Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My grandmother and my mother both used pressure cookers frequently. When I was younger, one of the first kitchen items I purchased was a pressure cooker of my very own (a Hawkins Futura jiggle-type, which still works perfectly). Recently, I decided to purchase the 7 liter Kuhn Rikon, primarily because it is larger than my Futura. Some other reviewers have noted that the Kuhn Rikon requires more monitoring than jiggle-type pressure cookers. This is only somewhat true. Jiggle-type pressure cookers release steam throughout the cooking process. This provides confirmation that the cooker is operating through sound. It IS convenient if this is what you are used to. However, these cookers require more liquid to achieve pressure and as a result, certain items can come out more watery than I prefer. You can boil away the excess liquid after releasing pressure, but then you lose some of the time saved. The Kuhn Rikon uses an advanced enclosed system. As a result, the "sound of pressure", or hiss is missing. A small valve with two red lines provides confirmation that moderate and full pressure have been achieved. At this point in the cooking process, you must turn down the heat to maintain pressure only; if you leave the heat on high, pressure will continue to rise. Without sound to guide you, one must rely on visual clues. The Kuhn Rikon makes it easy. But, it IS different than listening for the hiss. The first few times you use the cooker, you will need to determine how far to lower your cooktop temperature to maintain the pressure in the cooker. This does require monitoring and a little guess work. However, once you determine how your cooktop and pressure cooker interact, it is the same every time. From that point on, you simply wait for the red line to appear and turn your cooktop down to your pre-determined setting. Set the timer and you're almost done. Easy. In addition: 1. The enclosed system is virtually silent; 2. The enclosed system allows fast, high temperature cooking without heating up your kitchen; 3. The benefits of a lower liquid requirement to achieve high pressure can not be overstated. The Kuhn Rikon system is different but produces superior results. For those who possess even a modicum of patience, I highly recommend this pressure cooker. ***UPDATE JUNE 18, 2012*** 8 years later and the Kuhn Rikon still performs exactly the same as the day I purchased it - perfectly! I'm proud to say that with a minimum of care, it still looks practically brand new. At our house, Friday means roasted chicken. That also means that after dinner I take the bones, crack them and toss them into the Kuhn Rikon with the vegetable peelings I've saved over the week (I store them in the freezer), add water and with just 40 minutes @ high pressure, I've got about 12 cups of high quality, no-sodium-added, super-gelatinous chicken stock to use throughout the coming week. For those who are discovering the joy of induction burners, the Kuhn Rikon is induction-friendly! I can bring a full pot to full pressure in about 7 minutes on my portable induction burner. 7 minutes! If you haven't made risotto in your Kuhn Rikon (I use my 3.7 Liter Anniversary Edition Duromatic for this task), why not try it with your homemade chicken stock? Otherwise, you're missing out on about 4 portions of a $20 restaurant dish that you can make quickly and easily at home for about $3. If you're a Modernist Cuisine fan, I would also like to suggest the caramelized butternut squash - it's eye opening. They recommend the Kuhn Rikon as the best pressure cooker available - but those of us who own one already know that. Worth every penny - because I know my Kuhn Rikon will last longer than I do!