Save Time in the Kitchen with a Pressure Cooker

Posted on Jun 15, 2017

Have you cooked with a pressure cooker before? Pressure cookers are a quick, easy way to get meals on the table in minutes. But if you have not cooked with one before, it may seem a bit intimidating incorporating this handy kitchen electronic into your typical cooking routine. Modern technology and development have transformed the pressure cooker into a safe, simple device that adds major convenience to mealtime.  

You may be wondering how a pressure cooker works. It’s fairly simple – steam pressure. Once your ingredients are in the pot and the lid is closed, the pressure cooker seals and begins to build steam and pressure. Steam and pressure both work to help cook food faster. While just about anything can be cooked in the pressure cooker, they especially come in handy with whole grains like sorghum. By using a pressure cooker, you can reduce the cooking time of whole grain sorghum to just 20 minutes compared to 45-60 minutes using traditional stove top cooking methods. What a great option to help save time in the kitchen!

Let’s Get Cooking

Before cooking with a pressure cooker, it is always important to read your instruction manual, as there are many types of pressure cookers with different settings. The size of your pressure cooker, amount of liquid needed, heat settings and cooking time are all important factors. To cook a batch of whole grain sorghum in the recipe below, we used a 6-quart pressure cooker. 

You’ll need one cup of whole grain sorghum and two cups of liquid. You can really customize your pressure cooker experience based on what you are cooking. If you are making a batch of sorghum to use in a variety of dishes (sweet and savory), use water as your liquid. If you are making a savory dish, use your favorite stock to add some additional flavor to your dish. You can even use coconut, almond or regular milk for sweet or breakfast-influenced dishes.  

Next, pour your liquid and whole grain sorghum into pressure cooker. Close the lid and then set the pressure cooker to high pressure for 16-20 minutes. Now your pressure cooker will seal and begin cooking. While you wait, you can cook the other dishes on your menu. 

Once the pressure cooker has completed the cooking cycle, allow at least half (if not all) the pressure to release before carefully opening the lid. Check the grain to ensure it is cooked fully. There should not be any liquid remaining and the grain should be soft with a nice bite. If the grain is not fully cooked, you can always seal the pressure cooker and cook for a few more minutes – just be sure to add more liquid if the pot is dry. 

Once the grain is cooked, drain the sorghum into a small sieve colander. Rinse the sorghum and fluff with a fork. The recipe should result in three cups cooked sorghum. Simply add in your favorite ingredients or use the grain to make your favorite recipe. You can also divide the sorghum into separate plastic bags and refrigerate or freeze for later use. 

^Asian Chicken, Zoodle and Sorghum Mason Jar Salad

Enjoy! For more cooking tips, visit our sorghum cooking tips library.