Cuisinart CPC-600 1000-Watt 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker, Brushed Stainless and Matte Black
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart CPC-600 1000-Watt 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker, Brushed Stainless and Matte Black
Customer Review: Works like a hot damn!
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, I know all about how stove-top pressure cookers are great savers of time and nutrients. I know they are safe. I understand all about the gaskets and the pressure-release safety features. But I have never, ever, in my forty-year dinner cooking career felt comfortable in the kitchen with a pressure cooker rattling on the stove. I lived in fear of baked beans flying like shrapnel, and applesauce on the kitchen ceiling. Irrational, I know, but nope, there was to be no pressure cooker in this cook's kitchen!
Then my sister got a Cuisinart Electric Pressure cooker, and, on hearing the rave reviews, I buckled under the pressure and sprang for the machine. And I LOVE this appliance! The electric controls mean that there's no danger of its overheating or boiling dry. Set it going, and you can relax and walk away. When the cycle is done, it automatically switches to "keep warm". Dandy.
It cooks at the same pressure as non-electric pressure cookers, so whatever recipe you want to use will work. The cookbook that is included is excellent: it has a wide variety of recipes that illustrate basic pressure cooker techniques.
After a week of enjoying it, I gave up putting it away, and it now lives on the counter. I use it for soups, stews, making stock, cooking ribs, pot roasts and lamb shanks ... and all are quickly prepared and delicious. When cooking stews, I particularly like browning the meat in the deep pot: splashes and splatters don't end up all over the stove. Speaking of clean up, the deep pot is non-stick coated and cleans very easily. The only nuisance factor in the design is cleaning the channel in which the lid sits: from time to time, it needs to be wiped out with a cloth wrapped around a dinner knife. Oh well.
Despite my sister's enthusiasm, I read a lot of reviews for this pressure cooker before buying. People either seemed to love this pressure cooker, or they claimed it didn't work. No in-between. I suspected that the "didn't work" crowd probably needed to read the instructions, so I ordered. In the beginning, I did have a couple of failures: failures to follow instructions on my part, that is! And indeed, when you don't follow the instructions, don't be surprised if it doesn't work. For instance, you must make sure there is enough liquid in the pot (at least one cup) to generate enough steam to bring the pressure up. And the safety valve / rocker thingy must be seated in the correct position, or the steam just escapes. Other than that, it's pretty much idiot proof.
Along with my automatic drip coffee pot, and my electric frypan, this appliance is one of my kitchen favorites. For ease of use, convenience and safety, it can't be beat.
Customer Review: Absolutely perfect... except for the non-stick interior
Summary: 1 Stars
*** I am changing my review from 5 stars to 1 star... because this product will KILL YOU. If that sounds absurdly melodramatic to you, please do more research into non-stick coating and the toxins they release at normal cooking temperatures. Google PFOAs and PTFEs. Ask anyone whose pet bird has died because they cooked with a Teflon pan. (If it kills birds who just inhale the fumes, what on earth is it doing to us?!) If Cuisinart will ever offer a replacement cooking pot made of stainless steel or other non-poisonous material, I will happily change this back to a 5-star review. Until then, PLEASE do not buy this... not unless you have a death wish.
*** original review ***
I bought this, my very first pressure cooker, giddy to try pressure cooking. I spotted this and decided I must try it. I was a bit intimidated before using it, but it was much easier than I expected (and needless to say, I was amazed at the quick cook times -- obviously that's the big charm of a pressure cooker).
I fell in love with it the first time I used it, for several reasons:
- It's incredibly user-friendly, especially for a pressure-cooking newbie
- I love the versatility of the other modes, such as being able to brown your chicken right in the cooker before pressure-cooking
- It's quiet and relatively compact for a 6-qt. machine
- It's BEAUTIFUL and goes gorgeously with my other Cuisinart stainless steel appliances
With great reluctance and sorrow, I've decided to give the cooker away to a relative, for one reason only: the non-stick coating. (And yes, I absolutely should have realized that the interior had non-stick coating before purchasing and certainly before using it!) I am recovering from a disease which I feel certain was caused in part by certain chemicals such as decades of slowly-chipping-off Teflon coating. I've read that non-stick coating is especially vulnerable to leaching into food at high temperatures (which certainly applies to a pressure cooker). Whether that's true or not, with my recent illness, I am unwilling to take chances with my health... even though it kills me to have to give up this little gem of an appliance.
If there is a replacement interior pot available that is only stainless steel without non-stick coating, I would love to know about it (I haven't been able to find such an item online). Until then, I must sadly give up this wonderful appliance. I couldn't give this item less than 5 stars, however, knowing that the appliance itself is most certainly worth 5 stars and then some... and I realize that most people prefer non-stick coating for the incredible ease and convenience of clean-up.
