I have been using a slow cooker for years to make meals for my family and like how easy it is to just "set and forget" until its ready. I recently discovered the pressure cooker....my mom got one and I was amazed how fast it cooked everything so of course I had to have one too. I purchased the Gourmia GPC-1000 Smartpot 10 Quart Pressure Cooker and I love it. I do have to say that when it arrived I was a bit intimidated because of its large size and all the buttons but after reading the manual and understanding what the pot can and can't do (which is very little) I can easily use the pressure cooker and its really rather simple.
All of the menu buttons are preset with a time for each item and there are buttons for rice, soup, meat, beans, steam, saute, poultry, dessert, slow cook and porridge. There is also a + and - in the center to make your own time or to add time to the meal along with a warm/cancel button. The display is LED and shows your remaining time in a red light.
If you are looking for something to feed a large amount of people or to batch cook then this is the pressure cooker for you. The set includes the 10 quart pressure cooker, a power cord, instruction manual, stainless steel rack, measuring cup and spoon. The longest cooking time using the pressure cooker is 1 hour and that's for special meat. Most meals and food items can be cooked in less than 30 minutes where as if using a slow cooker it would have taken hours. The inner pot can be removed to store food in the fridge or can be used on the stove (by itself) as a pot to warm food (like soup) up again and there are measurements on the inner pot as well so that you can make sure you are cooking with the correct amount.
I really have no complaints and its the easiest pressure cooker to use...ever. I can't believe I didn't purchase one sooner. I have made red beans in less than 30 minutes when it used to take 8 hours....what's not to love about that?! Yes you can still use the slow cooker option on this cooker and cook with longer times if you would like.
Easy to clean with just soap and water (do not immerse the cooker itself in water) and stores easily. Would make any spouse and friend happy with this purchase.
I was offered this product at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest opinion.
