Presto 01341 4-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

A replacement for our electric pressure pot as they are just about impossible to clean properly and they are unreliable for this stove top pressure cooker. This Presto is top notch quality, a breeze to clean and works like a pressure pot should do.

I didn't grow up in a family with a pressure cooker (PC), so really the only thing I knew or thought I knew was that they were dangerous, hard to use, something from the past. Boy could I not have been more wrong. I started thinking of getting one probably for the same reasons you are, the appeal of fast cooking, with tasty and healthy results, and improved safety over the pressure cookers from the past. My wife and I have had this model now for a couple of weeks and it delivers on all counts. The basic idea is that because of the pressure that builds up inside, water gets to 250 degrees, it is super hot. And at that temperature it can break down the tough parts of meats and cook things very quickly. Yet it also retains nutrients and tastes good. Well it does cook fast and it is tasty. I will take the experts opinion that it is also a healthy way to cook. As a PC newbee I had no idea what to expect. First off is a little bit of assembly. That went quickly and smoothly. Second is READING the instruction booklet. This is not a pan or a microwave or something like that. It is safe..but also something that is, well, under pressure. And pressure can be dangerous. After getting familiar with the parts of the pressure cooker we cooked our first meal, a pot roast. It was super easy and delicious. We used, frankly, a pretty cheap piece of meat but it came out tasting fantastic. It was quick but something to keep in mind is cooking time does not usually include the time to heat it up and the time to cool it down. Also you can't just walk away. Once the pressure seals the cooker most of the time you have to then reduce the heat. But it really isn't that much oversight. In any event even taking all of that into account it was still by far the fastest pot roast I have ever cooked and better than average in taste. We have done some chicken dishes and some rice dishes. It has turned out perfect rice in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. We are still getting a feel for seasoning. Sometimes we have had dishes too seasoned and other times not but nothing that hasn't been easily as tasty as other ways we cook things. So if you are a PC newbee like me I say give it a try. As long as you read the instructions and respect the pressure it is a pretty easy way to cook with excellent tasty results in a quick amount of time. Granted it has only been a couple of weeks but we have eaten out much less these 2 weeks. We picked up a well regarded cookbook on Amazon Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker and so far so good. This could easily become the main way you cook, it has that a good a combination of benefits and realtive ease of use. What it excels at is...great results/unit of effort and time. I can't see many other ways that you can maximize your cooking effort and cooking time than a PC.

I got this to combine with my presto 8 qt My wife likes homemade mashed potatoes...that's what she makes for her family probably 4 times a week (we eat at home 95% of the evening meals --she is a wonderful mom and teaches our 11 and 13 her tips and tricks--she spoils us. But mashed potatoes take 20-30 minutes cook time. Well after reading bunch of things and watching video's i said lets try this cut our cooking time by 2/3. So potatoes are easy now---1/ 1/2 cup water 5 russet potatoes cook 5 min at pressure (bobble rocking starts the timer) take off heat let come to base pressure. prep other things mix right in the same pan. easy peasy WOW they are done SAVED A TON OF TIME OK OK i'll get to the review---this is wonderful, simple effective EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE SAFETY VALVES. stainless steel for durability and EASY cleanup. its stove top (ours is gas lucky us) gets to the 15psi quickly, has a thick conducting bottom. Very easy to tell if still under pressure. you stop hearing the bobble head pressure thing, but look near the handle it has a pop up indicator that if its down its safe to open--very easy to understand...not intimidating easy on lid-- HIGH QUALITY--i'd recommend this to friends in a heart beat. I bought both this and the 8 qt presto to give my family flexibility i'd suggest this as well, maybe you could go with the lover priced 6 qt but the 8 qt quick release valve is THE BOMB to get this to quick release as per recipes (not all request it) reguires you to put under cold water till the safety indicator drops its a tad of a hassle but thats pressure cooking. I don't think this model comes with the newer style release valve ---maybe but didn't find it. if so get it with the same valve system as the 8 qt SIMPLY WONDERFUL no regrets would do it again----but if presto makes this size with the newer valve i'd get that I was at first intimidated by pressure cooking but this system really made the learning curve easy and quick.

