Food For Thought

[Music] the [Music] how much time each day do Mrs America and her daughter Miss America spend in their kitchen an Hour 3 hours maybe longer that depends on what we're having and how the cooking is done I see well let's have a look inside a few [Music] kitchen uh pardon me Madam don't look now but your pot is boiling [Music] over oh the the poor woman I know how she feels worn out after hours of cooking dinner delayed maybe ruined and that awful mess to clean up I can sympathize with her because that's pretty much the way things used to be at our house in what I now think of as the dark ages of housekeeping and not so very long ago at that when Monday was always wash day the weekly day of Doom blue Mundy over a messy washtub and all my P when we had one of those old-fashioned ice boxes and oh those fish drip pans and worst of all when cooking for the family meant ours in a hot smelly kitchen with a regiment of pots and pans to look after it didn't happen every day thank heaven but there were certain days when things were just too much for me and I had to have help from Carol my daughter practically from the minute she got out of school right up to dinner time she didn't like it much and who can blame her poor [Music] dear and that telephone I mean right in the middle of things Sammy my 10-year-old tried to be helpful on such Days running errands and answering the phone oh that's phone those last minute calls from my husband he was bringing company home for dinner don't go to any extra trouble dear just throw a few things together and set an extra plate or two that's all that's all says he with not enough time to get everything ready the children and I felt like these scenes look but somehow don't ask me how we usually manage to get a meal cooked and on the table [Music] how it ever tasted I never knew my appetite was gone long before we ever sat down with our guests I only hope they enjoyed it and those were a good old days ooh I shudder to think of them but through the years there were changes bless those wonderful people who invent things today we baret a strictly modern my cooking is now done in the modern manner by pressure cooker in minutes instead of ours old Carol still helps around the kitchen from time to time but it's because she likes to not so much because I have to have her nowadays dinner at home is never a problem company or no company even at last minute notice [Music] how did you happen to change over to this modern way of cooking well it didn't just happen I hate to admit it but if it been left up to me well frankly I was forced into it or rather shamed into it by cow bless her she called me oldfashioned as out of date as a gay '90s bustle was me hardly out of my 30s I didn't mean to be unkind to mother I mean about calling her old fashioned but she did spend an awful lot of time in that kitchen and I did too helping frankly I have better things to do with my time I got my big idea about a pressure cooker during a demonstration in my home economics class at school then I found out that Laura Miller's mother had been using pressure cookers for a long time Laura is my girlfriend Jack is her brother a nice boy if you like boys [Applause] Mrs Miller was very nice about showing me how to use a pressure cooker and I got to be pretty good at [Music] it seems Jack was interested in pressure cooking too at least while I was [Music] around when I got to be really good I tried to convert dead had it wasn't easy but I made him a proposition he couldn't afford to turn down my idea was for him to advance the money to buy a pressure cooker after our first pressure cooked meal if he didn't think it was worth it he could take 50 cents a week out of my allowance until he got his money back it was a deal and one fine day I came home with our first pressure cooker a presto meat master really the work and what a beauty even mother went goggly eyed I wanted to cook the first meal with mother just helping like most elderly people she had doubts but she finally gave in Mrs Miller sent Jack over with one of their cookers so I could use it for my vegetables Jack wanted to hang around but I knew he'd only get in the way so I invited him to do and sent him on his [Music] way Cook's helper that was my role in my own kitchen that day and Carol enjoyed every minute of it but it was very important to her and she took it pretty [Music] seriously I had heard of course that pressure cooking saves lots of time but there was something even more more important in her home economics class at school Cal had learned that it preserves vitamins and other nutritional values well if that was true it meant better tasting and more nourishing meals for the family and more free time for Carol it would also mean escape from the old kitchen drudgery for [Music] me that was a lot to expect from a kitchen utensil but that's what we were going to find out and a lot depended on that first meal it was a test in more ways than one to see if this new way of cooking would really do all the wonderful things Carol said it would while she worked I watched closely and listened carefully as she explained things brown or sear the meat thoroughly first before cooking that seals in the meat juices the meat now thoroughly browned was then ready for cooking she used very little water only enough to make Steam and to be used as gravy later then she let me add the seasoning either she wasn't too sure of just how much to put in she was just being kind to her dear old out ofd mother in either case I was humbly