Disadvantages of Pressure cookers

Pressure cookers are considerably more expensive than conventional saucepans of the same size. The additional gasket requires special care when cleaning, unlike a standard lid for a saucepan. The gasket/sealing ring needs replacing when it is worn out. If the gasket cannot provide an airtight seal and steam leaks around the lid, even when the gasket is fitted properly, the pressure cooker may not build up the pressure inside and the gasket needs replacing with a new one. The gasket should not be allowed to dry-out as this will make it much harder to open and close the lid; however, the gasket can be smeared with cooking oil to alleviate this. Any signs of wear on a gasket means a new one is required.

In order to inspect the progress of food cooked in a pressure cooker, the cooking process needs to be halted and the cooker opened. With a conventional saucepan, this can be done in a matter of seconds by removing the lid or just visual inspection, if cooking without the lid on.

The risk of scalding from escaping steam is greater with a pressure cooker, as the temperature is above the 100 degrees Celsius at which water boils at sea level in conventional cooking.

The increased weight of a pressure cooker makes them unsuitable for applications where saving weight is a priority, such as camping.

A minimum quantity of liquid is required to create and maintain pressure, as indicated in the manufacturer's instruction manual, with more liquid required for longer cooking times. This is not desirable if less liquid is required, however, recipes and books for pressure cookers take this into account.