Presto 01341 4-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

I got this to combine with my presto 8 qt My wife likes homemade mashed potatoes...that's what she makes for her family probably 4 times a week (we eat at home 95% of the evening meals --she is a wonderful mom and teaches our 11 and 13 her tips and tricks--she spoils us. But mashed potatoes take 20-30 minutes cook time. Well after reading bunch of things and watching video's i said lets try this cut our cooking time by 2/3. So potatoes are easy now---1/ 1/2 cup water 5 russet potatoes cook 5 min at pressure (bobble rocking starts the timer) take off heat let come to base pressure. prep other things mix right in the same pan. easy peasy WOW they are done SAVED A TON OF TIME OK OK i'll get to the review---this is wonderful, simple effective EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE SAFETY VALVES. stainless steel for durability and EASY cleanup. its stove top (ours is gas lucky us) gets to the 15psi quickly, has a thick conducting bottom. Very easy to tell if still under pressure. you stop hearing the bobble head pressure thing, but look near the handle it has a pop up indicator that if its down its safe to open--very easy to understand...not intimidating easy on lid-- HIGH QUALITY--i'd recommend this to friends in a heart beat. I bought both this and the 8 qt presto to give my family flexibility i'd suggest this as well, maybe you could go with the lover priced 6 qt but the 8 qt quick release valve is THE BOMB to get this to quick release as per recipes (not all request it) reguires you to put under cold water till the safety indicator drops its a tad of a hassle but thats pressure cooking. I don't think this model comes with the newer style release valve ---maybe but didn't find it. if so get it with the same valve system as the 8 qt SIMPLY WONDERFUL no regrets would do it again----but if presto makes this size with the newer valve i'd get that I was at first intimidated by pressure cooking but this system really made the learning curve easy and quick.

Simple and easy to put the handles on. All the hardware is ready to assemble. I used it this evening (same day as delivery). Works great. Presto is a trusted name in our household. Works like a charm. And so nice and beautiful to use.

This pressure cooker is just the right size for what I need it for. Also Presto was very helpful when I called them with questions. I'm glad I got a stainless steel model, it is a well made product.

I bought this for my own birthday present a couple of years ago and just started to use it, in the 6 or so times I've used it--it works well. Vegetables are a breeze, potatoes cook in a reasonable amount of time, and if you time it right you will be able to cook different portions of your meal that will all end up in the pot at the end--leaving clean up to be one big pot (with a few pieces). I was unnecessarily hesitant to use it--wish Grandma had been around for me to ask how--that would have relieved some of my internal pressure! Recommend you read the book, and reread the section on the specific food you are about to cook. That will save unnecessary worry. Overall quality is good for a $75 kitchen appliance--you can pay quite a bit more in the store. If you are unfamiliar with pressure cookers take your time and talk to someone who has used them. I forgot to follow one of the warnings, and while the consequences were not dire, the food did not cook as quickly as expected. The direction was to put the rice or beans in a separate metal bowl in the pot to avoid bubbling up the starchy food and clogging the valves. Another way to deal with the frothing when you want the stew to cook together is cook your rice or beans first in the bowl, then pour the starch into the pot, and put your meat and vegetables on top being careful not to exceed the fill lines. That will keep the frothing down and cook everything. Given it is stainless steel you don't have to worry about it exploding, it feels sturdy and looks great. My one concern, and it is a foreseeable one rather than of immediate nature, is the handle--it is held to the pot by one screw, and if overtightened it will strip. A more solid stainless screw or even two would hold the handle more tightly without the concern for stripping. In short, I like the capability of making stews without using a crockpot running all day while I tend the vessels in the harbor, but the handle could be better. I would certainly buy this for a young couple's house warming present especially if you take the time to show the cook how to use it a couple of times. Looking forward to making a lentil stew with salt pork and beets next.

