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Pressure Cooker - which brand to buy?

Juliane_33287

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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Comments

Stuartlaw_622259

Very informative thread.

Kay_Deloach_637775

Not all pressure cookers (i.e Instant Pot, Kuhn Rikon Duromatic, etc.,) were created equal and it can be confusing to know which one is right for you. Don’t just go for the best rated model – find the right one for your needs.

bepcooker_211830

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Randy_Gregory_1432

So, gift for me, but which one;

Kuhn Rikon 3044 Duromatic 8-1/2-Quart Stockpot - 220$Cdn

Kuhn Rikon 3918 Duromatic Top Pressure Cooker 7.4-Quart, Stainless - 250$Cdn

Besides the long handle, any advantage / disadvantage of one or the other? Going for the 8 1/2 qt, after rereading all comments above Thanks!

jondrak

Sorry my bad. Somehow I forgot to past the link. Here it is: http://www.kapp.com.tr/EN_en/cooking.html?0

tshewman

@Jondrak my apologies, but which one is "this one"? I have a 8qt Kuhn Rikon and really like it, but for larger batches, I pull out my 24 qt regular stock pot. Makes the house smell great for 3 days with the 3 step veal stock, but after making a brown chicken and veggie stocks and with the pressure cooker, I definitely see the benefit.

jondrak

Chris if you want a bigger pressure cooker you can get this one I think. They are made using stainless steal not aluminium and get to 23 liters big. The can get to 12 psi only thoug. And also I have no idea if you can get them in US. I am looking for a pressure cooker myself and will probably buy this 18 liters one.

Keep up the great work.

Chris_Young_80640

@James — IMO, no.

james.denissen

Quick qestion on the Kuhn Rikon models: The Duromatic Family Style 8 Qt is $420 and the Duromatic Stockpot 8 Qt is $250. Is the extra width of the "Family Style" really worth $170?

pgcath

Kuhn Rikon. I had a Fagor, and I have cooked with everything down to the Presto.

If you use your pressure cooker, and you can afford it, Get the Kuhn Rikon - get the biggest you can afford, or two, if you can afford that.

ttpoker

I have a Kuhn that I love, and a Fagor Futoro 10 Quart stock pot that I hate. The Fagor has leaked from the handle from the moment I got it, because of this it can be very hard to maintain pressure at the lowest temperatures and I have lower yields. I just ordered a replacement gasket, if this doesn't make a difference then I will replace it with a second Kuhn. I would not recommend the Fagor Futuro 10 Quart to anyone, once you go Kuhn, its hard to even consider using the Fagor.

carolmelancon

I like that the Fagor Duo 5-piece set comes with a 4L pan, 8L pan, pressure lid, and glass lid (plus steamer basket for the 8L) so it's not a one trick pony. I don't have too worry too much about scorching on smaller things with the 4L, and the 8L is large enough for a home cook (I can cut up a turkey carcass to fit).

specialk22tt

I have a Fissler 10.5 qt and I'm thrilled with it. It's made with high quality and works on induction too.

Michael_Peo_65900

I'll chip in with my appreciation of WMF, and add weight to @Chris recommendations about going large.
I recently got a hold of a WMF 8.5L and it really feels like good quality. I have had it for about 6 months now and have used it about 15 times.
Regarding size: I have cooked stock of the carcasses of up to 5 (wild/smaller) ducks at a time without problems, and other times made very small amounts of purrees and soups, as small as half a portion of of the famous Caramelized Carrot Soup. The only drawback due to size i can think of, is cleaning.
PS: Have you considered a pressure pan? I have been slightly annoyed about the rather small base of my pot, making browning before cooking a multi step thing.
I hope you will have as much fun with and use of your pressure cooker as i am having.

Chris_Young_80640

@Yan — The problem with All American is that they are raw aluminum, rather than steel or coated. The raw aluminum can react with food, which will sometimes discolor the food. The other problem is that reacting raw aluminum with food is suspected to cause some health problems. This is discussed a bit earlier in the thread.

They also don't work on induction, since aluminum is not ferrous. But if induction isn't important, you can take them to an anodization shop (most towns have places that do this and it's pretty cheap) and have them hard-anodized so that they don't react with food. I agree that their size and price can't be beat.

ygarzon

All American.....rules

Sumit__65166

i've had few pressure cookers. as i grew up in india it was a common kitchen item, and i've witness few explosions when i was a kid.

3-4yrs ago, i upgraded to wmf perfect ultra 4.5l from scanpan 6.5l i had a very long time.

i love the timing feature on it, and it looks good too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovlQ4sd82I0

Mike_Minh_Truong_54120

@Meredith

I have owned a fissler for the last 5 years. It's been extremely quiet and easy to operate. Not once did I get butterflies in my stomach when the pressure was at the highest. You'll be happy. The only mistake I made was not purchasing their largest capacity model.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Good to know.

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."

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.

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

Brendan_Lee_56950

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

tuckatodd

@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!

seijoed

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/

seijoed

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

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?

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.

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.

Brandon__67713

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