Fagor Futuro 6 Quart Pressure Cooker

I am one of those people that has always liked the thought of "nutritional, home cooked" dinners. By the time I think about cooking the stews/roasts/whole chickens/etc. it is already too late in the day so there they sit in the freezer while I am running to the store for something quick. It's really sad to see beautiful, fresh stew vegetables (along with great intentions) go bad in the refrigerator. Well, NO MORE!!!!If you are thinking about buying a pressure cooker, go for it! Mine came in the mail yesterday and I made Tortellini Stew last night - oh my gosh it was the most tender stew meat we've had in years. It was even better than sitting in the crock pot all day! I did not pressure cook the little tortellinis :) but everything else cooked so easily. I put the stew meat in with garlic, olive oil, tomato paste and about 2 cups of stock. That pressure cooked on high for 10 minutes. Then I released the pressure (my husband calls it "releasing the aromas" because it smelled soooo good) and added in the mushrooms, carrots, celery, spices, and more broth. I brought that up to low pressure and let it go for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, added in the tortellinis with the lid off for a couple minutes and we had a dinner in MINUTES that used to take literally HOURS!!!I decided on the Fagor 10-quart futuro model for several reasons:1. It's stainless steel. I don't like cooking with aluminum.2. The 10-quart size is awesome and it is not too big. It's just right for my family of four because we like leftovers and have company for dinner often.3. I like that this model is made in Spain rather than China.4. I liked the steamer basket/grater that came with this.5. The easy handles on the lid. I went back and forth on this one, but after using it am SO GLAD I went with this handle design. It will store nicely and it really is super easy.6. The two pressure settings of 1 and 2. It will be nice having a lower pressure setting when I cook tender vegetables.It was so intimidating that first go-round but it was so easy! You should see the steam fly out when released. It's amazing how the cooker can sit so quietly on the stove. I was not expecting the big rush of steam, so it made me jump the first time but these are totally safe and really make cooking fun and GOOD! I had no problems taking the lid off when the pressure came down. I was a little nervous about that, too, but it was no big deal whatsoever!

I've only written 1-2 reviews before, but given that we spent $160 on this pressure cooker & have used it no more than 15-20 times, I want to forewarn people. Sure, it's great when it's new. We loved it. But, after a couple of years and not that many uses, it won't even hold pressure any more. It's as good as boiling your food. Sure, the price has dropped significantly, but ask yourself how much you think you should have to spend per use before yours, too, goes kaput.

I hadn't really had the time or motivation to cook for years. When I started to research newer, energy-efficient, slow cookers (I obtained my current one in the '70's.) I found none. My attention turned to pressure cookers and I am delighted. Now I can cook grains, legumes, vegetables all quicker and with little nutritional loss. They look beautiful and taste delicious.The cooker itself is pretty simple to use. Follow the directions and you can't go wrong. No exploding safety concerns like years ago - just follow the directions. You'll be adapting your favorite recipes in no time.

I bought a Fagor 10 quart pressure cooker about 3 weeks ago and so far the only quibble I have, and it's not a big one, is that it could be a little easier for newbies to tell when the thing is up to its cooking pressure. The manual, and the video that came with the PC both say that it's up to pressure when the little yellow button pop up. That's not actually true. When the button pops up, that means that the pot is pressurized, not that it is up to 15 psi. It is up to full pressure when wisps of steam start coming out of the relief valve.Today I made Lentil Soup with 10 minutes of cooking time. If I had started timing when the yellow button popped up the lentils would not have been done because it took (I'm guessing here, I didn't time this part) an extra 2 or 3 minutes from the point where the yellow indicator button popped up to when stream started coming out of the relief valve. If the steam is hissing out then you need to turn down the heat until wisps of steam gently escape.I have an electric stove so there's that issue of "thermal inertia" where I make an adjustment to but it takes a short bit of time for it to respond. It is just the nature of the beast for electric ranges. A good tip from a PC cookbook said to use two burners, one to heat the PC up to pressure and a second burner turned on at the same time to a lower setting so all you have to do is move the PC from the high temperature burner to the lower temperature one.I had an "El Cheapo" stainless steel old-style (first generation) PC and the setting on my stove for cooking was the letter "M" on the word Med. on the dial. With the Futuro all I need is the "m" on word Wm on the dial. This is a much lower setting. It is surprising how little energy is needed to maintain pressure with this PC.The build quality is excellent - one reason I bought the Futuro is that this model is still made in Spain. I've had enough trouble with Made in China gear that I wasn't about to trust our well-being to Chinese quality control. (This is a whole other issue but I now look for alternatives to Chinese made items whenever possible). If they are willing to add a poisonous material (melamine) to milk to make it test higher in protein and kill a handful of babies and sicken thousands more how much could they care about me standing in front of a stainless steel pot pressurized to 15 psi? I shouldn't have to worry that my PC is an I.E.D.(Taking a breath now)The bottom of the pot is very thick and spreads the heat well. As I said earlier, I made Lentil Soup today and I realized as it was nearly done that I added the lentils first so they were sitting on the bottom of the pot and I added the other ingredients on top of them. I use highest heat setting to bring the PC up to pressure (an electric stove will boil a pot of water quicker than a gas stove) so it is a very high heat. I was worried that the beans might burn a bit because I'd forgotten to stir the ingredients before heating up to pressure. But when I emptied the pot there wasn't the slightest evidence of that. The soup is delicious!I like the short handles on the Futuro, it is easier to store. The operating valve is simple to remove and clean and the silicone gasket is easy to remove and it makes no difference which side is up when replaced so there is one less thing I can screw up. I bought the glass lid for $10 from Amazon and now I've got a very high quality 10 qt. pot for non-PC usage.A couple of days ago I made Pulled Pork for sandwiches from a 4.5 pound piece of boneless pork loin (lower fat, ya know) that turned out wonderfully in the PC. We're having that again tonight with a cup of Lentil Soup. This has changed the way we do much of our cooking.I'm sorry if I'm burying the lead but the new generation of pressure cookers is very, very safe. They are nothing like the ones that your mothers or grandmothers had. I'm assuming that most people who are looking at these fairly expensive PCs already know quite a bit about them so you probably know that but I felt I should make the point for newbies.Buy a couple of good PC cookbooks when you buy your PC and you'll get a ton of good advice about using them, including how to adapt your family's favorite recipes to the PC.Good grief! Did I do 800+ words about my PC? I need an editor after only one margarita.If you're looking for a PC you can't go wrong with the Fagor. Enjoy!