Dear Catherine, I love both of your recent pressure cooker books and this blog. I always wonder though, when your recipes state to add water or stock, should that water be hot or cold? As I make my stock with cubes it is usually hot to begin with, but I worry that you intend it to be cold. I imagine the difference between adding hot water vs heating water to a simmer will have a significant impact on how long I'll need to get the pot to pressure & therefore which the recipe expects...
Hello! Thank you for the kind words. The short answer is that for the majority of things it doesn’t really matter too. I specify cold/room temperature for zero minute chicken and I generally try to avoid icy cold water as it does add to the time it takes to come up to pressure, but otherwise you are usually Ok. When just a small amount of liquid is added, I find that it gets hot almost before I’ve put the lid on anyway - and with anything with more liquid there is a bit more leeway. Have you ever found anything undercooked? It is possible this might occasionally happen if you use hot water from the off - but much better to slightly undercook so it can continue cooking afterwards, than overcooking.
Hi Catherine, i’ve macerated the bergamot lemon hulls in sugar (leftover from your preserved lemon recipe). I have the most amazing tasting lemon syrup but not sure what to do with it!? Currently just having teaspoon tasters every time i walk into the kitchen 🍋 😀
What an excellent recipe! I have made it this morning to the letter and it’s so delicious. It also helped me gain confidence searing in my pressure cooker and deglazing with the stock. I haven’t done that before and made me feel strangely accomplished!
It’s also conquered my suspicion of carrots and oranges being paired together. The spices really balance that all out.
I’ve just made the preserved lemons for the first time. If I were to scale up, how much should I increase the salt? Is it 1tsp for every four lemons - they do taste a wee bit salty at the mo so I don’t want to overdo it.
veg past its prime for soups - yr so right!
Citrus and pressure cookers, deftly combined! Sounds delicious!
Dear Catherine, I love both of your recent pressure cooker books and this blog. I always wonder though, when your recipes state to add water or stock, should that water be hot or cold? As I make my stock with cubes it is usually hot to begin with, but I worry that you intend it to be cold. I imagine the difference between adding hot water vs heating water to a simmer will have a significant impact on how long I'll need to get the pot to pressure & therefore which the recipe expects...
Hello! Thank you for the kind words. The short answer is that for the majority of things it doesn’t really matter too. I specify cold/room temperature for zero minute chicken and I generally try to avoid icy cold water as it does add to the time it takes to come up to pressure, but otherwise you are usually Ok. When just a small amount of liquid is added, I find that it gets hot almost before I’ve put the lid on anyway - and with anything with more liquid there is a bit more leeway. Have you ever found anything undercooked? It is possible this might occasionally happen if you use hot water from the off - but much better to slightly undercook so it can continue cooking afterwards, than overcooking.
Fab, thank you for answering!
Hi Catherine, i’ve macerated the bergamot lemon hulls in sugar (leftover from your preserved lemon recipe). I have the most amazing tasting lemon syrup but not sure what to do with it!? Currently just having teaspoon tasters every time i walk into the kitchen 🍋 😀
So many options! You can use as cordial or in cocktails, in a drizzle cake, you can stir through cream or yogurt or drizzle over ricotta....
What an excellent recipe! I have made it this morning to the letter and it’s so delicious. It also helped me gain confidence searing in my pressure cooker and deglazing with the stock. I haven’t done that before and made me feel strangely accomplished!
It’s also conquered my suspicion of carrots and oranges being paired together. The spices really balance that all out.
Thank you for sharing Catherine.
Great to catch up with you yesterday at Chiswick Cheese Market yesterday, Catherine!
And you too, Elisabeth! You came up in conversation this morning and the result was one of my friends has gone off and bought your brilliant memoirs.
I’ve just made the preserved lemons for the first time. If I were to scale up, how much should I increase the salt? Is it 1tsp for every four lemons - they do taste a wee bit salty at the mo so I don’t want to overdo it.