Pressure Cookers- Need a small one. What's best?

[Georgiegirl]

I am looking for a small pressure cooker and want get the best type. The skipper doesn’t want anything large and personally I would like one without a saucepan type handle (i.e. that sticks out one side). The skipper wants to be able to punch some holes in the top of a can of curry and heat in the said pressure cooker. (Once I get one on board I’ll do all sorts but currently the large one we have at home isn’t allowed on the boat!)

Since lots of people have lots of sailing experience I thought you all might be able to help me.

[Bradley]

I think Fagor makes the best. I used to have an 8 quart onboard, but I took it home and replaced with the 4 quart model. Shop online and save a lot. The ones without a long handle are harder to come by.

[Chiroeurope]

The best ones I have seen without the sauce pan handle where in Italy at a Del Coco store. we have one and will look up the maker and get you the information. They are stainless steel and work for a whole lot of different cooking needs.

Michael

[Delezynski]

We agree with Bradley, the Fagor has worked VERY well for us! But the ones without the long handle are hard to find. See the photo below.

You can also see ours on our web pages. I also understand that another company is making one like the old Fagors.

We like the top attachment as it will NOT allow it to blow up. If the pressure gets to high, the top lifts off. Also, it can be opened even when under pressure!

Greg

[Maddog]

I've got the Fagor 6qt and love it. Take care of the seal. We precook meals on land and heat them up from frozen in about 10 mins.

[captintommy]

I found a 2 1/2 qt. with a glass lid that would replace the pressure lid and can be used as frypan online. My computer crashed and I will try to find the web sight again.

[Active Transport]

I bought a 10 quart Chef's design pressure cooker when we moved aboard (up from a 6 quart we used at home. I had two reasons for doing this:

1. Its the "big pot" for use at sea where the tall sides keep small amounts of food from sloshing out. If it is rough enough Ill even use if with 2" of water to heat up hot dogs. The "Big pot" is also useful for big food, like crabs and smallish lobsters.

2. Anything smaller than 10 quarts is not very practical for canning food in quart jars. It does not take a significantly greater amount of fuel to process three quart jars simultaneously, as opposed to one quart jar. It takes three times the fuel to process three jars separately, to say nothing of keeping the unprocessed stuff in the galley waiting for its turn in the pressure cooker.

A very small pressure cooker can be too short to accept quart jars because they are too tall.

3. We bought some nesting cookware at a boat show. All but one of the pans and lids (and the plastic covers for food storage) in the set will nest together and fit inside the pressure cooker so the space occupied by by the pressure cooker is not significantly more than the space required to store the rest of the cookware.


If I were you I would try to convince the skipper that he is way better off with jars of home made curry that you pressure canned. Its much better than the commercial canned stuff. When you cook a complex recipe it is not much harder to make a gallon than to make a quart. If you can three of the 4 quarts you have some first class "fast food" in reserve.

[sailorgal]

I have the WMF 6 qt. pressure cooker and I absolutely love it. I got it on Ebay for much less that the suggested retail price. Also check out Amazon.com

Pressure Cooker : Kitchenware : WMF for at Home}

[Greenman]

Lagostina makes a very nice cooker as well.

The ULTIMATE Pressure Cooker Cooking Time Chart

[Wayward Wind]

I have Fagor, and love it, but I saw some by Teflon which do not have the long handles.

[Adaero]

Georgiegirl

We have just completely kitted out our new boat with galley equipment here in the UK. After reading loads of web sites and forums on pressure cookers I found the best was from these people Kuhn Rikon Switzerland - Pressure Cookers, Durotherm Cookware and Gourmet Kitchen Tools
We already have some of their other gear at home and it's really good quality. We got ours from Amazon.
The Fagor one that everyone recomends in the US is impossible to get in Europe for some reason even if it is made in Spain. I even got my parents who live in Spain to have a look but unfortunately they drew a blank also.

If you want any other gear then PM me and I might be able to help out.
Regards
Adaero

[cats..paw]

This is the set. Take the small pressure cooker, pressure lid and glass lid on board. Leave the larger one ashore.

We've been using these for 3 years now. The low one is 2.5 quarts and makes a great fry/boil/steam pan also.

Not cheap, but some say the best. (I would).

Cheers.


Amazon.com: Kuhn Rikon 6-Piece Duromatic Duo Pressure Cooker Set + Bunny Safety Lid Opener: Home & Garden

[Harriet]

I, too, love my Fagor 6 qt. But why do you want a long handle? I wish mine didn't have it, because it takes up room unnecessarily. Be sure to get one with a steamer basket, so that the pot can do double duty.

[cats..paw]

The 2+ quart Kuhn is a low pot. Like a deep fry pan.

Short handles are too close to the flame; you need pot holders for every pickup.

This is a good time to use a long handle.

Cheers.

[Tahiti Rover]

After almost 30 years of living aboard, 11 years of which was spent chartering, I recommend an 8 quart, stainless steel Manttra, made in India. It can be bought at Sears, and is usually priced around $100.00. I have seen it on sale for $79.99. It will last a lifetime. It is a 5-piece set and comes with a trivet, a steaming basket with bails, and a tempered-glass top w/handle so you can use the cooker for non-pressured cooking of soups, stews, jambalayas and whole lobsters. It has all the safety features of the newly-designed cookers including a manual lock, a rising rod (red in color) to indicate when the pot is under pressure, and a manual pressure release for easy quick-releasing without putting the cooker under water to cool it.

If your galley stove has at least a 2-burner top, there will be plenty of room for an 8-quart model.

You can buy a 6-quart cooker, but I think you will come to regret it because it is not practical to "can" with it. With the 8-quart model you can process 7 pint jars at once. For the last work on preserving foods with the pressure cooker, check out the Ball Company's 435-page book, Complete Book of Home Preserving (ISBN:0-7788-0139-X).

Regards,

Robbie