Two recommendations:

Presto's stainless 4 or 6 qt. stove top pressure cooker, the jiggler style cooker; I've had mine for several years now, works great, easy to clean but I wish I had bought the 6 qt. size even though I mostly cook for 1 or 2. Purchased online from PressureCookerOutlet.com for only about $50, quick delivery, parts available if needed later on.

Fager's '"new generation" cooker, the Duo is a good buy, has good reviews, safe, stainless, I'd advise the 6 qt., sold online in many places.

Maybe the digital electronic cookers have improved, but I don't think I need one. And I would only buy a stainless pot of any brand you choose.

I do stay near the stove when cooking in my Presto, but to me that is not a big deal because the cooking time is quick - brown rice in 12 minutes! The most important thing to learn is that you do not cook on high heat You get the contents up to boiling, put on the lid and the pressure gauge, then reduce the heat to maintain pressure and start your timer.

There are others here that cook in a pressure cooker and we can provide recipes and walk you through your break-in period so you will become comfortable with your new cooker.

Teresa

In general, 8 qt (if you have the storage space) rather than 6 qt, I have a 6 qt (generally cook for just 2 or 3, and that's fine for that, but sometimes it would be handy to have an 8 qt)

Also in general, stainless rather than aluminum.

A very good induction capable set is the one at the link; I've used it (and used it on induction), and given it as a gift--very well received. You might not think the sauté-pan shaped cooker would be useful, but it really is. I've seen this set for as little as $89, but not lately.

All Kuhn-Rikon PC's are induction capable, and they are wonderful, but they are also $$$.

If you wanted just one cooker, I'd go with a stockpot shaped cooker like the Presto 01370 or the Fagor Splendid 8 qt. or the Kuhn Rikon 8 qt. By the way, the Fagor Duo mentioned above is a very good PC, but its selling point is that it has two levels of pressure. I've never found much use for that function, and I do all my pressure cooking on high. If you get a good deal on a Fagor Duo, by all means get it, but the Fagor Splendid line is somewhat more economical and performs pretty close to my Kuhn Rikon 6 qt. stockpot.

If you have a big budget, or just wanted to treat yourself, look in to the Kuhn Rikon line. They're available on the Internet, but aren't ever discounted much. They are excellent quality, though. The 8 qt stockpot shaped Kuhn Rikon PC is $206 from Amazon.

Very minor point: I prefer the handles to be roughly symmetrical. Easier to store compared with the handle sticking out like a frying pan handle.

Here is a link that might be useful: fagor pc set

I would also recommend an 8 qt. You can often cook a container of starch on top of the main and you need room to fit it. For example, I PC'd some short ribs along with whole potatoes in the basket on top, to mash as a side. REALLY convenient. My rice on top of curry didn't turn out well. It was soupy and had to finish it in the MW. Still learning.
I also PC'd corn on the cob and that was great. MUCH less water used and only a few minutes of cooking time.

I have the Fagor Chef (10 qt) because I liked the pressure indicator. I'm having trouble knowing when to turn the heat down and how much heat to maintain pressure over an extended period. Having that indicator is helping me adjust temp as I figure things out.

I have a Bosch induction cooktop, if anyone has advice!

We're a family of five with young kids who's appetites will only grow, so I went big.

To ammend my post: I thought the Duo was a set of a stock pot and a saute pan, but I was wrong. I remember reading here or somewhere else that the set of the two Fagor pans was a good buy. I agree with arley that two levels of pressure are not really needed.

Teresa

Thank you for the recommendations so far.
Teresa, both the Splendid and the Duo lines have similar 4 quart and 8 quart sets. The prices are pretty close.

Are the insides stainless steel? In one picture the inside of a duo pot looks like it might have a coating but perhaps that is just the shadow.

I'd prefer stainless inside because coatings never last as well as I'd like. We would want one where the body can go in the dishwasher. It looks like both Fagor models can do that.

Magefesa just replaced a pressure cooker that I purchased thirty-three--yes, 33--years ago, gratis, because the valve was not operating correctly. So, I recommend that one! The original received heavy use when we lived aboard a sailboat.

I had a Kuhn-Rikon pressure cooker, some anniversary/risotto edition. Lovely to look at, stopped working properly after six months. Had to purchase valves, thises and thats, none of which solved the pressure leaking problems. They are on my you-know-what list. Lots of $$, very lovely to look at and handle, not functional.

A super sleek one is Fissler. Have not used it, but have heard good things about it. The bottom fits certain induction cooker diameters better than some others--there was an earlier thread about this. So, you may need to know diameter of kids' induction hob before deciding.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mine is an 8 quart, Fast, not Super Fast

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 12:52

My preference is to go non-electric. Smaller size for the same capacity and nothing to go wrong. Power out? no problem.

