Showing posts with label 4 qt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4 qt. Show all posts

Friday, July 29, 2011

Fagor Duo 10-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner Review



Fagor Duo 10-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner Review


Pressure cookers can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, types, and prices. It can be difficult in trying to choose one. Whether it is well in your budget or not you still have to weigh some things when it comes to comparison shopping for pressure cookers. It's best to see what type will suit your needs and how it can work for you. Lets talk a bit on the Fagor Duo 10-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner.


Small Pointer to Keep in Mind on Stainless Steel and Aluminum Pressure Cookers

Stainless steel pressure cookers are known to be nonporus, a bit heaver in weight, and the bigger cost when you compare to an aluminum pressure cooker. One of the issues that some people have trouble with is that stainless steel will give you a great finish but has a hard time conducting heat. It needs to be layered with a coating of aluminum to help conduct the heat quicker.This helps provide for more of an equilibrium in cooking instead of having certain portions of the pressure cooker heat up more than others.


Aluminum pressure cookers are lighter in weight, weight less on your wallet, and give an all around heating of the food being prepared. An important factor to take into consideration is that aluminum is a great conductor of heat but can be known as a "cheap metal". It won't last as long as stainless steel but will heat evenly and cost less.


Its something you will have to weigh on your own conscience to see what works best for you and your budget.


Size/Type/Description.'


Here is the online product description of the Fagor Duo.
"Make fresh steamed lobster in 3 minutes, or bean soup in 20 minutes. Risotto? No more standing at the stove stirring for half an hour, you can enjoy moist risotto in 7 minutes! As for ease of operation, here's how it works: load the ingredients, lock the lid in place, select the pressure, and begin cooking. When the food is done simply release the pressure and serve. Your food will be healthier because all the water soluble vitamins and minerals are retained. You'll also enjoy the tender taste of slow cooking and the natural flavors and colors of your food. But best of all? Your cooking time will be reduced by up to 70%!"


Uses of the Fagor Duo


As stated above the primary usage of the Fagor Duo is to pressure cook your food rather than having to manually work over the stove. This provides several benefits with the primary one being that you can keep the nutritional value of the foods in tact while not always having to constantly monitor the process.


Where Do I Find One?
Your local retailer can carry the Fagor Duo on it's shelves. However ususally to get the best deal you can buy online directly from the manufactor or from a representative website listing the product for a discount with great rates on shipping.
Click here to check out the Fagor Duo 


Features of the Fagor Duo Pressure Cooker
According to the online listing you can receive the following with the Fagor Duo Pressure Cooker
  • 10 quart capacity pressure cooker/canner, can hold up to 4 quart jars; includes steamer basket with trivet
  • Made of 18/10 stainless steel; works with all cooking surfaces, including induction
  • Spring type mechanism with two pressure settings -- low (8psi) and high (15psi)
  • Sleek black ergonomically designed handles; automatic pressure release position; visual pressure indicator
  • Hand washing recommended; 10-year warranty

Now most of these options are pretty nice. The one down side is the fact that it has a stainless steel base for cooking. It may give you issues with cooking evenly on the surface area of the food you are preparing compared to the aluminum base. However this should make for easy cleaning and be more scratch resistant.


The fact that it works with induction stoves is a plus as they are becoming more popular on the high end stoves that have come down a bit in price and more people are finding a benefit to cooking faster.


The visual indicator and spring mechanism will make for easy tracking of what you are doing in the process of preparing your meal.


Above all a 10-year warranty is a pretty nice deal. Just make sure you keep the paper work that comes with your product so you can give them the serial/product number if you need repairs or an exchange in the near future.


So How Much Is This Going to Cost?
Normally the Fagor Duo has a list price of 119.99 but is marked down to $90.00 or 25% here.


When shopping at a retail outlet you might be able to find a decent price but thie link above will most likely give you the best deal unless you purchase a used one.


If looking for a used one please make sure the warranty is still in tact for you to use and see if it will transfer to you. Otherwise it's best to go with Amazon.


Extra Features
Overall you can find certain products that will compliment the Fagor Duo such as cook books with recepies for this cooker in particular.


However keep in mind that the Fagor Duo also comes with a Canner applicator to help you preserve foods you might like to store for future use.


Conclusion
Hopefully this has given you a little insight into the Fagor Duo 10-quart pressure cooker.
This is a great buy and will help you prepare large meals for family or public outings going forward. They are a great tool for holiday meals, summer time get-to-gethers, etc.
Thanks for stopping by and if you would like one more glance at the link you can find here.

Friday, May 13, 2011

4 qt pressure canner/cooker

 4 qt pressure canner/cooker

A 4 qt pressure cooker is an easy solution for all your culinary distresses. They cook multiple dishes fast and preserve nutrition in the food items too. Anyone (except children and those physically unable to handle a pressure cooker) can use a 4 qt pressure cooker; there will be no fear of the so-called cancer causing rays emitted and since no electricity is used, power leakages are not a worry. However, there are several safety measures that you must keep in mind and follow at all times, when using 4 qt pressure cooker. This article discusses some of those essential safety measures briefly.

Firstly, you must ensure that the handles of the 4 qt pressure cooker is fastened properly. You should note any broken or cracked handles immediately and take measures to replace them. A loose handle will cause the lid to get pushed off at unexpected times. You sure can imagine the consequences of that!  There are many models and price ranges of 4 qt pressure canners/cookers on Amazon, but the Fagor Duo Stainless- Steel-4qt Pressure Canner/Cooker has the absolute best reviews.  Though it is higher priced than other 4qt pressure canners, it is by far the best.

One common mistake people make when using 4 qt pressure cookers is filling them more than required. You must note how much of water the item of food you cook will need. For examples, veggies and grains will cook with less water at lower temperatures and meat will need more water to cook well. Overfilling can also block the vent pipe and this can result in the build-up of excessive pressure within the cooker.

As a matter of fact, checking the vent pipe every time you plan on using the 4 qt pressure cooker is vital. This is the only outlet of pressure and if it’s blocked your 4 qt pressure canner/cooker may even explode. Indeed it is always safer to stick around the kitchen when you use a 4 qt pressure cooker; this will ensure nothing ever goes wrong.

You must not cook food that froth or foam in 4 qt pressure canner/cookers for these will block the vent pipe. Opening the 4 qt pressure canner/cooker after cooking must be done with proper care. It is advisable to open it only after all the pressure is released through the vent pipe.

Regulating the heat properly is also a must in 4 qt pressure cookers. Once the heat is adjusted as per required, the pressure regulator will begin to rock. You can then either increase or reduce the heat supply.

If you keep the above in mind and use a 4 qt pressure cooker safely, you can get so much of cooking done in fraction of the usual time. A 4 qt pressure canner/cooker can boil, stew, steam, braise and defrost almost any food item.