HAWKINS 4 LITERS - ALUMINUM PRESSURE COOKER

by Hawkins

Product Features

• 4 Liter Capacity
• Shielded safety valve
• Long lasting gasket
• New improved pressure regulator
• Non-corroding handle bar and lid

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001AYI8MW
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,479 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

HAWKINS 4 LITERS - ALUMINUM PRESSURE COOKER

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect size for a small family, April 25, 2011

By 

Big Jon (U.S. Army) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: HAWKINS 4 LITERS - ALUMINUM PRESSURE COOKER

This pressure cooker is a gem. Here are the features.

1. It's very sturdy aluminum. Much lighter than steel and strong enough for the purpose.

2. The lid is slightly oval. It fits down inside the pot and locks in place by twisting the lid handle to align with the pot handle. This takes some getting used to, but it works fine.

3. Unlike most pressure cookers, the gasket is a very simple one that should last just about forever and cost very little to replace. I believe you could make a new one out of leather and it would work since it's just an O ring.

4. The pot comes with a bottom spacer or steamer attachment to keep foods or other containers about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the pot. This allows worry free cooking of meats and other solid items without immersing them in water. Soups and stews etc don't need the steamer.

5. The pressure "weight" is normally locked to the pot lid by a friction lock so it won't fall off if you invert the pot. This allows you to store the weight with the pot lid so you don't lose it. I have a junk-drawer in my kitchen full of pressure cooker weights for different models, so I can really appreciate this feature.

6. This particular pot is 4 liters, but Hawkins makes a huge variety of sizes to fit any need. You can size the pot to the chore. Very handy. This is a good size for most of my cooking. You can cook up to about 3 quarts of food at a time (you can't fill it to the top). This will feed a family of four easily with a few leftovers.

For those of you who have never cooked in a pressure cooker, give it a try. You might really like it. This pot makes short work of dried beans or other loooonnnnggg cooking foods. I don't have to soak beans, I just drop them in the pot with plenty of water and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Normally you are looking at HOURS even after soaking them overnight. Using a pressure cooker, dried beans are suddenly very convenient.

One sour note: Because it's aluminum, Hawkins doesnt recommend frying in it. High temperatures will possibly weaken it, so high temperature frying is a no-no.

But it can do many other things quite well. You can use it as a normal pot to heat, simmer, boil or braise as long as you don't heat it up to oil-smoking-temperatures. It really excels at soups, stews, chilies or anything else that is basically soup-like with plenty of water. It can cook up a stew in about 20 minutes from start to finish. That is highly useful when you need to be frugal with fuel. I use it as a camping pot for open flames over a rocket stove. Just heat it up to pressure and then quit feeding the fire. This is an incredibly fuel efficient way to cook. A double handful of sticks will cook an entire meal for four. I use pressure cookers often and this is a good one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best pressure cooker, March 22, 2011

By 

Alan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: HAWKINS 4 LITERS - ALUMINUM PRESSURE COOKER

I've purchased probably about 4-5 pressure cookers in my lifetime, and this is perhaps the best one ever! I like how the lid fits inside, very tight and secure. Food cooks quickly... dried beans cook in about 30 minutes. I would recommend this pressure cooker to anyone looking.