Pressure Cooker

mandylee · ‎03-15-2010

All,

I have been on the fence about ordering a pressure cooker. However now I am ready.

Any recommendations, likes or dislikes. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Thats Me · ‎03-09-2010

I have 2 and love them both. I can come home and have dinner ready from prep to done in 1/2 hour or so. One is an 8-qt stovetop Technique hard anodized one (not avail. anymore sadly, but you could check ebay ; I LOVE it bc it's simple and easy to use and does not have a nonstick coating. The other one is a digital 6-qt Instant Pot that gets all kinds of rave reviews. I just got it so can't review it yet myself, but can't wait to try it out. It also doesn't have a nonstick coating. That's just my preference.

Get a bigger one than you think you need bc you can't fill it to the stated capacity; 2/3 full is the max because you have to allow space for pressure to build. Offhand I'd say a 6 or an 8 quart size would be good, or larger if you need to be able to make a large quantity.

if you're interested in making beans in one, check the model you're interested in to be sure that it can handle beans. Apparently they foam a lot when cooking and can clog the valve in a pressure cooker.

Get a pressure cooker cookbook to help you out, especially in getting started. Bob Warden's ones are good. Go online and look at Miss Vickie's website for a ton of tips and recipes. It's fun. Hope this helps.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

I love my pressure cooker above all other kitchen gadgets. Although I live alone, I have a 6 qt because I like to eat several days on the leftovers and freeze what I don't eat. I have the Cooks Essentials that was the TSV last fall which I especially like because I can sear my meat in it, and it also works as a slow cooker which enabled me to get rid of my crock pot, a major real estate hog. Best feature...it's turquoise.

I have been using a pressure cooker for 50 years, first the stove top then other electrics and have never had a mishap with one. Follow the instructions.

My favorite thing to make is stewed chicken and big fluffy dumplings, my favorite comfort food.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

kislandlover · ‎09-04-2014

I also bought the 4 qt TSV, and I have cooked at home more than ever, saving a ton of money from not eating out. The 4 qt size is great for two people, often with yummy leftovers. I've used Meredith's cookbook almost front to back. It has changed the drudgery of cooking, and cleanup is a breeze. Good luck to you. I hope you enjoy pressure cooking as much as I have!

hellokitty · ‎03-09-2010

We have two. The Cook's Essentials 4 qt and the 6 qt. At first I didn't want to use either of them because I could see me on a ladder scraping food off my ceiling but that didn't happen.

I just recently canned green beans in the 6 qt and if anyone has ever canned using the stove top pressure cooker/canner they will appreciate the fact that buttons are pushed and you can walk away from that machine until it's time to take the jars out. The downside is I can only process 4 pint jars at a time and in my regular pressure canner I can do up to 8 or 9. As hot as it has been lately I can live with that because my kitchen didn't heat up as much.

For cook books I use Bob Warden's. We did buy the latest Blue Jean Chef one and it has a mix of fancy recipes that I will never use and plain, simple, easy to do recipes which are my favorites.

giddy up · ‎05-30-2011

Stay away from Cooks Essential 4 quart. It has a terrible build quality around the control knob that controls the pressure/steam functionality. Terribly unreliable. I had to send it back. If you want 4 quart try Fa-gor. That was my replacement. Got it at Kohls for around $90 with a discount code. Also sold on Amazon. It has a better made control knob that is easy to set and so far for the last couple of months hasn't given me any trouble coming up to pressure and staying there through the designated cook time.

I also have a 6 quart that I bought here on the Q from Techniques. Had if for a few years now. It has the same kind of control knob as the Fa-gor.... meaning it works. I don't think Techniques is sold here anymore though. It's all about that control knob and how it is designed to work.

chessylady · ‎05-01-2010

I've had my Instant pot for about 9 months. I have never had a problem cooking beans. One tip I read is to put a small amount of vegetable oil to prevent foaming. I have cooked a whole pound of beans, no problem.

Tigriss · ‎03-12-2010

I have an Instant Pot that I got on Prime Day on Amazon for $69.99. I love it. The pot is stainless steel, not non-stick. If I didn't get stainless steel, I would have got the one on Evine or Q that has a ceramic pot instead of the traditional non-stick. MY other two pressure cookers are non-stick and haven't caused an issue but I am very careful with them. One is from HSN by Elite and is 8qts and the other is the WolfGang Puck one from the same place and is 6qts. The new Instant Pot is 6 qts. I'm doing yogurt today in the IP since it does have that function.