Customer Reviews

Presto 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

5 star:		(169)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This is a solid, basic stainless pressure cooker, that is quite a bargain at the $41.45 price (or $33 something after the $25 off $125 kitchen purchases).

Advantages:

* Easy to use flip pressure regulator for quick release of pressure
* Only has 15 lbs pressure that is adequate for normal pressure cooking
* Has handles on both sides that makes the cooker easy to carry and stable when full.
* Stainless won't interact with food product such as tomatoes.
* 8 qt. capacity gives 4 qts of capacity when cooking foaming products such as beans or lentils.
* Easier to clean than some pressure cookers I have used.

Disadvantages:

* Only cooks at 15 lbs of pressure, where some recipes call for only 10 lbs and would have to be adjusted.
* Most canning is done at 10 lbs pressure at sealevel and up to 1000 ft elevation
* I respectfully disagree that this cooker is meant for canning. It could process 3 or 4 pints in a pinch, but a 23 qt pressure cooker is the canning workhorse and will hold 19 pts or 7 qts. The manual suggests not canning in it, and it doesn't have a canning trivet included.
* It is much lighter weight than older Presto models, so I don't know if it will last as long as the old ones did.

Overall, it is a great pressure cooker for most cooking, and is a very good value.

I bought this for canning and found it more than worth the money. I never expected to use it for cooking but it came with great recipes so I tried it. Makes wondrous custards and delectable roasts as well. Forget the more expensive models - this one does a fabulous job of canning and spare parts are readily available (I blew out a pressure indicator - my fault). Highly recommend

Presto's 8 qt stainless pressure cooker is awesome; it's quiet, effective, and easy to clean. Its safety features do not interfere with regular use in any way. The short handles/grips are better than the short-grip + long-handle combination used on some models. This Presto just makes sense. It is my third one and is the best by far.

Though I only have experience with Presto, I cannot imagine another cooker being worth either the savings or the extra expense.

If you only want to own one pressure cooker, don't get the smaller sizes. When you want to do a big stew, chicken or roast you won't have room. A small secondary pressure cooker for extra vegetables etc. might be useful, but not as your primary cooker.

Hey Presto, A double-decker basket would be nice for separating certain foods. How about it?

*Never* buy the aluminum pressure cookers, they save you money but are forever spreading aluminum about when you clean them. Stainless steel rocks(heh heh).

As always, never risk letting a cooker run dry while cooking under pressure.

I bought my Presto 1370 about a year ago when I started cooking for my cat and was trying to cut down on the time involved to prepare his stew. Now, I use it two or three times a week for all kinds of food - even pasta. It has become an essential part of my kitchen routine and will for you, too!

This ain't your grandmother's accident-waiting-to-happen pressure cooker. This model is super easy to use. The lid locks firmly in place with a click, so you know when it is properly seated. It has plenty of redundant safety features. It is well made - you'll know you have a solid, safe cooker when you lift it. It's good quality steel - nothing sticks to the bottom.

The Presto 1370 comes with good, easy recipes to get you started, but I highly recommend you explore Lorna Sass' fabulous pressure-cooker cookbooks Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure to quickly expand your choices. Some of my favorite recipes are chili, brisket in beer and mustard gravy with smashed garlic potatoes, pozole (pork & hominy stew), beans bourguignon, vegetarian picadillo (a Cuban dish) and so much more. Combine pressure-cooked beans with vegetarian slow cooking Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That Are Ready When You Are, and your meals will be ready faster and easier.

A note about buying from Amazon vs. discount stores: I did a lot of comparison shopping before I bought a pressure cooker. I went to several stores, played with the cookers in person and settled on this model as being most appropriate for my needs. The big surprise was that Amazon's price was a few dollars lower than the discounters I visited. Add to that free shipping, no sales tax and the postal service bringing it right to my doorstep, and I just can't beat it!

I've been using pressure cookers since I was married 35 years ago . . . and I do a LOT of cooking and baking. I think "steamed" vegetables come out MUCH much better in a pressure cooker, and use mine all the time, mostly for that. I had a Mirro aluminum cooker for 30 years, but when the gasket finally wore out decided it was time to upgrade to a stainless steel unit.
We bought a less expensive unit a few years ago, and it never worked quite right. The unit never sealed and we would have to keep reopening it and moving the gasket around until it did. The food was generally overcooked and I hated it.
We bought this Presto unit a few months ago, and so far I LOVE it! It seals the first time, the food comes out great, and it's easy to clean. The only thing is it can be difficult to shut when you put the cover on, but that actually helps it seal better, so I don't mind. I'm very happy with the purchase, and hopefully will be using it for the next 30 years like my Mirro.

I use this Pressure Cooker at 6500ft. I found the adjustments that needed to be made at the Presto website:
Q. Are there any adjustments that need to be made when pressure cooking at high altitudes?
A. When pressure cooking at altitudes over 2000 feet, the cooking time should be increased. Increase cooking times 5% for every 1000 feet above 2000 feet. Increase cooking times as follows:
3000 ft: 5% 4000 ft: 10% 5000 ft: 15%
6000 ft: 20% 7000 ft: 25% 8000 ft: 30%

I knew that I wanted a Presto stainless steel pressure cooker because it has been so well rated. However, I struggled determining what size to get. Amazon sells the 4, 6, and 8 quart cooker. I am a single guy and thought that maybe the 8 quart was going to be too big but then did not want to get the 4 or 6 and be limited to what I could cook.

