The Many Amazing Uses of a Pressure Cooker as a Tool for Preppers

pressure cooker

My wife has two of the all American Pressure Canners a 10-quart model 910 and the 30-quart model 930.  She loves them and has found many different uses for them; they are not just for canning.  While we have ran across people with the misconception that they are just for canning, they will do anything a pressure cooker will do.

Pressure cookers are extremely versatile and can replace many of the other pots in your kitchen.  They can cook your food in ½ the time or less and preserve up to 55% more of your foods vitamins and nutrients than other cooking methods. In a serious emergency, this can be a great savings in fuel.  They also help to control odors and minimize others smelling your cooking.  Here is the link to a previous post on pressure cookers Pressure Cookers can Save Preppers Time and Fuel

Here is a list of some of the uses of a pressure cooker.

As a pan – The pressure cooker can be used without the lid as a normal pan to heat up any type of food.  It can be used as a deep fryer without the lid.

Roaster – They work well for roasting meats and vegetables.  Foods can be cooked in shorter periods of time and will be moist and tender because of your pressure cooker’s ability to retain liquid.

As a rice cooker – They will make perfect rice in less than half the time.

Steamer – In a few minutes, they will produce nicely cooked vegetables while preserving the nutrients.

Canning – They can be used for pressure canning with both glass jars and metal cans.  The large one we have will do 14 quarts at a time.

Water Purification – Your pressure cooker can be used right on a campfire to purify water by bring it to a good boil.

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pressure cooker
The is the type of nipple you need on your cooker to distill water

Water distillation – You can turn your pressure cooker into a improvise still quite easily. to turn nearly any water into fresh drinking water.  Simply remove the weight that covers the steam vent on the top of the lid.  You can remove the weight and slip on a long piece of plastic tubing.  This lets the steam condense as it goes through the hose, it is then collected in another pot.  The hose has to be long enough to that the water vapor passing through it has time to cool down and become liquid again. For a Hose the diameter of a drinking straw, you’ll need about 5 feet worth of hose.

Be warned that this may not work with all pressure cookers; they need to have a nipple style vent out the top of the lid.  Keep a close eye on the water level in your cooker and be careful because the steam can burn you!

Improvised autoclave for sterilization –  You use the pressure cooker to sterilize baby bottles, canning jars and even medical instruments in an emergency.  If you are using it to sterilize medical instruments, heat them for at least 30 minutes at 15 PSI. This brings the heat in a pressure cooker up to approximately 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

A Korean study of aflatoxins in rice showed that pressure-cooking was capable of reducing aflatoxin concentrations to 12–22% of the amount in the uncooked rice.  I can’t recommend this for your use, but in a survival situation, if I had to consume questionable food I might try this.

Before you use your pressure cooker read the instruction manual and learn to use it safely.

Howard

 

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7 thoughts on “The Many Amazing Uses of a Pressure Cooker as a Tool for Preppers”

  1. My canner say they cannot be used over open flame or warping may occur. Mine are also nicer brands. Warping would render the canner useless. This would preclude your campfire suggestion. What say anyone?

    1. If I am right it depends on the type of canner you have. I know that is how families used to can was over a fire and also know a few others who do or have tried with no problems.

    2. Think pot bellied stove. There was no open flame but you could cook on it just fine. Your pressure cooker probably needs even heat distribution to prevent warping and I expect that any large and heavy metal plate between the flames and the canner would work.

  2. I use to make Moon Shine in my Mom’s 30 qt. Pressure Cooker when I was in High School! This cooker was probably 40 or more years old back then and I have it now.
    I made a coil out of 1/4 inch copper tubing. Took out the relife value and found a brass fitting that would screw in the hole and connected the worm to it.
    It made small amouts at a time. Maybe 1.5 qts. but that was enough to keep me happy back then.

  3. Don’t confuse a pressure canner with a pressure cooker. It is my understanding that you can cook AND can in a pressure canner but you cannot can in a pressure cooker.

    Not trying to mince words but I’ve been taught that the difference is important. 🙂

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