AIBU to scared shitless of my pressure cooker?

[piknmixer]

It's sat in a box for six months as I've been too scared to use it.

The instructions aren't great (it says turn the knob anti-clockwise to the closed position, but this position has an open lid illustrated on it).

I've cooked a stew and it started hissing so I've just run in the kitchen, quickly turned the gas off and closed the door.

I've been reading about them and I think this photo (not my kitchen!) is why it's stayed in the box so long!

I'm a wimp aren't I?

My friend’s grandad opened there’s before it was ready and it blew hot pot everywhere. It smashed all the glass in the kitchen cupboards, spuds stuck in the polystyrene tiles on the ceiling and they never found the weight. It nearly killed him. He didn’t tell anyone it had happened and fucked off to the pub for his tea.

*theirs

I was scared the first time I used mine. I didn’t let it get up to pressure as I was frightened off the slightest sound. Now I realise it’s nothing to worry about but there is a skill in getting it to a low enough heat that doesn’t cause the pressure to drop.

Thanks for the instructions and confirmation they're supposed to hiss

I left it on for about 20 minutes in the end - totally worth getting over the fear, the meat is lovely and tender.

I'm with you OP, that would be my kitchen, as far as I'm concerned it's a bomb waiting to explode.

Right, so the new modern ones are safe enough, it's just the old ones without a safety valve. Would it be possible for the valve to fail on the new ones though?

They scare the shit out of me. I've never worked up the nerve to try one. I've heard and read too many horrifying stories about them.

My SIL was horribly burnt when their pressure cooker exploded. I wouldn't touch them

I got one ten years ago and I'm still evangelical about pressure cookers. In fact I use the body of mine every day for whatever I'm cooking because it's induction compatible and the right size for pasta x4. I own a total of 4 in different sizes, but the 20cm/5 litre is my favourite.

Mine is an Italian Lagostina with a strongly sprung lid, cylindrical weight and the rubber seal inside the rim of the pan, but the principle is the same as the one DontOpen posted.

Why not start off with really wet stuff like chunky vegetable soup? That way you know it won't boil dry or stck. You can always blitz it later. 25 minutes after the hiss on minimum flame is all it takes.
I make soup, stew, chilli, luscious bolognese in 45 mins instead of 3 hrs, risotto (boil off excess water at the end) and do all sorts of veg in 5 minutes and just leave it to depressurise off the heat. Good for smelly stuff like cabbage as the steam and smell stay inside.

Induction is great for pressure cooking as you can walk away with it on minimum and it switches off by itself. I really don't see the appeal of the Instant Pot, unless those people have never used an ordinary pressure cooker. It's not rocket science!

My mother regularly used an ancient hob top one when we were growing up. Bloody terrifying contraption. I was always scared it would blow up.

I've never even been tempted to have one myself. I do have a slow cooker which I like though, and which gets occasional exercise.

My mum has always made the most amazing shepherds pie in her pressure cooker.
I’ve got one, so I can make shepherds pie, and it’s a complete unknown quantity, a bit like a magIc spell. I have to ring mum every time I use it to make sure I’m doing it right. Terrifies me!

This is like mine.

I am terrified of pressure cookers. I will never get over the terror of the sense that a bomb is going to go off!!!

I grew up with my gran, aunts, mum always using pressure cookers, soups, stews, veg, ham etc. To me it was normal cooking method, I grew up thinking everyone used one! I've been cooking with them for over 30 years and I'm teaching my daughter to cook with one!

No, yanbu, they are weird as fuck. Way too hissy and aluminiumy.
They remind me of the 70s, which is never good.

2 words... instant pot.

The DC's call ours 'The Dragon'. I love it, in the first year it saved me enough on gas to pay for itself.

Absolutely no way would I use one. I still have PTSD from my mother's one as a child. There was very careful timing required when putting the weight thingy on it. If it was slightly off, the weight would erupt and fly off. None of us would stay in the kitchen when it was in use. The food was bleuch too. Stews with overcooked, mushy veg; bacon and cabbage that would require a straw to eat the cabbage. I'm shuddering at the memories.

I am scared of ours, so much so, I've never used it. Just got it out of the cupboard, looked at it a few times warily and then put it back in the cupboard. My Dad loves theirs, I think I'm going to get an electronic instant pot one, they seem safer!

They are only scary if you don’t use them properly.

Yanbu
I work in H&S and am very VERY risk averse

If something has a known history of exploding that’s too high a risk ! Period

I was always terrified of mil pressure cooker - the slurry it produced was to be terrified of.
Nuclear waste springs to mind.

I was brought up with the sound of a hissing pressure cooker and have fond memories of my mother washing rice pudding off the kitchen walls on more than one occasion.

She bought me one exactly the same when I left home and I still have it, but have never trusted it. Hasn't been used for many years and is currently waiting for me to find the instructions and get rid of it.

My DM had one and 60 years later I’m still terrified of them. DM seemed to be at its beck and call as she raced about doing things to the lid as it hissed and exploded. I’m in awe of people who use them.

I have one that I use occasionally. They're actually really useful BUT I too am scared witless by mine. It's just so aggressively noisy! The important thing you need to do is when it's coming to pressure, be guided by the (usually) coloured pressure thingy on top and turn down the heat until it shows the right colour. I have had no issues with mine. It's great for soup, less good bits of meat and cooking quickly, but I'm still scared of it.