(a) Advantages of cooking food in pressure cooker are:
1. Most nutrients are retained in pressure . cooking.
2. Foods get optimally cooked.
Example: Bengal gram requires pressure cooking to get completely cooked.
3. Taste and flavour are retained in pressure cooking.
4. It saves time and fuel making cooking process easy and quick.
5. It uses less water than conventional boiling method by using steam under pressure.
6. Multiple foods can be cooked at a time.
7. It makes the food sterile and safe by using steam under high pressure.
(b) Merits of cooking food are:
1. Cooking makes the food easily digestible by converting long chain molecules to short chain molecules.
2. It destroys the anti-nutritional factors that inhibit availability of nutrients.
3. It helps to release many nutrients from complexes, making them easily available upon digestion.
Demerits of cooking food are:
1. Cooking destroys heat sensitive nutrients.
Example : Vitamin C.
2. Over cooking of food may lead to production of carbon products that are harmful to health.
3. If the water used for cooking is discarded, the water soluble nutrients and flavours are lost.