I've owned and used a 4 quart pressure cooker for 38 years and have been delighted that parts are still easy to get for it. So when I decided that I needed increased cooking capacity, I was happy to see that the current models are similar to the one that I bought in 1974. The cooker is pretty much what you need to cook with little more, no basket you might find convenient for jars used for canning. Other models specifically for canning have this. It is, however, well designed for cooking and the design well executed. The handles (there are three) are not attached but are easily assembled using 5 phillips screws. I used some heat resistant anti-seize compound sparingly on the threads. The same as I use on the spark plugs in my car. The handles on my old 4 quart cooker are slightly loose but the screws are hopelessly seized, despite being made from stainless steel. The handle and helper handle on the opposing side is just right for managing it on the range. The low aluminum rack, called a trivet, has not changed at all, it allows the food to sit above the water in the bottom and prevents it from burning. The pressure regulator has changed little and the over-pressure emergency relief plug is the same, except that the poppet valve is now incorporated with the lid pressure interlock. The poppet valve allows steam to escape until the rate is high enough to close the valve and seal the cooker allowing the pressure to begin building. The lid interlock prevents the lid from being opened when the pot is pressurized. This strikes me as a redundant feature since it is almost impossible to open the lid when even it is under even a small amount of pressure, but I guess someone has done it. Consequently, with the safety interlock, closing the lid must be done with a little more care than on my old cooker which did not have it. It just takes a little more attention to alignment. The lid sealing ring is thinner, but is actually easier to grease and install in the lid. Finally, the gauge of the stainless steal is exactly as thick as my older 4 quart cooker although it appears thinner. The sides, lid, and bottom of the older models are uniform thickness and are heavy enough to spread heat evenly. This cooker now has a layer of aluminum to help spread the heat evenly across the bottom of the pot. This layer is clad in stainless steel, so all exposed surfaces, most importantly, the bottom, are stainless steel. The pot and lid are highly polished, but the bar code sticker was a little difficult to get off the side. There are indented markings at the levels of 1/2 and 2/3 capacity which are visible on the inside and outside of the pot, a nice addition. The inside dimensions are 8 1/2 inches in diameter and 6 1/4 inches deep same diameter as my 4 quart and about 2 1/4 inches deeper. I cooked a 15 lbs pumpkin using it an my old 4 quart in parallel (cooking several pots in each cooker) and I'm with happy with the results. Despite the extra complication of the lid interlock it proved easy to operate and the thinner seal seems less likely to leak as sometime happens with the older cooker. While I was a little put off by the lighter-looking gauge metal (actually the same thicknes) and leery of the complication of the lid-interlock, after using it I was very pleased to see that Presto is still maintaining excellence in design and construction of a classic cooking utensil whose basic utility is often overlooked in today's gadget filled kitchen. I can do things with a pressure cooker which cannot be done with a microwave!

