What kitchen appliance cooks food faster by trapping steam under high pressure?

A pressure cooker cooks food faster by trapping steam under high pressure. The sealed vessel raises the pressure above normal atmospheric pressure, allowing water to reach a temperature higher than its usual 100°C boiling point.

Most pressure cookers operate at about 0.8–1 bar (11.6–15 psi) above atmospheric pressure. At roughly 15 psi, water can reach about 121°C, so foods such as beans, potatoes, and tough cuts of meat soften much faster than they would in an ordinary pot.

The basic idea dates to the seventeenth-century steam digester invented by French physicist Denis Papin. Modern cookers regulate pressure with valves and safety mechanisms. They still require a water-based liquid to create steam; they are not substitutes for dry-heat methods such as frying or roasting.

A pressure cooker is different from a steamer basket: a basket holds food above boiling water but does not substantially raise pressure. Electric multicookers may include a pressure-cooking setting, but the appliance’s defining feature is the sealed, pressurized cooking chamber.