Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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100 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Cooker!!, August 4, 2008
I purchased this to replace five slow cookers (Yes, I really had five), a rice cooker, and a Nesco roaster. When it arrived, I ran a water test which worked perfectly. The cooker heats quickly and then cooks on pressure and beeps when done. If not turned off, it goes to a warm cycle to hold the dish until you are ready. The next dish I tried was rice on the rice cycle. It is set for white rice and I was cooking brown rice so I just repeated the cycle twice after the first cycle. The rice turned out perfectly in 18 minutes. The removable pan is easy to clean since it is Teflon. I then put in the ingredients for black beans and set the timer for 27 minutes on the high pressure cycle. I punched start and walked away. The beans were done, tender and delicious! It used to take me 12 hours to cook beans in the crock pot! There is a brown cycle which heats up fast and can be used for sauteing items. I made a Mexican chicken soup and sauteed the onions and celery, threw in cubed raw chicken breast and browned, then added the rest of the ingredients for the soup except for the avocado which I added after the soup was done and cooked it on high pressure for 8 minutes. It sure didn't take me long to cook lunch that day! There is also a low pressure cycle for vegetables which I haven't tried yet. I can see that I am going to get lots of use out of this cooker. I think it is wonderful!
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60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great piece of equipment for any kitchen, March 10, 2009
I've been using my Fagor 3-in-1 multi-cooker for a few months now and have really enjoyed it. I've tried all 3 functions. For the rice cooker function, I like it but the rice comes out a little stickier than we're used to. I've tried cutting back on the amount of water and that seems to help. But I typically just use my old rice cooker because the multi-cooker is already in use making the main dish. For the slow cooker function, it seems to cook at a slightly lower temperature than even the low setting on regular slow cookers. The food gets done, but meats aren't as "falling apart" as they are in my old slow cooker. But maybe that's a good thing since they're not overcooked. Depending on what I'm making, sometimes I use the multi-cooker and sometimes I use my old one. The multi-cooker is 6 qts, but is taller and has a smaller diameter than most slow cookers. So it wouldn't work well for a big flat piece of meat like a brisket. Also, the multi-cooker is teflon coated, so if I'm making something that I will need to use my immersion blender on, I use my old slow cooker with the corning-ware insert. Another small problem with the multi-cooker is that even though the insert is removable, it's not very good for putting the ingredients in the night before and putting in the fridge until you're ready to cook. There's no handles to grab it by and there's no lid just for the insert. Because there are no handles, it's also very difficult, and dangerous, to lift it out after cooking to pour the food into a serving dish. The function I was most nervous about was the pressure cooker. I had never had a pressure cooker before and had visions of horror remembering my mother's and grandmother's disasters. But honestly, once I learned to trust the multi-cooker, it's been great. I didn't know how long it would take to reach pressure, so I would get nervous that it wasn't closed right. But it was fine. You just need to add about 20 minutes to your estimated prep time for it to get up to pressure and start cooking. I was concerned about the 9 psi pressure after reading the other reviews here. I sent an e-mail to Fagor customer service and they actually sent me a page from Miss Vickie's web site that said you need to increase the cooking time by 40% and that you shouldn't use anything less than a 15 psi cooker. I couldn't believe they would send me something that says not to use their product! But it was all the customer service people could offer. Well, it turns out Miss Vickie's web site is wrong. You don't need to increase the cooking time at all, or just a minute or two if it's a long-cooking recipe. The problem is that Miss Vickie based her calculation on the ratio of the pressures (9 being 40% less than 15). But pressure isn't doing the cooking, temperature is. And the ratio of the temperatures is less than 10%. And if you use absolute temperature (according to my engineer husband) the ratio is even less, about 1%. So for a recipe that cooks 10 minutes you would increase it by a few seconds. So now I just use the recommended times in recipes and everything has come out perfectly cooked. I should add that this multi-cooker does not come with a steamer insert, and many pressure cooker recipes, especially for vegetables, require one. It doesn't even seem that Fagor offers one separately. I really like the browning function. It gets very hot and is useful not only for browning ingredients at the beginning but also for getting things boiling at the end of slow cooking so that you can add thickeners like cornstarch or roux. The warming function is nice, too. I've used the cook delay once or twice, but only for an hour or two. Longer would be risky for bacterial growth. So I really like this appliance. I don't think I'll be getting rid of my rice cooker or slow cookers, but they've moved to the basement and the Fagor 3-in-1 multi-cooker has the prize spot on the kitchen counter.
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Cooker, September 30, 2008
I love the fact this unit is multi-function. I've wanted both a rice cooker and electronic pressure cooker. I am thrilled with the prospect of a combination unit to save storage space. This cooker is sleek looking, quiet when in use, and a breeze to clean with its internal nonstick surface. To be honest, I own a new-generation pressure cooker which I've never used because I am too terrified to use it. I know it's ridiculous, but I just can't bring myself to use it for fear of the old days when lids could blow off if the cook wasn't careful. I wanted an electronic pressure cooker because I felt safer (stupid but true). I have used my new fagor in pressure cooker mode to make Risotto, which requires use of the browning function. The rice/onion mixture browned nicely and the risotto turned out marvelously. I also wasn't scared when using the pressure feature. I do wish this unit was bigger (8 or 10 quarts) as I cook in quantity. I will certainly be using this item over and over again, especially in pressure mode. I can't wait to make succulently tender meat in pressure cooker mode, or use the rice feature for sushi rice. The possibilities with this unit are endless. To add on because of other customer comments, yes the PSI is lower than the "traditional" pressure cookers. But I now have used this product in pressure cooker mode several times. There are two pressure cooker modes (low and high) and I've always used the unit in high mode and have NOT had to increase cooking time due to the PSI differences. As a matter of fact, last night I made stew beef in an italian red sauce (for macaroni and beef): the original recipe is for a pressure cooker, but I didn't have that cook time, as it's a recipe that's been handed down and was given to me as a "simmer on the stove for 3-4 hours." I looked all over the internet for an approximated time (20 minutes) so I added five minutes and there was slight burning at the bottom of my pot because I did add those extra five minutes. I have even cooked a pot roast in pressure cooker high mode with this unit (on a trivet to prevent burning) and cooked according to traditional cook times, NO adjustments and it came out perfect !!
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