Fagor pressure cooker

[Anonymous Modernist 16590]

I am new to the MC@H world. Today I finally bought a pressure cooker. Cooks Illustrated ran a bunch of comparison tests a while back, and concluded that the 8-quart Fagor stainless steel, for about $100, was virtually as good as PCs costing much, much more, and labeled it their best buy. So that's what I got, from Amazon. Interestingly, on Amazon, one can for $110 buy that PC, with no accessories other than a basket, and pay for the shipping; OR one can buy a kit, with that PC, a 4-quart pot to go with it, the basket, and a glass non-pressure lid, and with free shipping, for $99. I did the latter. While others on this list may not be as skinflinty as I, I would be curious (while I await its arrival in 6-10 business days) to hear if others have had good experiences with the Fagor.

[Anonymous Modernist 10142]

Which model did you get? The price differences are not only due to accessories there may be price variations also based on the model. Fagor has a range of models from economy to premium. Here are all of their descriptions.

http://www.fagoramerica.com/cookware/pressure_cookers/splendid_line/splendid

Note that the Rapid and Splendid only have one pressure setting and their premium models Futuro and Chef are made in Spain and have some nice extra features.

Congratulations on your new cooker!

L

[Anonymous Modernist 17102]

Hey hey,

I also have a Fagor, a 9 qt Duo, with 2 pressure settings (apparently rated at 8 PSI and 15 PS1); however, there seems to be some discrepency when I try to use the 15 PSI and MC recipes. In particular, I am getting a lot of burned results, and too much liquid evaporation. I haven't experiemented too much with the lower setting as there typically isn't enough pressure to have the desired effect on tougher cuts of meat (e.g., beef knuckles for stock).

Has anyone had success using the Fagor Duo? Any suggestions on how to adjust MC recipes for use with this model?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Steve

[Anonymous Modernist 310]

The Fagor is a venting pressure cooker. Just be careful that you keep the heat at the minimum needed. Don't use the lower setting as you won't get the same temperature and the same browning effects. If you still have the same kind of problems when you monitor the heat closely try adding additional liquid as 9 qt is quite a large PC.

Good luck

[Anonymous Modernist 19332]

Hello Steve,

I own the same model and experienced the same issue (burning). If you read the in-depth portion of the user's manual they tell you to lower your rangetop setting from what recipes recommend if using an electric (coil or ceramic) stovetop which is what I have. Possibly that is your issue as well, but if not lowering heat input should still solve the issue. ALSO - on the high pressure setting I noticed I need to tap the PC with a wooden spoon near the popper-indicator to get it to come out ... otherwise it often sticks and you end up cooking far longer thinking the PC is still just coming up to pressure. I hope this helps. I love the science behind Cooks Illustrated and have been just thrilled today to learn of the MC cookbook - can't wait to save a bundle and purchase it. Just reading the descriptions tells me I will love it. We have a chef here in Fort Worth, John Bonnel, who was a chemistry prof before attending New England Culinary and his unique and amazing tasting offerings were what first got me interested in understanding all the processes and chemical reactions that create great food - sounds like this book captures exactly that.

Cheers,

Steve in Fort Worth