Customer Reviews

Fagor 8-Quart Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker with Steamer Basket

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I use to own an electric pressure cooker, and after many scorched meals, decided to try a stove-top model. It was the best move I could have made! 18/10 stainless, surrounding aluminum on the bottom has kept every meal scorch-free. I feel completely safe using this pressure cooker. It locks easily, and the dial indicating if the pot is at pressure and if it is at high or low pressure is fool-proof. There is nothing complicated about using this pressure cooker. I just can't say enough about this pot. I have cooked professionally, and I have cooked for many years. I would not be exaggerating if I told you that this is the best-loved piece of cookware that I own. Fagor has produced an outstanding product.

About eight years ago I purchased the Fagor Duo 8-quart pressure cooker and have loved using it since my purchase. The pan is made of heavy duty stainless steel which cooks evenly and foods come out tasting like they are supposed to. No off tastes just well prepared food.

Once the pressure cooker reaches pressurization the cooker quietly cooks a tasty meal in minutes. Once in awhile you may hear a slight hiss but that's about it.

And finally, I think Fagor uses a standardized gasket for almost all of their pressure cookers. You can check with Fagor to confirm this.

Another plus is the ability to rapidly depressurize the cooker by turning the the knob to steam release. No more taking the pressure cooker to the sink to run water over the pan to quickly release the pressure.

I've cooked pot roasts, porcupine meatballs, soups, stews, ribs, and even rice pudding in my Fagor pressure cooker. All turned out great!

Just got this pressure cooker a few weeks ago and we love it! Solid, well-built, easy to use/clean--if you're looking for a top-quality pressure cooker at a reasonable price, this is the one to buy!

We purchased a Presto 6-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker from Amazon about a year ago for $48.99. We were looking for a decent stainless steel pressure cooker without spending a ton of money. While the Presto is reasonably well made and you certainly can't argue with the price, in our opinion the Fagor Duo is 5 times the cooker at less than twice the price of the Presto. We're really sold on pressure cookers (the flavor, the time savings, etc) so much so that we decided to do our research and get a quality pressure cooker this time even though it would cost more. After a lot of research, we decided on the Fagor Duo.

First, I'd like to address some complaints about this item mentioned by some other reviewers here. I truly believe that many complaints come from people who didn't read and/or didn't understand the owner's manual, and trust me, when cooking with a pressure cooker you NEED to read the manual!!

For example, someone mentioned that it was hard to tell when this unit came up to pressure, and I couldn't disagree more! There is a plastic yellow rod built right into the handle that pops up about 3/8" when the unit develops the desired pressure, plus, with mine any hissing from escaping steam also stops once the proper pressure is achieved. I find this style of pressure indicator MUCH easier to use than the old "rocker-top" style cookers. Additionally, once pressure is achieved and you reduce the cooking temperature, the Fagor Duo maintains pressure MUCH better than our Presto rocker-top pressure cooker--in fact our Presto cooker was so finicky in this regard (you have to verrrrry slowly reduce the temperature or else the rocker stops rocking and you have to increase the temperature again.....) that we decided to get one of the newer style pressure cookers like the Fagor.

Someone else complained about putting the lid on wrong and having it jam. First of all, it's EXTREMELY difficult to put the lid on wrong--Fagor even engraves a mark on the lid of this pressure cooker that you line up with the handle to ensure easy and proper locking of the lid every time. In fact, that was another thing we didn't like about our Presto 6-quart pressure cooker--lining up the locking notches on the lid on was always a bit of a struggle, but the Fagor Duo model makes putting on the lid very simple. Again, reading the owner's manual (or watching the included Fagor instructional DVD) is VERY IMPORTANT!

Some of the features that we like the best are: The Fagor Duo is much wider at the base than the Presto cooker which is not only more stable, but also gives you more surface area for browning meats prior to pressure cooking. The Fagor Duo comes with a nice stainless steel steamer basket, an informative instructional DVD on pressure cooking, a well thought out and comprehensive owner's manual, AND a nice recipe book that includes over 50 recipes! It also has a very handy steam release valve built into the cooker lid that allows you to quickly vent the pressure (in order to open the lid after cooking is complete) without having to lug the heavy pot over to the sink to run cold water on it, or wait the 5-10 minutes for the pressure to drop by itself. There's also two pressure settings (thus the name "Duo") so that you can cook/steam delicate foods like veggies, fish, etc at a lower pressure.

All in all we couldn't be happier with the Fagor Duo. We considered a Kuhn 8 quart pressure cooker, but the $200 price tag for the Kuhn combined with the great reviews for the Fagor Duo make our decision easy.

If you're new to pressure cooking, don't make the same mistake we did by buying a lesser unit to save money, just bite the bullet and get the Fagor. With it's build quality and 10 year warranty it should give you many, many years of great service!

