pressure cookers- what to look for?

[robin3mj]

Wife is asking for one. My only experience is soggy beef and carrot stew growing up, so I have no idea what to look for.
Main use will be for stocks/etc.

Sur La Table has them from $100 on up. Looking for a non-electric is all I know.

[Dorman]

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Watch Alton. Starting about minute 8 or so he talks about what you want in a pressure cooker.

[Dorman]

Since I can't get the link to work, or edit at this point just google Alton Brown and pressure cooker. There is a You Tube of one of the episodes on making stock and about minute 8 or so he goes into what to look for in a pressure cooker.

[AJPM44]

Voiding Your Warranty: Hacking Electric Pressure Cookers These guys are awesome. Probably not exactly what the wife had in mind, but a very informative read, anyways.

[nelo784]

Kuhn Rikon from Switzerland is the business - best of the best! I am vegetarian and use mine daily for every imaginable pulse, bean and soup. The more the $, the better the release valves tend to be which makes cooling the system down easier and hassle free. Saves huge time and energy so credit to your frugal thinking wife!! Stick with Stainless Steel as aluminium is not so good for health and becomes hard to clean in a short time. Bon Appetit!

[robin3mj]

Grazie, fellas.

I'll let you know what we end up with.

[Derek Raymond]

All-American makes a really great pressure cooker. They don't need rubber gaskets, which is a very nice positive as they always dry out. The real question though is what you want to use it for. A small pressure cooker isn't gong to can much, and a huge pressure cooker isn't going to be fun to cook soups and rice medleys in.

Whatever you get, make sure you can use weights with a pressure gauge. The slow hissing is a comforting sound and you don't need to constantly check in on the cooker. If you can hear it, it's at the right pressure. And there's no recalibration needed for weights.

[randonneur]

weights? gauges? too complicated for me.

I just have a basic Fagor Duo pressure cooker. It got good reviews at the time and I've had no issue with it whatsoever. 2 pressure settings. Good value.

[robin3mj]

We got a 6 qt Fagor Duo as an Xmas gift.
I crammed 3 duck carcasses in it for the drive back from NJ (to protect them from the dog).
First shot at stocks will be tonight (one duck at a time tho).

If you told me when I was ten that I would be excited about getting a cooking pot for Christmas, I'd have punched myself in the face. How times change...

[Too Tall]

For lentils I use a small India made Hawkins brand. They are unusual in their design and work very well.