There’s nothing tastier than a home-cooked meal. To see all sorts of ingredients come together into something entirely new is very satisfying for people who enjoy cooking. Unfortunately, there is just never enough time in the day to cook a full meal and still be able to relax before ending your day and starting all over again. Sometimes you need assistance or some way to speed up the process, without reducing the quality of your food.
Pressure cookers help a ton with saving you the precious daylight hours that you deserve. There’s no more waiting around or having to constantly watch to make sure the food isn’t burning; a pressure cooker will regulate itself for you. Just put the ingredients and seasonings in and let the cooker do the rest. It saves you a lot of time and effort.
There are different sizes of pressure cookers that you can buy to better suit your needs, as well as a couple of different types: stovetop or electric. The price of which will depend on what type you need. Smaller stovetop pressure cookers are the cheapest, followed by countertop electric and the price continues to go up with the size of pot you get.
Another option you might see online is a microwaveable pressure cooker. They’re usually made of cheap plastic and are used with your microwave, but I wouldn’t recommend using these since they are usually cheaply made and have tons of bad reviews. Stovetop cookers are the best way to go unless you want the convenience of an electric one.
The following pressure cookers are catered towards people who are looking for something affordable and easy to use. They are listed in order by price: low to high.
Presto 4-Quart Aluminum Pressure Cooker
As you can tell by the name, this Presto Pressure Cooker holds up to 4 quarts of food or liquid. It is one of the stovetop versions that I was previously talking about. Presto is a popular kitchenware brand for stovetop pressure cookers, and they are very reliable.
For optimum cooking pressure, the lid of the pressure cooker locks onto the main pot and has a pressure regulator for safety. You can also tell by the pressure indicator whether or not the pressure has been released from the cooker yet. When using a pressure cooker, for safety reasons and the best food quality, wait until all of the pressure has been released before opening it.
Besides the handle, the pot is made entirely of dishwasher-safe aluminum metal. The thick aluminum helps to heat its contents more evenly. You can use it on a gas or electric stove; it doesn’t make any difference which one you chose.
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IMUSA Stovetop Aluminum Pressure Cooker
Most of the products made by the IMUSA brand are centered around ethnic cooking, including this pressure cooker. According to IMUSA, it is best used for foods like beans or rice or chili. With it, you can cook pretty much any type of food that you can cook in other pressure cookers but keep in mind; this one was designed more for stews or small bits of food.
One of the reasons why it works well for ethnic foods and rice is because the lid has an extra secure seal to help maintain constant maximum pressure inside. The lid and entire pot are made of aluminum. It comes in a 7-quart size, good for an average to medium size family.
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Hawkin Classic 1.5-Litre Aluminum Pressure Cooker
Here is another aluminum pressure cooker. Typically, aluminum kitchenware or appliances are going to run a little cheaper compared to ones that are stainless steel. Stainless steel is much more durable, but either will get the job done. This one is called the Hawkins Classic.
It’s rather small so plan on only using it when cooking for yourself or when small portions are desired. You can even take this pressure cooker with you when you go camping if you really want to. Some people love pressure cooking so much so that they probably would. Keep in mind that it would work best on a small travel stove rather than over a campfire, due to possible fluctuations of heat. Of course, it wasn’t made as a camping pressure cooker, so using it indoors is safest.
Other than a 1.5-Litre size, you can also purchase one of their many other quantity options such as a 2, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6.5, 8, 10 or a 12-Litre size. You can expect that the bigger it is, the more you’ll be spending.
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Bronstarz 6-Quart 8-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
This Bronstarz Pressure Cooker is a tad more expensive than the other pressure cookers we talked about, but it is still generally on the cheap side when you are looking at all the other cookers on the market. It can function as a pressure cooker, slow cooker or rice cooker, as well as be used to sauté or brown foods or to make yogurt.
It’s very easy to clean, and the settings are easy to use. You can’t go wrong with this pressure cooker. Not to mention how simple it is to use since it works on a countertop rather than on the stove.
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Cheaper Is Not Always Better
How you decide which pressure cooker to buy is up to you. There are lots of great options to choose from, and the prices vary greatly for each. If you spend a little more money up front, you’ll most likely save money in the long run because you’ll have a more reliable and lasting pressure cooker.
However, if your only choice is to buy a cheaper one, maybe you just want to try one out to see if you like it, the stovetop aluminum pressure cookers are going to cost the least amount of money. The electric pressure cookers are going to range between 45 and 200 or so dollars. Multi-functional or large quantity electric cookers are the most expensive.