Elite Pressure Cooker vs Power Pressure Cooker XL
When you move away from the Instant Pot, you quickly discover a whole new selection of pressure cookers on the market. We take a look at the Elite Pressure Cooker vs Power Pressure Cooker XL to find out which one is best.
Elite Pressure Cooker
The Elite range of kitchen appliances from US company, Maxi Matic looks to be in good quality, and with this company in business for the last 37 years, this brand is pretty well known in the USA. The company produces a wide range of kitchen appliances such as air fryers, toasters, and more — you could equip your entire kitchen with nothing but Elite products.
Elite also produces pressure cookers. However, when we looked at the official website, maxi-matic.com, the company is no longer advertising these. We did find a couple of Elite pressure cookers on sale from various sellers on Amazon, but the range is not what you would expect from a major company.
The Maxi Matic Elite pressure cooker looks pretty basic. It is only available in 1 size; bizarrely is the 4qt size, so it is much smaller than most on the market. That said, this size is popular with many customers who say it is perfect for cooking for only a couple of people.
The Elite has 9 functions. The interface is clear and looks easy to use, and the 9 functions are as follows; keep warm, slow cook, soup/stew, beans/grains, brown/sauté, desserts, steam, meat/chicken, and rice. So it is indeed as versatile as others on the market. Customers who are new to pressure cooking say it is straightforward to use. Some people mention that you can also use it for yogurt making, although this is not an advertised function, and there is no preset for this purpose.
The Elite is manufactured from stainless steel, although it isn’t clear whether the inner pot is also made from this material. The inner pot is coated with a non-stick finish, which could be an issue as this is notorious for eroding and coming away in the food. That said, nobody has mentioned this, although other problems include problems with the lid not sealing.
Overall the Elite may suit you if you are looking for a small pressure cooker and with some excellent customer feedback and a limited 1-year warranty; this could be the right choice if you are searching for this particular size. It is available in red or black so it will look good in your kitchen.
Pros
- Choice of color finishes
- The smaller size may suit some customers
- Comes with a year’s warranty
Cons
- The fact that it is no longer featured on the Maxi Matric website is of concern
- Although a limited warranty is offered, the product information does not fully explain it
- Some customers have had technical issues
Power Pressure Cooker XL
By contrast to the small Elite, the Power Pressure Cooker XL is a big pressure cooker! The sizes start at 6qt, but you can also get this in 8qt or 10qt sizes, so if you are looking to do some bulk cooking or generally feed a large family, the Power Pressure Cooker XL is suitable.
This pressure cooker does a lot. You can use it for a range of purposes, including pressure cooking complete with preset options such as meat, beans, rice/risotto. There are a timer/delay and a warming function, and you can use it for sautéing. There is also a vegetable/steam function. This appliance can be used as a slow cooker too, but the feature that sets the Power Pressure Cooker XL apart from many others is that is can also function as a canner. This is not a standard pressure cooker option, so this particular function does make it worth buying if canning is your thing.
We were very excited about the Power Pressure Cooker XL when we first saw it. It looks great, and it is easy to use, and you can do a lot with it. However, there are some significant issues with it.
Many customers have complained that the non-stick coating on the inner pot becomes detached and contaminates the food. Also, there is a high percentage of negative feedback regarding durability. That said, it has generated 69% positive 5-star reviews on Amazon, so the good news is that over half of the customers are completely satisfied.
Overall this could be the right choice if you were looking for a larger pressure cooker that you could use for canning, but there are obviously some risks of experiencing technical issues. There is only a 60 days guarantee on offer, so you do not really have much time to try it out.
One feature we like about the Power Pressure Cooker XL is that it is available to buy in a cool choice of color finishes; silver, copper, blue or red, so it will look good in most kitchens.
Pros
- Lots of functions
- Can use it for canning
- Great color choice
Cons
- Not very reliable
- The non-stick coating may come off
- A high percentage of negative customer feedback
In conclusion
In truth, neither of these two pressure cooker models seems very reliable. Customer opinion is very mixed, and many people have experienced technical issues when using them.
When it comes down to the Elite Pressure Cooker vs Power Pressure Cooker XL debate, there is not much to choose between the two. If you are looking for a small pressure cooker to feed one or two people, the Elite will best suit your needs. If you want a bigger model and are tempted by canning, go for the Power Pressure Cooker XL. In truth we are pretty underwhelmed by both so in our opinion you would probably do better by forgetting both of them and buying an Instant Pot!