Healthy whole grains get better, faster in the Cuisinart pressure cooker!

Cooking and living the whole grain life - here at high altitude (4,412 ft) in Reno - can be something of a challenge. One option is to have one of the fuzzy logic rice cookers, which Maven has used for years. But, as good as it is, it’s damn slow. Brown rice takes freaking forever. It’s not something you want to do at the last minute for unexpected company.

Enter the Cuisinart CPC-600 6-quart electric pressure cooker. This is what lucky foodies and cooks will find under the Christmas tree this year!

I’m running this baby through it’s paces here at Kitchen Maven - what I do for you, my readers! And, today I did whole wheat berries and brown rice.

Oh, baby. Fast. Simple. And incredible.

I had to practically force myself to put the damn spoon down! Put the finished grains into the fridge for later use. Waaaaa. But they were so yummy! Just toothsome enough, not really al dente actually. Tender but whole. Not mush. They both could’ve got right into some outstanding soups with sauteed veggies and meat (unless you’re vegan, of course).

The wheat berries took the longest - 33 minutes ( I added 3 minutes for the altitude), with a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release. In other words, you don’t quickly release the pressure by turning the valve. Just let it cool down naturally. Since I was actually busy doing my exercise for the day, I let them simmer for probably 20 minutes until I could take them out and photograph them.

I used one cup of rinsed wheat berries to 3-1/2 cups of water, with 1-1/2 teapoons of the Herbamare seasoning salt, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Incredible. When done, I kept uh, tasting. Just a bit more.

The same results with brown rice. Only the brown rice took 13 minutes. The book said 10, but again, this is Reno. I used the same High Pressure and the slow Natural Pressure Release method.

Now, I realize they are more ‘soupy’ than a rice cooker would do them. But it’s a simple matter to drain off the excess liquid (shame, since it’s soooo flavorful) and use either grain in a pilaf side dish or such. But the sheer speed makes these grains so accessible for a weeknight supper that it’s well worth an extra step. With a bit of practice, I think I can pair down the amount of water.

On my next experiment, I think I’ll saute (on the saute setting of the wonderful Cuisinart) some onion in grapeseed oil, with some Juliet Mae Garam Masala Indian spice, then add the brown rice, with a chicken or vegetable broth.

Oh, gosh. That sounds great.

At any rate, this pressure cooker makes healthy, inexpensive whole grains completely accessible to the modern, time crunched home cook. I got this Cuisinart Pressure Cooker online at Amazon for well under $100, with no shipping charges. Now that’s real economy.

-maven