Pressure Cooker Store

Cooks lighter meals, healthier, fast and easy. 3 to 10 times faster than ordinary methods - faster than a microwave. Chicken, fish, vegetables and more cook to perfection in minutes. Tenderizes leaner cuts of beef and pork. Quick steam release. Stainless steel steamer basket.
Pressure cookers have experienced renewed popularity over the last several years because cooks have rediscovered what some cooks (particularly grandmas) have known for a long time--they're really fast. And it's easy to cook healthfully with pressure cookers, since the food retains so much more of its nutrients and flavor. Presto's 8-quart pressure cooker is a multi-purpose pot that can stand in as a conventional soup pot as well as perform the kitchen magic that pressure cookers are famous for. Chicken Cacciatore cooks in 8 minutes! And it's big enough for home canning, too. (The USDA recommends pressure canning as the only safe method for low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats, and poultry.) This professional-quality stainless steel pressure cooker is a handy addition to any well-rounded set of kitchen tools.

The heavy-duty lid locks down during cooking; an inner sealing ring keeps the steam in. In addition to a pop-up pressure indicator and a simple steam release mechanism, there is an overpressure plug that will let off steam if it builds up excessively. This pressure cooker is useful for weeknight dinners or for any meal that needs to come together quickly. An accompanying booklet contains 75 recipes, ranging from basic soup stocks to stews and pot roasts--even desserts like Petite Pumpkin Custards! Tenderize lean cuts of beef or pork; or cook chicken, fish, or vegetables faster than you can in a microwave, and without losing moisture.

Nonabrasive cleansers are best for cleaning this stainless steel pressure cooker, though occasional use of a fine metal polish will help the exterior keep its shine. The Presto 8-quart pressure cooker is fully immersible; in addition, the sealing ring should be removed after each use to allow cleaning of the inside rim of the lid. The vent pipe is simple to keep clean with a small brush or pipe cleaner, and both the air vent/cover lock and the overpressure plug are removable. The pressure cooker measures 10-1/2 inches in diameter (15-1/2 inches including handles) and 8-1/2 inches tall (including lid). Presto guarantees this pressure cooker with an extended 12-year warranty. A detailed instruction and recipe booklet is included; special safety issues that pertain to pressure cookers are clearly explained. --Garland Withers

Technical Details

-Heavy-duty 8-quart stainless steel pressure cooker
-Comfortably ergonomic, stay-cool black plastic handles
-Strong-lock lid with steam vent, pressure indicator, and overpressure plug
-Comes with rack for steaming food
-15-1/2 by 8 inches; 12-year warranty
See more technical details

 "Great Pressure Cooker" 2010-09-03
By A. Keen (Pennsylvania)
I have tried a few dinners in my new pressure cooker and am loving it! It is super easy and the meals are delicious. This one works on a glass cooktop, which I needed. Basically, the whole meal goes in one pot and it is so easy.


 "Pressure Cooker" 2010-08-30
By mrlucky
We've had a pressure cooker for 37 years and it was just wearing out. We went to Amazon and found a bright and shiny new pressure cooker at a sale price. It was shipped and received ahead of the promised date and we've already used it numerous times. Great job again, Amazon.com


 "Best Bang for the Buck!" 2010-08-24
By hikinged
After researching available pressure cookers on the market, I went with this one.

Features I was looking for:

1. 8 Qt. Capacity. Perhaps the 6 qt. would have fit our needs 80% of the time, but for the other 20%, when a big stew or batch of stock was necessary, this pot gives us the flexibility in one pot.

2. Stainless Steel. Easy to clean. Additionally, this PC has the tri-ply base, so it efficiently handles heat, and allows you to saute or brown ingredients prior to putting them under pressure.

3. Reputable Manufacturer and Worry-free spare parts. Presto fit the bill perfectly. They've been around forever, and parts are readily available from a variety of sources.


I had a 6 qt aluminum prior to this pressure cooker. The aluminum cooker was a basic model with the rocking top. It did what it was supposed to do and did it well. However, I found myself wanting a larger capacity cooker with the above features.

This Presto doesn't have the fancy bells and whistles of some of the other manufacturers, but it is safe and it performs just as well. A pressure cooker either holds its pressure or it doesn't-- I wasn't convinced I needed to pay 2-4 times as much for a unit that didn't perform noticeably better or give me any real additional benefits.

