Stainless Steel Pot

I am extremely pleased with this item. I learned how to pressure cook with this pot, and now I can have osso buco ready in well under an hour; and I actually prefer it done in the pressure cooker!

Get a Lorna Sass cookbook and go to town with this baby. My only caveat: I usually cook for just two or three, and the size of this pot is fine for that. Most recipes are written for a six quart pressure cooker anyway. Still, there are a few times I wish the cooker was a little bigger so I could cook a larger volume–making stock, for instance, or making a big batch of chili.

If you’re cooking for more than a few, you might consider the 8 qt model. That’s not a criticism of this pot at all–I wouldn’t part with it. It’s a tool in my kitchen which I use often, sometimes several times a week. Highly recommended.

This is my second pressure cooker. My first was a Fagor of the same size that I bought about 10 years ago and finally started to not work well.

This one is so much easier to use. It’s easy to see when the proper amount of pressure is built up and I like the fact that it isn’t as heavy as my first one. This allows it to cool down naturally within a reasonable amount of time. It’s also easier to open and close. I can see why people love this brand. I just ordered and received my second Kuhn Rikon cooker, a 4 quart version so that I can cook two things at the same time that require different cooking times.

I made perfect brown rice in 20 minutes and it didn’t stick to the bottom like it does in my rice cooker. Since it takes about 45 minutes in the rice cooker, I doubt that I’ll ever use that appliance again. It really turned out better in the pressure cooker.

Update 9/29/08 – I’ve been using this and the 4 quart Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker at least a couple times a week since I purchased them. With high energy costs these really save a bundle. I find once the pressure is built up, I can turn the heat on my electric stove down just about to simmer to finish the cooking as opposed to having it on medium or high for a much longer period of time. They still look great after all this use and are very easy to clean. I often make my dogs food in them using chicken, vegetables and rice. It cooks so quickly!

I purchased this pressure cooker as a gift because I have used an identical one for years and can appreciate its value. It’s more expensive than other cookers on the market; however, it will give you many years of fast, healthy cooking! The Kuhn Rikon pressure gauge is lots more accurate than the cheaper-to-manufacture “rocking” gauges. Great little cooker. I highly recommend it.

I was resistant to pressure cooking but once I realized how much energy all my cooking uses, I decided to give this a try and I now couldn’t live without this cooker. It is safe and easy to use and is holding up very well. I bought this several years ago.