Customer Review: So Far, No Good
Summary: 1 Stars
I was hesitant to order this product because the reviews were so mixed. But we are trying to eat healthier, including adding more beans and legumes to our diet, so I really wanted to try this appliance thinking it would be a great timesaver. First, I agree with all the reviewers who noted that the instructions that came with this appliance are horrible. The first time I used it there was steam escaping everywhere, because I had no idea how to position the cover properly (and also had no idea that steam wasn't supposed to be escaping). So here's the scoop: look to the left of the digital display and you will see an indentation in the rim of the appliance (near the left handle). Position the cover near the indentation and then turn the cover until the little silver pin (at the front of the cover) goes in (is no longer sticking out). But this is only half the battle. I still have had trouble getting the machine to come up to pressure, getting the pressure valve to work properly and getting the timer to set and count down properly (other reviewers have also had these same complaints). The few times the pressure cooker did work properly for me, the food results were mediocre at best. Risotto that was so, so. Swiss steak that was technically tender, but had no depth of flavor. The sauce tasted bland and watery as though the flavors did not have time to develop and meld together properly. And I've found that cooking beans in the pressuer cookers is more difficult then using a crock pot or conventional oven. I made red beans (quick soaked) that I had to keep on simmer for about two hours because they were not even near to being cooked in the time recommended. And the end result was half the beans cooked properly and the other half were crunchy (and again so, so flavor). Today I made navy beans (with the hope of having Boston baked beans). I soaked those overnight and even though I used the Cuisanart cookbook and the shortest recommended cooking time they turned into unusable mush. I made a white bean puree with some of them but ended up throwing most of the bland, mushy beans away (fortunately beans are relatively inexpensive). I guess the bottom line is I need to (sadly) return this product because it is just not reliable. And timing when food will be ready is virtually impossible, because there's no way of knowing how long it will take for the cooker to get up to pressure (if ever) and how long it will take the pressure to release when cooking is done. I'm an experienced cook, and am finding this product very difficult to use. I knew there would be a learning curve when it came to pressure cooking, but I think the product itself has some real technical problems.Customer Review: Cuisinart Pressure Cooker
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this pressure cooker after doing a lot of research and price checking. I was a little hesitant because of the negative reviews with getting the PC up to pressure. I am glad that I went ahead with the purchase.
First impressions out of the box, were like most reviewers, negative because of the manual. However, they are sufficient enough that you should be able to figure out the operation of the PC. One hint, do not use the quick start guide, but refer to the full instruction booklet. I had difficulty moving from the browning feature to pressure cooking because the quick start guide left out a step. You must cancel the browning, reset to pressure cook, set timer and THEN hit start.
I have not had any issues with getting up to pressure. I simply make sure the pressure valve is horizontal to the handle like others have suggested. The manual says to make sure the dots line up, but I find the horizontal trick works better. The valve fits loosely, so just make sure it is square to the lid and lined up correctly and you should be good.
The food that comes out of this machine is awesome. I am new to pressure cooking but am a fairly good cook. The first thing I made was a pot roast and it was tender and the vegetables were perfect. The quick release feature is nice for adding vegetables in at the end of cooking. Beans come out tender and so fast. I do soak my beans first. One more negative with the manual is with the recipes. While the cooking times have been spot on, the recipes are somewhat suspect. I cooked great northern beans (1 lb.) and the recipe booklet said to add 8 cups of water. I did this, but the cooker was almost 3/4 full with that much water. It also said that the cooker should not be more than 1/3 full when cooking beans because they foam. Well, this was impossible with that amount of water. I removed some of the water and got it down to 1/2 full. Like I said I am new to pressure cooking, so I waited anxiously for the beans to finish, thinking they were going to overflow or something. They came out perfect and full of flavor. Bottom line, use your cooking sense and remember that you will use less water than normal. I did purchase two cookbooks and really recommend Bob Warden's "Slow Food Fast" because it was the only cookbook I could find that is specifically written for the electric pressure cooker. I made a cheesecake out of this cookbook and will probably never use the oven again to make them.
Do yourself (and your family) a favor and purchase this appliance. It is fast, cooks delicious food, will save you money, and have you and your family looking forward to eating around the kitchen table again.
Customer Review: Item itself is 5 stars - instructions get ZERO stars
Summary: 5 Stars
When I fist received my cooker, I unpacked all the parts & read the instructions. I spent 20 minutes looking for parts I was told to assemble but could not find only to finally figure out that they were already put together (all the stuff in the lid). As one reviewer said, the 'condensation collector' almost got thrown out because it was packed in a little piece of bubble wrap & just sort of tossed into the box. Cuisinart really needs to get someone who has English as their primary language and has an understanding of technical writing to create the user's guide for this item. The assembly instructions are bad; the actual 'how to turn it on & get started' information is pretty much gibberish.
I bought the cookbook 'Slow Food Fast' as I've never used a pressure cooker before, and wanted some recipes. Had I not had that book I would have probably booted this unit down the stairs & out into the yard. The book / author have no relation to Cuisinart, but the basic intro to pressure cooking was enough to let me understand what was supposed to be happening. Once I figured out the proper position for the little valve thingy and read that it can take quite a while to build up the pressure (and that you have to push the 'start' button:-) I was fine. Some things I felt kind of stupid about - like once I selected 'high' to cook down the juices from the recipe to combine with flour to make gravy and couldn't figure out why it never got hot (that pesky start button again). Anyway, enough griping about the instructions (or lack thereof).
As mentioned I've not used a pressure cooker before, but after following a couple recipes to the letter (from the Slow Food Fast book - the 2 can Cola Pork Roast is awesome!) I've had no problem guesstimating cooking times for other stuff I make up myself. Admittedly I've not tried anything like beans or soup. Everything so far has been meat based like the pork roast, Asian chicken, my own version of Ropa Vieja, and they've turned out great.
I know electronics can be hit or miss to get a good one, (I went through 4 DVRs to get one that worked right & 2 laptops) but I think I lucked out with this specific unit - the top seals with no problem, the float comes up like it's supposed to, the release valve works fine - so far so good with the physical cooker itself. Now if they could get someone to write a coherent manual, it would be great.