I use this to cook Indian legumes or Dals as they are known commonly. Also cook unsoaked garbanzos and kidney beans as weii. While dals take 15 to 30 minutes of cooking under pressure, garbanzos and kidney beans might take 40 minutes to an hour. While it’s necessary to use the pot safely because of pressure, does alleviate having to soak ingredients for hours prior to cooking. While some Indian varieties do whistle, this one doesn’t, so will need to follow timing requirements for each ingredient. Not too complicated though! Happy to have it when one craves for spicy Dals without much preplanning. Not very happy that the wooden handles need frequent tightening! Great price at Amazon!

I have a larger Presto pressure cooker that I don't use that often as it is just too big for me and my small kitchen. This one is just the right size to make smaller meals when I want, or larger ones when I am feeding more people. It works great and is very easy to use and clean. I can make a soup that will feed 8 people in this! When cooking beans, especially lentils, I recommend adding some oil to reduce foaming. I have not had any issues with the screw rusting as other viewers have mentioned. If I do, it looks like it will be easy to replace them cheaply at my hardware store. I have borrowed a $250 Fagor pressure cooker and this one works just as well. I cook more because this speeds up cooking time (especially at my high altitude), and everything tastes so much better. I don't bother adding broth to soups anymore as the simple act of cooking the ingredients in the pressure cooker amplified the flavor. I can cook heirloom beans in 20 minutes, potatoes in 5 minutes, lentils in 5 minutes, soup in 7 minutes, brocolli in 1 minute (may be faster for you if you are at a lower altitude). Yesterday I whipped up a chili with potatoes in 7 minutes that tasted like it had simmered all day. I have turned many friends onto pressure cookers because the speed and taste is so much better. Fresh cooked beans are a million times more delicious than canned! And cheaper! Do keep your eye on the time. It is easy to overcook your food and thus have it burn. But that is no fault of this pressure cooker. Set a timer and keep your eye on it. The included mini cookbook is helpful and a good start. But I recommend buying a cookbook. Follow the instructions to always remove the seal and wash it each time, then store it with the lid upside down. A friend didn't do that and his seal adhered to the lid, which was a pain to remove. I expect this cooker will last me for many years.

Reviewed many pressure cookers before deciding on this one. While it requires a bit of assembly (handles and valve) these are minor issues. Very well made cooker and the 64 page booklet included useful information and recipes. Bought the 4 quart model since use for one person most of the time. Not having used pressure cooker before appreciated the warnings and useful tips on how to use safely. Like the fact that Presto has replacement seals when needed. Obviously cooker is useless if do not have this seal and in time am sure will require replacement. Buying one for my daughter as well who is busy career woman and wants to eat healthy and quickly. Keeping nutrients and vitamins in the food a plus as is the savings in time cooking a good meal. Easy to recommend this item. The instruction book that comes with this cooker is probably one of the best I have read in recent years. At the same time it is also very detailed in the care, maintenance and handling of the cooker. For example, it recommends replacing the seal and the safety plug once every two years. Of course that probably depends on the amount of use and the care you take of the product. In any case recommends replacing the safety plug when you replace the seal. Both are available on Amazon but this will mean a continuing cost to use the product. At the moment using Amazon Prime cost is about $15 for the pair of items or roughly $7.50 a year if replace every two years. I do highly recommend anyone wanting to use the product to read the instructions very carefully and perhaps highlight the key items. For example what foods to cook and more important what foods not to cook. What level in the pot to use for various items depending on their expansion during cooking. Also you need to look through the hole for the safety plug to be sure it is clear and use pipe cleaners to clean that hole and also the hole through the nut, all explained very clearly in the instructions. Various tips on how to clean (and how not to clean) the pot are very useful. If you have induction stove you will need the stainless steel pot since the aluminum pots are not magnetic, but then you probably knew that. Today with so many instructions written in China often they are difficult to read or not very worthwhile. The instructions with this cooker are quite different. They are important to use the product safely and to get the most value out of the product. If you are someone who seldom reads instructions or is not willing to spend an hour or so learning about this cooking method or who will not take the time to follow the safety instructions then you probably should consider a different method of cooking. But an hour or so spent learning about he product will pay off in better cooking, shorter time spent cooking and more healthy eating. I ordered a second cooker for my busy career oriented daughter but then cancelled the order after reading the instructions as I am not sure as busy as she is that she would read and follow them. I plan to show her mine and see if she will spend the time to learn the system. If so will order again for her. Or give her mine and buy second for myself. To me it is worth spending the time to learn about safely using this product but I can see that it is not for everyone. It is not a pot you just pour water into, stick lid on and fire up the burners. But once you learn how to take care of it and use it I think you will be extremely pleased with the cooking experience. And the time spent learning and caring for the cooker will pay off in shorter and better cooking. For those willing to invest a little time, bon appetite!

