Recommend me a pressure cooker

Finefoot

OOH, I miss mine. used it till the handles fell off. now waiting for a really great deal to get another one.

[Deleted User]

I love my Prestige pressure cooker. This is the 2nd Prestige cooker I have had as the first one I wore out. It is great for soups and Chritmas puddings. I also use it for jam making and if I have to cook pasta for large numbers because it is the biggest pan I own. I am sure you will find your cooker invaluable!

maryb

I love my pressure cooker and use it much more than the slow cooker. But it's an old Prestige and you can't get parts for them any more (apart from gaskets) since they went bust a few years ago and were taken over by Meyer. They used to service them but they don't now. After 25 years mine is probably on its way out - I think it got a bit distorted when my sister let it boil dry and although it still seems to come to pressure the lid drips a lot which suggests it isn't sealing as well as it might.

I'm told the new ones are made in the far East and they are not machined as accurately as the old British made ones so I'm on the lookout for a new one which will be as sturdy as the old one. Most of the European ones seems to only have 8lb and 12lb pressure so I hadn't thought about a Kuhn Rikon although they do look lovely. Does it definitely have three weights? If so that's going on my Christmas list

mardatha

It has no visible weights, its all enclosed but somebody else will know more, I havent used it yet just fondled it It does have an address and email for their depot in Wolverhampton, and says you can buy all spares from them.

seraphina

OOoooh, welcome to the club:j

cooking-mama

mardatha wrote: »

OK, thanks. I just got the Kuhn Rikon one because it sounds less scarey

Oh let us know how you get on with it,
I recently bought a prestige smartplus from ARGOS £49.99,(http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8612012/Trail/searchtext%3EPRESSURE+COOKER.htm )and i love it...no mad hissing/spitting,has a little red valve to indicate its up to pressure and a dial to turn for quick steam release,No holding under cold water or weights to fiddle with,I started a topic recently looking for recipes but didnt get many replies,I was surprised so few people on OS appeared to use a pressure cooke,my slow cooker has been put into retirement,recently in the PC,ive made a whole chicken,30min..veggie soup.5min,potatoes,6min,chilli,15min,bolognese,15min braised steak 20min,mince 15min...all on the lowest gas setting.I love it,and after my holiday may also invest in a 2nd one(Khun Rikon idealy)

mardatha

I think those of us who had mothers with exploding soup just kept well back from the things LOL! The reason I got mine was to use less gas..

cooking-mama

mardatha wrote: »

I think those of us who had mothers with exploding soup just kept well back from the things LOL! The reason I got mine was to use less gas..

Totaly agree,thats why i chose the one at £49 rather than £19.99,the cheaper model looked too much like the old hissing spitting mad pot that terrified me in the 7o's;)
I only used mine tonight for the potatoes to go with dinner,im thinking i would like to keep this one for veg n tatties,soup etc,and invest in the Khon Rikon one for meat chicken etc....with 2 pressure cookers i could probably get rid of my other pans,and all the meat n veggies etc would be cooked at exactly the same time..at the moment,im either,cooking meat,then letting out steam and adding veggies/potatoes for the last 5/10 min of cooking...or im cooking the meat,removing it and placing in a casserole dish to keep warm and then cooking veggies/potatoes seperately.

jessnjimmy

How do you find the prestige smartplus cookingmamma? I have one being delivered today from amazon. :j

Never used one before so gawd help me lol! I remember my mother's chicken stew being cooked in hers and it was divine !!

Has anyone cooked a whole chicken in the p/c and if so what's it like? I'm planning to do a chicken dinner with it first, p/c the chicken and then crisp in the oven and then all the trimmings with it.
I have ordered a p/c book too by Suzanne Gibbs so hopefully I won't make too much mess!! I'm really excited, come on postie !!!!

jessnjimmy

well, have used my new prestige smart plus for the first time today and made a whole gammon joint, jersey royal new potatoes, broccoli, peas and parsley sauce. I did the taties and the gammon in slow cooker separately and steamed the broccoli.

FANTASTIC piece of gammon, it came out so tender and the cooker itself is so simple to use, wish I'd bought one years ago !!!!!!!

I can thoroughly recommend this model, it's absolutely BRILLIANT.

hope this helps others looking for a good pressure cooker