Pressure Cooker

[Spreeny]

I recently bought a Tower 5.5L pressure cooker but the instructions are rubbish ( I'm a novice in pressure cooking!)... the leaflet that came with it
doesn't indicate liquid amounts to use or cooking times...Also the ' accessories' included a steamer basket and a flat strip of aluminium! - haven't a clue what it's for!, thought it might be a divider for the steam basket, but it doesn't fit!!
Has anyone out there got one of these & can help me out please? tia

[jamesnan]

Did you not have a recipe book with your cooker? mine is a lot older but I certainly got a small book with it when I bought it. Failing that, there are excellent recipe books available which give you all information

[Broseph]

If you weren't given instructions and bought it cheaply at the market I'd be very wary of using it without instructions. A pal of mine bought one cheaply without instructions and was cooking something and went to the toilet,heard a big bang and found the lid stuck in the ceiling. A few minutes earlier he had his face over it as he stirred another pan on the back hob.

[Buenchico]

A pressure cooker is basically a saucepan. The manufacturers seem to think "You don't get a recipe book when you buy a saucepan, so why should we provide one now?".

So you need to look elsewhere, such as
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/pressure-cooker-recipes.aspx
and
http://www.food.com/topic/pressure-cooker

The description of your pressure cooker, on the manufacturer's website, states "includes steamer basket and stand".
http://www.towerhousewares.co.uk/pressure-cookers-c1/aluminium-c69/aluminium-c70/5-5-litre-aluminium-pressure-cooker-p85
Is that flat strip of aluminium possibly a 'stand' of some sort?

Perhaps a phone call to Tower Housewares, on 0844 984 0055, might help? You could ask them what the aluminium strip is for and whether they can supply or recommend a recipe book.

Alternatively, there are loads of recipe books on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/q7rs7lq

[Clanad]

With Chis's link to the model I can tell you this one is quite simple to use. Simply place two to three inches of water in the kettle and securely place the lid. (One hint, rub a little cooking oil on the rubber seal on the underside of the lid before placing it on the kettle… this keeps the removable seal from "scrunching up" when tightening the lid").

The automatic pressure regulator is a charm to use… previous models required placing a removable "rocker" weight on a stem on the lid and then adjusting the burner temperature to achieve the "right" rocking movement of the weight. Yours' also has the automatic overpressure valve so, in case something goes wrong the lid won't blow off.

Your problem is in knowing how much time to cook items. A good rule of thumb is that most foods require only 35% to 50% of the time required for normal cooking.

Lastly, Begin cooking under pressure over high heat. Once the pressure cooker comes up to pressure, lower the heat to a low burner setting so that it maintains pressure without exceeding it. This is easy when using a gas range. If cooking with electric, use two burners: one on high heat to get things going; the other on low to maintain pressure.

If pressure appears to be dropping, raise the burner up slightly.

There are plenty of online sources for pressure cooker recipes, such as here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/cookware-and-equipment/pressure-cooker/

[Spreeny]

Thank you all very much, that was really helpful ...:-)
Buenchico, I did call Tower & they said they'd email me the required details the following day- that was a week ago... nothing!, I've also emailed them - still nothing! I don't reckon Tower deserve our hard earned money!
Thank you all again x