Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Inox Long Handle 5.0 Liters Pressure Cooker

Speed up your cooking time by up to 60 percent and save energy with this Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker. This pressure cooker takes the guess work out of cooking your meals and features an automatic locking system, and spring loaded precision valve for user friendly operation. The cooker also features five safety steam-release systems, and two heat resistant handles for the ultimate safe pressure cooker. The stainless steel construction ensures durability, and also features an aluminum core for rapid heat absorption and even browning. This pressure cooker is perfect for making stocks, risotto, roasts and even cheesecakes. Backed by a ten year limited warranty, it also comes with the Quick Cuisine cookbook for even more recipe ideas. 8-3/4" diameter, with 5-1/4 quart capacity Amazon.com Beginning in the 1930s, two successive generations of busy cooks used pressure cookers to prepare family meals. The next generation, with memories of valves dancing and hissing on stovetops, snubbed pressure cookers. Now pressure cookers have come back, those old valves replaced by modern versions that ensure safety while delivering the speed, ease, and nutritional benefits of pressure cooking. Pressure cooking also saves 70 percent of the energy normally consumed while cooking. This heavyweight, stainless-steel beauty is a fine example of contemporary engineering and style. Its mirror finish gleams, and its black handles--including a loop handle for two-handed lifting--stay cool. Pressure-cooking traps steam to heat foods at temperatures higher than boiling. An aluminum disk in the base, sandwiched by stainless steel, speeds the process even more through fast heat conductivity. It's safe on electric, gas, ceramic, and induction stovetops. Little water is required, so nutrients, flavor, and color are not boiled away. Vegetables emerge vibrantly colored from the steamer insert. Stews, soups, beans--even meat loaf, pork chops, and desserts such as bread pudding--come out tasty and nutritious. (A booklet containing dozens of recipes is included.) You can brown meats in the pot before the lid is locked on, or use the pot without the lid. The stem of the operating valve shows high and low pressure so you can adjust heat for different foods. After cooking, the pressure can be reduced slowly (just let the cooker sit for a while), normally (press the pressure indicator), or quickly (run tepid water on the lid's rim). Safety measures abound: the lid twists onto the pot; a rubber gasket ensures a tight seal. A vent releases steam if pressure builds too high, as does a valve that also locks the lid when any pressure whatsoever is inside the cooker. Cleanup is a bit involved: hand wash the pot, gasket, and lid with a mild detergent, then lightly oil the gasket. Normally the valve is self-cleaning, but if food passes through it, disassembly is required. Minor cleaning inconvenience, though, should not overshadow the major convenience of pressure cooking. --Fred Brack