Pressure Cooker Buying Guide

If there is one thing that we all want to save is time, nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen. We are always looking for appliances that save time and energy. Well, A good pressure cooker can help you cook great food in less time.  Especially in dinner time, when you are exhausted and have no will to cook, pressure cookers become your best friends. But picking the best pressure cooker is quite tricky.

From traditional to electric pressure cookers, there are a lot of diverse options available in the market. This is an exciting time for young chefs and cooking freaks as the quality and convenience is at a peak. There are many points to consider before buying a pressure cooker like size, performance, safety and versatility.

Top 3 Best Pressure Cooker

What is a Pressure Cooker?

Invented by a French Physicist, Denis Papin, A pressure cooker is a cooking appliance or vessel for cooking food at high pressure. A pressure cooker is a vessel that traps the steam inside it and expels air out. With the increase of internal pressure and temperature, food cooks faster. Pressure cookers always required water to cook food as water creates pressure.

How To Choose The Best Pressure Cooker?

Any home or kitchen appliance is an investment you make, to make it worth, proper guidance is required. There are a lot of points to be considered before purchasing a pressure cooker like size, material, durability, price and safety. So, we are going to breakdown important features the best pressure cooker must have:

Size & Capacity

There are a lot of sizes available for pressure cookers. From 2 quart containers to industrial sizes, your preference has to be per your daily usage. As you’re only allowed to fill 2/3rd of the vessel, you should go for 4 to 8-quart size for home use. Overfilling the cooker is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at any cost. Size also determines the capacity of the pressure cooker. 3-5 litres capacity is enough for 4 to 7 people. Pressure cookers available in the market have a capacity from 0.9L to 9L, you can choose size and capacity per your requirement.

Levels Of Pressure

Different food need different pressure to be cooked. Some pressure cookers don’t come with a medium level of pressure. You either have to go for high pressure or low level. Checking the manual before buying a pressure cooker is important, so you can choose the pressure cooker with all ranges or level of pressure.

Material

Stainless Steel, the best material for the manufacturing of pressure cookers. The best reviewed and durable pressure cookers are made of stainless steel. The other outstanding material is aluminium. Aluminium is most common for making pressure cookers.

Specially, In Electric pressure cookers, aluminium is the top covering above the non-stick coating. The most convenient pressure cooker to wash is made of a non-stick coating as it looks way cleaner and smoother than other ones. The latest material used in pressure cooker is anodized aluminium with ceramic coating.

Handles

Some pressure cookers have light handles while some have heavy handles. A lot of people don’t care about handle material, but it is important to consider as after cooking, the handles become hot and you can burn your hand if touched barehanded. You should go for handle material that ensures safety and convenience. You should also check the length of the handle. As per our recommendation, you should use the pressure cooker with handles on both sides, as the heat minimises because it transferred to both sides.

Pressure Cooker Cooking Time

Dishwasher Compatible

Life is running at a fast pace, many people don’t have time to wash vessels manually. So looking for pressure cookers that are compatible with dishwashers. Not all cookers are dishwasher safe, you need to either ask the seller or check product description if the product is safe or not.

Even some dishwasher doesn’t allow pressure cookers to be placed inside, if your washer is like that, then you have to wash it manually. For example, the anodized ones are not dishwasher safe, while the stainless steel and aluminium material are dishwasher safe. Before making the purchase, there are vital points to consider.

Non-reactive To Acids

Health is a top priority of anyone cooking for their family. But it is said that some pressure cooker is manufactured ignoring the health factors. For example, the cookers made of aluminium reacts to acidic food items, it means the material can destroy the food nutrients. Stainless steel and non-stick cookers are safer for that perspective as they are not reactive at all.

Durability and Warranty

As we said earlier, any appliance is an investment, durability should be your top concern while purchasing a cooker. It is not something you will be purchasing every year, so long-lasting durability is required.

The stainless steel and anodized cookers are super long-lasting and durable because of the corrosion-resistant material while aluminium cookers are not durable comparatively. A lot of known brands offers 5-10 years of warranty while some offer 2-3 years. It is important to buy a cooker with a long warranty. During this warranty time, the pressure cooker will be replaced or repaired without any cost.