I received the 4 qt version of this cooker a few days ago. I almost did not order it because of the negative reviews but, having canned/cooked with pressure cookers for over 60 years, I realized many of the negative reviews were written by folks who simply had no business messing with a pressure cooker!!!!!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this cooker. It cost $40.00 so the stainless is not surgical quality but IT IS GOOD!!!! The "rusting screws" is simply pure non sense. The screws for the handles are stainless, too, BUT the locking washers with them ARE NOT!!!! So, it may be necessary to replace the lock washers along the line or simply get rid of them and occasionally "snug the dern screws"!! Don't use "lock tight" on the screws on the lid as that handle might need to be removed for maintenance in the future. The business about the handles coming loose is mentioned above. If, perhaps, someone initially over tightened them then that would completely flatten the lock washer and if you then backed the screw out the washer would no longer serve a useful purpose and the handles probably would, over time, loosen a bit. No big deal. Do not "gorilla" tighten them! Just firm, snug, secure ... all that is necessary. I used the 15 psi regulator that came with this unit and it works just fine if you are looking for 15 psi. I don't like to cook at 15 psi, I like 10 psi at my altitude of 750 ft msl. Therefore, I tried the Presto variable regulator, part number 50332, that I have for two other Presto pressure cookers and it works just fine on this one. This allows me to cook at either 5 or 10 psi and that makes a huge difference re: texture and quality on some foods. This part is available here on Amazon or at PCO. This is a small pressure cooker so most of the time it will be operating at the edge of acceptable operational limits. Therefore, in my view, it is not a good choice for a Newbie to pressure cooking!!!!!! Volumes must be kept within limits and HIGH heat must be used to activate the two safety devices, over pressure plug and interlocking mechanism, so THE MOMENT DESIRED PRESSURE IS REACHED, regulator is jiggling a little, THE HEAT MUST BE TURNED DOWN IMMEDIATELY!!!!! The first downward adjustment would be slight and then a moment later a little more and a couple of minutes after that a little more!!!! Sorry, if you are not willing to do these things to gain the advantages of pressure cooking then don't fool with the devices. Heat must be adjusted downward until a slight jiggle is maintained on the regulator. Heat is controlled by the pressure, NOT BY THE BURNER!!!!! The burner must simply provide the bare amount of heat necessary to bounce the jiggler for the pressure you have selected. Bottom line, this is a fine device. It has three safety systems that must be maintained. The over pressure plug, the vent tube and the interlocking mechanism and seal must be kept clean and must be attended after each use!! Do not give one of these cookers to someone who is not able to follow instructions, not capable of remembering to turn down the heat, or, someone who is not willing to CLEAN THEIR TOOLS AFTER EACH USE!!!! Many of the negative reviews posted here are pure rubbish from a science perspective. Overfilled, over heated, under maintained pressure cookers are not apt to kill anyone but they can make a variety of messes!!!!! All this can be avoided by taking time to understand the basic physics involved in this wonderful cooking option. Again, small pressure cookers are not, in my view, a good choice for the novice. A 6 or 8 qt. unit is more apt to be used at safer loading levels and that is why I am pushing this point! Replacement parts are available for this and other pressure cookers at Amazon and at PCO, Pressure Cooker Outlet! I don't work for either but I enjoy doing business with both!!!!

I didn't grow up in a family with a pressure cooker (PC), so really the only thing I knew or thought I knew was that they were dangerous, hard to use, something from the past. Boy could I not have been more wrong. I started thinking of getting one probably for the same reasons you are, the appeal of fast cooking, with tasty and healthy results, and improved safety over the pressure cookers from the past. My wife and I have had this model now for a couple of weeks and it delivers on all counts. The basic idea is that because of the pressure that builds up inside, water gets to 250 degrees, it is super hot. And at that temperature it can break down the tough parts of meats and cook things very quickly. Yet it also retains nutrients and tastes good. Well it does cook fast and it is tasty. I will take the experts opinion that it is also a healthy way to cook. As a PC newbee I had no idea what to expect. First off is a little bit of assembly. That went quickly and smoothly. Second is READING the instruction booklet. This is not a pan or a microwave or something like that. It is safe..but also something that is, well, under pressure. And pressure can be dangerous. After getting familiar with the parts of the pressure cooker we cooked our first meal, a pot roast. It was super easy and delicious. We used, frankly, a pretty cheap piece of meat but it came out tasting fantastic. It was quick but something to keep in mind is cooking time does not usually include the time to heat it up and the time to cool it down. Also you can't just walk away. Once the pressure seals the cooker most of the time you have to then reduce the heat. But it really isn't that much oversight. In any event even taking all of that into account it was still by far the fastest pot roast I have ever cooked and better than average in taste. We have done some chicken dishes and some rice dishes. It has turned out perfect rice in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. We are still getting a feel for seasoning. Sometimes we have had dishes too seasoned and other times not but nothing that hasn't been easily as tasty as other ways we cook things. So if you are a PC newbee like me I say give it a try. As long as you read the instructions and respect the pressure it is a pretty easy way to cook with excellent tasty results in a quick amount of time. Granted it has only been a couple of weeks but we have eaten out much less these 2 weeks. We picked up a well regarded cookbook on Amazon Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker and so far so good. This could easily become the main way you cook, it has that a good a combination of benefits and realtive ease of use. What it excels at is...great results/unit of effort and time. I can't see many other ways that you can maximize your cooking effort and cooking time than a PC.

