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Pressure cooking has always been one of my most favorite cooking techniques. I remember being so intrigued by my grandmother’s old-fashioned stovetop unit complete with multiple jiggle valves. (It’s funny — I say the term “jiggle valve” as if everyone knows what that is. If you don’t, it’s simply a valve on the top of a pressure cooker that determines and maintains the amount of pressure inside the unit.) To change the amount of pressure inside the unit in those days, you switch out the valve to the desired pressure. Without the “jiggle valve,” the pot would simply let steam out of the hole in the lid. The reason the pressure valve was termed "jiggle" was because as the unit began to build pressure and maintain it, the valve would jump up and down causing a pretty loud noise, sort of like a cross between Donald Duck blowing a whistle and someone playing the spoons. Ahh, the old days. Anyway, pressure cookers have come a long, long way since those days. The premise of quick cooking under pressure has stayed the same, but the technology has become safer and more effective.

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to launch the microwave pressure cooker in the USA. Surprising, eh, that “microwave” and “pressure cooker” are in the same sentence? Made entirely out of a thick plastic resin with silicone gaskets, the price was about 30 bucks and it worked great. The customers really reacted to the idea of microwaves and pressure working together to get fantastic results in a very short time for an amazing price. Now, microwaves are no longer only useful for reheating Chinese food and coffee. We told people they could use their microwave oven to cook tender, juicy, flavorful food. Unheard of...and very appealing!

Still, as with any new invention or concept, we've had to react and adjust since we launched the new product into the world as a Today's Special Value. I thought I would take some time to address some of the comments and concerns about this Prepology microwave pressure cooker. We had a lot of concern that the gaskets may need to be replaced in a year or so. This is common with any pressure cooker — stovetop or electric. Our mistake was that we didn’t have any available online to order. I’m happy to say that now we have plenty in stock. Another comment I noticed was that a lot of customers thought they had to brown their meats prior to using the pressure cooker. This is not true — you don't have to sear your meat, although, as I said during the live sell, searing meats enhances the look and flavor of your food, which is true for traditional pressure cookers as well. Lastly, we have responded to customers’ requests by adding more items on the cooking chart to help take some of the guesswork out of this fresh, new way of cooking in the microwave. And remember, don’t blame your microwave for never having been able to cook tender, juicy food before! It just didn’t ever have the right tool to do it in. Now it does.

Hope you can watch Sunday, August 14 at Noon ET!

-Eric