4 ms·

This fear of exploding pressure cookers seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household

by unmole 9y ago

This fear of exploding pressure cookers seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon. Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. They all come fitted with a 'safety valve' that pops to let out the pressure before it can reach a dangerous point. It also reminds me if this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

0xcde4c3db 9y ago
As an American, I've heard that this can happen but have never heard of a specific example of it happening accidentally (sadly, there are multiple examples of them being deliberately used as weapons). I suspect it's an old wives' tale, possibly an exaggeration of poorly-made or damaged cookers somehow being opened at pressure and the "explosion" actually being rapidly venting steam.
- mythrwy 9y ago
  I once tried to pressure cook a large pot of habanero peppers (to make hot sauce). (While doing this I was drinking with friends... bad idea) I wanted to open the pot and so put it in the sink and ran a little cold water on it until I could just get it open. The resulting steam hit me in the face and hands. My face turned all red and hands swelled up and I could barely see. No real damage but it was very intense pain for a few hours and completely sucked. It also made me not like spicy food for about a year thereafter (fortunately that went away). Off topic but just a word of warning about pressure cookers and hot peppers.
  - TwelveNights 9y ago
    When you do something with the pot in a way it wasn't meant to be used, I guess all bets are off.
    - mythrwy 9y ago
      This was actually a normal pressure cooker (early 90's in college, there were no Instant Pots way back in those primitive days). Not sure it was necessarily contrary to "how it was meant to be used".
      - throwanem 9y ago
        I don't know. The next pressure cooker cookbook I see with a recipe in it for pepper spray will be the first.
swimfar 9y ago
Western, maybe. But not uniquely American. I've seen references/jokes about it in Europe as well.
mc32 9y ago
Unfortunately the company continues the propaganda: "Mr. Wang credits the device’s technological advances — most notably, a group of sensors that keep the cooker from overheating or exploding under pressure." I guess that helps in converting people hesitant on pressure cookers to consider an instapot. Quora[1] seems to think it could happen under certain special circumstances but not quite "explosion" but rather jettisoning the safety valve. [1]https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressure-cooker-explode-and-what-kind-of-damage-would-it-do https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressu...
ggg9990 9y ago
That's because if a pressure cooker explodes in America (or more generally, the West) and kills someone it's a national news item: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-suffers-second-degree-burns-after-pressure-cooker-explodes/news-story/355d376dcd8442a7f5612b4a8382ea53 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-... You haven't heard about Indians killed by pressure cookers because it simply doesn't make the news.
- wglass 9y ago
  Speaking as one who is American born married to a woman from the subcontinent ... We’ve had accidents involving traditional pressure cookers 2 or 3 times. It’s not really an explosion though we’ve called it that. There’s a rubber emergency valve that pops out and a jet of high pressure steam rockets up. Usually our ceiling gets coated with gravy or orange colored lentils. Once this happened 5 minutes before dinner guests arrived so we all just went out to eat instead! With more experience we’ve avoided the issue (don’t cook lentils that clog up the outflow tube). But it’s still a worry. Incidentally we’ve been using the instant pot for the last year now and it’s great. Bought them as presents for various members of the extended family too. It plays s cute little song when t starts and stops. No psuedo-explosions or orange colored ceilings either.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Interesting. My family cooks lentils on a pressure cooker quite frequently, and that never happened to us. Maybe you were filling it too much?
    - peatmoss 9y ago
      Or maybe not including some sort of fat to prevent foaming...
umeshunni 9y ago
>> Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. Growing up in India in the 80s, there were occasional news articles about exploding Prestige and Hawkins pressure cookers. Looks like they're not unheard of even in recent times (e.g. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-in-pressure-cooker-blast/articleshow/9941174.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-i... )
tecleandor 9y ago
Pressure cookers are quite common in Spain, and most fear from exploding pressure cookers comes from the 70s and 80s, when they had less security features, valves could get stuck, and people were careless ( i.e: opening the lid before pressure venting, forced cooling under the water tap...) I've checked on Google News for accidents in Spain, and haven't found anything more recent than 2012. Using modern pressure cookers is quite safe. Just check your valve works, that your ring seal is in proper condition, and close the lid properly. AND NEVER TRY TO OPEN IT IF PRESSURE HASN'T VENTED
- ferongr 9y ago
  My Fissler pressure cooker recommends forced cooling under a stream of water for precise control of cooking time, as an alternative to venting steam through the valve, to prevent loss of flavor.
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
I mean, incidents do happen: https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-anymore-photo-by-3186316.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-...

