T-fal P45009 Clipso Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker - 8 Quart, Silver | Dishwasher Safe, PTFE & PFOA Free, 12-PSI | Perfect for Fast Cooking, Meal Prep & Large Family Dinners

So, as we start off this New Year, we made eating healthier one of the top priorities (as I'm sure many have). What always seemed to throw a wrench into the plan is the amount of TIME it takes to prepare everything! Well I'm happy to announce that, for once, there is a way to work towards such a goal and actually save time! Its called pressure cooking!For those who know all about pressure cookers and are just looking for the operating pressures, I have good news for you! Unlike the previous version (the one with a red handle), the high pressure is now 14.5 psi and the low pressure is 10 psi per the manual. Previously, the max pressure was only 12 psi (low was 7 psi) and I know of at least one popular website that calls T-Fal out by name for having a lower than 'standard' 15 psi. I'd say 14.5 psi is pretty darn close! Theoretically, you should cook for 3.33% longer due to the 0.5 psi difference. That would be 1 minute for every 30 minutes. In reality, there are many other variables that make this negligible. Items that you cook for 30 minutes or more will usually have a larger time range anyway because of variables such as size and weight of the item (like a roast) and anything shorter than 30 minutes (most items) is a difference of literally seconds. I would be more concerned with the higher than 'standard' low pressure (as discussed further in my 'update' at the bottom).For the rest of you who are new to pressure cooking, I found this model very easy to use. I did not encounter issues that others comment about on other cookers like difficulty of opening and closing or not being able to get up to full pressure. Everything is very well made and seemed to operate very straight forward and smooth. I will say that, being my first pressure cooker, it did take a little getting use to. I did not really know what to expect, but, now that I know a little more about it, I will point out a few things that come to mind to hopefully help demystify it a little:- The manual says that for the first use, you should fill to the max line with water and cook at max pressure for 20 minutes and then do a quick release. I would do this as I think it helps to set up the valve. I say that because when heating up, the valve all of the sudden evacuated steam like a locomotive as if I had done a quick release, but I still had it set on the high setting. I was not expecting that so I immediately took it off the stove and ran cold water over the lid to cool it down. Upon inspection, the valve appeared OK, so I tried again. This time it gradually let some steam off and then maintained a lower stream that I would have expected the first time. I used it 4 times since and its gradual and operates as expected each time, so I think this was to somehow set it up. Either that or the valve was just stuck and some overpressure got it unstuck. Its still a good idea to do this to get familiar with it before actually trying to cook something.- The pressure indication pin is located in the hole on the handle and will not allow the unit to pressurize unless you have the latch locked. When there is pressure, the pin will raise up to be flush with the top of the handle and its red so you can see it easier. Note that this does not mean that you are up to your pressure setting. You must visually/audibly have steam coming out of the top of the valve. All the pin tells you is that the unit is still under pressure and you should not open it.- When you look at cook times, keep in mind that this is not the total time that you will be preparing an item. There is the time to reach full pressure and then the time to let it naturally release (if that's what the recipe calls for). So, for some black beans that I made, while the cook time was only 4-6 minutes, it took about 15 minutes to heat up and another 15 minutes to cool down. Granted, it would still take over 1 1/2 hours cooking them in an open pot, so I've still saved a ton of time and the beans turned out great!For a great list of cooking times for a variety of things, check out the Hip Pressure Cooking web page (google "hip pressure cooking times") which will give you a great place to start for so many different items. Miss Vickie also has a great site with a lot of information.As part of our resolution, we plan to cook a lot of beans. One side benefit that I discovered is that pressure cooking helps to deactivate the lectins in beans. Google lectins to read more about why you don't want to be consuming them, but it turns out that stove top cooking may not deactivate all of them and a slow cooker may not deactivate ANY of them! If you are a bean eater, pressure cooking is the way to go!To clarify what you will be getting, the pot and lid is as pictured except my valve knob is orange (the pic at the time of review shows grey). You will also receive a steaming basket and stand. As I learn more about this wonderful new kitchen gadget, I'll come back to update this review. If anyone has any great knowledge or resources that you want to share about pressure cooking, please leave me a comment. