Are you new to using pressure cookers and wonder why it whistles? Do you hate the sound of your pressure cooker’s whistle? Are you searching for a silent pressure cooker?
We have got the answers for you! To mention briefly, pressure cookers operate by trapping steam to create a high pressure and moisture environment.
When the heat reaches unsafe levels, the steam escapes from the cooker, and therefore, it whistles.
Stay tuned to find out how to stop your pressure cooker from whistling, whether it is possible to use your cooker without a whistle and much more!
Should A Pressure Cooker Whistle?
As mentioned above, a pressure cooker whistles to indicate that it has reached the maximum temperature to cook food.
In other words, a pressure cooker’s whistle indicates that you must lower the flame as the heat has reached dangerous levels.
In a pressure cooker, the water reaches its boiling point (212°F) and turns into steam. The cooker traps this steam and creates a high-pressure environment to cook food.
However, if it is tightly sealed, the pressure will become too high and increase the chances of your cooker exploding. Therefore, the steam releases from its vent, and it whistles. At this stage, you must immediately lower the heat!
What Causes A Pressure Cooker to Whistle?
Now that you know that the main reason behind why a pressure cooker whistles is the steam escaping, let us also explore some other reasons behind a whistling cooker.
So here are a few more reasons why a cooker whistles:
Using more heat than necessary.
If you use too much heat for cooking, the pressure inside your cooker will become very high. Consequently, the steam will escape from the pressure release vent and the appliance will begin to whistle.
However, when your cooker whistles, take it as enough warning! Immediately lower the flame of your gas stove to reduce the heat and pressure in your cooker. Otherwise, it might explode and injure you.
The lid is not sealed properly.
If you don’t close the lid of your pressure cooker properly, it will start whistling. The reason behind this is that the steam will release from the sides of the appliance when there is too much pressure.
While you can continue to cook if this happens, your food will not cook evenly due to low pressure inside your cooker.
Author’s Note: We recommend you always open the lid of your pressure cooker only after the steam has been released completely since hot steam can take a while to settle down.
What to Do When A Pressure Cooker Whistles?
Most of the time when a pressure cooker whistles, it means that your food is cooked and you must turn off or lower the flame. Nevertheless, here’s what you can do if your appliance whistles randomly:
Check the user guide
Nowadays, every kitchen appliance comes with a user guide. Whenever there are issues with the device or when the user wants to learn more about the features of their appliance, etc., they can consult this guide.
Therefore, if you want to learn how to stop your pressure cooker from whistling randomly, how much heat is required for cooking various foods, and the right way of disassembling/reassembling your cooker, etc., you can easily find out in its user guide.
Check the gasket
A damaged or dirty gasket of your pressure cooker can also make it whistle on unusual occasions. This is because If the gasket is worn-out or is damaged, the steam will escape and your cooker may make noise.
So it will be a nice idea to get a new gasket for your cooker to stop it from whistling randomly.
Check the handle
With time and regular use, your pressure cooker’s handle can become loose, causing it to whistle even before the food has not been cooked. This happens because the steam will escape from the pressure cooker and make it whistle.
Therefore, you can either check the user guide to tighten the handle by yourself or take the help of a professional.
Examine the locking mechanism.
Every pressure cooker has a locking system which helps them to trap the steam and cook food. We have already stated that a cooker has to be sealed from all sides to build heat and pressure for cooking food.
Therefore, if there are issues with your cooker’s locking system, it might whistle randomly as the steam will escape.
So you can either consult a professional to examine your cooker’s locking system by yourself (if you have enough knowledge of the appliance!) to prevent your cooker from whistling.
How to Stop a Pressure Cooker from Whistling
Here are some simple steps you can take to stop your pressure cooker from whistling:
1. Watch for any leaking spots.
In a pressure cooker, the steam is trapped to create a high-pressure environment for cooking food. However, if it escapes from the appliance, it whistles.
Therefore, you need to carefully check if there are any leaking spots in your pressure cooker from where the steam is escaping. Once you find them, you need to fix those spots to stop your cooker from whistling.
2. Ensure it is properly sealed.
Another step you can take to keep your pressure cooker from whistling is to ensure that it is sealed tight.
Refer to your cooker’s user manual to know its locking mechanism and follow the steps mentioned there to seal your appliance. Remember that your cooker will not whistle if you close it properly!
3. Beware of how much heat you use.
You must never increase your stove’s heat negligently as this will increase the temperature of your pressure cooker to unsafe levels. Consequently, your cooker will not be able to withstand it and whistle.
We recommend that you consult your pressure cooker’s user guide or browse the Internet to find out how much heat is required to prepare different foods.
Author’s Note: We recommend cooking your food over medium rather than high heat to minimize the sound of your pressure cooker.
Can You Use a Pressure Cooker Without Whistle?
There are times when you might get uncomfortable or irritated by the noise of your pressure cooker’s whistle. Or maybe you have a small child or an elderly person at home whom you don’t want to disturb with your cooker’s whistle.
This makes you wonder if there is any way of using a pressure cooker without a whistle. However, we don’t encourage you to remove your pressure cooker’s whistle as it could increase the risk of exploding your appliance or overcooking/burning your food.
Instead, you can buy an electric pressure cooker since it makes very less or no noise. Let’s learn more about them!
Are There Any Silent Pressure Cookers Available?
As we have mentioned above, electric pressure cookers don’t make a lot of noise.
Nowadays, a majority of electric pressure cookers are silent. They just make a slight ‘hiss’ when they release steam or when the food has cooked completely.
This happens because they have microchips that control heat and pressure and prevent the cooker from completely.
Therefore, if you don’t like the sound of your cooker’s whistle, you must opt for an electric pressure cooker!
However, you must know that electric pressure cookers are expensive as compared to traditional pressure cookers.
Author’s Note: We recommend you place an upside-down ceramic bowl on your pressure cooker’s vent. This will your cooker noise without interfering with the pressure inside.
FAQs
1. Can a pressure cooker explode?
There are a variety of reasons why a pressure cooker explodes. The most common among them are blocked or defective vents of the pressure cooker, using a lot of oil while cooking, overfilling the cooker with food and water, using very less liquid for cooking, poor quality of the cooker, lid not closed properly, and a malfunction, etc.
2. What should you not put in a pressure cooker?
Not all foods turn out best in a pressure cooker. The reason behind this is that there is very high heat and moisture in a cooker which can turn your foods soggy while cooking.
For example, if you cook fried chicken in your pressure cooker, it might break down and turn mushy. Also, if you cook creamy sauces in your pressure cooker, the milk and cheese could curdle because of the excess heat.
Furthermore, adding herbs like basil and rosemary to a pressure cooker will reduce their flavor and aroma.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the whistle in a pressure cooker acts as a safety feature and prevents it from exploding.
In other words, when there is excessive heat in a pressure cooker, it whistles to serve as a warning that you must lower/extinguish the flame to reduce the heat.
Moreover, using more than the required heat and not closing the lid properly also causes the pressure cooker to whistle.
However, if you don’t like the sound of your cooker’s whistle, then you can purchase an electric pressure cooker.
Let us know in the comment section if you have any more questions related to pressure cookers!