Duromatic Saucepan 8.75-Inch 5.3-qt

Update: December 2010 Very happy with this purchase. Use it ~5 times a week. Lentils/ Beans - the only way to cook them is in a pressure cooker. I can't believe I managed w/o one all this time. The size has worked out well for 2 people. Allows for leftovers and cleans very nicely. Upgraded review to 5 stars (from 4). *************************************************************** September 2010 Very new to using a pressure cooker. After much thought and vacillation we settled on the Kuhn Rikon 5L duromatic inox (name of the pressure valve used) pressure cooker. The Kuhn Rikon best seller based on their website! There is another model with the same capacity with a top lid that is slightly different called the Top Model. The valve on the top is a bit more elaborate but both models seem to have all the same features. The Top Model has a valve on the top that is almost like a stove burner knob and you dial in the setting. On the model we bought, the duromatic, you have to press the little knob on the top to release pressure. Given that this has been around for a while I think it may be a bit sturdier than the top model (just a thought - not based on any data!). For two people the 5L size is ample. We recently became vegetarians and cooking beans/ lentils in a stockpot is a day long affair. I had soaked chickpeas for 15 hours and then I cooked them in a 5 qt stockpot on the stove top. After 3.5 hours they were still somewhat crunchy. Soaked 1.5 cups of chickpeas for ~15h and it took 18 minutes to cook in the pressure cooker. Took another 20 minutes for the pot to cool down before I opened it. I could have pressed the pressure release valve on the top to hurry up the process of depressurizing but I was getting other stuff together and so waiting another 20 min. was not a big deal. The stockpot version had a lot of chickpeas losing their skin and splitting. With the pressure cooker the consistency turned out perfectly. This particular cooker comes with a trivet, which sits on the bottom of the pot and allows the food to be off the bottom of the pan, preventing it from burning. I wish they included a steamer set. This is something you can see on their website in Switzerland (KuhnRikon.ch) but is not sold in the U.S.A.! Item # 2002. I spoke to them and got no conclusive reason as to why they wouldn't sell it here. One cannot even buy this from the swiss website !! They look like stackable cake pans each with a diameter of 22 cm. If one wants to cook rice/ multiple veggies altogether, this would be invaluable. You use one container for each item, stack them and fire up the pressure cooker. Anyway, so I need to find something that will work. Kuhn Rikon suggested Williams Sonoma! I feel this would be a very useful accessory to have and it is a shame that they make it but won't sell it here! In trying to find the steamer I called up Shar's kitchen (their authorized dealer in the U.S.) and wished I had bought the pressure cooker there. Here's why - the pressure cooker has a base (5L) and a lid with the valve. When cooking you first bring the contents to boil on the stove top and once you see it starting to boil you cover it with the pressure cooker lid. So before you put the pressure cooker lid on your pot sits there with no lid. Apparently Kuhn-rikon sells tempered glass lids that fit the pressure cookers perfectly and Shar's kitchen often runs specials and will sell the glass lid, (with the purchase of a pressure cooker) for 50% off. I ended up paying $30 bucks and ordered the lid. The pressure cooker lid (with the valves) needs to be hand washed and so I want to use it only to bring up the pressure and avoid getting food on it. The glass lid will get used as the ingredients are going into the pot and any mess I make splattering stuff on the glass lid is taken care of by the dishwasher. The mechanics of how the valve works: After the contents in the pot begin to boil you put the pressure cooker lid on. On our larger burner (20,000 btu) after about 3 minutes the black stem on the pressure cooker lid moved upwards and a red line became visible. After an additional 1 minute the black stem kept moving upwards and a second red line was visible. This is the high setting for the pressure cooker. I turned the burner down to a 4 for about 1 minute and then to low for the remaining time (~13 minutes). The cooker is very quiet. No hissing or steam release at all. Once the 18 minutes were up I turned off the stove and let it sit for 20 minutes. If I had wanted to let the steam out manually I could have pressed the stem with the markers down a bit and this would have let out the steam from inside the pressure cooker. The pressure cooker lid with the gasket remained very clean at the end of my first cooking endeavor and I hand washed it lightly with some soap. Very nice product! I hope this helps clarify any thoughts concerns you may have!

