Pressure Cooker - which brand to buy?

Hi there, I'm planning to buy a pressure cooker and need some recommendations - which brand is the best?

I've heard lots of good things about the Kuhn-Rikon and that it's the only model suitable for induction cookers. Over here in Germany the WMF and Tefal brands are also very popular (having a timer and much more features).

What kind of experiences did you make with your pressure cooker? What feautures should I be looking/ considering?

Thanks in advance,
Juliane

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polkachef74

Kuhn Rikon is not the only model that works on induction cookers. I have a Fagor 10 qt. Duo and use it all the time on my induction burner. I've never used a Kuhn Rikon before so I can't comment about it. However I use my Fagor often and has produced VERY consistent results every time.

Chris_Young_80640

@Juliane We're big fans of Kuhn Rikon pressure cookers. I highly recommend splurging and getting the 12 liter model.

Brian_Hostetler_33265

Have you considered an electric pressure cooker? We went that route for the convenience, but found it difficult to find an electric cooker that hit the required 15 PSI. We accidentally purchased a model that used to be 15 PSI, but the current revision (ours) does not go beyond 10 PSI. Oops. However, the Deni 9780 Oval-Shaped 8-1/2-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker (check Amazon) does appear to hit 15 PSI.

Patrick_Ancillotti_6135

@Chris: How big would you go?

Chris_Young_80640

Biggest pressure cooker that is not raw aluminum that I know of is 12 liters. That's the one I have.

You'll find pressure canners that are much bigger, but these are made from raw aluminum and so I cannot recommend cooking in them directly. Years ago I tried to convince Kuhn Rikon to produce something like a 20 liter pressure cooker, but they declined, said there wouldn't be a market.

Patrick_Ancillotti_6135

@Chris: So you'd go as big as you could? There seem to be models ranging from a few quarts to the 12 quart one.

Chris_Young_80640

Big as possible, you can always run these pots nearly empty, but the first time you try to put an entire turkey carcass into your 8 quart pressure cooker to make stock from the remains of a holiday feast, you'll be wishing you hadn't skimped. Just saying...

Patrick_Ancillotti_6135

@Chris: good to know! The 12 quart one looks good too! Do you perchance know if you guys are thinking about selling that stuff?

yznbrgrt

The Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Cooks Illustrated had a very good article on pressure cookers, including pressure and temperature measurements. They also discussed electric models. I believe it's available online. I have a Kuhn Rikon 5.25 qt. and agree with Chris, it's too small. Had barely enough room to do the Red Wine Glaze from MCH.

Jack_Mayer_85396

I've had the Kuhn-Rikon 7L model for many years and have been very happy with it. As I read more about making stocks in a pressure cooker, I think bigger would be better. KR makes a 12L model (almost $400 on Amazon).

Chris_Young_80640

Yes, this is the one I have and highly recommend. Not cheap, but I can't live without it: http://amzn.to/WbiGJB

Mike_Minh_Truong_54120

In case you're still deciding. I am a very happy owner of a fissler.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

I got an 8qt Fagor for less than 100 the other day,

Haven't used a Kuhn but was very pleased with the results

I had on the simple Fagor.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

Own the 12L Kuhn-Rikon for stock and big items - I would find it hard to live without it.

My only 4L size pot died last year and the wife let me get the Kuhn-Rikon 5L as the replacement. I use this one 3-4 times a week, not always as a pressure cooker.

They are both expensive pots, but when I look at the cost benefit, the per use cost for each of these pots, over their expected lifetime, is in the pennies.

Joshua_Sharp_47919

I own a Kuhn-Rikon 8-1/2-quart stockpot and I love it, one of the most used items in my kitchen. I use it as a pressure cooker, big pot, and until recently it was my go to container for use with my polysciense immersion circulator, which it was the perfect size for.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

The cooker I got suddenly has me back to using it - I had a useless "electronic" one before, it never got enough pressure up I think.

