So I’m going to college this upcoming fall and I will be eating a lot from my dorm rather than paying for the meal plan. So I was wondering if it was feasible to secretly use an electric pressure cooker? And what would be the chances that I’d get caught? Also possible consequences.
In my experience, dorms usually have a common kitchen somewhere in the building.
Pressure cookers have a bad rep these days. Is there anything else that you could use to cook with?
@JustOneDad well the standard stuff like a microwave, but I’ve been using pressure cookers for years now and I thought it would be better than something like a toaster oven or an electric stovetop. What would you suggest if anything would be best to have even if it is against the rules.
@Pancaked I wish we had that but not at my school.
Well, lots of students make do with a hotpot or any of the old standbys.
I’m curious what a pressure cooker is needed for. Must be terrible to clean.
@JustOneDad it is but the taste is worth it. So in your experience if I were to get caught with something like that what would be the consequence?
Hotplate and toaster oven are the usual suspects. Few people know how to cook properly with a pressure cooker. Usually an offense results in confiscation, nothing more serious. As with anything, you may want to find options that are allowed before trying to figure out what is not technically allowed, but permissible. It will be way more fun that way. Perhaps you can store/use your pressure cooker in a common area, but not within the dorm room itself?
@ItsJustSchool Thanks, and I am moving in in three weeks so ill inquire about it once there.
In my experience, anything that can generate excessive heat such as a hot plate are not allowed. Your experience may vary though. You may want to ask whether these items are permitted within residence halls. Without any doubt, you could sneak in a pressure cooker. People smuggle weed in all the time–not that they should though. I would say you could probably smuggle one in, but you’d have to get creative with hiding it if you’d like to keep it. I don’t think a pressure cooker would fit very well inside the drawers underneath a dorm bed.
In case you forgot, pressure cookers have been used to make some notable terrorist bombs recently. The results of having one could vary anywhere from an onsite SWAT bomb squad demonstration to mild disapproval for bad choices.
Maybe college is a good opportunity to try some new ways of doing things.
I completely agree with @JustOneDad. Pressure cookers were used by the Tsarnaev brothers (one of which was a college student) during the Boston Marathon bombing. Leave the pressure cooker at home and learn how to use a microwave. I know when I was in college hot plates, toasters, etc were not allowed but microwaves were.
At my kids’ college, there was benign neglect of certain things (like microwaves) that were technically prohibited. I agree with the others, though, that it not a good idea to bring a pressure cooker, unless you learn that there is a student kitchen where you could store and use it openly.
A contraband pressure cooker is going to raise red flags the way a contraband microwave won’t.
Even assuming you could get away with using a pressure cooker in your dorm room, where/how would you do the prep work necessary to get the food ready to be cooked? Where would you keep the utensils and how would you store the food, both pre and post cooking? Dorm rooms are small; dorm refrigerators are tiny. Are you planning to slice onions on the desktop and keep a rack of seasonings on the bookcase? Wash dishes in the shower? And if you have a roommate, how do you think he/she will feel about your turning your room into a kitchen? How do think the rest of the residents of your floor will feel about the cooking aromas emanating from your room? Imagine the vegetarians and vegans having to deal with the smell of your chicken dinner! The whole idea is ridiculous.
@MommaJ well I’m talking about simple dishes which I’ve made multiple times. And the pressure cooker I’m talking about is one of those electric ones that whenever you need to wash them you just take out a shell like part. Also my roomates are two friends from high school and they’re totally fine with it. I mean I would sometimes use it to actually cook using pressure but the specific one that I’m thinking about buying is an automatic rice cooker and also makes beans, as well as having an option to use it as a pan or a skillet. The real reason I want it is because it can do so much in one machine and it won’t take up much space. And about the vegan/vegetarians or anyone for that matter I would do my best to keep the auroma in my room. I’m surprised that out of all the people on this forum no one has ever tried it before or even met someone who has. IF SOMEONE HAS DONE IT BEFORE PLEASE GIVE SOME ADVICE ON WHETHER OT WOULD REALLY FACILITATE THINGS FOR ME!!!
Dude… Just leave the darn rice cooker at home. You’re going to end up in some hot water with all this sloppy preparation.
There tend to be rules for reasons.
If heat generating appliances are against the rules, it’s probably because of the risk of fire.
(though I’ve got to ask: exactly how are you going to keep the aroma in your room? And away from your roommate’s half of the room??)
The rules that apply to every student on campus also apply to you.
Plan B: Why not earn some money this summer and get the meal plan?
Does your dorm allow microwaves? Many do these days. You can then buy a microwave rice cooker. You can also cook beans in a microwave. I realize a pressure cooker is better, but unless there is a common area/kitchen, it is a bad idea for the reasons already stated.
I’ve never heard of a dorm which didn’t allow a microwave. In fact, many colleges rent them out to students.
I don’t know your personal habits, but you may be overestimating how much you’d really want to be cooling yourself meals every day when you already have a pretty full schedule.
Read the dorm policies and follow them. Period.