Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've had this pressure cooker (my first) since late March 2010, and have used it about 5 times each week as I learned to use it.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the product, as well as with the customer service from the company, and would recommend this model to anyone looking to reduce cooking time anywhere or to improve cooking at high altitude (we live at over 8,000 ft).
Pros:
1. Well made, sturdy
2. Easy to use (and, yes, the instruction manual is in English)
3. Reliable (I've used it heavily for a month with no issues)
4. Attractive
Heads up! (neither pro nor con):
1. The bottom of the pot, while sturdy, seems thinner than my other pots. You must be careful when bringing the pot up to pressure to not use a high-output gas burner or a range setting higher than "medium-high". In fairness to this product, Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes, which I highly recommend, makes it clear that you must follow these instructions with any pressure cooker; failure to do so can lead to a thin or not so thin layer of burnt food on the bottom - which does wash up easily).
Cons:
1. It takes a little effort to find a replacement gasket. Note that the original gasket is still just fine, but a recommendation from two different books I read regarding pressure cookers (Miss Vickie's and the Pressure Cookers for Dummies) suggest that having a spare on hand is a good idea - you can't use the pressure cooker without one, and they will eventually wear out).
You can buy a spare gasket directly from the Magefesa USA web site. The MagePlus and "Ideal" pressure cookers have several parts in common, including the gasket. Go to the magefesausa website and click on "Parts and accessories", and then you can select the model Ideal" and then select the silicon gasket (or just go to [...]).
MagefesaUSA's customer service was quick to answer my question about gaskets, which is a Pro for this item.
Finally, regarding the description:
It used to be that Amazon allowed purchasers to recommend changes to descriptions of items in their catalog. Apparently, they don't do this anymore. If they did, I would change:
"3 cooking levels: traditional slow cooking: max 6 psi, fast cooking: max 9 psi, super fast cooking: max 15 psi. Silent and air tight."
to:
"2 cooking levels: fast cooking: max 9 psi, super fast cooking: max 15 psi. Silent and air tight."
There seems to be a problem with the description of this and at least one other Magefesa pressure cooker in that they are described as having three (3) pressures available, when in fact they only have two (9 & 15 PSI). I don't consider this a drawback in any way (I'm new to pressure cooking, but the two books I read said nothing about cooking at other than 15 PSI). It is confusing, however, when you get the unit and initially try to figure out how to get 6 PSI. Don't bother (and don't worry, who needs it?).
Overall, I'd rate this product a conservative 4 stars. After I've used it a few more months, assuming it continues to have no problems and the gasket remains in good shape, I'll likely raise it to 5 stars. (I would have given it an immediate 5 stars if it had been easier to find the gasket).
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Magefesa Mageplus Stainless Steel 8.5 Quart Super Fast Pressure Cooker
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