Pressure Cooking Safety Tips Revisited After South Florida Woman Loses Leg in Explosion Accident

Most of you know I swear by my twelve pressure cookers. Thanks to my mother, I’ve come to adore and use this old-school utensil for just about every meal that comes out of my kitchen and onto my table.

Growing up, mami and both of my abuelitas used them consistently and always emphasized the benefits of cooking with them. They save a lot of time in cooking your everyday staples, in our case, rice, beans, lean cuts of carne and some desserts. They also double as a regular pot if used without the jiggler or pressure regulator.

It took no time for me to be sold on its practicality and efficiency.

But mami also warned about its potential dangers and seldom allowed me in the kitchen while she was cooking. Mami only had two pressure cookers and both were vintage models. In fact, one of them, which she still uses is from the very late 70s, the year we came to the U.S. from Havana. Those vintage ones are about original as they come with no safety valves and no guards that can protect against explosions. Yes, explosions!

For many years, pressure cookers haven’t been popular for that very reason: cooks were afraid of possible explosions. If you speak with any Latin family, you are more than likely to hear a vivid recount of beans splattered all over because the top went jiggling off. And indeed, those accidents can occur. I vaguely remember one such incident with black beans in our VA home. Fortunately in our case, the jiggler wasn’t on the lid so the built up pressure was minimal. The beans did thrust out at what I would guess was 25mph and covered our kitchen ceiling with mushy frijoles. The more important thing is that no one was hurt.

But an elderly South Florida woman was not as lucky two weeks ago. The story which had me in shock, was of a 78-year woman whose pressure cooker fell on the floor and exploded. Unidentified parts of the pressure cooker severed one of her legs from the knee down. But not for her son’s ability to put a tourniquette on it, the woman probably would have bled to death.

¡Pobrecita!

(newer model with jiggler but auto-lock feature, something the one below does not have)

Is this a freak accident? Yes, no doubt, but it can happen if you don’t know how to properly use a pressure cooker — a vintage one at that. I’m a huge proponent to the use of pressure cookers and encourage serious home cooks and professional chefs to consider trying them out. I’ve been successful in convincing at least 20 friends to acquire one. But, they’re still not as popular as I think they deserve. New ollas de presión have been redesigned to be safe for every day use and are equipped with features its vintage counterpart never had. In most cases, new pressure cookers no longer have jigglers or detachable pressure regulators. New models have an auto-lock feature that prevent opening the lid until 100% of the built-up pressure is released. Old ones allowed for premature opening, which is what more than likely is to blame for serious accidents.

In Latin culture, cooking as of early morning is way of life. Slow cookers are not common in Latin homes so the pressure cooker was/is the go-to pot. Those staples I mentioned above are cooked every day in just about every Latin home I know. And those beans, most beans actually, are cooked in a pressure cooker for expediency and relative ease.

While I don’t know nor want to assume the injured woman is Latin (though based on her name and her pressure cooker contents–beans–I can make an educated guess that she is), it might be safe to say she’s been using pressure cookers for some time.

Reports state that the pressure cooker fell off the stove.

Assuming the cooker did fall off her stove and assuming she was using a vintage pressure cooker, I’ve decided to revisit some points that will make your experience a safe one. Following are some key notes I urge you to keep in mind if you’re new to pressure-cooking; especially if you’re using an older model.

{added note! I’m by no means discouraging you from using these wonderful piece of equipment. I just want you to expand your options when cooking and be safe when doing so! That’s all.}

Mind you, these tips mostly apply to older models that allow for premature opening and do not have auto-locks, etc… You should still use precaution when using new ones, but to my knowledge there have been no reported incidents with newer cookers.

I love my pressure cookers and will continue to “lobby” and push for you to use them! They are a fantastic piece of lost cooking art and a great tool for the cook that loves to take advantage of healthy meals that can be made in 75% less time than conventional cooking.

I’ve written some introductory posts on pressure-cooking which I invite you to read here and here.

And of course, feel free to email me b {at} brenherrera {dot} com if you have any specific questions I may not have addressed here!

!Buen Provecho!

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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