I've used a stainless steel Presto pressure cooker for years. Mostly for making brown rice. Two cups water, one cup rice. Bringing it up to pressure takes about five minutes. Then it chatters away on the stove, and I constantly have to adjust the burner and hope that I don't burn the rice as the liquid boils off. It's very noisy, and often a little stressful, since often there is a little layer of burned rice on the bottom. Last night I tried my new Kuhn Rikon for the first time, and it's hard to believe how different it is. First, they tell you to use less water, since the precision valve doesn't chatter away the steam, but keeps it all inside. Okay, I follow the instructions and put in 1 1/2 cups of water to one cup brown rice. Then it says to keep the pressure on the lower range, where one red line shows on the little valve that rises up when there's pressure. It also says to bring the liquid up to boiling before putting on the lid, which is different than I had done in my Presto years. Difference 1: With less water, it came up to boiling faster. Difference 2: The Kuhn Rikon has a thick aluminum plate bonded below the stainless steel pot. It must capture and distribute the heat, because my water was boiling in under a minute. Really fast! Difference 3: Almost instant pressure. I put the top on, and being used to my old pressure cooker, I kept the flame on high. Within a few seconds, the pot was up to the first red line -- 8 bars of pressure, and about 15 seconds later was at the second line, 15 bars. I turned down the flame to low, figuring that the pressure would drop. It didn't. It stayed at the second red line. They recommend rice at the first line. So I went to the lowest flame level. Diffference 4: No Steam Loss Means No Heat Loss - Because there isn't a steady escape of hot steam, that means that much less heat must be put in. In my rice case, this meant that the only way to stay at the 8 bar level was to use the intermittent flame setting that one of my burners has. The flame goes on for a few seconds, and then off. That's how little heat was needed! At the steady flame lowest setting, the pot was staying at 15 bars of pressure, instead of the 8 that they recommend. Difference 5 - Silence in the kitchen. No noise. None. (If it does make any noise it is because the pressure has hit the upper limit and steam is being released for safety. Then you really need to turn down the flame.) The pressure valve lets off tiny wisps of steam. That's it. Difference 6: Fast cool down - With my old pressure cooker, there was a ball of hot steam inside the cooker, and you either had to let it all escape in a steamy show, or wait five minutes while it dissipated and continued to cook the food at some unknown rate. With this pot, I took it off the burner (or should I say "candle"), and put it on the granite countertop. I watched as the pressure indicator dropped down. In a minute or two, I opened the pot and the rice was perfect. There was no way it could burn. (Remember, though, that the rice at this point had very little moisture and retained heat. I'm sure bigger dishes will take longer to cool.) Difference 7: Cooking with it feels like driving a BMW, but you save $50,000. If you know someone who likes pressure cooking, this is a great gift that they will really appreciate.

Within our expectations of a well made product, and the information provided in the instruction handbook is useful and accurate.

Non avrei pensato di entusiasmarmi per una pentola a pressione. In questo caso si tratta di un prodotto di altissima qualità fatto in svizzera. Facile da usare e con dispositivi multipli di sicurezza. Oltre le aspettative. Prezzo molto più conveniente che nei negozi!

Una maravilla de olla a presión, ultrarrápida y segura. Recuerda poner la cantidad de agua que te recomienda el fabricante, y no más, para conseguir los tiempos indicados por el mismo. La comida sale en su punto a un tiempo record.

First of all, let's talk about the design. This pressure cooker is made from high-quality stainless steel and has a modern, sleek look to it. It's not too heavy, which makes it easy to handle, and it has a good-sized capacity of 5 litres, making it perfect for cooking for a family or for meal prepping. Now, onto the performance. This pressure cooker is super easy to use and it's great for cooking all kinds of dishes, from stews and curries to soups and even desserts! It cooks food quickly and evenly, which is perfect for those busy weeknights when you don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. One of the things I love about this pressure cooker is that it has a number of safety features built in. It has a pressure release valve that helps to prevent over-pressurisation, as well as a locking lid that keeps everything secure while you're cooking. Cleaning the pressure cooker is also a breeze. The stainless steel is easy to wipe clean and the inner pot is removable and dishwasher safe, which is a huge bonus in my book! All in all, I would definitely recommend the Kuhn Rikon Pressure Cooker to anyone who's in the market for a high-quality, easy-to-use pressure cooker that cooks food quickly and evenly. It's well-designed, safe, and easy to clean, making it a great investment for any home cook.

Meiner Meinung nach zwar teuer, aber der Beste!