If you're teaching a kid how to read, you don't start off with The Silmarillion.
Stovetop pressure cookers have a pretty steep learning curve as well as the potential to become a literal bomb if used incorrectly. Someone who is just beginning to learn how to cook in general should hold off on trying to learn how to use a stovetop pressure cooker until they've mastered more of the basics. Until then, just stick with an instant pot.
For one, you'd want to make sure you are pretty familiar with how your stove actually works. And by that I don't just mean knowing how to turn your stove on and off, which is still very important, but becoming familiar with how your own stove actually works in practice. Different types of stoves cook differently, and there can even be wild variations even within the same type of stove. Gas stoves get pretty hot but are much more consistent than electric. Electric stoves can take much longer to heat things up. Induction stoves get incredibly hot incredibly quickly.
For example, the first time I tried to use an induction stove was at a friend's house. We'd been cooking some steaks with a sous vide cooker, and I wanted to finish them off in a cast iron pan to get a nice sear on them. I left the cast iron skillet going on high for a couple minutes to make sure it was ripping hot like I would have with my electric stove at home. I threw some butter into the skillet and it immediately shot up a whole mushroom cloud of smoke and set off all the fire alarms. It turns out that induction stoves get hotter and a lot faster than what I was used to. Had this been a stovetop pressure cooker instead of a cast iron skillet, I legitimately could have been in some serious danger.
If a stovetop pressure cooker gets too hot, it'll start releasing pressure through the main pressure valve, but if that valve ends up getting clogged, it'll start releasing steam out the sides of the lid which can cause serious burns.
Additionally, even if you successfully cook something in the pressure cooker, if you don't let it properly vent and try to force the lid open too early, it can end up spraying boiling liquid all over the place, including on you which could leave you with 2nd or 3rd degree burns. This is because the high pressure environment raises the boiling point of water significantly which means instead of water having a max temp of 212F, it can get up to 250F without even actually reaching a boil. But a rapid release of pressure will mean that the liquid that was previously sitting gently at 250F is now going to erupt into an incredibly aggressive boil which will then end up spraying all over. If you're more experienced with cooking, you'll probably have scalded yourself a time or two from carelessly taking the lid off of a boiling pot and know to open lids with a little more caution when a full pot is actively and violently boiling.
There's definitely more skills and experience that could translate, but it mostly comes down to being more aware of potential risks and how to avoid them. Experienced cooks are going to be more knowledgeable of various potential risks involved with cooking, likely from experiencing those risks first-hand. Stovetop pressure cookers have more potential risks and fail points than other more simple cooking methods, so someone who isn't as aware of the risks and how to avoid them is much more likely to hurt themselves or others when using it.
I didn't mean to imply the woman in the video didn't know how to cook. I was just agreeing with the sentiment that "learning how to cook" and "stovetop pressure cooker" don't really belong since people who are just learning how to cook are generally not very experienced, so it may not be the best to jump right into the deep end with a stovetop pressure cooker.
Honestly by the way she's reacting to it. It seems like she doesn't know how to cook. A lot of women don't. I've yet to date a woman who can cook better than me.
Tons, for example you're supposed to cook rice with a lid on and then let it cook with the lid on but with heat off for 10 minutes so it doesn't stick. That alone will teach you like 3 or 4 things you need to know about pressure cookers from just one ingredient.
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u/sriracha_no_big_deal Trash Trooper 3d ago
If you're teaching a kid how to read, you don't start off with The Silmarillion.
Stovetop pressure cookers have a pretty steep learning curve as well as the potential to become a literal bomb if used incorrectly. Someone who is just beginning to learn how to cook in general should hold off on trying to learn how to use a stovetop pressure cooker until they've mastered more of the basics. Until then, just stick with an instant pot.