I chose this pressure cooker because it's the only kind of pressure cooker I've had experience using, it is stainless steel (non reactive, heavy weight), it was less expensive than more modern incarnations of pressure cookers (electric countertop, stove non jiggle top), and the reviews and follow up comments were helpful in convincing me that this was a quality product. The reviews praise the quality construction of this cooker and I couldn't agree more. I have used both natural pressure release and the method to speed it up by sticking the cooker in the sink and running cold water from the faucet over it (it takes all of 20 seconds and doesn't have to be so complicated as making an ice bath for it in the sink). I have never seen any signs of the metal layers splitting, the pot warping, and there has been no denting from handling and washing. The 6-quart capacity is enough for me and my husband to have soup with some left over for lunch or another soup dinner, but not so much that we're sick of eating the same thing. If you are trying to decide whether to get a pressure cooker in general, I would encourage you to go for it. Most weeknights, I am too impatient to wait for time-intensive things like tomato sauce, stew meat, root veggies cut into chunks, lentils, risotto, or even just tender cabbage. Pressure cookers prepare these things quickly and make them taste like they've been cooking forever. Most of the pressure cooker recipes I use take 30-40 minutes total for prep and cook (I usually make soup in this cooker), so it's become a life saver when I come home from work late. If you already know you want a pressure cooker but are trying to decide what type to get, I would say that I don't mind the simplicity of this cooker. Normally the justification to get a product that is the "latest and greatest" is that you are certain it will get a lot of use so you might as well spend the extra money for extra features that possibly save you time. This basic model is fine for weekly use in my household. I am definitely curious about newer types of cookers, but personally wasn't ready to pay more money for something I wasn't sure I would need.

This is an update to the previous review of two years ago! I love this pressure cooker and it is working just great!! It really is large enough to make a lot for about ten people!!! I really am thinking of purchasing another one as back up to this one because I just don't want to be without this perfect one!!! I definitely recommend it to all!!! Previous review at the time I purchased it: This pressure cooker works very well, exactly like my last one of many years that I was used to. It cooked the beef stew exactly as expected and it is nice and heavy! It's a smaller size than my old one, looks really nice on the stove and it makes enough for a large family. Love it!

Good stuff

You require a timer to know if the food is cooked. Whereas in traditional cookers, the weights go off and one can count on the whistle to tell you if the food might be cooked.

Na culinária diária. Excelente qualidade!

I wish I could give this pressure cooker 10 stars! For about 45 years, I've enjoyed and used my very simple but large Lagostina. Now that I'm alone, I wanted to be able to pressure cook small pot roasts and corned beef, etc. The chuck roast I cooked first came out beautifully - I knew then my 4-quart Presto was just perfect for my needs. Where it went over the top was when I cut a larger corned beef piece into two pieces, added about a cup of water, put the pieces on the insert that came with it, brought the Presto to the point where the top hissed strongly, lowered the heat so it hissed quietly - and an hour later had the most succulent, tender, juicy corned beef that just melted in my mouth. The stainless steel is high quality and cleans easily. The manual said I could put it in my dishwasher, but I'm so crazy about this wonderful pressure cooker that I hand wash it lovingly. I don't think I can praise the Presto Pressure cooker adequately. I'm just dithering with delight and strongly recommend it. Lastly, the price is reasonable! Don't even think about it - if you need a smaller pressure cooker, this Presto 4 Quart is unbeatable!