Pressure cooking does create small amounts of acrylamide but not a significant amount of acrylamide, which makes pressure cooking a safe and lower acrylamide cooking method, when compared to frying or roasting foods.
Pressure cooking utilizes moisture and often stays around 248 F, which prevents the high heat, dry or charred conditions that 248 F that trigger the formation of acrylamide.
Pressure cookers use water and steam, which keep food moist and acrylamide forms primarily in foods rich in starch during dry heat methods such as frying, roasting or baking and while acrylamide formation begins around 248 F, the most environment of a pressure cooker inhibits the production of acrylamide.
Acrylamide doesn't really begin to form much until at least 250 F and pressure cookers make water boil to 240 F degrees.
Cooking in a pressure cooker does destroy nutrients in food as pressure cooking can result in the food losing nutrients and could even leach metals from older pressure cookers into foods and even possibly introduce toxins from worn gaskets and there's a risk of creating Advanced Glycation End Products as a result of high heat.
Although this is also true of other high heat cooking methods like frying or baking.
Heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C and folate can degrade when pressure cooking, but much of this can also be recovered by also consuming the cooking liquid, as the nutrients leach into the cooking liquid.
Using pressure cookers can be okay for your health, but the key is mindful use of the pressure cooker, using quality cookware and incorporating the cooking liquid back into the foods to help retain nutrients.
The disadvantages of a pressure cooker is that you cannot add ingredients during cooking, cannot poke the meat during cooking to see if it's tender and it can require a steep learning curve to use the pressure cooker properly and safely.
Other disadvantages of a pressure cooker are that they can result in difficulty in adjusting your recipes and require less liquid and longer thickening for some recipes, a potential loss of some water soluble nutrients and difficulty browning or caramelizing of foods.
There's also some safety concerns and issues with older models of pressure cookers or improper use, such as overfilling the pressure cooker or rapid steam release.
You also need to make sure that the vent hole is clear and not clogged as it can lead to a dangerous build up of pressure and steam and could result in the pressure cooker exploding and causing injuries or severe burns.
And foods can also become mushy or overcooked easily in a pressure cooker and the flavors may blend instead of developing separately.
With a pressure cooker, it's also hard to get a good sear or caramelize foods and can result in watery sauces.
Pressure cooking requires extra steps to thicken up sauces as there's no evaporation and the intense heat of the pressure cooker can cause the flavors to meld, instead of develop distinctly and it's also easy to overcook delicate foods or proteins and lead to mushy textures.
The total time of pressure cooking is not just cooking time as you must also factor in the time it takes to build pressure and release pressure and recipes also need significant alteration like less liquid, different seasonings etc and pressure cookers can also be fiddly and require learning to manage steam release.
The high heat and steam of pressure cookers can lead to nutrient loss in foods and degrade some water soluble vitamins and minerals.
And with pressure cooking there's also some concerns about metal ions leeching into your food and pressure cooking can also make some foods undesirably soft or destroy the texture, especially with vegetables.
And the sealing rings of pressure cookers also need cleaning and maintenance.
Foods that should not be pressure cooked are delicate foods which turn into mush like leafy greens and fish, dairy foods and dairy products like cream, milk, cheese which can curdle and foods that are prone to clogging valves or foaming like applesauce, pasta and oats.
And even thick sauces, fried foods, breaded meats and rapid cooking vegetables should not be pressure cooked due to the safety risks and or poor texture.
Dairy products like, cream, milk and yogurt and cheese should not be pressure cooked or cooked under pressure because they will curdle, separate or even burn.
Delicate seafood should also not be pressure cooked as the delicate seafood like shellfish, shrimp and fish are just too fragile for high pressure cooking and will turn into rubbery, mushy or stringy bits.
Fried foods are unsafe to cook in a pressure cooker because the high pressure and steam of the pressure cooker will cause the oil to splatter.
And any breaded meats that are cooked in a pressure cooker will become soggy instead of crispy and thick liquids or sauces like gravy, should not be pressure cooked as they can prevent proper steam generation and result in burning on the bottom.
Foaming foods like cranberries, oatmeal, applesauce, split peas and pearl barely can also foam up and block the pressure release valve on the pressure cooker which is dangerous as the steam cannot escape the pressure cooker like it should.
Pasta and noodles should not be pressure cooked as pasta and noodles will cook too fast and often result in a gummy and overcooked texture.
And quick cooking vegetables like leafy greens such as kale, spinach, broccoli, and asparagus should not be pressure cooked as they will become instantly overcooked and turn into mush.
Cooking food in a pressure cooker can lead to overcooking and a mushy texture, loss of nutrients, flavor limitation, safety hazards, inappropriate for frying and can be difficult with timing.
When cooking foods in a pressure cooker, it's impossible for you to add ingredients during the pressure cooking process, and the time that is required to pressure cook and for pressure to build and release can also be inconvenient for foods that you need quick cooking times for.
If the pressure cooker sealing gasket is old or the vent on the pressure cooker is blocked, it can lead to the pressure cooker malfunctioning and can lead to hot food splashing out, which can be dangerous.
Pressure cookers are also not good for frying foods in such as French Fries, chicken etc with oil as the high pressure and steam will cause the hot oil to splatter.
And because the pressure cooker pot is sealed, it does not allow for evaporation, which can result in blander flavors and prevent sauces from thickening up.
And although pressure cookers are efficient, the high temperatures of the pressure cookers can destroy heat sensitive nutrients like folate and Vitamin C, which can make the foods less nutritious.
And cooking delicate foods like leafy greens, soft vegetables and pasta in the pressure cooker can result in the delicate foods easily turning into mush.
And cooking foods like eggs in the pressure cookers can result in the eggs cracking and create a mess.
Pressure cookers are great for some foods, like soups, stews and tough cuts of meats as long as the pressure cooker is operated properly and safely.
But pressure cookers are not good for all kinds of foods.
Even many top chefs don't use pressure cookers for reasons which include.
They are just hard to control and adjust, as compared to techniques chefs like.
Chefs are very used to constantly tasting and making small adjustments.
The braising liquid doesn't reduce in a pressure cooker, so you need a lot of time after to a usable sauce out of it.