Taking The Pressure Out Of RV Cooking

Who knew that the hardest part of being an adult would be deciding what to cook for dinner every single night?”

RV cooking can be challenging for some and feel impossible for others. Even so, unless you’ve had no contact with the outside world for the last few years, you’ve heard of the popularity of electric pressure cookers; particularly, the best-known brand called Instant Pot.

Aren't Pressure Cookers Dangerous?

I’ll admit I was skeptical when I first heard of electric pressure cookers. My skepticism wasn’t due to my lack of cooking skills, because I love spending time in the kitchen and especially trying out new gadgets. The uncertainty stemmed from the memories of my childhood where my mother had a stovetop pressure cooker that had a lid that clamped down, with a regulator that sat on top and emitted a constant “sh-sh-sh” once it reached the proper temperature and pressure.

I remember that ominous sound along with my mother’s dire warning to stay out of the kitchen and not to be rough-housing, because the mere jarring of the house may cause the cooker to blow up. Now to a child’s mind, and certainly one that grew up during the Cold War era, any explosion immediately brought to mind a mushroom cloud effect that would devastate neighborhoods. While there were some dangers in the operation of the stovetop pressure cookers, I’m fairly sure that it was nothing similar to what my young mind imagined. Then again, have you seen some of the photos of stovetop cookers gone awry?

It stands to reason that when I first started reading of the “new” Instant Pot and other similar pressure cookers, I had my doubts. What I discovered about the electric pressure cookers, though, were the many safeguards and improvements that made them more appealing to modern cooks.

Dipping My Toe Into the Instant Pot

My first purchase was not the Instant Pot brand, and lacked all the bells and whistles of many cookers. At least it was easy to use and my misgivings were swiftly wiped away. This led to the purchase of my second pressure cooker, which is an Instant Pot and then a third, also an Instant Pot.

If you’re asking yourself why in the world I would want three pressure cookers, you’re not alone- my husband wondered the same when I lugged home the third. I’ll admit that I don’t travel with all three pressure cookers. One remains in the RV all the time and the other two remain at home base, unless I need to swap them around for perhaps a big gathering or event.

Electric Pressure Cookers In The RV

For any RV owner, storage is always a consideration. Trying to decide if the cabinet and counter-space a pressure cooker occupies is worth the convenience is a tough decision for some. There were several points that led me to decide I would make room within our RV for one of these cookers.

• First of all, the size of these cookers aren’t massive, and with the number of options available, you can choose one that will fit your needs and cabinet. Each of our pressure cookers are 6 quarts and would be the size I would recommend for most, unless you are feeding a very large family.
• Depending on the model that you choose, it can take the place of many other kitchen appliances that most RVers would not have room to store. For example, my favorite Instant Pot provides the same features as the following: rice cooker, egg cooker, bean pot, yogurt maker, cheesecake maker, pasta cooker, sauté pan, slow cooker, steamer and more. That’s a whole lot of appliances in one.
• Thirdly, the new electric pressure cookers use less electricity by preparing meals rapidly. This is important, especially if you’re boondocking and relying on a generator or solar power, because you don’t want to run an appliance all day to cook a meal.

Other positive factors of the Instant Pot and like cookers are that they are portable, allowing you to use them outside as long as you have a power source. They prevent splashes and splatters from cooking on the RV stovetop. You can set them and go about your other tasks without having to baby-sit the cooker. The RV doesn’t heat up from the use of the cooker and, if left to naturally vent, humidity is minimal. Many foods can be cooked from frozen, beans take a fraction of the time, perfect rice, easy to peel boiled eggs… and I could go on and on. Can you tell that I love my pressure cookers?

Potential Downsides of Instant Pots

One thing that I hear some people comment about regarding a pressure cooker is being unaware of the time it takes the appliance to come to pressure. For example, when cooking rice, I set the timer for 20 minutes. It takes approximately 10 minutes for it to come to pressure, making it about 30 minutes until the rice is ready to eat. This is a deal-breaker for some, because they theorize that they could have cooked it in half the time on the stovetop. While this is true, by using my Instant Pot, I don’t have to watch over it to make sure there are no boilovers, no humidity, nothing burns and it consistently delivers the perfect rice time after time. For meals that require extended cooking time, such as beans, there is no question that the pressure cooker is a wonderful time saver, along with all the other positives.

In my opinion, there is no question regarding making space for my pressure cooker within my RV. It allows me to prepare everything from appetizers to sides, entrees to desserts. The portability lets me take it to social gatherings and having all the capabilities within one small kitchen appliance is priceless for me.