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!UPDATE 1:After using it a bit longer now, I've had a chance to try out the low pressure setting. This is best for vegetables and hard boiling eggs. When looking at cooking times for vegetables on 'low', they typically refer to a pressure of around 7-8 psi. With this low pressure setting being 10 psi, you should cook for a slightly shorter time (~20% less) so that your vegetables don't over cook since vegetables are particularly sensitive to cook times or they can become mushy. For doing eggs, I was concerned that 10 psi would be too high (on high setting of 15 psi, I've read the eggs could crack), but it turns out to work perfectly! I have never in my life pealed a boiled egg so easily! Just make sure there are no cracks already forming on any of the eggs. One of mine did, but I tried it anyway and it pushed the yolk out through the crack and it cooked to the outside of the shell! It was quite artistic, but not something I would eat.... haha! You should be able to fit a dozen eggs in the included basket, fill with water to below the basket (do not submerge), cook for 5 minutes and do a natural release. Back to more pressure cooking adventures!UPDATE 2:After 2 years of use (average once a week), its still going strong. Every now and then, I'll have to readjust the lid to get it to start pressurizing, but the gasket hasn't failed yet. In case you need to eventually replace the gasket, you can find it here: This is a very nice product. It is everything that T-Fal says it is and it definitely is easy to use. The exception is that I decided I would buy the Used Very Good one that was a little less, I mean only a vey few dollars as I figure hey let’s not keep putting more of these products out there if they are still available to pick up. The description says original package is damaged. I think ok, no biggie. I get it and it is dirty, definitely used and the top is damaged w a scratch that I have tried to buff out but it’s not going to happen. So now I’m back to the decision of do I return it and get a new shiny one? No, I keep it knowing that I paid a lot for a second hand one that is definitely NOT as described. I would say it is USED GOOD condition, NOT very good for sure. Just want to let you know if you’re considering a Used option.I was hesitant at first about getting a pressure cooker, because of stories I'd heard about it blowing up in your face. But I needed one to can low acid items safety. I read about all the safety features and used it with confidence. I never felt unsafe. It's a bit complicated to use correctly, but the instructions are clear and tell you exactly what to do and when. I've canned several batches of vegetables so far and am very happy with this cooker canner. It is well made and is nice and big. I am so glad I bought it!I am a retired catering chef and I’ve worked with many pressure devices in the kitchens where I’ve cooke. I was leery buying this with the dial but it works so well! We canned 35 jars of vegetables and it worked so well. It’s fabulous!!I don’t quite know what all the bad reviews are about but mine works great. It takes a little getting used to if you have used the other giggler models. I like it because it’s quieter and keeps a study pressure. I’ve been canning with this canner for around 3 years. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. Happy canning.First time canning in many years and everything worked amazingly. I will be putting this to good use over many years, and extending my garden space to ensure extensive use of this product... And fill my cupboards.I saw it on Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions and had to have it. I love my ability to apply and remove the lid easily. So much better than the pressure cookers I had previously!Easy to use- great qualityLol how is this thing even legal man, super dangerous design dont know what they were thinking when they designed it with no lid lock. Literally if you move the lid one inch the lid will just simply fly off and explode, make sure to put a thick rubber band around the locking handles part cause lol it wasn't build with a lock. other than that works fine.In the description it talks of a deluxe pressure gauge and shows a gauge with PSI. That is why I chose this one over a slightly cheaper model of a reputable brand that doesn't have the gauge. What you get instead is a gauge with 1, 2, 3 which you are told it means 5, 10, 15. They probably changed it because the pressure was never meeting the promised pressures. Even if I trusted it, the gauge doesn't even work. At rest, when not even on the cooker, the gauge reads 1.5. When in use, the highest it goes is 2.2 when steam is coming out at setting 3. If you were thinking about buying this model and what attracts you to this is the gauge...reconsider.I like this system. It worked fine for me, but the gauge that came with mine has no PSI or kPa markings. Just zones for pressure 1, 2, and 3. A glance at the manual gave me no information about what pressure these mysterious zones actually are. I find it very disconcerting to have no idea what pressure the system is at. It also makes it difficult to follow recipes that give a pressure as I just have to guess what I have. Looking at the photos, some show a dial with pressure and some don't. I'm very disappointed that I didn't get the readable pressure gauge.I bought the warehouse deal that said minor damage in the original box, otherwise its perfect. It was at a discounted price. When I received it, I was so shocked and amazed and even wondered who is grading these saying it is used like new.First of all, the pressure cooker is a dangerous cookware which one can seriously injure themselves with if it's defective. The entire lid of this pressure cooker on the top was broken into pieces. Thats right, tiny pieces like a broke glass. I bought this to gift my mother, I would like her to live a long and prosperous life, not blow off her face. How could they sell this broken pressure cooker passing it as Like new. Not only that, it was missing a bunch of plastic valves that are supposed to be the ones that release the pressure.This is a very bad experience, because I should have not cheaped out, should have bought the brand new one as this had good reviews. Unfortunately I was not that lucky.Please Amazon, do not sell terribly broken things and put it as Like New and call it a warehouse deal. It is dishonesty at its best, attemp to m. The lid of this pressure cooker is the hero of this pressure cooker. Everything is in the lid, wiithout the lid, it is just a stainless steel pan. The lid is the one that sells this product. Not a broken into 100s of pieces lid. Sorry about the rant, frustrated very much.