Reddit reviews Presto 01370 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

> The stove top ones are the dangerous ones.

Even with those, the danger is over stated. If anything, I'm more confident about one I use on the stove, because I can inspect all of the parts easily for damage everytime I use it.

Even an old pressure cooker will be UL rated, unless it's ancient.

https://www.ul.com/marks/

You'll have a blow-out plug, for anything made after 1977 (so within the last 40 years).

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-Pressure-Cooker-Canner-Overpressure/dp/B0016CV0X2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1526768658&sr=8-3&keywords=pressure+cooker++plug

These are still made today; they use weights on top, all three for 15 pounds of steam, two for 10 pounds, and just one for 5 pounds.

If you have to go back further than that, they have parts going back to 1957.

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-Pressure-Indicator-Regulator-Cookers/dp/B00M7VWGES/ref=pd_sim_79_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00M7VWGES&pd_rd_r=P6HHAYRW3XD075H1Z6EE&pd_rd_w=Rgk2e&pd_rd_wg=6yMgB&psc=1&refRID=P6HHAYRW3XD075H1Z6EE

It's basically the top, the bottom, the seal, the plug, and the weights.

You inspect everything every time you use the pressure cooker.

Anything doesn't look right, you replace them.

The more modern ones use a twist orifice, instead of weights... that can get clogged with food (you inspect to make sure it's open).

If you get them on sale, either style, they're much less than $100.

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0000Z6JIW/ref=sr_1_22?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1526768988&sr=1-22&keywords=pressure+cooker

Either way, you have a pressure vessel in your kitchen, the only difference is that the old design has been used billions of times (people have been canning with them for years, same for cooking). The digital ones are nice, but you probably won't get parts for them in 10-20 years.

If you get a really big one you can use it as a pressure canner. I have this and it just baaaaaaarely fits a single can, which is better than nothing because it means I can do things like make caramelized onions in a jar.

Moreover, even if you don't think you'll ever want to pressure can anything, a large cooker is nice because you don't want to fill them up entirely, so you can't just think about it as a soup pot: you need to leave room up top whenever you make anything.

There's also no downside to getting a large one except that it takes up more space when you store it. There is no reason to worry about matching burner diameter at all, let alone exactly, but you don't want it to be smaller than the burner because then of course you're just wasting energy heating it up.

So, my suggestion is to go as large as you can without breaking the budget, unless you have storage concerns, in which case go as large as you can before it gets too big to store. Especially if you're going to be cooking for 6-7 people sometimes, you'll want a pretty good sized pressure cooker.

If you need specific numbers, mine's an 8-quart and it's more than large enough for cooking for one person. Cooking for 3 I'd maybe feel a little cramped sometimes but I'd likely be fine. Cooking for 6-7 I might want something even larger but if I'm making food that won't foam up or otherwise require lots of headroom, 8 quarts might still cut it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiCUKA7dDUs

I personally go off Amazon's top rated pressure cooker in an 8 quart size.

You can usually tell if they're going to be quiet by the absence of a "jiggler" on top - although not a perfect gauge, it works pretty well.

Here's a T-Fal and a Presto that are inexpensive and highly rated.

As always, I have to throw in a recommendation for Hawkins - although their best value is in their hard anodized cookers like this one. The Futura line lets out a fairly constant quiet hiss when the flame is appropriately set. Their more traditional ones (appear like jigglers) don't jiggle, but give a periodic concentrated burst of steam. That's because these are "modified 1st gen" technology. But, I am a fan of the simple lid locking mechanism.

Just found an 8 quart stainless steel pressure cooker on Amazon knocked down to $50, supposedly originally $100. Presto 01370 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000Z6JIW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wz0zDbAPC5KRW

IDK about the elctric models, but Presto makes an very good cooker (nonelectric) for the money. I own both a fagor and a presto and probaly use my presto more, it may not be as "nice" but for almost half the price I dont mind if it gets a scratch or burn...

http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1463228260&sr=8-4&keywords=8++quart+pressure+cooker

I'd definitely second the recommendation for a pressure cooker. Also consider the plain old non-electronic kind. This is what I have: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000Z6JIW

Electric pressure cookers cook at somewhat lower pressures, so it takes longer. Also, it's about 1/2 the price of the 8 quart Instant Pot.

