282310 Mon Jan 09 12:30:49 -0800 2006 10 31 Home Cooking 0 1504178 Hi all - I've decided to purchase a pressure cooker so I can stop wasting hours cooking beans, etc. Does anyone have any brand preferences or are they all basically the same? My only experience with them was when my grandmother used one (this was over 30 years ago) and it seemed like a pretty basic design. Don't know if any new technology has improved them, though. Thanks for any suggestions! Mon Jan 09 12:30:49 -0800 2006 0 szmn26 1 1504186 A couple of months ago, I purchased the Magefasa brand. It worked great, but after about 5 uses, a structural glitch occured in a wire that would lock the regulator valve to the unit. I could no longer remove the valve from the unit for cleaning, as the wire can easily bend if you are not extremely careful in how you place the valve onto the unit, and how you take it off for cleaning. I ended up returning my Magefasa, because the replacement part was also defective. I ended up doing a splurge, and I went with Kuhn Rikon. I am in Pressure cooker HEAVEN!!! This brand is simply wonderful. Happy cooking, Jeff Mon Jan 09 12:51:54 -0800 2006 1504178 0 JeffW 1 1504205 My sis bought the Kuhn brand several years back and she seems pretty happy with it. Mon Jan 09 13:46:32 -0800 2006 1504178 0 gp 1 1504207 I was teetering on the brink of getting a Kuhn Rikon but since I'd never used a pressure cooker other than my old canner which terrified me I was hesitating about the price. Then I was buying towels in Penney's and they had a $50 Rapida so I went ahead and got it. I love it. It is very straight forward to use, no little top gadget to clean or get lost, and it works well for my uses. I'll be interested to see what others have to say about KR and find out if it is really that much better. Mon Jan 09 13:50:32 -0800 2006 1504178 0 suzannapilaf 1 1504240 I have used my Fagor monthly (if not weekly) for the past year and it has been perfect. Mon Jan 09 16:06:50 -0800 2006 1504178 0 Tugboat 1 1504245 Cooks Illustrated did a testing in 2005...they recommended the "Fagor Duo" line. This is what I purchased...it works quite well, and I am happy with my decision. I bought it from Amazon..no tax, free shipping..and if you link from the Chowhound home page..Chowhound gets a cut.... Mon Jan 09 16:23:09 -0800 2006 1504178 0 ChowFun (derek) 2 1504251 Thanks for the suggestions - I'll have to do a little research on the brands mentioned. Good to know, however, that safety features have improved. My grandmother's cooker that I mentioned? I remember her soup exploding and a soup bone becoming embedded in the ceiling from the force. Not pretty! Mon Jan 09 16:46:13 -0800 2006 1504245 0 szmn26 1 1504286 Hey , try some indian stores in scarborough.In india and pakistan it is widely used . try a brand called prestige http://www.hotdishes.com/pressure_cooker.htm Link: http://www.hotdishes.com/pressure_cooker.htm Mon Jan 09 19:24:11 -0800 2006 1504178 0 shan 1 1504511 I have a Fagor (the discontinued Multirapid model) and a Kuhn Rikon. I like the Kuhn Rikon slightly better because it has a quick-pressure-release feature and my particular Fagor doesn't. Also, the Kuhn-Rikon needs very little liquid to come up to pressure. However, I was perfectly satisfied with the Fagor before I received the Kuhn-Rikon as a gift, and I believe the newer Fagor models do have the quick-release feature, so I would advise you to save some money and go with a Fagor. There are other decent, reasonably-priced brands out there as well. Just make sure you get one that's stainless steel rather than aluminum, has a thick sandwich base, and is widely distributed (so you won't have trouble finding a replacement gasket). The stationary-valve ones are probably easier to use than the jiggle-top kind, but some people prefer the latter. For more information and advice, read the introduction to any good pressure-cooker cookbook, such as those written by Lorna Sass. Tue Jan 10 21:58:19 -0800 2006 1504178 0 Miss Priss 2 1504590 Thanks for the tips - very useful! Wed Jan 11 12:56:37 -0800 2006 1504511 0 szmn26 1 1504679 I bought the Fagor 4 qt Splendid - my advice is to get a larger size. From my somewhat limited experience, I find that you can't put as much into a 4 qt. For example: I'm trying a Moroccan lamb with brown lentils and eggplant today. The recipe is from a Sass cookbook (do a search on this site further down; I was asking for cookbook recos for pressure cooker cooking). The recipe calls for 1-1/2 lbs lamb shoulder and 1-1/2 lbs of eggplant: the adjustment for a 4 qt cooker takes it down to 1 lb lamb and 1 lb eggplant. I love leftovers of this type of dish and with just 1 lb I don't anticipate there will be any... I find that I use mine a lot to quick-cook dried beans, especially garbanzos. Garbanzos are notorious for long soak, long cook. In the pressure cooker they are ready in about 20 min total and are much better than canned ones. My simple advice: get a larger size. Wed Jan 11 19:13:48 -0800 2006 1504178 0 RWCFoodie