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Presto Multi-Cooker/Steamer

19 years ago

Has anyone used the Presto Kitchen Kettle Multi-Cooker Steamer? There is a professional model as well as a regular model.

A friend told me that it is a great item for making chicken soup or cream soup or stocks? She had only used a professional steamer at a restaurant and not this particular item.

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Comments (5)

lucysue
19 years ago
Howdy Marie! I'm way late here but just now found your thread.

We received one of these cookers for Christmas. So far, it's had a pretty good workout. At first, I wondered what I could do with it, it seemed redundant and we don't fry anything. I think it's the thermostat which makes it real handy. I haven't been able to get anything to stick in it yet and it washes like a dream. The first time I used it, the connection on the cord perturbed me until it dawned that it was a safety breakaway feature. Very clever!

I've made a number of soups in it; clear, cream, bisques, etc., for dinner guests and it worked beautifully! I now catch myself looking at most every raw foodstuff as potential soup material! I steamed about 5 lb. of thick winter squash and was amazed that it was plenty done in about 8 minutes. (I then peeled the squash and made a soup of it in said cooker.) I'm looking forward a couple of months when we have fresh garden veggies to steam. I would guess that a minute or two would be sufficient for most items.

In addition cooker will boil water faster than our gas range. So much for electric being slow! I haven't figured out how to steam rice in it yet, the holes in the basket are too large. Any suggestions?
marie26
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you for your response. How many quarts of water does it hold? I have a chicken soup recipe that calls for 8 quarts of water and would love to try it out in this.
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Here's a Tramontina set which I like a lot. I got it at Sam's a couple of years ago for around $40, and a couple of weeks ago I saw a Tuesday Morning flyer listing a similar item for around $50 or $60. Well made, heavy, but any solid metal item will have hot handles if it's on the stove long enough. The steamer insert is big enough to hold a 4 pound whole chicken. At $40 it was a great buy, at $60 it's a decent one; at full retail of $98 it's not so hot. I imagine, though, with the dollar really losing power against the euro, anything imported from Europe right now is gonna be pricey. (At my local Publix, some Italian cheeses were around $18/pound).... But as a couple of posters noted, a colander and a regular stock pot work fine, too. Here is a link that might be useful: tramontina multi cooker
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Thank you, ci_lantro, that's very kind of you to look! I did order the Fissler this morning. I can't believe I spent that much on a pressure cooker (actually I got the set with the 8L and 4L) -- but then I said the same about the Vitamix, and I haven't regretted buying that. Oh well, I rarely buy shoes or clothes so there we go. The Presto is a very nice price, you're right! It would be interesting to measure the bottom disc. My old one was about that same diameter at the top but its disc was only 8 inches. If I had more storage space I'd probably end up with multiples (the Fisslers stack so that already uses less room than my old one, which was also actually a set of two). In case anyone with an arthritic relative (or who has arthritis themselves) is interested, I did find the Calphalon in a store and it looks very nifty, with that one-handed operation. I could tell that it would be too small a capacity for us, though. (However, for my parents...)
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I use a pressure cooker for rice, and it is quick and easy. In addition to making plain rice (which I seldom do), and often add various vegetables, which required me to adjust the amount of water/broth, but that has not been a problem. For plain rice, I rinse the rice in a large strainer, put it into the PC and add 1-1/2 times as much water as the rice I originally measured. I have a portable induction burner that is compatible with my PC, and I set that for 5-6 minutes on high and then turn the heat level down to low (250°F) and let it cook for 6 minutes more. The burner turns itself off, and I leave the pan on the burner (which is not hot by now) until the pressure indicator goes down, and then I open the lid and fluff the rice. The last time I made it with zucchini, and I reduced the water by 1/2 cup for each zucchini (I only used one), but I also added half an onion and three cloves of garlic, plus some butter and parsley (because I have it in my yard). When I add fresh thyme, I bundle it with a bit of string and remove the stems after the rice is cooked. I generally add thyme when I add mushrooms, and I often use dried mushrooms, which I reconstitute first and then use the soaking liquid as part of the water. I recommend getting a PC instead of a rice cooker. I had a roommate in college (when I went back for my design degree) from Hong Kong, and he had a rice cooker. Rice was the only thing he ever cooked, and I was not impressed. I cannot imagine anything a rice cooker could do that a PC could not.
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Ditto on the Fagor set. Might check your local Costco if you're a member; they recently had a Fagor 'Rapida' set with an 8 qt stockpot shaped pot and a 4 qt sauté pan with a pressure lid that fit both and a glass lid that fit both--all for just under $80, a tremendous bargain. I have the ten qt fagor that Marcopolo has, and I agree that it's a great item, especially when you're making soup, stock or chili. Now if you want to go high end, Kuhn Rikon is the way to go. I have their 6 qt stockpot and it's a joy to cook in; while it cost two or three times as much as the Fagor, it certainly isn't two or three times better. I really couldn't tell much difference in performance, but the fit & finish is better. Think Lexus (K-R) versus Camry (Fagor). I've been lusting after this item for years, but I really can't justify the purchase. But Lars brings up a good point: you'll find that you may well use the small flat pan more than the stockpot shaped one. As far as the size of the PC, I use an 8qt pot quite a bit even though I only cook for two or three. I could get by with just the 6 qt but if you have the storage space I recommend an 8 qt pot. Whatever brand you choose, as Lars implied, make sure it's induction compatible. Why? You can buy a good dedicated induction 'hot plate' --like this one-- for less than $100. They all have dedicated shutoff timers and several power levels. Once you figure out what power level keeps the pressure cooker just at high pressure, it becomes second nature to bring the PC up to high pressure then cut it back to the desired power level and set the timer for whatever the recipe calls for, and you can then basically ignore it knowing that the timer will shut off the cooking at the prescribed time.
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lucysue
19 years ago
The cooker holds 6 quarts of water. You could either make a half batch or 'a little less' than the full recipe. Most soups don't depend on exactness as, say, a pastry or the like. Let us know how it turns out!

Before you use your cooker the first time, may I suggest you give it time to air and/or boil a couple of quarts of water in it, dump it, boil more water and so on until you get rid of any smell. Ours had quite a 'plastic' smell to it and took about 4 boil cycles to totally get rid of it.
marie26
Original Author
19 years ago
I have lowered the amount of water in the recipe before so that wouldn't be a problem.

I was watching Good Eats the other day and Alton was showing how to cook soup in a pressure cooker.

LucySue, I have never used a pressure cooker but I was wondering if I should buy the multi-cooker/steamer or a pressure cooker. Have you ever used a pressure cooker?
lucysue
19 years ago
I guess it depends on what/how you like to cook. I haven't used a pressure cooker as much as my Mom has but it's a great way to tenderize. She made many a meal of melt-in-your-mouth beef, chicken and dumplings, corned beef, the best ham you can imagine, and so on. She also made stews, tenderized 'past prime' garden produce, that sort of thing. As a child, it seemed to take FOREVER for it to depressurize enough for me to get that lid off to sample the contents!

I really don't see the multi-cooker and pressure cooker overlapping very much. Personally, I would rather make soup (for instance) in the multi-cooker. I can add things at intervals so nothing gets overcooked. If you enjoy fall-apart pot roasts and things you can put in for a while and walk away, then a pressure cooker may serve you better.

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