This is an excellent Fagor product. I'm not sure what the other reviewer really meant when saying the lid jammed, but the lid is supposed to be turned to the left to close, not to the right. The handle on the lid and the handle on the pot is supposed to meet and then you know it's closed because you hear an audible click as it locks in place. I suppose if you try to force the lid to the right it will jam, but why would you want to do that?

Anyway, there are 2 pressure settings, one for low, and one for high. The high is used when you don't have a lot of time. The instructions are clear in the booklet, and most meals will cook in less than an hour. It does take getting used to especially if you've never used a pressure cooker before, like me. But I love how quickly the meat gets soft, especially since I usually don't start thinking about dinner until late in the afternoon.

This is a very nice, heavy-weight 18/10 Stainless Steel cooker, not the thin aluminum types like "Presto". You're getting a well-made, quality pressure cooker with Fagor.

I purchased the Fagor Duo 8-Quart Pressure Cooker on the recommendation of a friend I respect. I made a glorious stew the first time I used it. The second time, I tried to make rice, using the instructions in the booklet. I sat next to the stove, timing how long it would take to come to pressure (information I insert in recipes). I waited and waited. Turns out the orange pressure indicator had melted. This, on the second use of the cooker.

I called the 1-800 number listed in the booklet that comes with the pressure cooker. When I told my story to the woman who answered, she said she'd send me a new part (to replace the part requires disassembling the handle using a Philips Head screw driver) as a one time courtesy. From now on, I'd have to purchase a replacement part.

I said, What about the ten-year warranty. She said that was only on the metal parts of the pressure cooker, not on the handle, not on the pressure indicator. Having a ten-year warranty for metal is like having a ten-year warranty for a rock -- it's a relatively useless warranty.

The first woman I spoke to suggested that it was my fault -- that I'd had the flame beneath the pot on too high. I have a gas stove, and their instructions say to place the cooker over high heat. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She had the same story -- handle, etc., not under warranty. She said this doesn't happen very often. But it happened to me the second time I used the pot, following their directions.

Good customer service? Maybe. If I was running the show, I would have asked me to send back the pot so their engineers could determine if it malfunctioned. I would have sent me a new pot. But no.... So, buyer beware.

This pressure cooker was a gift. I have never had but one other cooking item that I have enjoyed as much (and that sits on the deck and smokes lots of meat).
This is by far a joy for anyone who loves to cook. I cannot believe that I have gone so long without one in my arsenal. I actually have gone so many weekends wanting cornbread and beans (pintos, or great northerns) and then realize that I hadn't the will or time to presoak them for 24 hours. Now, just BANG, done in less than 1/2 hour and have a taste, flavor and texture that is unsurpassed. I can tell you that if you enjoy cooking you need one in your repetoire.
Cooks Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen) rated the Fagor 8 quart "tops" and I agree.
Be careful if you are electric stove as the 18/10 stainless with aluminum core is a very fine conductor of heat and you will scorch your first beans if you don't come to pressure at MED-HI. High is just too much. (had to read some really fine print to find that little gem). After High pressure is achieved just back it to between Med and Med-Lo and you'll be fine.
Again, cannot express how jaw-dropping easy and wonderful food comes out in this. That there are not more people using these out of all the friends I have who think they are chefs, I am amazed.

I did a lot of research before buying this pressure cooker, but what sold me is that it was the America's Test Kitchen's top choice. I'm amazed at how fantastic this thing is! I used to have one of the old aluminum jiggle-top cookers...but the Fagor is in another class completely. It is quiet when cooking. It's very solid and cooks evenly. My only regret is that I didn't buy this years ago.

This pressure cooker is a simple to use, yet advanced to accommodate all levels of cooking experience. Using it to cook any food item is virtually idiot proof - until it comes to cleaning the pressure valve assembly. Should you take this assembly completely apart for cleaning, do not look for instruction to put it back together! It's not in the owner manual. To prevent undue frustration, it is suggested you pay attention to how you took it apart.

We've used this product for several months now and we're very happy with it....it works perfect. The product is very easy to use and is of high build quality.

I received the Fagor Duo (8-Qt.) and it was indeed the stainless steel 'Duo' model and not the non-stick version some reviewers received. The handle was not broken (also as some mentioned).

After quickly perusing the instructions and included recipe booklet, I made risotto (cook time = 7min). It worked like a champ. One thing to remember is the little yellow pop-up indicator merely alerts you to when there is pressure in the vessel, not to when the unit is at 'cooking' pressure. So leave the heat on until you see a slow but steady jet of steam from the selector switch. This is when you turn the heat to low and start timing. On my glasstop stove at medium heat, it took another 2 minutes after the pop up to reach cook pressure. I could have heated it on high but I decided to follow the instructions for electric stove users (as my glasstop retains heat fairly well). Risotto turned out great, clean up was a snap. The only caveat about clean up is that the instructions suggest you coat the gasket with a thin coat of veg. oil every time you clean it. I did and it wasn't a big deal but it may be something easily forgotten in the future.

I like this unit and am now addicted to pressure cooking. (seriously, risotto in 7 mins! (cooktime) - kick ass!)