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The maintenance and care of your pot, piece by piece.
How do I know if the rubber on my pot is worn?
Does my pressure cooker valve work well?
What is the safety valve for?
We answer these questions and some more in the post dedicated to the maintenance of our pressure cooker.
The autumn / winter season is the most characteristic for the use of the pressure cooker. Although in hot weather they are also used, when the cooler weather arrives, spoon dishes and stews arrive. Get used to the idea: autumn is already here, and it has some pretty cool things.
The pot is a classic ally for preparing food in the kitchen. Us allows to save A LOT of time cooking all kinds of dishes -especially legumes- and, in addition, reduces energy consumption from the kitchen. Food preparation is, together with the thermal regulation of the home, one of the main responsible for the energy expenditure of the house.
The pot is also an "appliance" that requires and needs maintenance and cleaning specific and of great importance, since they accelerate the cooking of the food thanks to the pressure housed inside. Pressure is dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. But the pots have various security systems to prevent incidents in the kitchen. The important thing is, as in most cases, to be well informed and be careful.
At this time, we must review the state of our pot. In this brief article we are going to unravel in a generic way and put some of the most illustrative examples of the sensitive points of our pot.
- The eraser
The rubber of the pot is its wear part par excellence: every year, at least, the rubber of the pot must be changed, since it suffers deformations due to its use. always buy the original tires of the pot, since they are made with materials approved by law and subject to food and safety regulations. There are silicone rubbers, silicone rubber and rubber (the old rubbers and of poorer quality, which deformed with the passage of time and pressure). The original rubbers have a certain hardness and flexibility, which make them specific for each cooker brand and model. The importance of flexibility and hardness is due to the fact that most pressure cooker lids have a window so that, in case of excess pressure, the rubber deforms and the excess pressure escapes from the side before causing an explosion.
Images: Silicone rubber, silicone rubber and rubber rubber
At the top you can see the security window
When do I change the rubber on my pot? When the rubber wears, it leaks (pressure losses) down the side of the lid, which can sometimes condense on the bottom handle of the lid. In some brands, such as pressure cooker models from Fagor You can also check the wear by gently shaking the lid with the rubber on, if it makes noise it is because, due to heat and pressure, it has shrunk a bit, and it is not completely adjusted to the steel of the lid.
- Valve (operating valve)
The pressure cooker valve has a double function: to let us know when the pressure cooker has reached sufficient and adequate pressure for the correct cooking of the food, and to release excess pressure if the heat is not lowered at the necessary moment.
** Here we are going to make a paragraph, because on many occasions, we do not know the correct operation of the pressure cooker and we do not use the pressure cooker valve properly. In pressure cookers (not the classic ones, in which a rotary valve on a chimney rotates continuously to continuously release the pressure) when the pressure in the pot has reached a maximum, the valve indicates us, by the sound of steam coming out of the valve, that we must lower the kitchen fire. That is to say: the pot has already reached maximum pressure, from this moment on, you just have to keep the pressure stable inside, in most cases you can keep the pressure only with the heat set to 2 (in a ceramic hob with a setting of 1 to 10).
Regarding the valve,.com It is necessary to know how to disassemble it to keep it clean. In the quick pots of Fagor, you just have to turn the valve indicator to the left, while raising it slightly, to be able to disassemble it (see video). This system has been incorporated by the new pressure cookers of Stomach fesa (since 2013). In the old Magefesa pots, the valves were removed simply by pulling them. In pot models of WMF, the valve is built into the handle, and there is a removable rubber (see video) that can be easily removed by pressure and cleaned.
It is necessary to change the valve of the cooker as soon as any damage is observed: the valve is one of the main safety systems of the cooker and the first one in charge of regulating its pressure.
- Security valve
The pressure cooker safety valve is a security system that incorporates to avoid accidents if an obstruction occurs, a serious deformation in the operating valve or if, once the maximum pressure is reached, the maximum heat continues to be applied from the kitchen to the pot. The safety valve is, therefore, a safety system that, if the rest of the cooker is in perfect condition, and we use the cooker correctly, it never has to activate. That is why it is convenient to check once a year (at least) the operation of this spare part: if it has moving parts (see video), verify that they move correctly or, if it is made of rubber (see photo), check that it has enough flexibility .
- Mango
… And when we talk about mango, we mean the handle of the lid, which is the one with complex functional elements, since the rest of the spare parts for handles and handles are more or less simple handles and supports that can be changed with just a couple of screws.
The handle of the lid is usually also the accommodation of one or both valves Of the pot. It is usually made of a paste of plastic material with moving parts. It is, therefore, a piece sensitive to deformations that we have to monitor frequently. Both in the models of Fagor,like Stomach fesa, the plastic of the handle also fixes the valve (see image), so a break in any tab or rail can make the valve not fulfill its function. in models of WMF the handle takes most valve and pressure cooker systems, and is not removable.
Besides, the handle usually includes the closing system,by means of a tab that activates a simple mechanism that makes the valve start working. This system can also suffer deformations and prevent the correct closing of the pot.
Images: pressure cooker valve housing and closing system in the handle
- pot deformations
Sometimes, due to blows or VERY, VERY intense use of the cooker, it can become deformed. Yes ok,.com unusual for the container to suffer deformations that affect the pressure of the cooker, if there is occasions when the lid can be deformed, making the lateral turning movement necessary to close the pot laborious and forced. In these cases, IT IS RECOMMENDED NOT TO USE THE COOKER. This forced movement can cause the internal pressure to not be released correctly in case of experiencing any problem in the valves, which could cause serious problems.
Conclusion: the maintenance of the pot is not as complicated as it may seem. The pot is a very practical and simple way of cooking, and you just have to check the operation of the main functional parts. By reviewing this script, you can be confident that the cooker works correctly and that it is safe to use. And, from then on, all that remains is to enjoy cooking.