Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

For the busy household a Cuisinart pressure cooker seems to be a fantastic helpmate at first glance.

If you’re looking to cut your cooking time down by over half, the product description says this machine does the trick.

It’s also a handy gadget for tenderizing stubborn meat (meaning you can save money on cheaper cuts and make them buttery tender in a short time in the machine).

Positive Features

Prospective shoppers may not know that pressure cookers help retain the nutrients in your food thanks to the pot’s seal. This feature also seems to improve food’s flavor – nothing’s getting out of that pot until you open it!

I like the fact that Cuisinart designed this for more than just pressure cooking. I don’t have a lot of excess room in my kitchen, so multi-faceted products are a huge bonus. In this case, you can brow, sauté, warm, simmer, and do other forms of low pressure cooking all in the same pot.

The lid on the pressure cooker is designed with safety in mind. You cannot open the top until the pressure in the cooker is zero, which insures you won’t get hit with a blast of steam. Similarly the handles remain cool to the touch.

Additionally the pressure valve has an automatic release feature that decreases pressure when it exceeds your preset temperature. The thermostat automatically shuts off too!

Come clean up time, the pot is wholly dishwasher safe.

Considerations

The three biggest problems with this machine are its size, dependability (see reviews) and the owner’s manual.

By their nature pressure cookers aren’t small or light, and the Cuisinart electric pressure cooker is no exception. It has a 6 quart capacity, but you can really only produce about 4 quarts of food in it at a time.

For the novice, don’t depend on this machine’s instructions to help you at all. This booklet is very confusing and poorly structured (akin to stereo instructions). You’ll probably be better off asking a friend who pressure cooks how to use it, or looking for some simple instructions online.

Consumer Reviews

People who have purchased this pressure cooker have “iffy” reviews. A few liked the product, but more individuals reported various problems. One customer reported the item stopped working after only a short time.

Other customers found that the pressure settings didn’t work well and as a result the machine would turn off prematurely. In addition to this, the on-going struggle with Cuisinart’s customer service line seems to be one of the biggest drawbacks to the entire culinary line.

Cuisinart 6-Quart Features

Cuisinart electric pressure cooker features:

• A 6-quart capacity
• The ability to reduce cooking times by 70 percent
• Clear digital display
• Non-pressure cooking settings for warming, browning, simmering and sauté
• Timer
• Cool-touch handles
• Non-stick, dishwasher safe clean up
• 7 Safety features
• 3-year limited warranty

Summary

The retail price of this pressure cooker averages $185.00 (the best price I found on sale was about $99.95 ).

That’s a pretty hefty investment when balanced against the negative reviews I’ve seen. Mind you, other electric pressure cookers in that size range have similar price tags, so the cost alone isn’t a complete deterrent.

The safety features are probably the best part of the Cuisinart electric pressure cooker. Beyond that it doesn’t seem to be the most dependable choice.

---

If the Cuisinart pressure cooker is not the one you want. Amazon has two more electric pressure cookers with 4 star rating.

Fagor 3-in-1 Electric Multi-Cooker; pressure cooker, slow cooker and rice cooker

Nesco American Harvest PC-6-25-30TPR 3 in 1 Digital Electric Pressure Cooker