by unmole 9y ago

0xcde4c3db 9y ago

As an American, I've heard that this can happen but have never heard of a specific example of it happening accidentally (sadly, there are multiple examples of them being deliberately used as weapons). I suspect it's an old wives' tale, possibly an exaggeration of poorly-made or damaged cookers somehow being opened at pressure and the "explosion" actually being rapidly venting steam.

mythrwy 9y ago
I once tried to pressure cook a large pot of habanero peppers (to make hot sauce). (While doing this I was drinking with friends... bad idea) I wanted to open the pot and so put it in the sink and ran a little cold water on it until I could just get it open. The resulting steam hit me in the face and hands. My face turned all red and hands swelled up and I could barely see. No real damage but it was very intense pain for a few hours and completely sucked. It also made me not like spicy food for about a year thereafter (fortunately that went away). Off topic but just a word of warning about pressure cookers and hot peppers.
- TwelveNights 9y ago
  When you do something with the pot in a way it wasn't meant to be used, I guess all bets are off.
  - mythrwy 9y ago
    This was actually a normal pressure cooker (early 90's in college, there were no Instant Pots way back in those primitive days). Not sure it was necessarily contrary to "how it was meant to be used".
    - throwanem 9y ago
      I don't know. The next pressure cooker cookbook I see with a recipe in it for pepper spray will be the first.

swimfar 9y ago

Western, maybe. But not uniquely American. I've seen references/jokes about it in Europe as well.

mc32 9y ago

Unfortunately the company continues the propaganda: "Mr. Wang credits the device’s technological advances — most notably, a group of sensors that keep the cooker from overheating or exploding under pressure." I guess that helps in converting people hesitant on pressure cookers to consider an instapot. Quora[1] seems to think it could happen under certain special circumstances but not quite "explosion" but rather jettisoning the safety valve. [1]https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressure-cooker-explode-and-what-kind-of-damage-would-it-do https://www.quora.com/Under-what-circumstance-would-a-pressu...

ggg9990 9y ago

That's because if a pressure cooker explodes in America (or more generally, the West) and kills someone it's a national news item: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-suffers-second-degree-burns-after-pressure-cooker-explodes/news-story/355d376dcd8442a7f5612b4a8382ea53 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/mum-... You haven't heard about Indians killed by pressure cookers because it simply doesn't make the news.

wglass 9y ago
Speaking as one who is American born married to a woman from the subcontinent ... We’ve had accidents involving traditional pressure cookers 2 or 3 times. It’s not really an explosion though we’ve called it that. There’s a rubber emergency valve that pops out and a jet of high pressure steam rockets up. Usually our ceiling gets coated with gravy or orange colored lentils. Once this happened 5 minutes before dinner guests arrived so we all just went out to eat instead! With more experience we’ve avoided the issue (don’t cook lentils that clog up the outflow tube). But it’s still a worry. Incidentally we’ve been using the instant pot for the last year now and it’s great. Bought them as presents for various members of the extended family too. It plays s cute little song when t starts and stops. No psuedo-explosions or orange colored ceilings either.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Interesting. My family cooks lentils on a pressure cooker quite frequently, and that never happened to us. Maybe you were filling it too much?
  - peatmoss 9y ago
    Or maybe not including some sort of fat to prevent foaming...

umeshunni 9y ago

>> Pressure cookers are used by pretty much every middle class Indian household and I have never heard of an explosion. Growing up in India in the 80s, there were occasional news articles about exploding Prestige and Hawkins pressure cookers. Looks like they're not unheard of even in recent times (e.g. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-in-pressure-cooker-blast/articleshow/9941174.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/8-injured-i... )

tecleandor 9y ago

Pressure cookers are quite common in Spain, and most fear from exploding pressure cookers comes from the 70s and 80s, when they had less security features, valves could get stuck, and people were careless ( i.e: opening the lid before pressure venting, forced cooling under the water tap...) I've checked on Google News for accidents in Spain, and haven't found anything more recent than 2012. Using modern pressure cookers is quite safe. Just check your valve works, that your ring seal is in proper condition, and close the lid properly. AND NEVER TRY TO OPEN IT IF PRESSURE HASN'T VENTED

ferongr 9y ago
My Fissler pressure cooker recommends forced cooling under a stream of water for precise control of cooking time, as an alternative to venting steam through the valve, to prevent loss of flavor.

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

I mean, incidents do happen: https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-anymore-photo-by-3186316.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/why-im-not-allowed-to-cook-dinner-...