In April 2012, while teaching journalism courses at Valparaiso University, I had 22-year-old Ross Blankenship of Schererville as my student intern for the semester.
On the weekends, Ross would assist me with the load-in and set-up for my cooking shows and recipe demonstrations associated with this column, arranged by my newspaper editors for promotional purposes.
While at the Lake County Fairgrounds for the annual Spring Home and Garden Show, Ross was carrying in crates of pots and pans with other kitchen utensils and noticed my Grandma Potempa’s large and very heavy pressure cooker adorned with its gauges, dials, latches and locks.
Ross’ funny assessment of the unusual kitchen implement, as he held it in his arms, is forever etched in my mind: “What type of ancient medieval torture device is this?”
I explained it was Grandma Potempa’s pressure cooker, which she mostly used for boiling glass canning jars to ensure the lids and rings were securely sealed for proper food preservation of the contents.
Ross still seemed perplexed and wary.
Ross isn’t alone in his summation of pressure cookers, the latter an ages-old helpful kitchen aid prized for far many more uses than just canning.
“With pressure cookers, almost anything can be cooked quickly and easily and with rich, flavorful, healthier results,” says James McArdle, managing director of Fissler America, Inc. and a recent guest earlier this month on my weekly radio show on WJOB 1230 AM.
Family-owned Fissler is an award-winning manufacturer of “German Performance Cookware” since 1845, and the company recently published a cookbook dedicated to recipes, both those ideal as well as those deemed most adaptable for pressure cooker use in the home kitchen.
“The World of Pressure Cooking” (2024 Robert Rose Inc. Publishing $39.95) spans more than 300 pages and features color photography, diagrams and more than 150 recipes created to appeal to both novice and experienced cooks for creating healthy and flavorful meals while also mastering safe and easy pressure-cooking techniques.
I reminded McArdle during our on-air chat of one of my first encounters witnessing the power of a pressure cooker. I was a young kid watching reruns of the CBS iconic sitcom “I Love Lucy.”
In the episode titled “Job Switching,” the second episode in Season Two of the series and first aired Sept. 15, 1952, characters Lucy and Ethel decide to leave housework aside to get jobs on a conveyor belt line of a candy factory. Back home at their apartments, husbands Ricky and Fred have agreed to the same guidelines of the spouses’ bet, which results in them being assigned with cooking and cleaning. When Ricky decides to cook chickens in a pressure cooker to make his family recipe for “Arroz y Pollo” (chicken and rice), the pressure cooker erupts and explodes.
McArdle has heard this same classic TV reference in the past and said the company has dedicated 70 years of its manufacturing experience to its line of pressure cookers with streamlining innovation and safety. Gone are the tricky needles and dials, now replaced with an easy digital monitoring screen.
“In 1953, Fissler’s invention of the multilevel cooking valve for our Comet model made pressure cooking much safer for home use, and it was a breakthrough that earned the company 50 patents,” McArdle said.
“Fissler has long mastered the art of producing pressure cookers and has opened the door for pressure cooking to become part of society’s culinary DNA. Our new book guides cooks through every step of that process. In addition, the book offers a deep dive into the science of pressure cooking and shares Fissler’s long, successful history in producing what we brand as elite-quality pressure cookers.”
Pressure cooking works on a simple principle, as described in the new cookbook: “a pot, usually of steel or aluminum, cooks food under high pressure, which a pressure cooker best described as a sealed pot with a valve that controls the steam pressure inside. As the pot heats up, the liquid inside forms steam, which raises the pressure in the pot, driving the boiling point of liquid up to 240 degrees F. This higher temperature generally shortens cooking times and, due to a lack of evaporation, extracts flavor more efficiently from foods. Cooking with this pressure and minimal liquid is what differentiates a pressure cooker from a conventional pot.”
Chef Lars Liebisch, who has been working with Fissler in their test kitchen since the 1990s, also joined me as a guest during the same radio interview as McArdle. Chef Lars helped develop and test the featured recipes in the new book, including favorites like spiralized zucchini with chicken, Asian squash stew, Bolognese sauce (both meat and vegan), venison stew with cranberry pears, Calamari Ripieni and even desserts like glazed brownies and lemon cake.
“I think people are surprised when they hear you can even use a pressure cooker to make desserts,” Chef Lars said.
“Really, the only thing a pressure cooker is not ideal for doing is if you want to make something that is crispy. Otherwise, pressure cooking preserves up to 90% of vitamins and minerals while conserving full flavors and enhancing food appeal. It releases twice as much provitamin A from plant cells compared to conventional methods, making vegetables like carrots and broccoli even healthier. Pressure cooking also retains vibrant colors, directing pigments to the outer edges of the cells for a visually appealing dish. Plus, cooking times are reduced by up to 70%.”
Fissler.com includes sample recipes from the new cookbook, including this incredibly delicious and hearty version of a thickened oxtail soup.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Fissler’s Thick Oxtail Soup
Makes 6 servings
1.6 pounds beef oxtail, cut into pieces
1.6 ounces cooked, mild-smoked bacon (or pork belly)
2–3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 parsnip, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 tablespoons diced peeled celery root
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 1⁄2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons full-bodied red wine
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Madeira
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 white peppercorns
5 Allspice berries
5 Juniper berries
1 pinch of ground coriander
2 strips of zest from 1 organic lemon
1 sprig of thyme
1 small bay leaf
8 cups beef stock
1⁄2 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
Garlic oil
Coarsely ground black pepper
Directions:
Pat the oxtail dry and cut bacon into small cubes.
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, add the oxtail pieces and sauté all over until well browned. Add the diced vegetables together with the garlic and bacon cubes and sauté briefly until lightly browned.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 1–2 minutes before dusting the pot contents with flour, deglaze with red wine and Madeira and allow the liquid to simmer down slightly.
Season lightly with salt and pepper, add the spices, lemon zest, thyme and bay leaf, then pour in the beef stock.
Close the pressure cooker with the lid, set the pressure regulator to setting 3 and heat the pot on the highest setting.
When the Fissler yellow ring appears (cooking indicator: 1st ring), reduce the heat. As soon as the green ring becomes visible (cooking indicator: 2nd ring), the 40-to-45-minute cooking time begins.
Remove the pressure cooker from the heat, release the steam and open the lid.
Remove the oxtail pieces, let cool very slightly, then remove the meat from the bones while still warm. Pull the meat into small chunks and set aside on a plate.
Strain the stock through a colander, then a sieve, using a ladle to press all the liquid out of the residues. Return the soup to a pot and simmer uncovered until the desired consistency has been achieved.
Strain the fat off the soup and season to taste before adding the meat chunks back to the soup and garnish with parsley and black pepper.
