Presto 01341 4-quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

by Presto

• Cooks three to ten times faster than ordinary cooking methods, saving time, energy, and money.
• Luxurious stainless steel with tri-clad base for fast, even heating.
• Pressure regulator maintains the proper cooking pressure automatically.
• Includes cooking rack and complete 64-page instruction/recipe book.
• 9-3/4 by 15-1/2 by 6-2/3 inches; 12 year limited warranty.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 10 x 19 inches ; 5.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002N602
• Item model number: 01341
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,079 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,697 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Color: Stainless Steel

Amazon.com

Pressure cookers have experienced renewed popularity over the last several years because cooks have rediscovered what some cooks (particularly grandmas) have known for a long time--they're really fast. And it's easy to cook healthfully with pressure cookers, since the food retains so much more of its nutrients and flavor. Presto's 4-quart stainless steel pressure cooker is a multi-purpose pot that can stand in as a conventional saucepan as well as perform the kitchen magic that pressure cookers are famous for. Chicken Cacciatore cooks in 8 minutes! This professional-quality stainless steel pressure cooker is a handy addition to any well-rounded set of kitchen tools.

The heavy-duty lid locks down during cooking; an inner sealing ring keeps the steam in. In addition to a pop-up pressure indicator and a simple steam release mechanism, there is an overpressure plug that will let off steam if it builds up excessively. This pressure cooker is useful for weeknight dinners or for any meal that needs to come together quickly. An accompanying booklet contains more than 65 recipes, ranging from basic soup stocks to stews and pot roasts--even desserts like 5-minute custards! Tenderize lean cuts of beef or pork; or cook chicken, fish, or vegetables faster than you can in a microwave, and without losing moisture.

Nonabrasive cleansers are best for cleaning this stainless steel pressure cooker, though occasional use of a fine metal polish will help the exterior keep its shine. The Presto 4-quart pressure cooker is fully immersible; in addition, the sealing ring should be removed after each use to allow cleaning of the inside rim of the lid. The vent pipe is simple to keep clean with a small brush or pipe cleaner, and both the air vent/cover lock and the overpressure plug are removable. The pressure cooker measures 9 inches in diameter (16-1/2 inches including handles) and 6-1/2 inches tall (including lid). Presto guarantees this pressure cooker with an extended 12-year warranty. A detailed instruction and recipe booklet is included; special safety issues that pertain to pressure cookers are clearly explained. --Garland Withers

Product Description

The smart choice for healthy, favorful meals, fast and easy. Cooks 3 to 10 times faster than ordinary cooking methods - even faster than a microwave for many foods. Chicken, fish, meat and vegetables cook to perfection fast. Helps tenderize economical cuts of meat. Works on regular and smooth-top ranges. Cover lock indicator shows when there is pressure inside the cooker and prevents the cover from being removed until pressure is safely reduced. Includes a special rack for cooking several foods at once with no intermingling of flavors. Dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Liquid capacity: 4 quarts (3.8 liters).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

435 of 440 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great value, sturdy cooker May 13, 2006

By Joshua M. Kuo

Color Name:Stainless Steel|Amazon Verified Purchase

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:

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- 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:

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- 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:

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- 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:

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- 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.

327 of 339 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars good October 15, 2003

By Values Privacy VINE™ VOICE

Color Name:Stainless Steel

This is nothing fancy, but it works wery well. Replacemenat parts are easy to buy. You can't open it if it's under pressure because it has a lock by the handle (safety feature). Actually I think it's very safe as it has other features as well.
I think one of the most important things to look for is what it's made of (after safety of course!). This is stainless steel which is good because you don't want aluminum (aluminum will stain and get eaten away with acidic food such as vinegar or lemon juice...).
Another thing to consider is that it takes time to heat up and cool down so even though all pressure cookers say it takes a lot less time to cook, they don't take the heat-up cool-down time into consideration, even though they are correct about the actual cooking time.

Good pressure cooker.

EDIT

In 2007, I bought a Kuhn-Rikon pressure cooker and I'm even more pleased with that.
It's quite a bit more expensive (4-7 times?) but a *lot* quieter as it relies on an internal spring to maintain pressure as opposed to gravity for the Presto. The Kuhn-Rikon also allows less water to escape. I keep both of them but I haven't used the presto for 4 months now. Considering I bought the Presto in 1999, it's amazing that it works perfectly even though it got heavy use. I even put the rubber seal and the lid in the dishwasher every time and it still held up. It's my backup cooker now as I can't let go of something that still works fine.

147 of 149 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Product September 16, 2007

By Paula

Color Name:Stainless Steel|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an excellent pressure cooker. I also have the 8-quart stainless steel model by Presto and I don't like that one as much as this one. I like the little rocker on top better because I know exactly how much pressure it has. It is super easy to carry this extremely lightweight pressure cooker to the sink, run water over it, and in 5-10 seconds the pressure is down! It is not heavy or hot. You just have to be careful when you do this. I actually prefer this method of quick cooling to the method used in the 8-quart, which is to open the little weight and let the steam shoot out the top. That method takes about a minute, plus there's steam all over the place. That seems more dangerous to me than going to the sink.

This model is a smaller version of the 6-quart, so if you think this one is too small, that one would work for a family. This size is just right for one or two people. I always make very small quantities of food in it anyway as I don't like to have a lot of leftovers.

Cleanup with this product is very fast and easy as it is so lightweight. Another nice thing is that replacement parts are very easy to obtain (rubber gasket and overpressure plug).

I highly recommend this pressure cooker and the 6-quart stainless steel model as well.