, as a scientist, would appreciate the real specs on electric pots without the gibberish. IP may know what they are, and it would behoove them to release some of their kitchen secrets.
Thanks for everything you write.
Judith
Deb says
I cook my garbonzo beans also in IP but I do not presoak and set the manual for 40 min npr. They are perfect every time, soft and creamy. My beans are old also. I store in the bulk for years.
Jill Nussinow says
You do not have to soak your beans if you don’t want to Deb. I like to soak to save energy and time. The goal is great tasting beans. So do whatever works for you.
Judith says
Deb,
Meant to reply yesterday, but got busy with something else.
Preferences in bean softness and texture is strictly personal of course, and that’s what’s nice about cooking your own rather than opening a can. It has occurred to me that (and I hope you’ll put up with my scientific nerdiness here) if one plots garbanzo cooking time against garbanzo softness, the resulting graph may show an upside-down “U” shape. In other words, one reaches peak softness at X-minutes of cooking, and from there on out, as cooking time increases, the bean starts to harden again. I have no proof of this but the phenomenon does occur with other foods.
As for my soaking garbanzos, I’ve never had to soak any of my beans because I’ve only pressure cooked them, which takes care of most or all of the troublesome polysaccharides. One day I realized I couldn’t start the IP to cook the beans as had to leave for the rest of the day, so kept soaking in the IP water until the next day. Changed the water and then cooked them. Surprisingly, the same cooking time gave the same results, but after eating them I realized there was a difference. Although I’ve never experienced any discomfort from garbanzos, I always found them slightly bloating for a short period after eating. The soaking removed the bloating but left the beans still wonderfully filling. This was totally unexpected.
Just my personal experience.
Judith
Jill Nussinow says
Judith,
I can only tell you what I know from my experience.
As far as I understand it, the difference between manual and steam is the the steam function is the only function that does not have a sensor detector (not sure that’s what it is called) for overheat and you must use water with it to make it work. In my opinion, there is no difference between steam and manual, although I hear that steam comes up to pressure faster. (I am not sure if that is true.)
I think that most people do not understand that if you steam in a closed vessel, like the IP, you are pressure cooking, no matter what. You are correct.
Regarding the pressure adjust: there are only 2 levels of pressure on the Instant Pot: high and low. Not sure why there are three since it seems you are correct about no difference in them.
Most stove top recipes will work well in the Instant Pot or other electric cookers, even with their lower PSI, because the pots are so well insulated that it takes longer to get to pressure. . Also, if you are doing foods that need natural release, the release time is much longer and the food continues to cook. These two points seem to make up for the difference in having lower PSI
Regarding your beans, I have not tried that but I think that I might use steam just to see how they come out. This project will have to wait, though, as I have many other things in the queue.
Thank you for your incredibly insightful comments Judith. I appreciate it.
Judith Lipmanson says
Jill,
You’re very welcome.
Another function I noticed that doesn’t seem to differentiate between its various levels is “Saute. Haven’t tried the highest level but have tried both lower levels. They each seem to saute at the same — and too high — temperature.
Anyway, I enjoy seeing how you’ve converted many of your recipes from traditional cooking. I’ve copied your methods for converting to the IP and they’ve worked well.
Judith
Jill Nussinow says
Judith,
I, too, have not noticed much difference in the various levels of the saute function.Sometimes I do want it to go lower.
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. Happy to teach you how to better use your cooker.
Jill