I've owned and used a 4 quart pressure cooker for 38 years and have been delighted that parts are still easy to get for it. So when I decided that I needed increased cooking capacity, I was happy to see that the current models are similar to the one that I bought in 1974. The cooker is pretty much what you need to cook with little more, no basket you might find convenient for jars used for canning. Other models specifically for canning have this. It is, however, well designed for cooking and the design well executed. The handles (there are three) are not attached but are easily assembled using 5 phillips screws. I used some heat resistant anti-seize compound sparingly on the threads. The same as I use on the spark plugs in my car. The handles on my old 4 quart cooker are slightly loose but the screws are hopelessly seized, despite being made from stainless steel. The handle and helper handle on the opposing side is just right for managing it on the range. The low aluminum rack, called a trivet, has not changed at all, it allows the food to sit above the water in the bottom and prevents it from burning. The pressure regulator has changed little and the over-pressure emergency relief plug is the same, except that the poppet valve is now incorporated with the lid pressure interlock. The poppet valve allows steam to escape until the rate is high enough to close the valve and seal the cooker allowing the pressure to begin building. The lid interlock prevents the lid from being opened when the pot is pressurized. This strikes me as a redundant feature since it is almost impossible to open the lid when even it is under even a small amount of pressure, but I guess someone has done it. Consequently, with the safety interlock, closing the lid must be done with a little more care than on my old cooker which did not have it. It just takes a little more attention to alignment. The lid sealing ring is thinner, but is actually easier to grease and install in the lid. Finally, the gauge of the stainless steal is exactly as thick as my older 4 quart cooker although it appears thinner. The sides, lid, and bottom of the older models are uniform thickness and are heavy enough to spread heat evenly. This cooker now has a layer of aluminum to help spread the heat evenly across the bottom of the pot. This layer is clad in stainless steel, so all exposed surfaces, most importantly, the bottom, are stainless steel. The pot and lid are highly polished, but the bar code sticker was a little difficult to get off the side. There are indented markings at the levels of 1/2 and 2/3 capacity which are visible on the inside and outside of the pot, a nice addition. The inside dimensions are 8 1/2 inches in diameter and 6 1/4 inches deep same diameter as my 4 quart and about 2 1/4 inches deeper. I cooked a 15 lbs pumpkin using it an my old 4 quart in parallel (cooking several pots in each cooker) and I'm with happy with the results. Despite the extra complication of the lid interlock it proved easy to operate and the thinner seal seems less likely to leak as sometime happens with the older cooker. While I was a little put off by the lighter-looking gauge metal (actually the same thicknes) and leery of the complication of the lid-interlock, after using it I was very pleased to see that Presto is still maintaining excellence in design and construction of a classic cooking utensil whose basic utility is often overlooked in today's gadget filled kitchen. I can do things with a pressure cooker which cannot be done with a microwave!