grateful the cooker was now ready to be closed and the heat turned up about 2 minutes later Carol checked to make sure there was a steady flow of steam we then had two or 3 minutes before real cooking time started Carol was feeling terribly efficient so there was no time wasted in idleness we got started on the salad three white bands showing on the indicator stand mean the start of cooking time so Carol turned the heat very low then she set the time according to recipe and what she calls our family taste meaning medium pot roast and the nice part about it is that we don't have to watch over it or check it or do anything to it except let it alone for the full cooking time and since everything is locked in tight there'll be no cooking orders getting out and circulating around the house what is the principle of pressure cooking and how does it work in an open pan water heats only to boiling or 212° F and then turns to steam which goes off into air cover or close the pan and the temperature rises quickly this is the basic principle involved in pressure cooking here's how it works in a pressure cooker very quickly the boiling point of 212° is reached the air is expelled through the vent pipe in the cover steady flow of steam that all the air has been expelled from the cooker this is the time to put on the indicator weight once put on the indicator weight is automatically clamped in place and cannot fall off the temperature keeps Rising rapidly which is the reason cooking takes less time than an open pan cooking the pressure inside the cooker forces the indicator stem upward when the first White Band appears as we see here it indicates 5 lb pressure which is enough for fruit canning two bands indicate 10 lb suitable for canning fish meat fowl and soup three bands showing indicate 15 lb which means cooking position for all normal cooking purposes at this point heat has turned down low but what happens if the heat is not turned low and pressure Rises over 15 lb the answer is simple the indicator weight automatically adjusts itself to release the excess pressure this gives off a hissing sound and is a signal or reminder to turn the heat low so this automatic release of excess pressure means that normally there is never more than 15 lb pressure in the cooker but what if the indicator weight fails to perform its release function as a result let us say of the vent pipe becoming clogged which although extremely unlikely could conceivably happen if the cooker is over full this over pressure plug which acts as an antiv vacuum device would be forced out of the cover thereby allowing the excess pressure to escape this plug therefore is a secondary release or safety Factor but the chances of pressure Rising high enough for that are negligible while the meat was cooking we were free to get started on the vegetables I was surprised to see cow use only half a cup of water it was a joy to watch her I was beginning to have a new respect for this daughter of mine the idea of cooking three different vegetables in the same cooker at the same time rather startled me what about mixing of flavors car explained that in pressure cooking there can't be mixing of flavors or odors because there's no air circulating inside the cooker I was still curious about the small amount of water she'd put into the cooker Paul said that in ordinary open pan cooking the kitchen sink is always the best nourished member of the family that's because so much water has to be used the valuable vitamins and minerals get soaked out of the vegetables during cooking and are then poured down the [Music] drain about those three vegetables in one cooker ordinarily I would use three different cooking utensils and three burners and I would have to watch every one of them during cooking here was practically our whole dinner on the stove Meat and three different vegetables and only two cookers I admit I was impressed cooking time was over for the vegetables no hustle or bustle no ragged nerves or aching muscles no cooking odors and the kitchen cool and comfortable before opening the vegetable cooker car held it under running cold water for quick cooling the three white bands had to sink out of sight before the indicator weight could be removed then the cooker was ready to be opened everything was going along smoothly with me just standing by and cowl in full charge and Presto the cooked vegetables in all their natural garden fresh colors but when cooking time is over for the meat the best method is to turn off the heat and then allow slow cooling without the help of cold water on the cover with no White Band showing the cooker is ready to be opened and the meat taken out as though she'd been doing this sort of thing for years my proud daughter showed me how to do it then she urged me to take the cover off I hesitated after all I was a stranger here but she was pretty determined so I tried it and I did it quite easily car was delighted frankly I was kind of pleased with myself too and then lo and behold the cooked meat and such meat looking just scrumptious and smelling or just Heavenly but we still couldn't be sure because after all the proof of the pudding is in the eating and so to dinner a big fine looking meal that took less than an hour to cook from beginning to end cowl was a little worried and frankly so was I so much depended on what Mr Bartlet said we all waited for him to make the first taste [Music] test but as it turned out we had nothing to worry about Mr Bartlett was sold as for me well I was sold even before I tasted