• 15 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Pressure Cooker

A stovetop pressure cooker cut through, then an electric one taken apart.

Parts of a Pressure Cooker

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Lid
  2. Body
  3. Lid handle
  4. Body handle
  5. Pressure regulator
  6. Vent pipe
  7. Cover lock
  8. Safety valve
  9. Sealing ring
  10. Rack
  11. Dial gauge
  12. Inner pot
  13. Housing
  14. Control panel
  15. Float valve

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a stove

All 15 parts on the diagram

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Pot and handles 5

  1. Lid Some makers call it the cover.
  2. Body It is heavier than an ordinary pot of the same size. That lets it withstand the pressure.
  3. Lid handle When the lid is locked it sits directly above the body handle.
  4. Body handle Most cookers have a second handle on the opposite side.
  5. Rack Some makers call it a trivet.

On the lid 6

  1. Pressure regulator It rocks or jiggles when the cooker is at full pressure. Also called the weight, jiggler or rocker.
  2. Vent pipe The pressure regulator sits on top of it.
  3. Cover lock When it has dropped, the pressure is gone. Some makers call it the pressure indicator.
  4. Safety valve On many cookers it is a plug in the lid. Called an overpressure plug or a safety plug.
  5. Sealing ring Also called the gasket.
  6. Dial gauge Other canners have a weighted gauge, which shows the pressure by rocking.

Electric cooker 4

  1. Inner pot Some makers call it the removable cooking pot.
  2. Housing The inner pot sits inside it, over the heater.
  3. Control panel It is on the front of the housing.
  4. Float valve When it has dropped back down, the pressure has been released.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, Pressure cooker (text only); National Center for Home Food Preservation, Using Pressure Canners (https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/using_press_canners.html); and makers' manuals read as full text on archive.org: a Presto pressure canner and cooker (https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6990008), a Prestige stovetop cooker (https://archive.org/details/prestige-popular-pressure-cooker-manual), and for the electric cooker a Fullwill (https://archive.org/details/fullwillYLD30-70EManual), a Deni (https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-04463ace-b82f-42ea-85cd-7fa4aaf6a2a3) and a West Bend (https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7377347). No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; a schematic of no maker's cooker, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A pressure cooker is a pot whose lid locks on airtight, so steam builds pressure inside. The drawing cuts a stovetop one through to show what is in the lid, then takes an electric one apart.

Read the full guide

Stovetop first, then electric

Numbers 1 to 4 are the pot: lid, body and the two handles, one above the other. Numbers 5 to 9 are on or in the lid: the pressure regulator on its vent pipe, the cover lock, the safety valve and the sealing ring. Number 10 is the rack in the bottom, and 11 the dial gauge of a pressure canner, drawn beside the cooker. Numbers 12 to 15 are an electric cooker taken apart: inner pot, housing, control panel and float valve.

  • Makers' names differ: lid or cover, sealing ring or gasket, safety valve or overpressure plug, rack or trivet.
  • Safety parts differ by model. Your cooker's manual shows which ones yours has.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a pressure cooker called?

Body, lid and two handles; a sealing ring in the lid; a vent pipe with the pressure regulator on it; a safety valve; a cover lock; and a rack inside. An electric cooker has an inner pot, housing, control panel and float valve.

What are the parts of a pressure canner?

The same as a pressure cooker's, on a larger pot: body, lid, sealing ring, vent pipe, pressure regulator, safety valve, cover lock and rack. Many canners add a dial gauge on the lid to show the pressure.

What is the weight on top of a pressure cooker called?

The pressure regulator. It sits on the vent pipe, and steam lifts it to let extra pressure out, which keeps the pressure steady. People also call it the weight, the jiggler or the rocker.

What does the float valve do on an electric pressure cooker?

It is a small pin in the lid. Pressure pushes it up; when it has dropped back down, the pressure has been released.

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