Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

I bought this book specifically for the recipes; simple, everyday food made with fresh ingredients. Despite the many negative reviews about the book from ePC owners (and ATK's bias) to the contrary, I bought it specifically for an electric PC (Instant Pot) and have found this to be an excellent cookbook. To be sure, the timing given is for stovetop PCs, but with the proper timing adjustments, the recipes turn out very well.I'd like to say a few things about ATK's dislike of ePCs (a big part of why the best of them are "Recommended With Reservations"). In the full review of them found in the magazine and on the website, they go into great detail. It mostly comes down to 2 things. First, it seems that all ePCs (including my Instant Pot) automatically switch over to "Keep Warm" when cooking is completed. This seems to completely befuddle them. But really, is turning your electric unit off when the timer sounds any different than turning your stove off when your own timer goes off at the end of stovetop cooker's pressure time? I think it's exactly the same, as both require getting up and turning off the pot when the beep sounds (Note - the Instant Pot 7-in-1 switches to 'keep warm', but the heating element is turned OFF until pressure releases, then turns back on in warming mode). 2nd, they dislike the nonstick cooking pots. Fair enough, but their last review didn't include any of the models that ship with stainless pots (very nice ones, too, with thick bases, like the one on my IP) and completely ignores the optional stainless pot available for some of the others. And yes, those models (Instant Pot among them) were available well before their latest ePC review was written. Ok, rant over, back to the book.The beginning of the book covers the basics of operation and advantages (along with reviews) of pressure cookers. Especially helpful are the tips and food guides found on pages 4-23. As a relatively new PC owner, I find myself referring to them often, even when cooking from another source. Experienced PC cooks will just skip right past them, but they're very nice for beginners and anyone, really, who's cooking something new.The chapters are well organized and include nice entries like Fast and Easy Suppers as well as Fancy Dinners and Large Roasts. I appreciate that anything that's not normally a main dish is all in one chapter, Sides. Desserts are a notable omission, but they redeem themselves with One-Pot Pasta and Pasta Sauces and Indoor Barbecue. The recipes predictably make use of fresh ingredients and ATK's signature streamlined methods, like finely chopping the vegetables for Bolognese sauce in a food processor, then doing the same with the pancetta and mortadella. This not only speeds up prep time, it allows the ingredients to cook down faster while still releasing all their flavor compounds to the sauce. Total time? 90 minutes. Not shabby. The sole exception to the "fresh" rule seems to the condensed French onion soup used in Weeknight Pot Roast and Potatoes. It works, though, and got my pot roast on the table in 70 minutes, start to finish (note - I prefer to use Lipton Onion Soup and a cup of water, we like the flavor better). ATK helpfully gives total time involved, and highlights time under pressure in big type, a nice touch. Some nice detailed variations are included in many of the recipes, like Garden Tomato Sauce with variations for Puttanesca, Arrabbiata and Tomato, Vodka & Cream Sauce.In the 3 weeks I've owned the book, I've sampled recipes from 3 chapters; the aforementioned Weeknight Pot Roast and Potatoes from Big Roasts and Fancy Meals, Pulled Pork from Indoor Barbecue and Barbecued Beans from Sides. All were very good. To the pork I added about 1/4 cup of my barbecue sauce (tossed after shredding) and to the Barbecued Beans I added about 2 Tbls more catsup to amp up the tomato flavor a notch. Both were the kind of easy fixes that I commonly make with new recipes, slight alterations to suit our tastes.The book has lots of white space on the pages, which makes it so easy to jot down alterations, and also allows me to easily note the timing for my Instant Pot, which often varies from the listed time. Pages are glossy white, with ingredient lists and major steps in bold type. Why doesn't every cookbook do this? Also included with every recipe is a detailed explanation (with thumbnail photos) of the techniques used and a few troubleshooting tips. Again, experienced PC cooks may find this unnecessary, but with the new resurgence in pressure cooking, many of us will find these quite valuable.It's not a big book, with only 100 recipes, but when I compare it to The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book, it shines. That book has 500 recipes, every one of which lists ingredients in brick-red ink, which all runs together on it's busy pages. Further, the index is very poorly organized, with some recipes appearing under their main and secondary ingredient and on their own, by title, and others only found once under their main ingredient. Most damning of all, the timing for electric cookers given with every recipe I sampled is woefully off. Risotto takes 6 minutes in my Instant Pot, GBPCB's author thinks it takes 10. ATK lists it at 6 minutes, spot on. Note that for short-cooking foods, ePC timing is the same as for stovetop models.Of the 3 pressure cookbooks I own, this is my favorite. It is well organized, easy to read and cook from and the recipes use simple, commonly available, fresh ingredients.