The pressure regulator on this unit doesn't rock-- it simply begins to emit a wisp of steam when it comes to pressure. The lever controls 2 things-- pressure or venting. When you slide the lever to "vent", the steam exhausts straight upwards. It's not dangerous to your hands, but can also exhaust part of your liquid-- this is a drawback in my opinion. However, it's only a slight drawback for me because I prefer to depressurize the unit by running the cooker under cold water to minimize steam escaping into my kitchen.

The handles are a bit different than those found on other cookers. This has 2 small handles versus a long handle and a shorter "helper handle." I wasn't sure if I'd like the handles, but I find I'm always handling the cooker with 2 hands anyway and don't mind not having a long handle.

Here's an interesting thing I noticed as I compare my old aluminum with this Presto-- it takes significantly less energy to keep the Presto at pressure than the aluminum. When the aluminum unit came to pressure, I'd turn down the burner to about 4 or 5 to keep it at pressure. On this Presto, I can go all the way down to "1/Lo" and it keeps chugging right along.

Some of my favorite things to make with this include:

1. Stocks. Chicken, Beef or Veal-- these stocks come out perfect in 45-50 minutes versus the 4 hours I used to spend developing all the flavors. Thick and rich-- can't beat it.

2. Soups. Use some of the stock you've either made fresh or have frozen from before. Brown your meat, saute your mirpoix, add your fresh or frozen veggies and any other liquids, and then "lock and load" for appropriate time. Yummy!

3. Risotto. Follow Miss Vickie's instructions on her website. OMG!! Cook like Top Chef!

4. BBQ. Use this for a quick braise, then finish it off on the grill. Fall-off-the-bone tender!

5. Beans. Any time, any where. I used to not do as much with beans since to cook them on the stovetop, you'd use just as much energy and time to cook the whole bag as half a bag--so..... I'd cook the whole bag. Then I'd have leftovers that would go bad. Not anymore. Now I cook the exact amount I need because the time/energy used in the PC is negligible. I like to give the beans a full soak and then cook for just a few minutes.

6. Anything else that usually involves "T-I-M-E" because with a pressure cooker, time is no longer a 4-letter word for a busy person!

This is a good quality piece of cookware that should last you a lifetime.


 "Great Product" 2010-08-04
By Steve S
This is the biggest Stainless Steel cooker that I could find. It's VERY well made, has a great set of instructions that come with it that include a bunch of recipies, has quick shipping, and it's reasonably priced. I am very satisfied with this product.

Three tips: this disassembles for easy cleaning. 1) wipe a little Olive oil on the silicone seal when re-assembling. 2)get some pipe cleaners to clean the little regulating orifice, it costs about $2 for 100. 3) order the replacement seal and blowout plug kit that you will need in a year or so, less than $15.

You can not beat this thing!


 "Great Pressure Cooker" 2010-07-20
By J. Smith (Michigan)
I am not new to pressure cookers, I have a Presto Stainless 4 qt, and a very old 6 qt. aluminum Mirror. I love my Mirror because it is bigger and has a larger bottom for browning meats before pressure cooking them. But, I wanted a stainless steel, larger pressure cooker and so decided to purchase an 8 qt. After looking at the pressure cookers and reviews I was down to the Fagor and Presto brands. The Presto being more familiar to me and of a cheaper price was my pick. I am very happy with my selection. The cooker seems to work faster than my older models and, of course, takes more food quantity. After reading the description describing the changes in the old style jiggle top, and having to watch for the pressure button to rise I was concerned. Relax ladies, who liked to be able to listen rather than stand there and watch, the new pressure cooker is still basically a modified jiggle top that is set to the side. You still can hear it spit and spin as it gains pressure so you know when to turn the heat down. The only difference is that the jiggle top can now be turned to let steam escape. This is handy, although I still prefer the cold water method because when you let the steam escape through the jiggle top you might be getting your ceiling or surrounding cupboards wet - there is a large amount of steam that pours out straight up from the top. Another plus I like is that the rubber seal ring is white. My others are black and I like that I can see that the white ring is clean. For storage and handling the new short handles are great as opposed to having the one long handle which took more cupboard space and was harder to handle. I found the handles moved easily.

The only reason I gave this cooker a 4, rather than a 5, is because I was hoping the bottom would be larger. The dimension given on Amazon is the top dimension including the lip, and this pot narrows down a little to the bottom. After researching the other models they are all this way and the only way to get a larger bottom is to buy a much, much, more expensive brand. I wish Presto would consider this because when browning meat before cooking, it would be nice to have more room on the bottom surface for big cuts.


Read more Presto 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes
Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker
Presto Pressure Cooker Sealing Ring/Overpressure Plug Pack (Super 6 & 8 Quart)
Cooking Under Pressure (20th Anniversary Edition)
Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure