Customer Reviews

Fagor Duo Combi 5-Piece Pressure Cooker Set

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Fagor is the least expensive brand that I am aware of which also has the 'modern' features desirable in pressure cookers. To learn more about pressure cookers and what is desirable go to missvickie.com (a non-commercial site devoted to pressure cooker enthusiasts.) Some of these features deal with safety, e.g. you don't have to worry about plugging the steam escape with Fagor. Fagor cookers also reach a pressure of 15psi (which is important.) Unless a brand advertises that they do reach 15psi, assume that they don't. I suggest getting an extra gasket when you buy the item as you will need one at one point (they don't last forever). I must also compliment the company on its service. I bought this item, and sent in a rebate form (for a free stock pot). They sent me a nice paella pan by mistake. I was satisfied, however I called them to make sure that there was no mistake. They answered the phone right away (without the common maze of annoyingly slow and complex menu options.) The woman I talked to was very personable. This woman checked on what happened, called me back, and told me that they would also send the stock pot to me, and for me to go ahead and keep the paella pan. I will update this if needed as time goes on, as I have more experience using this item.

I bought this pressure cooker set about a month ago and I love it. I had never used a pressure cooker before I bought this set, but I find it easy to use and very safe.

The set comes with a nice instruction book (with cooking times for lots of different food) and a small book of recipes. I like that I can cook brown rice in less time than it takes me to make white rice without a pressure cooker (about 20 minutes). I have successfully adapted a recipe for slow-roasted pulled pork to prepare it with sauce from scratch in less than an hour. As long as you're not looking for a crusty exterior, I think that you can make food of comperable quality as the oven or slow-cooker in a much shorter amount of time.

I find the two pots very convenient for making different quantities of food. With the glass lid, they work very well for other tasks such as steaming veggies briefly.

My only complaint about the set is that the insides of the pots are hard to get clean. Here are the directions for cleaning from the Fagor website:

"Sometimes stains may build up inside your pressure cooker from normal everyday use. A good way to remove stains is to add equal parts lemon juice and water to your cooker and heat this liquid until hot. You can then use a nonabrasive sponge to remove the stains. Do not clean the cooker with any abrasive materials as this may damage the finish on your pressure cooker."

I bought this set of pressure cookers over a year ago. It is the most used appliance I have ever owned. I have used it for chicken, roast, saurkraut and pork. Vegetables turn out great. It all turned out delicious. It does not burn things. The clear glass lid is an excellent addition to this set. Buy this set and you will love it. Pressure Perfect cookbook by Lorna Sass is a wonderful book full of useful information and great recipes.

After doing a lot of research I found this to be the best pressure cooker for my needs. I am a single guy with not much room for pots and pans. This set up is perfect, you can pressure cook in either pot, or use them as regular cookware. I use the 4 quart as a frying/sauté pan. With the two pots, glass lid, and steamer basket this set can replace at least 80% of you cookware. The quality is way better than any other pots or pans I had before. Very even heating for sautéing.

As far as actual pressure cooking goes I have had very good success with the meals I have prepared, but the cooking times listed in the manual seem to be shorter than it really takes. For instance a medium size artichoke takes about 20 minutes Fagor states it will take about 14 minutes. This product is excellent for shredded meats, steaming vegis, soups, and corned beef. I bought the Duo because of the low and high pressure options. I found that the low setting is useless not many recipes call for the low setting, so you may want to go with one of Fagors standard sets and save some cash. Another big plus is Fagors website, you can order just about any replacement parts you need there cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

We were very happy to find this brand as most of the pressure cookers in this price range just simply don't deliver what is expected. Many are very thin, don't have the double layer bottoms for proper heat transfer, and some don't even come up to 15psi which is the common pressure that works fast and with most recipes. We were not able to look at the Fagor before buying, but we had looked at many others including a $300 swiss model that was supposed to be the only one to buy according to other folks who are truly experts. I'm happy to report that this Fagor model does everything that the swiss model does that I will ever need. There is no way I could justify buying anything else that costs more $$ after using the Fagor for almost 2 months now. My wife grew up with her mom using a pressure cooker in the kitchen almost daily, and she is truly impressed as this unit has nothing in common with the old-style cookers. Quite quiet, easy to clean, and very heavy-duty.

