I'm normally not this air headed, but yesterday I made an absolute mess in my pressure cooker. I was trying to make some chicken, along with some black beans and rice. First off, I discovered that plastic bowls will completely melt flat in a pressure cooker. I guess I though they were heat proof since I've cooked with them many a times in my microwave. So my bowl of spanish rice I had on the wire rack above the other stuff was a lost and reeked of melted plastic. At the bottom of the pot, I had the genius idea of cooking some black beans (dried) along with my chicken. I forgot that they give off a lot of dark liquid, which completely stained the chicken making it look awful. Not to mention the chicken was overcooked and the beans weren't done. I had to throw the whole thing out and make something else, lol. Ever totally ruin something in a pressure cooker?
Plastic is ok in a microwave because it gives of waves that don't affect the plastic. Direct heat is applied to a pressure cooker like any other thing over fire. Next time watch videos online before you use something new. it will save you much trouble.
The thing is though, there was no direct heat on the bowl. It was propped up on a wire rack that came with the pressure cooker. So it wasn't touching the bottom or the sides of it at all. There probably are heat resistant plastic bowls that would work inside it, but for now I am just going to stick with metal bowls.
Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry you had a bad experience, but I have to admit, it made for an interesting and entertaining read, not to mention educational. I've been wanting to experiment with a pressure cooker, so this serves as a good warning for me.
