pressure cookers

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I'm thinking of getting a new stainless steel pressure cooker (not a canner, already have one). Wal-Mart has a Mirro for $69.95. Any other ideas out there? Reason I am getting a stainless steel, the canner is aluminum and I'm not wild about cooking the food directly in that pot.. Thanks, goatgal

-- melina bush (goatgal1@juno.com), September 04, 2000

Answers

Cool--Walmart has them? Gotta get one (after we pay off the daughter's wedding and get some slab wood hauled in for the winter...)! I hear that they will cook up a meal in a very short time, and use just a fraction of the energy that conventional cooking does; but I am like you. I passed up an almost new pressure cooker at an auction this weekend because it is aluminum. Keeping my brain straight is hard enough with out aluminum floating around in there....

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), September 05, 2000.

You know, you can always cook your food in another pot inside the canner/cooker, just get a stainless steel insert-type pot that is cheap and will fit inside your canner/cooker. Watch out for meltable handles. Have had Mirro teakettle, and the handle broke rather quickly, not to mention dangerously (thank goodness the water was cold at the time). Am leary of their products - seem shabby, could just be me. Is there some sort of guarantee? A good place to get nice cookware cheap-ish is Service Merchandise. Saw many high-dollar quality pot and pan sets going very reasonably, probably have cookers, too.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 05, 2000.

Keep your eyes out at lawn sales and auctions .I found one for $5.oo this week .I just couldn't bring myself to pay $70.00 !

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), September 06, 2000.

If you get one at a yard sale, don't put off having it checked out by the manufacturer. P.C.'s can sustain injuries that are microscopic, only picked up through technological means (MRI or X-ray or some such), but such a fissure can be catastrophically dangerous under pressure. This service is probably available at a nominal fee. Ask over the phone or e-mail.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 06, 2000.

Thanks I never thought of that .I was going to get a new gauge and seal only .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), September 06, 2000.


Mirro will check their pots and lids for free. I bought a pressure canner at a yard sale for three bucks because the pressure release valve had popped out, and Ithought I could use as a large cooker if nothing else. I called Mirro about the valve, they told me to take the pot and lid to a dealer near me. I did, the dealer sent the pot and lid to Mirro and they replaced the valve, and checked the stress of the lid and pot for me in the process, and didn't charge me. I was stunned. Now I have a perfectly working pressure canner for three dollars. I've always had good luck with Mirro, but their customer service really sold me. Good luck.

-- Julie (rjbk@together.net), September 06, 2000.

Thanks Julie thats an even better idea !

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), September 07, 2000.

I have a Mirro 4 quart pressure cooker that I use several times a week. I've had it since around 1970. I might mention too, that I'm still using the original seal. It is still pliable and seals just fine. It is aluminum, and I have thought about replacing it for that very reason. We sold my parents pressure cooker at auction along with other things, and it was 40 to 50 years old, a Mirro, and still worked just fine. I agree that some of the newer Mirro products don't seem to be of the quality that they should be.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), September 07, 2000.

Must be the newer, cheaper stuff, then. Have they recently changed owners or gone all NAFTA on us?

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 07, 2000.

Sent this already as a personal e-mail. Someday I'll figure out how this computer stuff works. But... I did buy one out of Wal Mart this spring and I am very pleased with it. Had the same make and model for over 28 years and used it to "death". Bought a used one a couple of years ago with a "weight" and not the "clock" for keeping an eye on the pressure...like the "clock" so much better. Feel better canning with it too. Good Luck and Happy Canning. (better go buy it quick before everyone else get them !!)

-- Helena , (windyacs/@ptdprolog.net), September 11, 2000.


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