Auminum cooks faster, lighter also to pick up.

Stainless steel, better for cleaning. I use "Easy Off" oven cleaner for mine.

Try to get silicone seal. Rubber seals don't last and they are not cheap.

dcarch

We would definitely go stainless steel.
We have moved away from aluminum cookware because of concerns about consuming excessive amounts of aluminum and because of ease of cleaning. Acidic foods pitting aluminum (and dissolving more into food) is a concern too. We prefer to have the only aluminum to be what is encapsulated in try-ply construction.

Magefeso sure has a bewildering array of lines/shapes - especially when looking at their superfast ones. Some look a lot like Fagor pressure cookers and Fagor's site says some of theirs are made in Spain which makes me wonder if Magfeso makes some for them.

KitchenDetective, do you have a straight sided one or a belly one? Is there any advantage to the belly? It seems like straight sides would be easier to clean.

Aluminum is out if you want to use induction. Gotta be stainless, and not all stainless is induction capable.

Both my Fagor and my Kuhn Rikon PC's work fine on induction.

My old one had a belly. The new one does not. Both are stainless. The old one was heavier. It was used a lot for stews. I have only used the new one twice, once for stew and once for rice. The "Fast" are stainless, and the "Super Fast" are aluminum. I dislike aluminum and have not tried any made from it. Dcarch may be able to explain belly vs. straight. OTTOMH, the belly may be a tiny bit better suited to preserving liquid, but I doubt that would be noticeable. It would also be a bit better at accommodating a larger roast in the same volume pot. Induction experts may want to weigh in on heat conduction, given the differing shapes and clad bottoms.

The concept of the belly design is interesting.

The pressure force the cover needs to overcome is dependent on the size (area in square inches x 15 lbs). By using the belly design, the same capacity will require a smaller size cover, which can be a thinner construction.

dcarch

Some of the "Super Fast" are aluminum and some are stainless steel with triply bottoms - the latter say they are suitable for all cooking surfaces. Actually, even some of the "Fast" are aluminum, but I think that was only two very large ones and done for weight.

Aluminum is significantly better than stainless steel.

Stainless steel is an extremely poor heat conductor.

Keep this in mind when you use an aluminum PC to pressure steam (pot-in-a-pot). The food in the inside pot may tend to boil over if the PC cools down too fast. Don't fill the inside pot too full.

dcarch

When I sent my p cooker in, I explained that I would pay for repair. They sent me a new one, same volume, also stainless, different shape, lighter weight. Perhaps they no longer have parts for the old one? Anyway, I just glanced at the site. It seems there are two stainless series, Star and Inoxtar. I do not know what the difference is. Some have five-ply and some have three-ply bottoms? You may want to email them with your questions. Since I was not expecting a replacement, I didn't pay too much attention. Now, I am curious. I wonder if any are clad all the way up the sides, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Some info. re: How to choose

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 17:40

I think I'd prefer ones that are clad only on the bottom, not up the sides. So far, the ones I've looked at say the aluminum layer is on the bottom.

When using triply pots with cladding up the side, sometimes food that splashes above the water line gets kind of cooked on because the side is so hot and there isn't water there. For a pressure cooker, I'd rather have the bottom heat the liquid and the liquid or steam do the cooking without a very hot side interfering.

That page you linked says that the difference between their fast and super fast is the pressure. So it isn't talking about how fast they heat. It's about how fast they cook once they get up to pressure.

"Fast" is 55 - 60 kPa (kilo Pascals). That's about 8 PSI.

"Super Fast" is 72-80 kPa, or ~ 11.5 PSI which is still below the "standard" 15 PSI.

Then they have 2 pressure models that they say are between 60 and 100 kPa. 100 kPa is 14.5 PSI, pretty equivalent to the 15 PSI "standard". 14.5 and 15 PSI are 249 or 250 degrees F at sea level so no significant difference. The "fast" ones would be about 237 degrees F, so not a huge difference, but cooking times may need to be lengthened.

Right, I found and read that mid-post. I think the cladding is just on the bottoms, and, sans more information, whether three or five layers is superior can't be discerned. The screw-down securing mechanism on the Magefesa always gives me a sense of security, rightfully or not. Some may prefer the double ring indicator on the Kuhn-Rikon, which I liked, when it still worked.
As to Fagor, I read in 2013 that that Spanish company was undergoing bankruptcy. They were a significant player in the European large appliance category. Their pressure cookers are very popular. I am not sure what the current status of the company is, although the pressure cookers are still being sold.