Customer Reviews

Kuhn Rikon 3342 5-1/4-Quart Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've gone through 4 or 5 pressure cookers in the last 10 years, and I think I've finally found one I like. I work full time (40-60 hours a week), and I like to cook, so the time saved by pressure cooking is important to me. I use the pressure cooker mostly for meat, potatoes, beans and lentils. Typically, meat cooks in about 1/3 the time it would take in a regular pot. Pressure cooked meat is very tender and flavorful, but you need some experience in matching the cooking time to the type of meat. You have to be careful not to overcook.

The construction and finish of this cooker are excellent. It is made of stainless steel, with a thick aluminum plate at the bottom to spread the heat. This is a useful feature. Typically, pressure cooking requires high heat initially to quickly build up steam pressure before you turn the heat down. That is when food can burn and stick to the bottom of the cooker. This cooker spreads heat very well. So long as you use the prescribed amount of water or other cooking liquid, this cooker will not burn food at the bottom.

There is a two-level steam pressure indicator on the lid. The cooker comes with two booklets containing recipes, and a very comprehensive list of recommended cooking times for all sorts of meats, poultry, vegetables, beans, etc. If you follow directions, the cooker does not whistle or otherwise make any objectionable sounds. I can barely hear it from 10 feet away. Of course, if you forget to turn down the heat after the cooker is up to full cooking pressure, it will release a loud burst of steam. This is a safety feature.

The cooker has a shield on top of the lid to direct any escaping steam downwards, so there is no danger of burning your hands.

Kuhn-Rikon recommends using nylon spatulas to maintain the mirror-like finish, but you'll find them sadly inadequate when, for example, browning meat. I use a heavy gauge steel Calphalon spatula and steel tongs. After several months, I can see minor scratch marks inside the cooker, but the outside is still bright and shiny! Anyway, cookware should be designed to take this kind of handling -- it is meant to be useful rather than decorative. Stainless steel is the best material to withstand normal levels of use and abuse, and this cooker handles it well.

Keep in mind that a pressure cooker can't be filled to the top when cooking. It should never be more than half or two-thirds full, so the 5 liter capacity translates to about 2.5-3.0 liters of usable capacity. If you cook large quantities, you might want to get a bigger model.

This is a relatively expensive cooker, but it is well worth the money.

As a mom of two active boys I need my Duromatic pressure cooker almost every day. Especially after swimming they are starving and want real food fast! A standard dish is my 7 mintues risotto.I just throw in whatever I can find in the fridge or follow the great recipe provided in the cookbook "Quick Cuisine" that comes with the cooker. For all of you out there who are afraid of pressure cookers I have this to say: This unit is a high tech and safe as your computer! It's so easy to use even my husband can do it. Some of my favorit dishes: Beef stew, BBQ pot roast, beets, corn on the cob (no boiling 10 gallons of water) potatos for mashed or salad, whole chicken in 20 minutes! Well you just have to try it out. This cooker is the best--my kids will tell you so.

I deliberately went searching for a modern pressure cooker, partly because every Vegan cookbook that I own considers it a "must have". I also have fond memories of the delicious meals that my Mom and Grandmother cooked in years past, but the older styles scared me with their sputtering and pressure releases. I was always somewhat afraid I would end up with pot roast on my ceiling... The Kuhn Rikon 5-Liter Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker is a dream come true. The 5-Liter size is adequate for a small family or if cooking just for one or two people. It is easy to regulate the cooking pressure with the gauge on the top and the user guide is actually user-friendly! Pressure cooking foods is somewhat of an art, I believe, so it does take a little bit of getting used to if you are not familiar with using a pressure cooker. I, personally, have not owned one and so there is a bit of a learning curve. But the measurement and timing guides for different foods are comprehensive and very easily understandable. The foods I have cooked came out just as expected in much shorter amounts of time than regular cooking methods. Plus, I like the fact that nutrients are sealed in and foods retain their moisture. The stainless steel pot and cover clean up easily. The engineering and design are beautiful and I am totally happy with this cooker. It is a most welcome addition to my kitchen!

I love my Duromatic pressure cooker and constantly use their recipe for risotto. In 7 minutes flat we produce a dish as good as any cooked fresh in Italy. Something that usually takes hours to do right is reduced to minutes. This is the safest and most quiet pressure cooker we have ever tried

Let me carry the analogy of New York Times a little further - this pressure cooker does have nifty features that other's do not, but...(a) it is expensive, (b) not the most reliable cooker, (c) maintenance costs a lot, (d) you really can live without those nifty features.

Being Indian, I grew up in a house where pressure cooker was used at least once a day. In Indian grocery stores, pressure cookers are available at a third, or fourth of the price, so this pressure cooker is expensive. But it does look better, and has nifty features.

As another reviewer pointed out it is not the most reliable cooker as some plastic parts have poor quality. In my cooker, a plastic part in the steam-deflector disk broke within two weeks. There goes one of the nifty features. After two years of daily use, auxiliary pressure valve is mal-functioning, main pressure valve often gets stuck ( and makes a mess by spurtting out water), handles are cracking, and coming loose easily. One does not expect these problems from an expensive cooker.

