Changing Recipe Servings

General Cooking tips

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Colin2016
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I have just got an pressure cooker and was having difficultly getting recipes for one person ( dividing ingredients does not always work because of the water needed) so can across this.

Did you know you can change recipes servings to any number you want on some sites?

Example: thecookreport.co.uk/kale-pasta-chilli-garlic/ scroll down to where it says Servings: 4 servings Calories: 633kcal Author: Amy
the adjust servings to your needs.
Last edited by Colin2016 on Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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retropants
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I love my pressure cooker, but I am not very adventurous with it! I usually make it up as I go!
LindaKaufman
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I also try to follow the recipes, because I am just starting to improvise, the dish does not work
Stravaig
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Do you have a freezer? If so, you could just make a meal for four and freeze the other three. It's a lot quicker to make a meal for four than to make four single meals. The bonus is that you'll have delicious home-made ready meals for when you don't have the time or inclination to cook.
Colin2016
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Yes I have a freezer but usually full of surplus grown veg.

I am not in favour of making a large load and freezing it.

When I make a veggie chilli there is always enough for 2 days so I have it two days consecutively sometimes it goes into three days.
Westi
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I find I make a lot of soup in summer, using up the not gonna store imperfect veg I have grown - waste not, want not & appreciated in winter. And I'm terrified of pressure cookers so just a saucepan, but keep looking at that all in model that is slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, change the car tyre thing that is all the rage currently - apparently it releases the steam automatically & you just relax! Don't think I have it in me to relax with a pressure cooker though!
Westi
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Westi I used to have one I called it my wife unfortunately it's broken
Colin2016
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Hey Westi that's the type I am using nothing like the old ones from the past. Great for pasta, veg & fish although fish is off the menu as local supermarket has closed its wet fish counter and gone prepacked which I refuse to buy.
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retropants
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I have a new generation pressure cooker and I love it! There's a very good website: www.hippressurecooking.com with a lot of resources: recipes, reviews on all the different cookers, including the electronic ones. I use a stovetop, Kuhn Rikon, and it is fabulous. My only previous experience of pressure cooking is watching on in horror as a child when my mum's pressure cooker, probably a prestige, spewed boiling gravy onto the ceiling.
Westi
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OK Colin you have my interest as you have one! First question how big is the beast - not in pints but size width & depth? How easy is it to programme? Can you override the preset programmes? Does it really let the steam out without me monitoring? I do want one but have been bitten by kitchen appliances many a time not living up to the description! Cheers in advance!
Westi
Colin2016
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It is 10 inches diameter & height 13 inches

How easy is it to programme? Very easy select option (pressure/steam etc) walk away and let it do it's stuff.

Can you override the preset programmes? Yes

Does it really let the steam out without me monitoring? Yes. There is a slight hiss when getting to full power no loud hissing like the old days with the metal knob going round.
When it has been cooking for set time it beeps, stops heating but keeps pressure... note this is still cooking the food inside.
The only time you get a blast of steam is when you turn knob to release pressure.
There is a cup at the back to collect the water vapour.

Suggest check out videos to see how easy peasy this is and if it will satisfy you needs/concern.

If you do decide to by one do a thorough price check on the web as there is usually a good discount going.
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Westi
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Thank you Colin!
That size is very storable, the fact I can walk away will be reassuring but obviously I will peek a lot at first! :) I've done a lot of procrastinating about this as pressure cookers terrify me even though my Gran had it in control when she used one, I had stuff on the ceiling on my 1st attempt - & rented accommodation! Never got my deposit back.
Westi
Stravaig
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I have one of these Instant Pot things. When we first moved here we took out a couple of boxes of excess bggage to help get us set up while we were waiting for our shipment of belongings to arrive a couple of months later. I do a lot of cooking and own most kitchen gadgets in the known universe, but the Instant Pot was new to me. Here's how I found it.

The big advantage of this all-singing-all-dancing bear is that the one appliance does everything from slow cooking, pressure cooking, cooking rice, and making yoghurt, etc, etc. If you're short of space, or don't want to buy a million small appliances, then this is a big advantage. I used the thing at least every day in the winter. In those terms, it was worth every penny.

However, here's the slight downside. Once our main shipment arrived, I quickly found myself using the slow cooker again for slow cooking. The slow cooker cost a tenner from Asda but, well, I found it does slow cooking better than the Instant Pot. And the rice cooker, again a cheapo, I use that again to make rice because it does it better... and so on. As for yoghurt, I buy that at the corner shop.

For me, the Instant Pot is a jack of all trades and a master of none. Whether it's worth buying for you totally depends on what kind of cook you are, what gadgets you already have, and what you plan to do with it. That said, I used to be a big fan of traditional pressure cookers and the Instant Pot is much better and feels safer so I still use it as a pressure cooker.
Westi
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Thanks Stravaig for your honest assessment of the gadget, I will mainly use it as a pressure cooker so it might be just what I want. I have many gadgets as well that will be taking a trip to the recycling centre - except the little cappuccino maker that has the real spout to make a froth, might have to leave the original Magi Max that cost the hubby loads before I met him, but i'll try to sneak it out - if I can lift the beast as got a newer one that is smaller & more suitable, for me the slow cooker is out as well as I don't like the searing in another pan then adding it to the cooker so might as well continue the cooking in the saucepan - but eating it the following night after being in the fridge to enhance the flavour.
Cheers very much!
Westi
Stravaig
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You're welcome, Westi.

If you use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, unlike the bog standard slow cooker, you can sear the meat in it first before putting in onto the slow cook setting. That might appeal to you. But I personally prefer searing the meat in a big heavy frying pan first anyway. Again, it's a case of choosing to use dedicated equipment over the one piece of kit that can do everything.
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