a thing but when I tried the meat there was never a doubt left at least with a presto cooker my C had proved herself a fine cook Sammy was his usual ravenous self only more so that day C had more than proved her point about pressure cooking not only in the time and the work saved but also on food taste and texture this was really her day of Triumph and we were all proud of her her father just beamed and helped himself to more as for me well I was almost weepy with pride and with something else that mothers feel on occasions like this I found myself glancing over at her and saying to myself that's my girl well that's all there is there isn't anymore or is there yes Mrs Bartlett there is most of the things that should be known about pressure cookers are summed up in several practical questions will it be easy for me to handle with a little practice just as easy as you saw Carol handle it that's because the best and most modern pressure cookers are light in weight simple in design safe and easy to use will it save me time and cut down on my kitchen work that is one of its Chief values pressure cooking cuts from one half to 3/4 of ordinary cooking time turning hours into minutes let's check into a few more examples of time and work saving taken at random from the pressure cooker recipe [Music] book Boston baked beans for instance one of the foods requiring the longest cooking time 8 hours by ordinary cooking 40 minutes by pressure cooking soups beef vegetable for example up to 3 hours by ordinary cooking 20 minutes by pressure [Music] cooking other soups like french onion soup and split pee the same time or less any and all meat dishes as much as 4 hours by ordinary cooking from 5 minutes to seldom more than an hour by pressure cooker for such dishes as beef [Music] stew spare [Music] ribs spaghetti and meatballs [Music] New England boil dinner anyone else around here getting hungry as for vegetables up to an hour by ordinary cooking by pressure cooker from 1 to 3 minutes for some vegetables like broccoli cauliflower carrots peas and asparagus from 3 to 8 minutes or vegetables like corn on the cob and onions and from 10 to 15 minutes for other vegetables like whole carrots and large potatoes and so on down the line for fish and Seafoods [Music] chicken cooked cereals and baby foods desserts and so forth all cooked in 1/2 to 1/4 the ordinary cooking time [Music] [Applause] most people know of course that pressure cookers are used for canning it may be of interest to know that the United States Department of Agriculture recommends canning by pressure cooker as the only safe method for canning non- acid foods will the pressure cooker improve my cooking and give my family better and tastier meals I'd like to answer that question to me that is the greatest value of all in the Presto cooker even more than the time and the work saved I checked up with the supervisor of the home economics Department of our high school and with the food editor of our local newspaper about the things car had told me I mean about how pressure cooking preserves vitamins especially vitamin C and other nutrients that are usually wasted in ordinary open pan cooking and they agreed that Carol was absolutely right oh and another thing I found out by firsthand experience and by asking my family my friends it is that pressure cook foods preserve and even improve Food flavors and the colors of food and the texture and that's why pressure cooked meals are so attractive to look at when served with my family I don't have to worry at all about tempting their appetites including mine a question often asked by women will it save me money yes it will to a surprising degree not only in fuel costs since most of the cooking is done over very low heat and in 1/2 to 1/4 the ordinary time but also because you can use less expensive vegetables and cuts of meat at no sacrifice of taste texture or nutritional values even tough meats are pressure cooked to Tender goodness in a short time and shrinkage is practically nil fundamentally there is no more to pressure cooking than we have seen a simple procedure that is practically automatic in operation with many cooking rewards for both the experienced cook and the new Homemaker eager to please and willing to learn but this important truth must be recognized pressure cooking is a new way of cooking not just a quick method of cooking in the old way therefore in order to use it to best and fullest Advantage it does take some study and practice practice those of you who look forward to owning your first pressure cooker and those of you who already own one but allow it to remain stored away in a closet or cupboard unused must remember this no one can expect to become an expert at this new way of cooking in one easy lesson no more than anyone can expect to become an expert at cake or pie baking in a single try but pressure cooking requires no special skill or ability for today's best pressure cookers are designed and built to provide maximum values with minimum [Music] effort the simplest and best guiding principle is this follow directions exactly as given in the Presto cooker recipe book and be willing to adapt recipes to the particular tastes of your own family for the girl woman who will take the time to follow directions who will use a normal amount of Common Sense and a minimum of cooking imagination a pressure cooker can become the key to new and wonderful Delights in time saving elimination of kitchen drudgery better nutrition economy and new Thrills in delicacy of taste a [Music]