Presto 01362 6-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
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List Price: Our Price: $46.95 You Save: $13.04 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $42.31 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Presto 01362 6-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
Customer Review: great value, sturdy cooker
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this cooker 6 months ago from amazon for $35, and frankly, although the reviews I read on this product all said that it's great, I was very skeptical about the $35 price tag and was not expecting much. On top of that, both my mother and my mother-in-law warned me that cheap pressure cookers are dangerous, and I *must* buy something more expensive for safety reasons. I am just very glad that they were both wrong!
This is definitely one of the best purchases I have made on amazon. I still cannot believe they sell this for $35! The pot does not feel cheap at all. It has very sturdy handles, and a thick, heavy bottom, which holds in heat well. I like this pan so much that sometimes I use it instead of my skillet to sautee meat, because of the deeper pot + the cover, less cleaning up for me :-)
I love making soup and stock, but it usually takes up so much of my time when the stock is simmering. With this pressure cooker, I can make a meat-fall-off-the-bone soup in an hour!
Some might find this pot to be a little on the small side, but this pot works great for my wife and I. Although we have guests over regularly, I find the capacity of the pot to be very good. I would guess that this pot would work well for up to a 4-person family.
Pros:
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- Cheap, at $35, it's hard to beat
- Sturdy, I was afraid that the plastic handles would break easily, but they are in fact quite strong
- Stainless steel makes it great for browning meat pieces for stew or stock, and it heats up fast and holds heat well.
- Safe, you cannot open it when it's pressurized.
- Dish washer safe, though I prefer to wash it by hand.
Cons:
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- The handle can be tricky to hold with one hand. My hands are small, and when you've closed the top, the handle is kind of big. Luckily, I don't need to do this very often, and when I need to move it around, I just use both handles.
- The top cap can be tricky to clean. I usually soak it in hot soapy water, and then clean it thoroughly with Q-tip.
Watch outs:
- The handle curves in a way that it catches any dripping liquid, I've hurt myself once when I wasn't careful at opening the cover.
- Do *NOT* remove the cap while it's blowing! The steam from inside is extremely hot and as soon as you remove the cap, the hot steam will shoot up faster than you can move your hand(s) away.
Tips:
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- I keep some water bottles in my freezer, and when I need to cool this off in a hurry, I can make a bath of cold water in my sink, put the hot pot inside, and throw the froze water bottles in. This usually cools it down very fast, great when I want to refrigerate it overnight to skim off the fat, and didn't want to wait too long for it to cool down.
Customer Review: Life-Changing Kitchen Equipment!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Although I look young, I've been cooking for more years than I care to think about. But I never investigated pressure cooking -- until my grandmother shared a recipe with me that requires it!! After experimenting a little with my 21-quart All American pressure canner (5 stars!!), I decided to take the plunge. Didn't do quite enough homework, and so didn't realize Presto also makes an inexpensive "second generation" pressure cooker (which I have since acquired -- so far, happy with it, but wish there was some really obvious indication of when it's up to pressure). There are only 2 of us, so I opted for the 6-quart size. And the only thing I've cooked "the regular way" since I got it is fried rice.
I ordered it to speed up things like beans. What a pleasant surprise that it bails me out, if I've neglected to plan ahead for dinner!! Half-pound of frozen cubed meat, some sauce and a little water in the bottom, the rack on top, seasoned, foil-wrapped potatoes on top of that, and in less than 30 minutes, we're sitting down to a hot, homecooked meal. Even unsoaked beans only take 45 minutes or so. No more trips through the drive-through!! I often use both pressure cookers to cook different parts of the same meal. I have the 6-quart and an 8-quart, but some people prefer a 4-quart and 6-quart. Either way, I'm convinced that at least one pressure cooker, maybe even 2, is an absolute necessity in every busy person's kitchen!!
This product is well made (although I have noticed a little spot that might be rust -- I'm keeping an eye on it), and comes with a 12-year warranty. I had a little trouble getting the first one to close, and one of the little plastic "ears" inside the handle broke off after a week or two, but Amazon sent another one immediately and the replacement is much better. I have to admit, though, that it was probably a combination of defective ring and newbie operator error.
If you're new to pressure cooking, you'll want to check out a few cookbooks on the subject -- there are some things you need to know so your learning curve will be as short as possible. I highly recommend "Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes" -- check out her blog ([...]), too! (No, I'm NOT related to her -- it's just the most complete, all-around book I've found.)
This is a well-made, "entry-level" pressure cooker -- you can't go wrong with a Presto. In fact, my niece has asked me for one for her high school graduation -- she'll probably get a couple of them!!
Customer Review: A must have for camping trips!
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this pressure cooker prior to my July 4th camping trip. I made a pot of beef stew for my family but due to the change in travel schedule, I ended up taking the pot of stew with me on the camping trip. It was great! I love the fact that the lid locks so I was able to transport my home cooked stew with ease and did not have to worry about it spilling all over my car - thanks to the locking lid!
Once at camp, we were able to have good hearty cooked food instead of burgers and hotdogs. It was great for cooking Spanish Chicken, rice, and help reduce the cooking time of our baked potatoes because we were able to pressure cook them prior to throwing them on the grill!
