6 Quart Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker Review

The 6 Quart Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker is an interesting and useful cooking device for home use. I recently purchased one of these cookers after helping an elderly neighbor learn to use her pressure cooker. When purchasing a cooker, Cuisinart includes a manual on how to use the cooker along with a number of recipes.

Pressure cookers offer a number of advantages over traditional cooking methods, primarily the ability to drastically cut cooking time. However, many consumers worry about the safety of pressure cookers and some pressure cookers are complicated to use. My neighbor who needed help learning to use her cooker was actually using the cooker correctly, but was too worried about the cooker "blowing up" to feel comfortable using it.

The Cuisinart electric pressure cooker uses a modern design that allows a home user to enjoy the advantages of a pressure cooker while ensuring that the cooker is used in a safe manner. The Cuisinart electric pressure cooker ensures safety by designing the cooker to not build pressure unless the lid is properly attached to the cooker. The user simply places the lid onto the cooker and twists the lid to secure it. Once the pressure begins to build, the lid will lock in place. This prevents the user from removing the lid until the pressure goes down and it is safe to open the cooker. The user will know that the lid is locked as a red button rises on the lid when pressure builds in the cooker.

When purchasing the cooker, some final assembly of the cooker and the lid is required. Carefully follow the instructions and do not force any part. The plastic condensation collector that fits onto the back of the cooker is fragile and difficult to put into place. The cooker will work without the collector, but the collector catches water vapor that escapes the cooker.

After learning to use the cooker, the preparation of foods using the recipes providing by Cuisinart is relatively simple. The provided recipes vary from roasts to desserts. In addition to use as a pressure cooker, the cooker can also be used to brown, simmer, sauté or warm foods. Foods prepared in the cooker are flavorful and cook very quickly. The non-stick cooking pot slides out of the cooker for easy cleaning and is dishwasher safe. The exterior of the cooker is black plastic and brushed stainless steel and can be wiped clean after use. The 6 Quart Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker, product number CPC-600, is sold for about $100. In case you would damage or loose parts to the cooker, replacement parts are available from Cuisinart.