Kuhn RikonDuromatic Hotel Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker with Side Grips, 12 Litre / 28 cm

To be perfectly up front, I recently purchased this and have only used it twice so far. My out of box impression was quality, and more quality. The top and bottom sections are heavy SS with an aluminum disk to soak up and transfer heat on the bottom. The handles are attached with stainless steel screws from the inside of the lid and outside on the base. They appear to be very sturdy and easy to replace if damaged. I've not experienced the hot handle issue after a 40 minute cook but don't have any burners with flames capable of reaching outside of the base. Yes, like others, I'm less than impressed with the 3 pronged plastic clip that holds the collar/steam deflector to the lid. I just plan on being careful to not set it on anything upside down.In use, this thing absolutely rocks! It seems to heat up and come to pressure more quickly than my old 4 qt. aluminum Presto grandma hand me down. Coming to pressure and staying there, I'm hard pressed to see much, if any, steam escaping from the vent so I'm inclined to believe that as little as 1/2 cup of water would do the trick as long as one keeps the pressure under control with the second ring showing but not fully extended and venting. The one size fits all manual states the minimum is 50ml of water or about 2oz but I'm not willing to risk this purchase by cutting it that close. I would say if you have a tendency to walk away with the pressure indicator fully extended and venting steam, maybe you need an electric pot anyway. I've tried the cold water release which works fine and doesn't seem to stress anything, natural, quick (by pressing down the indicator), and super quick (undocumented but by fully pulling UP the stem).I was initially concerned that I'd bought something only suitable for making huge quantities or canning but the 11" diameter allows full contact browning of whole chuck roasts and large amounts of vegetables that would otherwise need to be done in batches or with continual stirring in smaller cookers. The big diameter also allows full flame fast reductions of liquids or thickening for gravies. Yet, this still manages to come to pressure quickly on my normal 30" gas range and stays there with very little flame. If you are a petite person or have strength or pain issues handling larger pots, this 12qt model may not be for you. For me, I'm very happy and no longer considering buying a smaller companion PC.

This is the first pressure cooker I have ever owned, so know that as I provide my feedback.I spent many many hours looking at various pressure cookers. With all the options out there, it was really tough to choose. But after days and days of researching, this one appealed to me the most; but I must admit, it being my first one I was still concerned I made a bad choice.Fast forward several months later: This has been an incredible, efficient pressure cooker. I have no idea why I waited so long to purchase a pressure cooker! I've never had dry beans taste so good. I make a Caribbean dish (rice and beans) and before it would take me a couple of hours just to get the beans cooked. I now can have cooked beans in 10 to 15 minutes (including prep time) from start to finish. I've done black beans, red beans, kidney, garbanzo (chick) Lima, Navy, and pinto, etc. and am always pleased. I will definitely be purchasing Kuhn Rikon's in the future. My next one will be a 5 quart for smaller meals.I however, would not do lentils or split peas because those are a softer bean which doesn't require much cook time. But that's a personal thought.The top and bottom of the pot is made with Stainless Steel with aluminum for better absorption and transferral of heat.Pros:Quiet: Very quiet pressure cooker. No rocking sounds or much noise at all coming from it.Efficient:. I've found that this pressure cooker requires less water and less cook time than other brands.Cons:Dishwasher: Don't put the pressure cooker in the dishwasher. The heat from the dishwasher will wear out the plastic. I was carrying a full pot of stew when my pot's handle broke. Fortunately, I moved with the pot as it started falling and was able to set the pot on the ground hard. Only spilled a little bit. Kuhn Rikon replaced the handle and it's been working great since.Round Chrome Lid: The round disk on top of the pressure valve has a black ring of plastic on the inside with three (3) plastic legs of sort. These things break easily, so handle with care. We dropped ours by accident and one of the legs broke off. It's useless at that point. I didn't bother buying a replacement as it doesn't affect the cooking or pot usage.Today 3/22/2015 I made the entire "rice and bean" dish in it and was pleasantly surprised. It did not turn out exactly the same, but I was pleased with the results. I will try it again tweaking it some more to see if I can get it to come out exactly how I want. Again, this dish from start to finish takes about three hours. I made it today in 20 minutes (start to finish, including prep time). NOTE: Prep did not include pre-soaking overnight.Update 4/25/2019: I've now purchased three pressure cookers, two were T-fal's and I returned both. I decided I wanted a smaller pressure cooker but didn't want to pay the premium price of the Kuhn Rikon so went with the next best rated. Big mistake! See my review on the (T-fal P25107 Stainless Steel Dishwasher Safe PTFE PFOA and Cadmium Free 10 / 15-PSI Pressure Cooker Cookware, 6.3-Quart, Silver). This is by far the best pressure cooker I've ever used.

I wanted a pressure cooker with a wide base and this one has that, for that I love it but: The rubber ring fits very tight under the edges of the top. It’s hard to get it right exactly and sometimes I see steam spewing out the side of this rubber ring through the pan opening. Obviously losing pressure and loud. It is harder to regulate than my Fissler and if Fissler made a wider bottom in the size I would have purchased it instead. Not completely happy especially at a $400 price range. I expected better quality