I love this piece of cookware. Living alone and often working long, inconsistent hours has made this thing a Godsend in my life. I use this probably a few times a month at least (more in the winter, obviously). I can make soup in a matter of minutes, or have "slow cooked" pull-porked in 40 minutes. Shredded chicken for enchiladas or tacos can be light and tender in 10 minutes, and beef for stew is delicate and melts in your mouth in only 15 minutes. The smaller pot is great for doing fresh vegetables (green beans, asparagus, carrots, broccoli) in a matter of 5 minutes or less. There is also a glass lid for non-pressure cooking, and I use this frequently since I don't have an 8-quart pot.

A pasta bucket and trivet is included in this set, but a steamer basket is not. You can order the steamer basket through Fagor for a low price, and I highly recommend it for use in the 4-quart pot. It is great for steaming vegetables without putting them directly on the pan.

I've had this for nearly two years and haven't had to replace the seal yet. I think it might need to be replaced soon, but it has held up very well thus far. The only problem I've had is that I have a small crack develop in the handle of my smaller pot. I can get a new piece through Fagor, but I haven't done it yet. I'm not sure how this happened, since I've never abused or washed it in the dishwasher.

Nevertheless, this is a great product and highly recommended.

I purchased this set as a Christmas gift for my daughter and then asked for one for myself too! All I knew about pressure cookers was from decades ago, but this is not our mothers' cooker. It is very attractive, well-constructed, and safe to use. Having 2 pot sizes is wonderful. When I cook for my husband and me, I am finding the smaller one to be just right. I've cooked meats, veggies, dried beans, and brown rice all to perfection. It's great to take meat or poultry straight from the freezer and have it on the table in 30 minutes or less all tasty and fork-tender. I also purchased "Pressure Perfect" by Lorna Sass. It has more practical techniques and recipes than the little cookbook that came with the set. Can't wait to try a cheesecake! And thanks, Amazon.com, for the free shipping!!

I'm not sure that I can add much that has not already been stated by others, but I will go over some of the concerns expressed by others and maybe add a few comments of my own.

First, there have been many concerns expressed about handles broken in shipping, handle strength, and handles burning up. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate the strength of the handles about a 7.5 to 8. My pans arrived in perfect shape, but I can see how the handles might break if the package were badly mishandled. I believe this is the weakest feature of this pressure cooker. As long as I don't drop the pressure cooker on the handle, I don't expect to have any problem, and who is to say that any heavy pan with a bakelite handle will survive a fall to the floor. As to the comment about the handles burning up, I find it absurd. The only way the handles would burn would be if they were exposed to a very close source of heat, like a burner or a broiler. The fourth (4th) warning in the manual says not to put the pans in the oven. Nuff said.

I purchased the duo combi set. It includes two different sized bottoms for cooking small and large dinners, a steamer basket, a glass lid, and a simple triangular wire designed to keep the steamer off the bottom of the large bottom pan. The whole system works well. In the month I have owned the pressure cooker, I have used both sizes of pans and appreciate the ability to size the pan to my requirements. I also like having the glass lid that I can put on the pan after I'm finished pressure cooking and just want to keep things warm while I finish up other things.

Finally, like others, I was a bit concerned about using a pressure cooker because of all of the things I've heard of older style cookers, but after seeing this unit, I can understand how it would not be possible for it to blow food everywhere like old, poorly designed cookers might. The main reason this unit is safer is that the lid has a gap, perhaps 1" to 1-1/2" that exposes the gasket at all times. If the pan were to over pressurize, the gasket would simply push through this gap and pressure would be released well before dangerous levels. I would have been a lot more comfortable with this purchase if I had understood that design feature.

While the Fagor pressure cooker and the pot that comes with it in the combo are both stainless steel and of good quality, the "free" pan offered with the rebate is teflon-coated aluminum. Notice also the $8.95 handling fee that adds cost to this "free" pan. If you are buying this combination from Amazon because of the rebate, you might want to check the details very carefully.

Pat

We are really enjoying this set, that I bought my wife for Christmas. Works fine, very safe, easy to clean, and the food is delicious. For example, we did corn beef brisket on New Years Day in this cooker. I put 2 5-lb briskets in the cooker, dumped in a beer and another 12 oz of water, and it was cooked in half an hour. Tender, juicy, might have been the best I ever had. After cooking we plated the briskets, poured the liquid into a fat separator, put the fat-free liquid back into the cooker with 2 quartered cabbages, and they were cooked in 2 minutes. Everyone thought it was excellent. Last time I cooked brisket we crocked it for 6 hours and it did not taste as good.