Ambrosia Apple Test Kitchen – Instant Pressure Cooker

Pressure cookers have been around for ages, but the relatively new insurgence of instant pressure cookers has brought the method of cooking under pressure back into popularity. The ease of use, and the ability to braise and stew in a fraction of the time is their big allure. That, and they are much safer to use than your grandmother’s old stove-top model.

We use our instant pressure cooker regularly to make Ambrosia Apple sauce. We don’t bother to peel the apples and don’t add anything to the pot but the apples cut into small bits. We use 4-5 apples at a time with about ¼ c of water and put them on high pressure for 3 minutes. Then we drain the water (and drink it – it’s delicious), and mash the apples with a potato masher.

We also tried some Braised Cabbage and it was fantastic! Although our device has a sauté function, we started in a cast iron skillet, which gave us a lovely sear on the bacon, and a nice opportunity to deglaze the pan with the cider before adding to the pressure cooker. The apple all but disappeared but the gorgeous flavour and sweetness shone through the entire dish. Delicious!

Braised Cabbage with Ambrosia Apples

• 5 strips bacon
• 1c savoy cabbage
• 1 small onion
• 1 c dry apple cider
• 1 Ambrosia apple
• 2 Tbl butter
• Baby potatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Chop bacon into small bits and fry in pan. Slice onion and add to bacon and cook until translucent. Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes. Transfer all to the instant pressure cooker. Slice the apples and cabbage. Deglaze the pan with half of the cider and add the liquid and the rest of the ingredients to the pressure cooker.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook on High Pressure for 3 minutes then Instant release. Serve immediately.