The smart choice for healthy, favorite meals, fast and easy. Cooks 3 to 10 times faster than ordinary cooking methods - even faster than a microwave for many foods. Chicken, fish, meat and vegetables cook to perfection fast. Helps tenderize economical cuts of meat. Works on regular and smooth-top ranges. Cover lock indicator shows when there is pressure inside the cooker and prevents the cover from being removed until pressure is safely reduced. Includes a special rack for cooking several foods at once with no intermingling of flavors. Dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Liquid capacity: 8 quarts (7.6 liters).
Pressure cookers have experienced renewed popularity over the last several years because cooks have rediscovered what some cooks (particularly grandmas) have known for a long time--they're really fast. And it's easy to cook healthfully with pressure cookers, since the food retains so much more of its nutrients and flavor. Presto's 8-quart pressure cooker is a multi-purpose pot that can stand in as a conventional soup pot as well as perform the kitchen magic that pressure cookers are famous for. Chicken Cacciatore cooks in 8 minutes! And it's big enough for home canning, too. (The USDA recommends pressure canning as the only safe method for low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats, and poultry.) This durable, polished-aluminum pressure cooker is an economical addition to any well-rounded set of kitchen tools.
The heavy-duty lid locks down during cooking; an inner sealing ring keeps the steam in. In addition to a pop-up pressure indicator and a simple steam release mechanism, there is an overpressure plug that will let off steam if it builds up excessively. This pressure cooker is useful for weeknight dinners or for any meal that needs to come together quickly. An accompanying booklet contains more than 65 recipes, ranging from basic soup stocks to stews and pot roast--even desserts like Oatmeal-Apple Crisp! Tenderize lean cuts of beef or pork; or cook chicken, fish, or vegetables faster than you can in a microwave, and without losing moisture.
Nonabrasive cleansers are best for cleaning this polished aluminum pressure cooker, though occasional use of a fine metal polish will help the exterior keep its shine. The Presto 8-quart aluminum pressure cooker is fully immiscible; in addition, the sealing ring should be removed after each use to allow cleaning of the inside rim of the lid. The vent pipe is simple to keep clean with a small brush or pipe cleaner, and both the air vent/cover lock and the overpressure plug are removable. The pressure cooker measures 11-1/2 inches in diameter (17 inches including handles) and 9 inches tall (including lid). Presto guarantees this pressure cooker with an extended 12-year warranty. A detailed instruction and recipe booklet is included; special safety issues that pertain to pressure cookers are clearly explained. --Garland Withers
