Aluminum Vs. Stainless Steel Vs. Anodized Pressure Cookers

 

Selecting the best material pressure cooker according to your cooking personality is a complex task. Once you made your decision whether you want a stovetop or electric pressure cooker, the next step is to understand which material is best suited for your cooking needs. Pressure cookers come in three different materials, stainless steel, aluminum, and anodized. Question now arises, what is the best material for a pressure cooker?

There is no specific answer to that question. All one can do is deeply understand and study the properties, features, pros, and cons of different pressure cookers materials and make an informed decision.

 

Stainless steel Pressure cookers:

The stainless steel pressure cookers started to gain popularity because of their durability and strength. Stainless steel is much durable material as compared to aluminum, but the price is high. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of stainless steel pressure cookers. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

 Pros

• The material used in heavy-duty and the continuous cooking and washing process doesn’t wear it off. It is durable and less likely to have any major damages due to daily use.
• You can easily use it in a dishwasher. We can effortlessly clean it as stainless steel doesn’t get scratches or stains quickly. Even if you accidentally use a hard or sharp spoon to clean the pot, it remains in its original position and doesn’t rust fast.
• It is easy to learn to cook on a stainless steel cooker because it doesn’t distribute the heat evenly, and there are fewer chances of burnt food or food sticking to the bottom.
• Stainless steel seems new after washing, and the finish remains the same even after heavy cooking.

 

Cons

• Stainless steel is a costly material, and it will cost you almost 50 to 100 percent more than aluminum pressure cookers. Still, it is worth every cent because of the advantages mentioned above.
• The material is much heavy, and sometimes it seems just impossible to remove it from the stovetop. The heavier built increases the rate of accidents, so we must take precautionary measures to avoid any mishaps.
• Stainless steel doesn’t conduct heat evenly, and sometimes the food is unevenly cooked. It takes more energy to heat the base, and more time is required. To overcome this drawback, many companies put copper under the base to compensate for the shortcoming.
• The stainless steel retains the heat for a much longer time than other materials, which results in overcooked food. So while cooking the food in a stainless steel pressure cooker, one must keep in mind the exact time to cook certain vegetables and meat, so they don’t come out mushy or dry.

Aluminum Pressure cookers:

Aluminum is not a costly material, and it can fulfill your short-term kitchen needs. If you are on a budget and want to experience pressure cooking, then aluminum is the best choice. It is easier and quicker but needs to be replaced quickly as compared to stainless steel pressure cookers. The pros and cons of the aluminum pressure cooker are

 

 Pros

• Price is one of the major advantages of aluminum pressure cookers. Its low cost makes it much more affordable, providing almost the same ease in the kitchen as stainless steel pressure cookers.
• Its lightweight makes it more feasible for petite persons to carry around in the kitchen, and it is easy to clean afterward.
• Aluminum is one the best heat conductors and distributes the heat evenly and quickly, allowing better and even results than stainless steel cookers.
• Aluminum cookers are best suited especially for canning as it distributes the heat evenly which is the basic requirement of the canning process. It is best for cooking large volumes of food, and most industrial pressure cookers use aluminum for even heat distribution.

 

Cons

• The lifespan of an aluminum pressure cooker is much short compared to stainless steel. One should not use a sharp object should during the cleaning process.
• These pressure cookers are prone to warp over time because of their thin material and can cause trouble if you carry them with heavy food inside.
• Aluminum pressure cookers are easily scratched, rusted, and stained. It will not maintain its finish over time, and it is not much you can do about it.
• The advantage of cooking food fast can turn into a disadvantage if the user is not paying attention. It burns the food if not monitored from time to time, and part of the food can stick to the base.

Check Best Aluminum Pressure cookers

Hard-Anodized pressure cookers

 

Hard-Anodized pressure cookers don’t cost much and have a protective anodized coating that prevents the food from sticking to the walls or burning. It might be cheap but is not very durable as compared to stainless steel cookers. Some of the pros and cons of Anodized pressure cookers are

 

Pros:

• It conducts the heat evenly and quickly across the base of the cooker because of the anodized coating.
• The food doesn’t stick to the bottom because of anodized coating, and it is easy to clean afterward.
• Not much expensive as compared to stainless steel pressure cookers, and you can easily buy it on a budget.

Cons

• The hard anodized coating is likely to wear off with time and is prone to damages if not cleaned properly. You can only use a wooden or rubber spoon inside; otherwise, it might cause scratches or other permanent damages to the coating.
• It is not durable material as compared with stainless steel pressure cookers and might chip overtime.
• Maintenance is not easy for hard-anodized pressure cookers, and it sometimes becomes challenging to replace specific parts.

Stainless steel vs aluminum vs hard anodized pressure cooker comparison table

	Stainless Steel	Aluminum	Hard Anodized
Dishwasher safe	Yes	No	No
Durability	Extremely durable	Slightly durable	Not durable
Heat conductivity	high	low	high
Maintanance factor	easy	Easy	Particular/hard
Non-stick	Non-existent	Non-existent	Good
Price	high	Slightly low	low
Healthy cooking	healthy	Not much healthy	Not healthy

 

Conclusion:

From the above pros and cons of three different types of material, you must have an idea by now that every kind of pressure cooker is unique. Selecting the best one depends entirely on your preferences and cooking personality. All the pressure cookers have their strengths and weaknesses, and when deciding which one to buy, you must keep in view the pros and cons of each.

Preferences may vary from person to person. One feature that seems to be an advantage for one customer not necessarily looks the same for the other person. It all depends on what are expectations from your pressure cooker and what are your needs in the kitchen.