High Altitude Cooking in Guanajuato

[laconstance]

I am so happy you are having success!

NanN, yes you certainly can cook potatoes and sweet potatoes in a pressure cooker. I was given one for a wedding present (too many years ago to count) and I found it invaluable, though I don't have one here in Guanajuato. You will have to adjust the pressure cooker for altitude, too! If it says 5 pounds pressure, cook at 10; if it says 10 pounds pressure, cook at 15; and if it says 15 pounds pressure, simply cook longer by about ? of your recommended time. Pressure cookers are great for cooking beans, but you still shouldn't season until the time is over. Whole grains are easily cooked, too, such as hot cereal out of whole grains. But BEWARE of anything that can bubble up (such as beans and whole grains), and leave plenty of headspace in the pressure cooker. The foam can block the vent tube and cause the safely valve to blow. Believe me a "bullet hole" in your ceiling and goo everywhere is not a pretty sight (been there).

Bill, I would say the best way to cook al dente pasta is to throw away your timer. There are so many variations in pasta (fresh, dried, different flour types, etc.) that there is no way to cook it using a "set" time. Here's what I do: Put the pasta into boiling water, only as fast as the water keeps at a rolling boil, stirring well, then let it cook about 5 minutes or so. Then, grab a piece out with a fork and test it. You need to test every minute or so until the "doneness" suits you. Drain immediately, and return to the cooking pot, tossing it with a little olive oil -- this will cool it off enough that the cooking stops.

Have you figured out that cooking at high altitude will make better cooks of you, because you can't follow recipes exactly? Instead, you learn to test and check and adjust, just like a creative master chef. Happy cooking!