I used to have a hand-me-down huge one for the stovetop. There are only two of us so it was rarely used (only for cooking and freezing large batches). I finally gave it away and bought a small electric one. I use it all the time for dried beans, beef stew, roast, or anything that needs a long cook time. I can get dinner together quickly after work and I love it!

Broths - Bone broth, Chicken broth, etc.. Beans, soups, and anything that I want to cook fast. I have a Fissler and a Kuhn Rikon. I really like them.

Personally they scare me to death so I don't have one. People loe them. It's personal preference. You don't NEED one to make any recipe but if you like the technique, then it's good.

Not essential for anything but canning.

Very useful for speeding up some cooking processes. Basically 15 min in the PC = 1 hour cooking normally. So you can "slow cook" meat in just an hour, etc.

End result may be just slightly different - texture, color. Not enough to matter in most cases.

Kuhn-Rikon is the Mercedes of PC, Fagor is very good. Maybe other brands are good too.

Stovetop PC is fastest (highest pressure) and you can use as a normal pot too. Electric PC is slightly lower pressure but you can do things like timer, program, cook unattended, etc. Fagor makes a good electric PC.

I use mine all the time for stock, slow cooking, etc. Primarily for meats, also handy to be able to cook dry beans in 15 min without soaking, etc. One example is being home a whole chicken, quickly remove legs and breasts, toss carcass plus some veg into the PC, then start dicing the chicken, carrots, celery, etc. 15 min later, by the time you're done dicing, you have chicken stock, and 15 min after that you have chicken soup. Chicken soup from scratch in 40 min. Very handy.

But I wouldn't call it essential.

I use mine mostly for cooking dried beans and making chicken stock. PC's are great for beef stew because of how the flavors meld. Great for making pot roast and Swiss Steak. Also for cooking rice w/ the pot in a pot method...no boilovers.

I was thinking about getting one, but they all had teflon. I have a parrot, and although the temperature are low, I still wouldn't risk it. Anyone know of one without any non-stick surface?

I have a vintage cast aluminum Presto Meatmaster PC. No teflon. There are a lot of vintage PC's floating around in thrift shops and garage sales. If you shop vintage, make sure that you get the weighted gauge that goes with. Most likely, you'll need to replace the gasket but those are readily available on-line. Presto is a good brand cooker to look for because they made a lot of them and parts are generally still available.

I have a Cuisinart. I use it for dried beans, bean soups, and making bone broth for the cats. I love mine, but it takes up a lot of space.

Thanks -- I will check out the Instant Pot.

Most stove top pressure cookers are not non stick. I believe the non stick ones tend to be the electric pressure cookers. I have no expensive with the electric pressure cookers but I have used a stove top pressure cooker for over 30years.

I have a simple Indian low tech pressure cooker. Mine is aluminum but they also come in stainless or nonstick.

I use it for stock and lentils or beans, of course. If I remember right, the instructions say never fill it more than a third full for beans or lentils etc, to avoid blocking the valve. Otherwise there's not unreasonable risk, as long as you don't fill it so much that goop could clog the valve. A lot of other things we take for granted are riskier, like um, driving, for example.

Another use I like is for porridge, which I don't like to cook in an open pot because I have to keep stirring and it still sticks or burns, and I like my porridge fairly stiff. So I put an inch of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker, and then mix up the dry porridge and measured water and anything else in a steel dish, and float that in the water in the pressure cooker. Bring it up to pressure and then turn it off and leave it till it cools, and the porridge is cooked fully every time, with no risk of sticking or burning. And no pot to clean.

I prefer the old tech stove top pressure cookers because there are no electronics to go haywire. They cook at higher pressure than the new age electrics so food cooks quicker. And they don't require as much space to store.

I do not want one of the 'instant pots' because of the electronics & space req'd to store. A case of 'simpler is better' AFAIC.

The six quart is the minimum useful size, IMO, because you can fill them only 1/2 to 2/3 full. A volume of air is required for steam to accumulate and build pressure.

I love my Instant Pot. No messing around with my burner to get the heat just right. Literally set it and walk away.

Pulled pork or beef stew on a weeknight? Sure!

Instant Pot sounds good. I will save up and get one. Thanks!

I bought a Fagor 8 qt. stainless stovetop PC in costco last year. I just saw the other day that they are now selling a 6 qt. which looks a little puny, but it's a nice quality pot. I've used mine for soup, chicken Cacciatore and cheesecake.

I have a Fagor, too, and it's a nice PC that I'd recommend. I think I got mine several years ago at Macy's, right after Christmas. The low sale price was too good to pass by considering I'd wanted to try pressure cooking.

Cacao bird, Amazon daily deals lists an Instant Pot for 89.00. I use mine several times a week.

Thanks! I'll check out Amazon.