Price

There is a misconception that pricier the product, better it is in quality. According to our research, some very costly pressure cookers offer bad performance while some affordable models offer top-notch quality. Just look for certain features in an affordable model and don’t spend hundreds of dollars unnecessarily. For example, a $200 pressure cooker and $70 pressure cooker have no different features , just different designing.

Why one should buy a Pressure Cooker?

Although, you can cook any food without the pressure cooker, then why it is so important to buy one. In the old days, people used to cook all sorts of food, from lentils, meat to vegetables. The. Why it is so important to own a pressure cooker today. Well let me tell you thoroughly

Time Consumption: Earlier, time was not a big thing. People used to spend hours in the kitchen without doing any other work. But now time has changed. We are always in hurry. We cannot wait for food to be cooked in 5 hours. A pressure cooker takes a maximum of half an hour and a minimum of 10 minutes to cook food completely. You can cook any food at home without worrying about time consumption.

Versatility: Versatility is a big thing today, as kids and teens want to eat all sorts of food. You can cook lentils, vegetables, pasta, meat and beans. A lot of people use a pressure cooker to bake cakes, cookies and pizza. This is the safest and quickest option to cook and bake any food item without needing to eat from outside.

No Mess: Isn’t it a dream that all the food is cooking in one pot and the rest of the kitchen is clean or can be cleaned. Once you have put the pressure cooker on the stove, your work is done and the kitchen can be cleaned. There is no possibility of mess around in the kitchen.

Types: Electric Pressure Cooker vs. Regular Pressure Cooker

While looking for a pressure cooker, this question might pop up in your head that is there any difference between electric and regular pressure cookers. The question to this answer is a big YES! They are a whole lot different. From timing, price to performance, there are a lot of differences.

Pros of Electric Pressure Cooker:

By name, you might think that electric pressure cookers are faster but in reality, they are slower than regular pressure cookers. BUT WHY? Well, electric cookers are automated, they use low pressure and heat and run on electricity.

Electric cookers are suitable for busy people who don’t want to wait for food to be cooked. You can easily use a timer for electric cooker and it will automatically stop when the timer hits. Electric Cookers are a good choice for people who have less area in the kitchen.

The electric pressure cooker is a multitasker, not only it cooks food, it keeps it warm for 12 hours. The electric cooker is also used to make yoghurt.You don’t need to adjust heat as the cooker works automatically. Kids and students who live in hostels must have an electric cooker to make life easy and care-free.

Cons:

If you compare electric pressure cookers with a regular one, they are less durable and more time -consuming. They are pricier as well. The lid takes more time to come off.

Pros Of Regular Pressure Cooker:

Used by millions of people, a regular pressure cooker is a traditional way to make food. As this cooker uses pressure and temperature to cook food, it is less time-consuming.  In a regular pressure cooker, you can cook anything possible.
Regular Pressure Cookers are more durable than electric ones as they are made of stainless steel. The nutrients are preserved while cooking in the regular pressure cooker.

Cons: They don’t have an integrated time. You need to adjust heat multiple times
Needs full attention of the cook.

Which one is better?

Since both are designed for different people. Electric Pressure cooker is designed for busy people who don’t want to supervise cooking and like to spend life care-free. While Regular pressure cooker is designed for people who don’t mind supervising and adjusting heat multiple times. We personally prefer electric pressure cooker as it has multiple functions and it preserves food for 12 hours. It makes your life much easier. In modern times, one should also move ahead with modern types of equipment.

Final Word

With all the specifications and features mention in this buying guide, we hope you get the best pressure cooker. We definitely recommend the electric pressure cookers as they are durable, modern and instant. Other than that, it is completely your choice and preference to buy anything. Do keep above points in mind while purchasing a pressure cooker.

1. Zavor LUX LCD 8 Quart Programmable Electric Multi-Cooker

2. COSORI Multicooker 6 QT 11-in-1 Programmable Slow

3. Instant Pot Aura 10-in-1 Multicooker Slow Cooker