Presto 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

Buena calidad, fácil de usar, el manual solo viene en inglés, muy recomendable.!

I have my mother’s Presto pressure cooker from the 70’s which I still use but needed something bigger. I love the size of this and it works perfectly. I read that some people were having trouble opening and closing the lid but I haven’t had any problems and wonder if they have the rubber seal mounted improperly ( which would be hard if not impossible to do). There is a slight resistance when closing it and a little more when opening it after use but even my elderly father had no problem with it. I’ve used it about 20 or so times and have had no problems. I love pressure cooking because it’s so quick and it makes meats so tender (even the lousy tough cuts). If you are one of the people who are afraid of pressure cookers “exploding” you don’t have to worry, this pot has safety features which will not allow that to happen and it also has a safety pin which will not allow it to be opened under pressure. Bon appetit.

Facil de usar, Buena capacidad y uso muy intuitivo. La comida qda deliciosa.

This is my first pressure cooker, and I couldn’t be happier. This turned out the best pot roast and potatoes I’ve ever had, ribs so moist and tender I just plucked out the bone with some tongs, and I’m looking forward to trying many different things in this pot.

First of all, the pot itself is very high quality. Better than my Calphalon Commercial pots in my opinion. It has an amazing mirror polish finish to it, which does take a bit of extra effort to keep looking new. And a nice, thick, triple-clad bottom that heats amazingly evenly and both takes and holds heat beautifully. Judging by how things brown in it and the evenness of bubbles in simmering liquids, this spreads the heat out very evenly, unlike some of my other pots and pans. And it can take a blast of high heat (of course with liquid in the pot) in order to get it up to pressure quickly. No discoloration or suspicious clinks and clangs as it heats and expands.
Took a little bit for me to figure out exactly how it all worked, being I’d never used one before, but finally got it figured out and it worked exactly as designed. The instruction/recipe booklet that comes with it is very well done, compared to the usual confusing and poorly done quality of such things.

Cleaning is a bit of a chore. Not particularly difficult, but I like to do a thorough job, and it’s a fairly large pot to scrub out. I’ve found that I’ve had to use some Softsoap cleanser and non-scratch scouring pad to get some of the discoloration off the metal after cooking. This is just trying to keep it looking new… I’m sure I’ll stop being so particular at some point and won’t have to spend so much time scrubbing it.

To clean, in addition to scrubbing and washing the pot inside and out, (and another reviewer said this one was light compared to her old one and she hoped it held up. It’s plenty heavy for me to try to hold in one hand while rinsing with the other, etc. Not sure I’d like it if it were heavier.)… they also say to remove the plastic sealing gasket and wash that completely, which isn’t tough. The over-pressure plug is easy to remove if you want to clean around that, and you can also remove the little metal post and gasket of the cover lock mechanism, though if you use the pot normally, you probably wouldn’t needed to clean them very often. Water spots/stains appeared on the inside of the lid from cooking, but again, I’m sure they won’t affect anything.

Having never used a pressure cooker before, the first time I flipped the lever to do a quick release of the pressure, it startled me pretty good, as it instantly shoots out a jet of loud steam that would probably go 10 ft high if it didn’t roll off the ceiling or range hood… and continues for around 3 minutes before settling down. Rather amazed that in all the instructions, nothing was said about being sure to avoid being over the pressure valve when you release it. I could see someone who didn’t understand how it worked possibly leaning over it when they flipped the lever and if they did, they’d end up being scalded terribly on their face I’d imagine.

Since it’s winter and the air in the house is dry as a bone, I’ve actually used this as a sort of quickie humidifier. Just bring a few cups of water to pressure until steam is escaping the pressure valve, (I added some lemon juice to give a pleasant smell. Could use vanilla or whatever) and carry it to whatever room or area you want to humidify. I sat it on an upside-down cast iron pot lid, and then flipped the pressure relief lever and it blasted out a torrent of steam. Did it a few times and according to my thermometer/humidity gauge, it brought up the humidity in the room about 5% and left a nice scent. So… it’s multi-purpose. ha!

But the greatest thing about it is the FOOD. Just so tender and delicious. I particularly like to brown/sear meats in it in a tiny bit of oil, then add liquid and things like carrots/celery/potato and pressure cook for a bit. Leaves everything done perfectly and with a nice flavorful liquid that can easily be made into gravy. Haven’t tried beans or vegetables, but meats come out amazingly flavorful and fork tender. So good.

A good product and well made. Keep it clean and perhaps replace the gasket every year or so, and it should last forever.