By modern, what do you mean? Is this considered modern: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000Z6JIW/ref=ox_sc_act_image_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

I've had this Presto pressure cooker for almost a year and haven't had any issues with it.

Lots of people will say to look at the Instant Pot which is a combination electric pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker ("multi cooker"). I had a bluetooth enabled "IP-SMART" 6qt model of theirs (actually three: first had a safety recall, second was dented on arrival, third still exhibited regulation issues). Lots of people are happy with Instant Pots, but I had a lot of issues with the pressure control being flaky for certain recipes. Additionally, much of what makes slow cookers safe when you are out of the house is their low wattage heaters... typically 250-400W... and low complexity (basically it's a small electric blanket that is wrapped around a very heavy ceramic pot). The Instant Pot has a 1000W heater, and is more complex (microcontroller + a thermocouple), so this negates some of the safety aspects of unattended slow cooking... though it is UL listed and has a thermal fuse in case anything goes wrong.

My recommendation if you are interested in pressure cookers and slow cookers:

1. Presto 8qt stovetop http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW $69 More volume than electric pressuer cookers (8qt > 6qt) which is important since safely pressure cooking needs lots of headroom between the food and lid valve so as not to clog. Typically headroom is 1/3rd volume for most foods, 1/2 for foamy foods like rice, etc. Thus a 8qt pressure cooker effectively has a volume of 4-5qt. When using it without building up pressure, it can double as a large 8qt stockpot. I ended up preferring stovetop over electric since I can get an initial brown on meat without having to use multiple pots, and I don't have to wait for an electric heater to come up to temperature (10+ minutes on the Instant Pot for me).
   
   
2. Hamilton Beach 6qt set'n'forget slow cooker http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-33967A-Programmable-6-Quart/dp/B00EZI26DW $50 Check reviews on thesweethome.com for it, but it beat out a lot of more expensive crock pot models. Oval shape lends itself better for some slow cooker recipes, such as mini, chocolate lava cakes, roasts, etc.
   
   $120 for both.. around the ballpark of the cheaper Instant Pots, you gain an additional pot for stove use, pressure cooker is of bigger size, slow cooker is safe unattended and a more conventional shape, and IMO will last longer. You lose automatic rice cooking capabilities but... by a $20-$30 rice cooker and probably get better rice, or just do it on the stovetop.
   
   By the way, no idea what food you like to eat, but these are two of my favorite cookbooks if you are getting started and wanted to build up some experience:
   
   

• America's Test Kitchen 100 Recipes http://www.amazon.com/100-Recipes-Absolute-Best-Essentials/dp/1940352010/ Good for in-depth explanation of 100 recipes across a pretty big range of techniques.
  
  
• Cook's Illustrated Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook/dp/1933615893/ Shorter explanations but lots and lots of recipes.
  
  And major shout out to Kenji's (from Seriouseats.com) new book if you want more detailed science information:
  
  
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087
  
  This post ended up being much longer than I expected, but those are my recommendations if you are just starting out. ;) The main thing I've learned since beginning to cook is that 90%+ of the recipes online (and even in print) are untested crap, and to look for recipe sources you can trust. The second thing is that a finished recipe is much more dependant on the technique (the steps you use to modify ingredients at specific times, temperatures, and textures) and way less dependent on the ingredients themselves (you can easily sub ingredients for many recipes once the core techniques are understood).

This is not an old school version, it has several backup safeties. Here.

• A basic pressure cooker (stainless steel stove top)
  
• A good knife
  
• Cast iron pan
  
• Dutch Oven
  
• Sous Vide

I have been using this one for many years. Normally $60 when in stock:
https://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW

I have this one

Most modern pressure cookers don't have a rocker weight.

EDIT:
Seriously, they don't.

• Fagor
  
• NuWave
  
• T-Fal
  
• Fissler
  
• Presto
  
• Kuhn Rikon
  
  Where you see rocker weights is on cheaper, older style aluminum ones and on larger pressure canners. Modern pressure cookers have moved to the easier to manage spring valves.