In article >, Pete Fraser
> wrote:

> I've been inspired by the recent exchanges on Kuhn-Rikon
> and Lorna Sass to go get myself a pressure cooker.
>
> I'll normally be cooking small quantities, but sometimes I'll
> cook large batches. Is there any disadvantage to getting
> a large (7 or 8 L) PC, other than the fact it's slightly
> more expensive than a smaller one and takes up more space?
>
> In essence, is it more difficult or liable to produce inferior results
> if I use a large PC to cook small quantities?
>
> Thanks

No, it is not significantly more difficult to cook small lots in large
cookers. There may be very slight increases in time/energy consumed, as
slightly more steel needs to be heated, slightly more air volume needs
to be heated. But even a very large PC can cook small items just fine:
the pressure reaches the same point and that's that.

I have the 2.5 Q (a quart is roughly a liter) and 5 Q "combo" deal,
and also the 4.5 Q which I got because the price was very good and its
lid is the same size as of my other two, giving me two complete lids.
(The "combo" comes with one pressure lid and one normal, glass lid.)

I do small things (like a few pieces of chicken or a couple of pork
chops) in the 2.5 Q model. But the 5 Q pot works just as well. And an
even larger 7 Q model would be only slighly wider and taller. And
slightly heavier, but this is not a significant problem.

A lot of cooks did everything in their very large 8 Q aluminum pots,
from Presto and the like, and the Kuhn-Rikons are only slightly
heavier.

So buying just a single 7Q or 8Q model is reasonable. Be advised that
the "hotel quality" units are substantially more expensive (~ $300),
and often don't have long handles (being set up to sit several at a
time on hotel burners). I find the "starter" units in the 4-5 Q range
to be the best deal.

BTW, reaching down into a deep pot is not quite as easy, but not an
important issue, given that most PC cooking happens with the lid
sealed. (Some browning is often done in the first few minutes.)


Were I buying my first PC, I would look closely at what I think was
being called "the anniversary model," about a 4 Q starter unit with a
plastic pressure ring (instead of stainless), but the pressure ring has
some basic times listed for common dishes. It seems to be a good
"starter" unit. Last I checked, it was about $90, mail order.

(I got the 4.5 Q model for diameter reasons, as noted.)

--Tim May