What process does pressurization actively seek to prevent during flavor development in sauces?

Gradual evaporation and concentration of volatile compounds.

Flavor development in slow cooking, such as simmering a sauce base for hours, relies heavily on gradual evaporation. This evaporation process concentrates volatile flavor compounds, leading to a deeper, more integrated profile over time. Pressure cooking, by sealing the environment, actively seeks to prevent this evaporation. Consequently, speeding up a slow-simmer recipe—for example, reducing a two-hour simmer to 20 minutes under pressure—changes the fundamental chemical interactions, often resulting in a final product that is chemically cooked but yields a thinner, less integrated flavor profile because the necessary concentration steps could not occur.