I'm a big fan of pressure cooking, which, unlike the crock-pot, not only saves time, but also creates superior tasting food via it's specific and unique cooking method. But, as with many things, I'm in a rut with my pressure cooker, consistently using it only for the same few things, over and over, namely: pot roast, bean soups and stock.I'm also a fan of Cook's Illustrated, and their many publications and television programs (though not their marketing schemes, so glad that this was available via Amazon), so I was definitely looking forward to PRESSURE COOKER PERFECTION and widening my pressure cooking horizons.And I wasn't disappointed. They do a great job summing up why pressure cooking is a good method and how it works, as well as recommending specific pressure cookers. Having had two of the brands they discuss:  Fissler Vitaquick Pressure Cooker, 10.6qt  and  Kuhn Rikon 12-Quart Duromatic Stockpot Pressure Cooker  I can say that my experiences basically mirror Cook's, with one notable exception. While I ADORED the Fissler's initial performance, it failed very, very quickly. (Try three uses. Yeah, that's bad.) As for the Kuhn, I've had the same issues Cook's did--scorching and having to babysit the heat to maintain pressure--but have found their customer service top-notch. (I've written detailed Amazon reviews on both units, if anyone is actually interested in knowing more.)Anyway, on to the recipes ... First off, as someone who gets both  Cook's Country  and  Cook's Illustrated (1-year auto-renewal) , I'm used to seeing a lot of repeat recipes in their cookbook releases. For the most part, that is NOT the case this time, at least not as far as I can tell. (Unlike in their  Slow Cooker Revolution  cookbook, which seemed to offer mostly dupes already used in the COOK'S COUNTRY slow cooker section.)I've only tried one recipe so far, but I'm already impressed. I made the chicken noodle soup and, never having cooked a whole chicken in a pressure cooker before (or any chicken, for that matter), I was really wowed by the outcome. Starting with just plain water, not stock, produced a rich broth and fabulous, juicy chicken. It was a huge hit and my family preferred it to the "chicken and slicks" Cook's recipe I had been using as a my go-to for chicken soup/stew. (My only change to the recipe as written was that I still made the noodles myself and I also halved the celery amount.)Having read through some of the other recipes, I'm also impressed with WHAT they are offering ... The vast majority of which are things that seem like they SHOULD be cooked in a pressure cooker, not foods/meals that have been shoehorned into a device not really designed to best feature those ingredients. (Again, this is very different than their slow cooker cookbook.) Meat, beans and other slow cooking and braise-friendly items are what the pressure cooker shines at, so those are the recipes I want to use it for! It's not a matter of wanting to cook EVERYTHING in my pressure cooker, it's wanting to use my pressure cooker for the foods it makes better than cooking via other, more traditional, methods.So far, my biggest gripe, and why I didn't give it five stars, is that it's paperback and I loathe paperback cookbooks. They don't last, don't hold up, are impossible to lie flat for use without breaking the spine and are just a generally dumb choice for reference material, which is what a cookbook is. Cookbook are meant to be used in a way most books aren't: held open, referred to repeatedly, occasionally spilled upon and kept around for decades. A paperback isn't going to last long enough to make that happen, which is why I'm disappointed this isn't at least OFFERED in a hardcover version.But all, in all, this is a great addition to my kitchen bookshelf, for as long as it lasts anyway, and I can't wait to try some more of the recipes!

I’m using a 3 qt stove top cooker. Most books are geared towards an instant pot or 6 qt cooker. No time equivalent is by listed.

Very clear instructions with a wide range of food preparations. Not too "American" for a Brit to understand. Thumbs up.

just what i was needing

A good beginner book. The chicken soup is terrific, and the pulled pork (though I've modified it somewhat) has become a family standby. This book could do with a greater diversity of recipes as much of the cooking is pretty basic (chili, pasta sauce, stewed meats, mashed potatoes...) but it is a good place to start. I tend to find America's Test Kitchen cooking to be rather plain Jane (i.e. under spiced, to my palate anyway), but the focus on pantry staples vs specialty items makes this a good first reference. I'd have liked dessert recipes though (the pressure cooker is ideal for making cheesecake and steamed puddings!), but combine with Melissa Clark's more adventurous "Dinner in an Instant" and you have your bases covered.

This cook book / instruction book was a "must have" for me because I didn't feel confident using my new T-fal Clipso pressure cooker. I used an "old fashioned" pressure cooker with a bobble-type device that was noisy and scary as hell for me to use. The America's Test Kitchen cook book is also an instruction book - there is a wealth of information about different types of cookers, with ratings on stove top and electric pressure cookers. I've followed the recipes "to a T" and my meals turn out fantastic. I am so pleased with this cook book - there are tips, pictures, reasons for preparing the ingredients in a certain way. Follow the recipes and instructions, and you can't go wrong. Happy cooking!

I love the America's Test Kitchen cook books, they provide so much information in addition to the recipes and this one is no exception.If you haven't experienced the TV show, hard to see in Australia, seek it out or give one of the cook books a try.