So I decided to get the 8 quart, and it turned out to be the perfect size. As you might be aware, for most foods, one should not fill the pot past the halfway mark. I like cooking chicken soup, chicken stew, turkey legs, beans, etc. Well, once I finish adding the meat, vegetables, and water, the pot is almost approaching the halfway mark. The size is also perfect for storing food in the fridge. When I am done cooking, I leave the leftovers in the pot and place the pot in the fridge. The next day, I can easily reheat the food right in the pot.

As for the pressure cooker itself, it works great. It cooks food fast and preserves all the food flavors. The pot is well made. The outer stainless steel surface is beautiful. Overall, this is just a great product.

Not sure what to say here... it's a pressure cooker.
Seriously it does what it's supposed to do.
It's the perfect size for my needs, it holds 4 - 1-pint jars without any problems, easy to close, easy to clean afterwards, that's about it.

I guess the key here is that should it break somewhere beyond it's 12 year guarantee I would buy another one exactly like it.

I had an old Presto 4 quart pressure cooker it worked well but this eight quart is great. One of the things I like about it is that I can safely release the pressure without moving the cooker to the sink. Trying to put the old one in the sink without burning myself or having the pressure valve release steam in my face was always concern. The double handles are wonderful for moving the cooker when it's hot. I use this cooker about 2-3 times a week. I do fresh veggies, stews, soup, stuffed peppers and potatoes all the time. It comes up to pressure quickly and maintains the pressure evenly in spite of my electric stove. I recommend it whole heartedly!

After researching available pressure cookers on the market, I went with this one.

Features I was looking for:

1. 8 Qt. Capacity. Perhaps the 6 qt. would have fit our needs 80% of the time, but for the other 20%, when a big stew or batch of stock was necessary, this pot gives us the flexibility in one pot.

2. Stainless Steel. Easy to clean. Additionally, this PC has the tri-ply base, so it efficiently handles heat, and allows you to saute or brown ingredients prior to putting them under pressure.

3. Reputable Manufacturer and Worry-free spare parts. Presto fit the bill perfectly. They've been around forever, and parts are readily available from a variety of sources.


I had a 6 qt aluminum prior to this pressure cooker. The aluminum cooker was a basic model with the rocking top. It did what it was supposed to do and did it well. However, I found myself wanting a larger capacity cooker with the above features.

This Presto doesn't have the fancy bells and whistles of some of the other manufacturers, but it is safe and it performs just as well. A pressure cooker either holds its pressure or it doesn't-- I wasn't convinced I needed to pay 2-4 times as much for a unit that didn't perform noticeably better or give me any real additional benefits.

The pressure regulator on this unit doesn't rock-- it simply begins to emit a wisp of steam when it comes to pressure. The lever controls 2 things-- pressure or venting. When you slide the lever to "vent", the steam exhausts straight upwards. It's not dangerous to your hands, but can also exhaust part of your liquid-- this is a drawback in my opinion. However, it's only a slight drawback for me because I prefer to depressurize the unit by running the cooker under cold water to minimize steam escaping into my kitchen.

The handles are a bit different than those found on other cookers. This has 2 small handles versus a long handle and a shorter "helper handle." I wasn't sure if I'd like the handles, but I find I'm always handling the cooker with 2 hands anyway and don't mind not having a long handle.

Here's an interesting thing I noticed as I compare my old aluminum with this Presto-- it takes significantly less energy to keep the Presto at pressure than the aluminum. When the aluminum unit came to pressure, I'd turn down the burner to about 4 or 5 to keep it at pressure. On this Presto, I can go all the way down to "1/Lo" and it keeps chugging right along.

Some of my favorite things to make with this include:

1. Stocks. Chicken, Beef or Veal-- these stocks come out perfect in 45-50 minutes versus the 4 hours I used to spend developing all the flavors. Thick and rich-- can't beat it.

2. Soups. Use some of the stock you've either made fresh or have frozen from before. Brown your meat, saute your mirpoix, add your fresh or frozen veggies and any other liquids, and then "lock and load" for appropriate time. Yummy!

3. Risotto. Follow Miss Vickie's instructions on her website. OMG!! Cook like Top Chef!

4. BBQ. Use this for a quick braise, then finish it off on the grill. Fall-off-the-bone tender!

5. Beans. Any time, any where. I used to not do as much with beans since to cook them on the stovetop, you'd use just as much energy and time to cook the whole bag as half a bag--so..... I'd cook the whole bag. Then I'd have leftovers that would go bad. Not anymore. Now I cook the exact amount I need because the time/energy used in the PC is negligible. I like to give the beans a full soak and then cook for just a few minutes.

6. Anything else that usually involves "T-I-M-E" because with a pressure cooker, time is no longer a 4-letter word for a busy person!

This is a good quality piece of cookware that should last you a lifetime.