Since I've gotten my pressure cooker, I been cooking everything in that pot on a daily basis! It's great for chicken curry, beef stew - any slow cooking dishes but in a fraaction of what it takes the conventional slow cook way. I love the convenience and the quick cook time I get from this pot.
I wish I could say that this is a perfect pressure cooker but, unfortunately, it not. There were some dissappointing features about this pot. For example, the quality of the pot. It was not as heavy and sturdy as the other pressure cookers I have had in the past. I have a solid stainless steel presser cooker that is 35 years old and still in perfect condition.
Another dissappointment was that some of the stainless steel faded/peeled off on the inside of the pot after several uses. At first, it looked like it had stains on it but when I went to try to remove it, I realized that some of the stainless steel coating had flaked off similar to what happens to over used Teflon coated pots.
Furthermore, the handle was hard to hold with one hand and not big enough to hold with two hands so removing the hot steaming pot from the fire/stove was somewhat a challenge.
Perhaps the most dissappointing thing about this pressure cooker is that it burns easily and it's hard to remove the dark stains once it's burnt.
regrettably, the other day my fiance cooked some potatoes and accidentally left the pot on the stove too long and it BURNED my pot and shrunk my rubber sealer beyond repair. Hence, I will need to look for another pressure cooker at a reasonable price. Iguess I will have to learn how to live without my pressure cooker for awhile until my new one arrives.
Customer Review: Love this cooker!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this pressure cooker to replace a 27 year-old Mirro 6 qt. The Mirro still worked fine, but I have a flat top electric stove now, and after buying 2 pressure cookers for friends, I thought it might be time for me to update. The Mirro had warped so that the bottom didn't sit flat on the cooktop. I bought Warever for my friends, so I have 3 brands to compare now. The Mirro, when under pressure, jiggled consistantly, to let you know there was pressure. The Warever model builds pressure and then gives a little burst as it releases slightly. This occurs every 20 seconds or so. With the Presto cooker, the pressure indicator is the blue buttom on top which has 2 lines. The first line indicates "low" pressure, and when you can see two rings there is "high" pressure. I like that you have two settings of pressure. It's easy and quiet. At first I was waiting for the jiggle, but then I got to the part in the book that mentioned the blue button. This cooker is HEAVY!! Some people might have trouble holding it up with one hand. I couldn't pour my food out while scraping to get the last goodness out. I really like the steaming basket. You set a wire trivet in the bottom of the pan and set the steaming basket on the trivet. I did cauliflower and broccoli on low pressure for 2 minutes. I don't know how much I'll use the steaming basket, but it's a nice feature. The first meal I made was sirloin steak, browned first and then cooked with carrots and potatoes in Golden Mushroom soup. I did it for 17 minutes, and it was wonderful! I browned the meat in the pressure cooker first, but I had a lot of meat so it took 3 batches to brown it all. Maybe I wouldn't have had to, but I felt that I should wash the cooker before I added the vegetables as there was cooked meat stuck to the bottom. I have found that the cookbook for pressure cookers is a little light on the time for meats. I do pork chops for 20 minutes, no less. All in all, I think I will be very happy with this cooker. I am looking forward to trying some new recipes as I pretty much do the same meals in my cooker. I paid $39 at a closeout store. READ THE BOOK, even if you're replacing a pressure cooker and think you know it all. Each one is very different.Customer Review: Design needs improvements
Summary: 4 Stars
PROS:
1. made of stainless steel, you don't want aluminum pot, because alumunum stains easily, releases poisonous substances when contacted with heat and gets eaten away with acidic food such as vinegar, citrus juice, etc
2. 12 year warranty
3. resonable price considering the material that it's made of and size. Size is very ideal to prepare meal for 6-10 people.
4. Packaging is great, it's very compact; (Makes a great holiday gift) It comes with extra steamer insert, you just need a screwdriver to attach handles.
5. It's very quiet, I don't understand why other people complained about noise. I'd definitely recommend immersing bottom of the pot in cold water once cooking time ends, it really helps to cool down fast.
6. Safety features are great, you cannot open the pot while it's steaming, because locking indicator locks the handles. Once it's cooled down, the locking indicator unlocks the handles.
CONS:
However, I was very disappointed to see the bottom of the pan being too thin which prevents even heat distribution, thus, causing food burn.
The very first time I used it, my food scorched because locking indicator was stuck and let the steam out. I was able to clean it eventually, but burnt food left ugly stains. After couple more cleanings, bottom returned to it's initial condition.
Other day emergency blow-off valve got stuck and later dropped inside my food. I have to watch my pot all the time until locking indicator and blow off valve locks properly. I also think the handles need improvement, screws are not the best quality I've seen.
SUMMARY:
Despite the mentioned factors, I'm going to stick with this pot. Because the price is resonable, and Amazon is replacing the defective pot.
I wish the bottom of the pan was thicker and other design flaws I mentioned aboved were improved. I don't use pressure cooker everyday, if I did, I'd purchase Kuhn Rikon or WMF brand instead.
I'm giving this product four stars because Amazon CS has been great replacing my pot.