T-Fal Ih 6.3QT Steel Pressure Cooker
When I recall my childhood, I remember seeing both my grandmother pull out their large cumbersome pressure cookers often to whip up a quick and easy meal for the family. It was probably the first way I learned to cook. Since then I have grown to love to cook. Unfortunately I have a small place. In a small apartment space is a hot commodity, especially in the kitchen. I love to entertain but just simply do not have the kitchen space to have several pans on at once. I usually did a lot of pre-cooking and reheating. When I decided to get some ‘grown up’ cooking supplies to match my ‘grown up’ space, my eye kept falling on this Ingrid Hoffmann pressure cooker by T-fal boasting of having a 3-ply impact bonded base that has shown to be good with electric, gas, ceramic and induction cook tops. I have had a lot of T-fal products in the past and have always been pleased with them. I justified the purchase and got it home barely able to wait to cook with it.
Update: These pressure cookers are currently on sale through this link on Amazon.
At a height of about 6⅝” and a diameter of 9 ¾”, I was really happy it fit exactly where I wanted it to on my stove, despite the 6” handle. I cleaned it and got ready to start cooking dinner. That night was my turn for date night dinner and I thought what could I do; a classic – pot roast. Seasoned and seared the roast, tossed in the veggies, added water and closed it up. At first it would not seal. I kept trying and I finally got it sealed after using a lot of force. Managed to cook my dinner without any other incident; everything cooked up so nicely in a portion of the time, it was worth the fight to get it sealed. I was tickled to see that it did not put off any condensation or rattle the way that some pressure cookers tend to do. This one was nice and low, and has a notification sound to let you know when the cooking time is almost finished.
Eventually I had to wind up sending it back because the seal kept acting up. Since it came with a 10-year warranty that covered the condition of the cooker, they replaced my cooker with no problem. When I got my new one, the seal was working just fine, must have just been a fluke.
When I’m really in a pinch, I can always use the cooker as another pot or put it in the oven. It can handle up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour only.
Originally, I was not a big fan of some of the recipes in the book that the cooker came with and tossed it to the side. It took me a little while to come around but with a little thought and a few slight modifications, you can turn the recipes into your own. It also came with a steamer basket that I have since used to steam vegetables. Every single time they come out perfect. They have never come out soggy or mushy.
The safety features of this cooker are neat, there is a safety valve, an over pressure release window as well as automatic opening and closing. I have been burnt so many times trying to work with a pressure cooker, it is very nice to not have to worry about getting burns from the steam, when all I really want to do is just get into the food as quickly as possible.
As usual, cleanup is a breeze. Typically, washing it with hot soapy water and a nylon sponge is good enough, but when I wound up with a stain on the cooking surface it came out pretty easily with just the sponge. For really stubborn stains, I just simmered some water and a bit of bleach for about 20 minutes. Poured it out and scrubbed with my sponge. The stains came out easier than I thought they would. If hand washing is not your thing, it is also dishwasher safe, but if you just remember to reseason your pan with a little oil afterwards they’ll be no change in the way it cooks.
If you want to buy these pressure cookers, you can get them on sale on Amazon through this link.
