T-fal P2510737 Stainless Steel Dishwasher Safe PFOA Free Pressure Cooker Cookware, Silver

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?) This T-Fal Healthy Choice pressure cooker is a good choice for everyone, but for anyone who has never used a pressure cooker there are a lot of features that take the guesswork out of using this one. The orange valve on the top has clearly marked pressure levels for high and low pressure, steam quick release and pressure off. It's easy to see by the steam coming out of the valve when the cooker has achieved full pressure. With my first pressure cooker I wasn't always sure if pressure was up or if I had the top on correctly. This one is pretty foolproof and I like the two different pressure settings. It's easy to overcook delicate vegetables or really any green vegetable and end up with mush. Most fresh vegetables take only about 4 or 5 minutes, with the exception of artichokes which take about 14 minutes. (Isn't that great, no long cooking time!) The low pressure settling gives you a little more leeway on the time.



Don't be afraid of using a pressure cooker! Pressure cookers now days have so many safety valves and releases that you probably couldn't blow one up if you tried. I've been using them for years and the worst thing that ever happened was gunking up the bottom with burnt sugar when trying to make rice pudding and cooking it too long. (I now put the pudding ingredients in a bowl that fits in the cooker and set it on the stand. A little water in the bottom steams it under pressure.)



I use my pressure cooker several times a week and I use the pot without the top often as well because it's a nice size. I use it for cooking dry beans which I forgot to soak in about 20 to 25 minutes. Dry beans are a lot less expensive than canned and they taste so much better without the additives. It also cuts down on all the cans that have to be recycled so it's better for the environment. I use it to cook artichokes in about 14 minutes. We don't often eat meat but on St. Patrick's Day I can make falling-apart corned beef in about 45 minutes. I've cooked boneless chicken for about 30 minutes til it's like pulled chicken and added BBQ sauce. Tastes almost like pulled pork. Soups and chili can be cooked for half an hour or so and taste like they were simmering all day. Same with sauces.



The only complaint I have with this cooker is that there weren't a lot of instructions included. There's enough to be able to use it but it included only a short list of cooking times for a few foods. It wouldn't have taken much to add a few recipes with cooking times for people who are new to pressure cookers.



I want to add that cooking times are always approximate and the size of the hunk of meat or the age of the dried beans can affect the time. (Older ones take longer.) If in doubt you can always cook a little shorter time and then add some time if needed. I also will add some ingredients later and bring to pressure again. Like black bean soup with sherry, I add the sherry when I add the peeled and diced sweet potatoes after the beans are almost done. You find that you get the feel of how long foods take to cook after a while. I do a lot of experimenting and have only rarely have had something turn out really badly. If you use bouillon or broth to cook beans they come out really good. Adding herbs seems to infuse both beans and meat with their flavor.



The pressure cooker saves on electricity with my electric stove because once I get the pot up to pressure, I can turn the heat way way down and it will still hold the pressure. When releasing the pressure when you're done, be sure to stand back from the pressure valve. The steam is hot and it comes out fast at first. The dimensions of this cooker without the top are about 9.25 in diameter by 6.5 inches tall. (I always have a hard time picturing the size by the number of ounces or liters it holds.)



Since this pressure cooker doesn't come with recipes, here are a couple of books that I can recommend. The first comes in an inexpensive Kindle version: Vegetarian Pressure Cooker Recipe Book: 50 High Pressure Recipes for Busy People (See my review of 2/2/14) and this one has been updated, but the original has been around a long time: Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure and comes in both a hardcover and Kindle version.