There’s a trend right now to add an Instant-Pot to our kitchen appliances. They are electric and programmable. Big marketing is pushing the trend, but basically, it’s a pressure cooker. Cooks used them a lot for canning or for quick cooking to tenderize tougher meats.
My sister ended up with Mom’s collection of vintage pressure cooker manuals after she passed away in 2014. Gail and Clyde had multiple pressure cookers that they used for canning produce from their large garden, but those were sold at auction. “I hope whoever bought them gets them checked out for safety at the local extension office!” remarked my sister.
Vintage pressure cooker booklets collected by Gail and Clyde Martin. Photo by Karen Kolavalli.
“I took some photos because I think they’re pretty cool! They range in date from 1946 to 1972 and include Presto, Wear-Ever, Mirro-Matic and Montgomery Ward’s. There’s even a hardcover Mirro Cook Book (1954, 4th Edition) with a chapter on pressure cooking. These books are well-worn (to say the least!), but fun to have and look through—a veritable history of American mid-century pressure cookers. Karen”
Here’s one of their pressure cookers. It’s pretty vintage too, but they still canned with it. Even into their eighties, they were still canning.
Discovering Mom 
We never had a pressure cooker when I was a child but my mother-in-law gave me her old one in the 1970s. I bought myself a new one on the ’80s or ’90s and found it invaluable for quick meals. I still use it but rarely refer to the cookbook. I must get it out and look for new ways to use it. Thanks for the post. Most interesting.
LikeLike
I bet those booklets bring back tons of memories. I can imagine sniffing them for hints of your parent’s kitchen.
My folks did all their canning in the old water bath method. Mom feared blowing up a pressure cooker, so it was my daughter who turned me onto the ease of using one. With no room for one more pot, I gave away my slow cooker and set a six-in-1 in its place. I use all the features except the rice cooker. Some days I use it twice, so it’s been a good investment.
LikeLike
We ended up buying a pressure cooker a few months ago, but it does scare me a bit. I need to work past that, as it sounds like such a time saver for some meats.
LikeLike