††A pressure cooker is a closed pot in which food is cooked quickly in water under pressure and at a higher temperature than normal.
In 1682 Denis Papin invented the "steam digester", a kind of pressure cooker which could make gelatin from animal bones. A modern version based on this earlier invention was developed by Frederic, Jean and Henri Lescure in 1954.
Modern pressure cookers have quick-sealing lids and safety valves that can be adjusted to vary the steam pressure inside. In the home, the pressure cooker has largely been replaced by the microwave oven.
