Science of Cooking

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Should I sear foods before pressure cooking? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 weeks ago by x4740N@lemmy.world to c/cooking@mander.xyz

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I've heard searing ingredients before pressure cooking them will help enhance flavour but I'm wondering if I should because searing will result in water loss in ingredients and I'm wondering if that will effect the tenderness of the ingredients after pressure cooking

Will the ingredients regain water whike being pressure cooked or will they be stuck with reduced water and reduce the tenderness?

I am aware fat also plays a part in tenderness

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[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

It depends on what you are cooking, but I usually do. Maillard and caramelization reactions will not occur in the temperatures that your pressure cooker will get to. If there's an option to add those flavors to a meal, I'm going to do it. There are cuisines, though, where that's not traditional or desired.

Think about rice, for example. Sometimes, you want more delicate fluffy plain white rice, while other times you want to do a pilaf technique where you brown it first. Neither is "better", just different.

Generally, if an ingredient is susceptible to overcooking, I'm not going to pressure cook it. Rice is easy since the grain size is consistent, but something like chicken breasts, I'm not going to pressure cook.

Adding more high temp cooking will drive out more moisture, but sometimes that's worth it. I would never eat a steak without a search, for example.