Just did a fantastic chicken stock in 30 minutes - I realize I've been missing out a few years.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Brian Hostetler I bought this for the challenge, if I was going to buy long term - sure I want a Kuhn, this one still has 10 years warranty and pulverized the bones I've tossed in there so far - I've had 2 of those electronic ones now - crap

Brandon__67713

what is definitive study that cooking in aluminum is bad heath wise?

Brendan_Lee_56950

i dont' think that's the issue @brandon, I think it's the fact that raw aluminum is that it scorches like mad and is hard to cook well in.

Brandon__67713

Ahh, I assumed after some google searches that what I kept reading about and assumed that was the issue.

Chris_Young_80640

@Brandon There are some health concerns about cooking foods, especially lower pH foods in raw aluminum. I haven't looked at the literature in a while, but there were some connections with Alzheimer's disease. I believe Harold McGee has looked at this a bit more and discusses it in On Food and Cooking (I'm traveling right now, so I can't go check).

@Brendan_Lee Scorching is mostly a function of hot spots and relates almost entirely to the thickness of the material used for the pan. A high quality copper pan is about 2.5mm thick, and will heat fairly evenly. Aluminum can perform just as well if you size is to 7mm thick. The big aluminum pressure canners are about this thick.

The concept is called equivalent thickness and takes into account the diffusivity of the material, which in turn takes into account conductivity and specific heat of the material.

Jack_Ostrowski_46259

I run a food manufacturing company. We have used and still use All American Pressure Canners. They are gasketless and easy to use. They are Al and I am not sure how thy will work with an induction top. They are also quite heavy.

merridith

Sur La Table just started carrying a brand called Fissler. It is supposed to be excellent and works on all cooking surfaces. I am thinking about this one: surlatable.com/product/PRO-1036797/Fissler-Vitaquick-Pressure-Pan-Set Anybody have any thoughts about this brand?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Just reading a little it seems that Kuhn and Fagor have better representation in the states, I thought that looked a bit expensive compared to a Kuhn too?

You can get a much larger Kuhn for very little less.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx20DX5GEB7TUX8&cdThread=Tx3D1KNJGWRSFBF

Johan_Edstrom_5586

This might also affect decisions -

Like all Fissler pressure cookers, the Vitaquick also has two pressure settings of “low” and “high”. The low setting reaches 5.8 psi (pounds per square inch) and high at 11.6 psi. The low setting is for cooking foods that require lower temperature such as vegetables and seafood. Higher setting is ideal for anything else such as meats, bones, stocks, etc.

I think the Kuhn is 15 psi.

From here - http://deliciousunderpressure.com/best-pressure-cooker-2013-200-to-300/

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

@Chris I just read your post mentioning On Food and Cooking by Harold Mcgee. My chef turned me onto this book last year and I think it is a must for every chef. So much information!

Brendan_Lee_56950

Yeah, your going to want 15psi as a high point otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Laura_Pazzaglia_Simmarano_77236

Juliane, did you get your pressure cooker yet? Most pressure cookers have universal bases that work on ceramic, electric, induction and - of course- gas. Pressure canners and aluminum cookers DO NOT work on induction base. The induction element needs a magnetic metal to excite heat and unless the aluminum base is encased in another metal, they will not work on induction.

I recommend you stay away from aluminum pressure cookers, anyway. The metal is reactive and that will limit the kinds of things you can pressure cook in it.

Ciao,

L

Matt_H_63094

I can definitely vote in favour of the Kuhn Rikon models as well. I have a 12 litre and It's outstanding. I used to have to scale for evaporation that would come out of my old PC, but there's practically none from the Kuhn version. It's more or less silent, and the build quality is exceptional.

Worth every penny.

merridith

@Brendan @Johan I wrote to Fissler and they say:

"The Vitaquick operates at 9-11 PSI on the low setting and 13-15 PSI on the high setting. At normal altitude, it would be 11 and 15. Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen recently tested all pressure cookers in the US and have found that only the Vitaquick actually reaches 15 PSI under pressure."