All You Need To Know About Pressure Cooker Gasket
Do you know what a pressure cooker gasket is?
It is the black squeaky rubber or silicon thing that seals the gap between the lid and pot of your pressure cooker. When it works your pressure cooker becomes a concealed airtight chamber.
Due to this, your pressure cooker cooks faster than traditional cooking. Here we will talk about what materials are used for making the gasket and how you should clean or take care of it. We will also talk about when and why you need to change it. If you go through this, you will not face a problem with your pressure cooker gasket ever.
Right now almost all the gaskets are made of either some polymer or silicon wherein earlier they were made from rubber. This works as a better sealer and like rubber, the silicon ones do not contain any odor. It does not become brittle or crack like the rubber gaskets too.
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If you have a new gasket that is made from silicon then to take care you just have to wash properly. One thing to keep in mind that do not stretch or pull your pressure cooker gasket. It will weaken it and ultimately it will tear, or it will not adjust the lid properly.
To clean the gasket, at first, you have to remove it from the top, and they wash it with warm and soapy water. It is always a good idea to check the gasket correctly during the washing process. So you will know whether there is a crack or wear or not. You cannot put it in the dishwasher to clean ever. It is better not to use bleach or a harsh cleaner to clean it. After cleaning it, you can dry it with a towel.
To store it, put it in the bottom of the cooker until the next time you use the pressure cooker. Installing a gasket in a pressure cooker is a really easy job. But in some gaskets, there are two sides? So you have to put the right side upwards to install it perfectly. To install any gasket always try to follow the instruction manual that comes with your pressure cooker. Before putting it, you must look or any printing available on your gasket or not.
If there is then, you need to install it in such a way that the writing will be facing upwards. It will let you open and close the pressure cooker lid quickly.
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The life expectancy of your pressure cooker gasket may vary, and it depends on a few things. Things like the material used to build it, a frequency of using even the types of food you cook plays a part in the life expectancy. To replace it you can find it quickly in the manuals of your brand or company.
Some of the gaskets of different brands may last a few years. But in other cases, you might have to change them every one year or less. As it is placed on the outside portion of the lid so it can tear or wear down easily from daily use. Another thing is that the age does not wear it. It typically weakens due to the moisture and heat.
You might not get a warning in some cases of gasket failure. So to look for indications you have checked whether some gas is escaping from a particular point or not. It will let the inside pressure go, and your pressure cooker will not work correctly. So if you see the pressure escaping you need to change it because sometimes the tears are too tiny to get a visual. This crack might be small, but it will not let your pressure cooker to the cooking limit your required.
You need to replace the gasket if it feels soft, sticky, or tacky. If it becomes shrunken or stretched out, you need to change it too. There is an old-fashioned thumbnail system to check the gasket. If you can leave a permanent impression on the gasket face with your thumbnail, then you need to change immediately. Because it is too brittle to withstand daily use.
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It is always a better idea to have other replacements for your pressure cooker gasket. Because without the gasket your pressure cooker will not perform accurately and having extra help you to get through a tricky situation. Also, See Mirro’s best mirror 9882000mw m series Gasket.