Step 1: If you haven't already, buy a pressure cooker!

I know many of you are already happily using pressure cookers, but I also know that a lot of you are thinking about either upgrading or – hooray! – buying a second or third. So while this post is mainly aimed at those who are yet to buy, you might want to have a scan through as some of the information might be useful. Generally speaking, these posts about pressure cooking basics which I am going to intersperse with recipes might be worth reading by experienced pressure cooker users – new and useful things occur to me all the time, which seem really obvious as soon as I think them, and I will want to share them all.

So onto buying a pressure cooker. There is a lot of choice out there so it can be quite daunting, especially if like me you are cursedly indecisive. Hopefully this post will give you enough pointers to make the right purchase.

The first decision to make is whether to go for a stove top or an electric model. Whichever you buy, it will be a new generation/reengineered model which is perfectly safe to use, but there are pros and cons to both as well as a few general things to consider:

Space.

This tends to be the key issue for most people. If you have to keep your pressure cooker in a cupboard, or under the stairs or wherever you have storage space, you will not use it nearly as much as you should, it really needs to be in situ. If you cook mainly from scratch there is the potential to use it in some way for virtually every meal, right the way through the year. So only get an electric model if you have permanent counter space for it. They feel quite large and imposing initially but the more you use them, the more you will value them and appreciate how they have earned their spot.

The advantage of a stove top here is that you can just leave it on the stove. I myself currently have several permanently on my 6 ring hob – there is very little you can do in a saucepan that you can’t do faster and better in a pressure cooker so it makes perfect sense to me.

Functionality.

Obviously, a stove top can be used as a regular saucepan/saute pan/casserole dish etc. etc. as well as a pressure cooker. An electric pressure cooker is multifunctional – all kinds of extra features including slow cooking, yogurt making, sous vide, some with air fryer lids. From feedback I get I am aware that the slow cooking feature on most multicookers is not as effective as a stand alone cooker which might be worth bearing in mind if you like slow cooking too.

Ease of use.

The main difference between a stove top and an electric pressure cooker is that the electric pressure cooker has part of the process automated. One of the issues many new pressure cooker users have is how to tell when their pressure cooker is at pressure and how to adjust the heat to maintain the pressure – I will explain all about this very soon in a separate post. You don’t have to worry about this with an electric pressure cooker as it does it for you – as soon as it reaches pressure it automatically switches over to maintaining pressure. You can also put it on timer (amazed at the number of people who set it up at night to make porridge the next morning!) as well as a set to a keep warm function.

With a stove top, you have to be present until it reaches pressure and then reduce the temperature of your heat source so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure. You also need to be meticulous with your timers as this isn’t inbuilt. This does all become second nature very, very quickly as you get used to using your particular pressure cooker with your heat source. They also naturally keep warm for hours! And….

Flexibility.

With automated process comes slightly less control. For example, if you are browning or sauteeing before you switch to pressure, you can’t adjust the heat beyond high and low. And there is sometimes an issue with some electric models taking longer to come up to pressure compared to a stove top. This means that there can be a slightly higher risk of burning – some models being more sensitive than others at triggering a burn notice which automatically switches the cooker off. I will of course be giving tips on how to avoid this, but it is best to be aware that it can happen.

Speed.

The other main difference between stove tops and electric models is that stove tops generally have a higher PSI/kPa. PSI stands for pounds per square inch and quantifies the amount of weight in the lid. The heavier the weight, the higher the temperature reached. Most stove tops work at 12-15PSI, most electric models at 10-12 PSI. Of the electric models, the Instant Pot has the highest PSI and is 100% compatible with my recipes, and the Ninja is set slightly lower and may need minor adjustments on timings. Most of the rest are set slightly lower than that. This means that your meals will take a bit longer to cook.

Other general considerations:

Size.

The larger you go, the more versatile your cooker will be. I usually recommend a first pressure cooker of at least 4.5 litres for everyone, regardless of how many people you are cooking for. Even if you are cooking for one, it still makes sense efficiency wise to batch cook, make stock, pot roast or poach the odd chicken, even bake a cake. Also, you can make very small quantities in a large pressure cooker but you can’t make very large quantities in a small pressure cooker. It’s a simple as that! So look for a model which is 4.5-6 litres. A wider model is also good in terms of surface area for browning meat or roasting vegetables (yes, perfectly possible, in a few minutes) as well as being able to hold wider cake tins and dishes for those things which are cooked in a bain marie type scenario. So compare diameters too.

Materials.

I would always choose stainless steel over aluminium. I would also make sure that whatever I buy is induction friendly. A good pressure cooker should last you a life time and there is no doubt that we are all going to be off the gas eventually.

Spare parts.

Most pressure cookers have parts which can degrade over time, so it is worth checking from the outset what spare parts are available and how pricy they are. The one thing that should be replaced every few years is the rubber gasket – the seal which sits inside the lid of the cooker.

You will notice that I haven’t talked about models of stove tops – again, this is so dependent on budget and I am always happy to make recommendations privately. But the models I use and love over a range of budgets include Kuhn Rikon, WMF, Tower, Fagor, Pro Cook and Fissler.

If any of the terminology I have used in this post confuses, apologies – I will be going into detail on exactly how pressure cookers work very soon. But I am very happy to answer any questions/clarify, just holler below!