Hawkins Classic 10L Aluminum Pressure Cooker - Silver | Fast & Efficient Cooking for Soups, Stews & Rice | Perfect for Home & Commercial Kitchens

This thing is so much easier to use than my older Presto pressure cooker--the valve mechanism is different and it's a lot easier to seal and bring up to pressure. This is a very, very small cooker, about the size of a medium/small sauce pan. It's quite limited in what you can cook in it because of that, but since I'm only cooking for one person, it's not a huge deal for me. This comes from India and includes a cookbook full of Indian recipes--mostly stuff I wouldn't dream of cooking. All the parts are replaceable and readily available. I had been toying with the idea of buying an electric pressure cooker but the reviews of all the models are a bit scary, plus the price seems high for what you get. The electric models don't come up to 15 lb. pressure which is industry standard for pressure cookers and virtually all recipes are based on that. These Hawkin's Pressure Cookers are very inexpensive compared to other models but they are very heavy-duty and sturdy. Remember when buying a pressure cooker that you can generally only fill it a bit over half full so that boiling stuff doesn't clog the safety valve. Plan for that when choosing a size. Also remember that these things weigh a ton when filled with water and food. I can't lift the big ones anymore, even if I had a reason to cook with them. This model/size is not suitable for canning, it's just too small. I like this cooker very much.