Reasons to Buy a Pressure Cooker

When I was a little girl my mother had an olive green pressure cooker. I didn't really know anything about the pressure cooker other than I was supposed to stay away from it.  I can't remember the exact meals she made with it but I can almost hear the knock knock of the rocker on top moving as the steam escaped while cooking.

My family is joining a local CSA (community supported agriculture) in an effort to become more green and healthy.  I have been trying to figure out how to make sure I have the time to cook the food that we get from the CSA since we have busy lives.  I started browsing the Internet for ideas and stumbled upon a pressure cooker.  And so I researched more about pressure cookers and decided this would be a great option for cooking.

Reasons to buy and use a pressure cooker compared to cooking on the stove -

1.  Pressure cookers cook food in 70% less time.  Which means the food gets to the table faster and after a long, hard day at work when you just feel like falling into bed. This is a definite plus!
2.  Pressure cookers use less energy.  Which means they are more economical and  environmentally friendly to use.
3.  Pressure cooked food retains 90%-95% of its nutritional value.  Which means the food is actually better for you.

I looked at two types of pressure cookers - ones used on top of the stove and ones which are electrical stand alone units.  They both have their advantages.  The ones used on top of the stove cook the quickest due to being able to reach higher pressures and temperatures.  The stand alone units take about 3 minutes longer to cook foods on average than the stove top ones but they offer a variety of extra features.  I decided to go with an electrical stand alone unit.  Here is the one Instant Cooker IC60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Programmable Pressure Cooker

Links to sites which helped me make my decision -
http://www.foodrenegade.com/pressure-cooking-healthy/
http://www.consumersearch.com/pressure-cooker-reviews