Cook's Illustrated

Stovetop Pressure Cookers

Published January 1, 2013. From Cook's Illustrated.

The convenience, ease, and (yes!) safety of the modern pressure cooker will put dinner on the table fast—and make it taste as if you spent the whole day at the stove.

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Product Tested Bread & Tomatoes Club Sandwich Cake Sticky Dough Price*
Highly Recommended
Wüsthof Classic Bread Knife, 10 inches Wüsthof Classic Bread Knife, 10 inches

Well-balanced knife with deeply tapered pointed serrations handled every task with exceptional ease and control, even for our left-handed tester. Not as good for large hands.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $79.99
Highly Recommended
Victorinox Forschner 10 1/4-Inch Curved Blade Bread Knife, Black Fibrox Handle

Comfortable, sharp blade and pointed serrations performed almost as well as our top knife, struggling a tad more with crusty bread. Taller blade was easier on large-handed testers. Good for lefties.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $24.54
Recommended
Viking 10-inch Serrated Slicer

Lethally sharp forged blade with deeply tapered pointed serrations was easy to control during delicate tasks. Feels (and is) expensive and isn't good for lefties or cooks with large hands.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $108.00
Recommended with Reservations
Victorinox Forschner 14-inch Bread/Serrated Slicing Knife, Black Fibrox Handle

Extra-long blade excelled at tackling a large, crusty loaf and splitting a cake round. But its length kept us poking at the back of the kitchen counter when cutting smaller foods such as tomatoes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $30.95
Recommended with Reservations
MAC Bread/Roast Knife, Superior Series, 10 1/2 inches

Comfortable, fairly lightweight, sharp knife, but scallop-shaped serrations slid over bread crust and tomato skin for several strokes before biting in. But for its rounded edges, it would be a winner.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $59.95
Recommended with Reservations
F. Dick Utility Serrated Edge Knife, 1905 Series, 10 Inches

Thick, forged knife weighed nearly twice as much as the top-rated knives. It glided through bread but was described as feeling "like an ax" cutting a tomato or splitting a cake.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $64.95
Recommended with Reservations
Global 10-Inch Bread Knife, Serrated

Priciest knife in the lineup looks and feels like a chef's knife with serrations. The alleged 10-inch blade is only 9 1/2 inches. Acceptable, but not stellar, performance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $124.95
Not Recommended
Warther Serrated Knife, 9-Inch

Saw-toothed serrations and too-short blade (just 8 3/4 inches) were not up to tackling big bread loaves or cake rounds. Praised for paper-thin slices of tomato.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $51.50
Not Recommended
Messermeister 10-Inch Park Plaza Bread/Serrated Slicing Knife

An odd mix of wavy, pointed, and rounded serrations lacked bite and held this knife back, particularly when trying to slice through thick, leathery bread crust.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $34.95
Not Recommended
LamsonSharp Forged Offset Bread Knife with Ebony Handle, 9 inches

While this knife felt solidly built, its blade was too short and its pointed serrations too tiny, making it struggle through both hard bread and sticky dough.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $91.99
Not Recommended
Ergo Chef 9-inch Pro-Series Offset Serrated Bread/Multi-Purpose Knife

This knife's downward-tilting handle unnerved testers. Ranked last for slicing bread: Too short-bladed and offset heel got trapped inside the loaf. Uncomfortable held sideways to halve a cake layer.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ $79.99
Not Recommended
LamsonSharp 10-Inch Wave Edge Curved Bread Knife

Like a caricature of our favorite models, this knife was called "overly curved and overly pointed." It snagged and tore the soft sticky-bun dough, chewed up toast, and made a disheveled club sandwich.

★ ★ ★ ★ $27.00

*Prices subject to change.

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