The Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ electric pressure cooker is one of a new breed of multi-purpose cookers that combine the power of a pressure cooker with the safety and convenience of a crock-pot. Old-fashioned pressure cookers made many cooks nervous with their constant stream of hissing steam coming out of the jiggling metal disk that covers the relief valve. The Cuisinart is based on a more familiar and low-key crock-pot design, and an electric coil provides all the heat necessary for pressure-cooking internally instead of requiring you to heat a pot on a stove burner. This design also allows Cuisinart to offer many more cooking functions than a simple pressure cooker can offer, like browning, sautéing, simmering, and keeping your food warm after it’s cooked.
Pressure cookers use the power of superheated steam under pressure to accelerate cooking times while it locks in flavor and moisture. Even ingredients straight from the freezer can be cooked completely in less time than it takes to thaw them out for conventional cooking. Depending on what you’re cooking, the Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ can cut cooking time up to 70 percent without sacrificing flavor.
Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ 1000-Watt 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Specifications
- Automatic programmable electric pressure cooker
- Holds up to 6 quarts
- 12.2 x 12.2 x 13.2 inches
- Push button controls with digital display
- Removable cooking pot is Teflon coated
- Two stage pressure cooking, 6 and 10 PSI
- 1000 watts of power at 120 volts
- Cool touch handles
- Has pressure cooking, simmering, sautéing, warming, and browning settings
- Weighs 14.2 pounds when empty
- Shipping weight 17 pounds
- Made in China
- Limited one-year manufacturer’s warranty
Features and Benefits
The Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ pressure cooker has two pressure-cooking settings, offering both low and high pressure depending on whether you’re cooking tougher meats or more delicate vegetables. No matter what you’re cooking, because the cooking vessel is sealed, it requires much less moisture in order to fully cook, and fewer vitamins and nutrients will be lost to evaporation. The Cuisinart holds a substantial 6 quarts of ingredients, making it able to feed an entire family with a one-pot meal that cooks almost without any attention.
The CPC-600AMZ isn’t just a pressure cooker. It functions as a normal crock-pot, and makes cooking soups, chili, stews, and other slow-cooked meals easy. Unlike many crock-pots, the Cuisinart has a removable non-stick pot that lets you clean it out in the sink or dishwasher instead of trying to clean the inside of the unit itself. The outside of the Cuisinart is a handsome brushed stainless steel housing that’s easy to wipe clean after use as well, as the sealed top isn’t likely to let liquids run over the side and make a mess.
The CPC-600AMZ has a powerful 1000-watt heating element, which allows you to brown and sauté ingredients in the bottom of the pan before adding the other ingredients and sealing the pot, increasing flavor and keeping ingredients from getting overcooked. When you’re done cooking, there’s also a keep warm setting that keeps your meals ready to eat for up to 12 hours without drying them out or overcooking them.
Pros
- Very easy to use
- Extremely quiet during operation
- Cuts cooking time by up to 70 percent, letting you prepare meals for a whole family when you’re pressed for time
- Removable pot with non-stick coating is easy to clean
- Settings are easy to adjust with a push-button control panel on the front
- Pressure cannot build up inside unless unit is securely locked, making it safer than many old-fashioned pressure cookers
Cons
- Not suitable for canning
- Instruction book is not very detailed
- Teflon coating can be scratched with metal utensils
Final Verdict
The Cuisinart CPC-600AMZ 1000-Watt 6-Quart electric pressure cooker is a best selling model, and reviewers say its popularity is well merited. Over 80 percent of users rate the Cuisinart at four stars or better, and over 65 percent give the unit a full five stars.
Users of this kitchen appliance, like the ability of the unit to function as a pressure cooker without the nerve-wracking hissing and rattling that a traditional pressure cooker makes on the stove. Users say they might not have a daily need for a pressure cooker, so they appreciate the ability of the CPC-600AMZ to function as a slow cooker as well. Users also like the unit’s high power, and use it to brown ingredients first in the bottom of the pot before sealing it for further cooking, all without dirtying a pan.
Some users reported that they had problems with the unit switching itself to keep warm mode almost immediately when they were trying to cook large pieces of meat like pot roasts in the cooker, but one reviewer pointed out that users should be careful to use the supplied trivet when cooking things like roasts in the device, as the temperature sensor in the bottom of the cooking pot needs to sense liquid or it shuts off automatically and begins the warming cycle. Other than that, users report almost no problems with the Cuisinart, and recommend it highly to others.