I bought this cooker 6 months ago from amazon for $35, and frankly, although the reviews I read on this product all said that it's great, I was very skeptical about the $35 price tag and was not expecting much. On top of that, both my mother and my mother-in-law warned me that cheap pressure cookers are dangerous, and I *must* buy something more expensive for safety reasons. I am just very glad that they were both wrong! This is definitely one of the best purchases I have made on amazon. I still cannot believe they sell this for $35! The pot does not feel cheap at all. It has very sturdy handles, and a thick, heavy bottom, which holds in heat well. I like this pan so much that sometimes I use it instead of my skillet to sautee meat, because of the deeper pot + the cover, less cleaning up for me :-) I love making soup and stock, but it usually takes up so much of my time when the stock is simmering. With this pressure cooker, I can make a meat-fall-off-the-bone soup in an hour! Some might find this pot to be a little on the small side, but this pot works great for my wife and I. Although we have guests over regularly, I find the capacity of the pot to be very good. I would guess that this pot would work well for up to a 4-person family. Pros: ===== - Cheap, at $35, it's hard to beat - Sturdy, I was afraid that the plastic handles would break easily, but they are in fact quite strong - Stainless steel makes it great for browning meat pieces for stew or stock, and it heats up fast and holds heat well. - Safe, you cannot open it when it's pressurized. - Dish washer safe, though I prefer to wash it by hand. Cons: ===== - The handle can be tricky to hold with one hand. My hands are small, and when you've closed the top, the handle is kind of big. Luckily, I don't need to do this very often, and when I need to move it around, I just use both handles. - The top cap can be tricky to clean. I usually soak it in hot soapy water, and then clean it thoroughly with Q-tip. Watch outs: =========== - The handle curves in a way that it catches any dripping liquid, I've hurt myself once when I wasn't careful at opening the cover. - Do *NOT* remove the cap while it's blowing! The steam from inside is extremely hot and as soon as you remove the cap, the hot steam will shoot up faster than you can move your hand(s) away. Tips: ===== - I keep some water bottles in my freezer, and when I need to cool this off in a hurry, I can make a bath of cold water in my sink, put the hot pot inside, and throw the froze water bottles in. This usually cools it down very fast, great when I want to refrigerate it overnight to skim off the fat, and didn't want to wait too long for it to cool down.

This is an update to the previous review of two years ago! I love this pressure cooker and it is working just great!! It really is large enough to make a lot for about ten people!!! I really am thinking of purchasing another one as back up to this one because I just don't want to be without this perfect one!!! I definitely recommend it to all!!! Previous review at the time I purchased it: This pressure cooker works very well, exactly like my last one of many years that I was used to. It cooked the beef stew exactly as expected and it is nice and heavy! It's a smaller size than my old one, looks really nice on the stove and it makes enough for a large family. Love it!

Good stuff

You require a timer to know if the food is cooked. Whereas in traditional cookers, the weights go off and one can count on the whistle to tell you if the food might be cooked.

Na culinária diária. Excelente qualidade!

I wish I could give this pressure cooker 10 stars! For about 45 years, I've enjoyed and used my very simple but large Lagostina. Now that I'm alone, I wanted to be able to pressure cook small pot roasts and corned beef, etc. The chuck roast I cooked first came out beautifully - I knew then my 4-quart Presto was just perfect for my needs. Where it went over the top was when I cut a larger corned beef piece into two pieces, added about a cup of water, put the pieces on the insert that came with it, brought the Presto to the point where the top hissed strongly, lowered the heat so it hissed quietly - and an hour later had the most succulent, tender, juicy corned beef that just melted in my mouth. The stainless steel is high quality and cleans easily. The manual said I could put it in my dishwasher, but I'm so crazy about this wonderful pressure cooker that I hand wash it lovingly. I don't think I can praise the Presto Pressure cooker adequately. I'm just dithering with delight and strongly recommend it. Lastly, the price is reasonable! Don't even think about it - if you need a smaller pressure cooker, this Presto 4 Quart is unbeatable!