I just ordered these replaceble parts (which are not covered under warranty) and the bill is over 75$, so maintenance is expensive. Mind you one can buy a whole pressure cooker for less than $50.

Now for the nifty features: it touts four safety features, well most modern pressure cooker have three safety features: main pressure valve, auxiliary pressure valve (if main gets stuck), and a rubber ring blow out hole, should auxiliary valve also fail. So steam deflector thingy is extra safety. It is nicely made of quality steel/aluminum and looks good, heats fast and evenly.

The best feature is spring loaded pressure valve with two red lines to indicate two different pressure. In old style weight-valves, you never know how much the pressure is (after a couple of months of daily cooking you develop an intuition though) until the weight valve lifts off and lets the steam out. It results in over-cooking, requires more water to be put in. In this pressure cooker, very little or no water is lost, and cooking can be controled a little better and can be finished a little faster. This is the feature because of which I will again buy this pressure cooker, and I am paying for costly maintenance. Having your potatos and dal cooked exactly right, if you know what I mean, is worth the price.

Remember Grandmom's pressure cooker with the rattling pressure control weight and all the associated hassle of using the thing? Well, all that's history. This cooker is a gem -- about as good as it gets in pressure valve technology, beautifully constructed, easy to use, and best of all, it turns out great meals in minutes.

We use ours to cook all kinds of stews, soups, casseroles -- you name it-- and they turn out just as good as the versions cooked for hours. Moroccan lamb stew, chicken cacciatore, braised lamb shanks, and many more recipes have all been delicious. And they all cook in 30 minutes or less -- yes, that's right -- half an hour. The prep time usually takes a preliminary half hour, so a great meal in 60 minutes with no fuss.

We have three different pressure cookers, including this Kuhn-Rikon model. We use them a lot,often two at a time, with great results. The Kuhn-Rikon is the hardest-to-use and most expensive ($100 more than our 10 quart Fagor) of the three because Kuhn-Rikon's pressure indicator is hard to coordinate with the heat level of the burner and a little hard to "read." Our Fagor 10 quart Fagor Duo 10 Qt Pressure Cooker/Canner requires minimal attention to coordinate burner heat level with high or low pressure and has very easy-to-use indicators and pressure release. There is no difference among these three in distribution of heat (all are same type pot construction.)

The Kuhn-Rikon is a nice work of kitchen scuplture. But the Fagor is also good-looking, easier to use (and so works better,)heats as evenly and costs much less. Especially if you're just starting pressure cooking get the Fagor and concentrate on those great recipes from Lorna Sass's booksPressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker.

I bought this as a gift for my chef husband who begged for a year. He tempted me with stories of creamy risotto in minutes and broths that won't sit for hours and stink up the kitchen. He got it with the caveat that he would clean up any explosions. None yet, and I'm convinced now that there won't be any. Food is evenly cooked, fast, and has well developed flavors. This package comes with everything- CD, cookbook, pot. The only downside is the small size. If you're doing a lot of broths you might want to upgrade to the 7 liter.

I purchased a Kuhn Rikon in January and have used it over 30 times since, having never used a pressure cooker before. It is simple to use and produces a better finished product than just about any other method of cooking. Meats that take long cook times are done quickly to a juicy, tender, flavorful result.

If you take a little time to learn the basics and watch your cooking times you will be most pleasantly surprised. We have certainly paid for our cooker already by cooking less expensive cuts of meat and eating out less often. We know we can have a really satisfying meal on the table in an hour or less.

Some of our favorites have been; pot roast with vegetables added the last 7 minutes, cooking time approx 55 min total, stroganoff made with stew meat, (no cutting up the meat), add noodles the last 6 min, fork tender meat, total cook time about 25 min., meaty Short ribs -35 minutes, beef stew 25 minutes, split pea soup, 10 minutes, risotto 7 minutes, chicken cacciatore 10 minutes.

I have begun to enjoy cooking again. With the limited time we have to prepapre a meal after work and hectic family weekends this pressure cooker has brought real home cooking back into our life.

I've used quite a few pressure cookers over the years and this is my favorite. Here's what I like about it: Stainless steel interior and exterior. Cooks with a minimum amount of liquid--as little as 1/3 cup. Come up to pressure fast and holds the pressure very efficiently. The two pressure settings are also a plus. The only negative to this system is that the parts do wear out. I've had my 5 quart Kuhn for about 14 years and have replaced the handles, valves and gaskets at least once. The good news is that parts are readily available. I use mine 4-5 times a week so it gets a lot of wear and tear. Even though it doesn't save much time for quick steaming I rarely use anything else for steamed greens, they just come out better. Best thing about it? Perfect risotto in 7-8 minutes! This tool is worth every penny in time and fuel savings. If I lost mine I'd replace it immediately. Lorna Sass's books have many innovative and inspiring recipes and with a bit of practice you can adapt almost any recipe to the pressure cooker. My experience has been that things cook in almost exactly 1/3 the time--i.e. a 3 hour osso bucco cooks in 1 hour. Last bit of advice: Get the 5 liter. Any smaller and you'll find it a bit cramped for a whole chicken. Any larger and it will be too large for smaller dishes and risottos.