REASONS TO BUY
Inexpensive
Decent cooking performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Lacks a saute function
Relatively difficult to clean
Tayama discontinued the TMC-60XL as of 2022.
Tayama TMC-60XL Review
Not a bad choice for bargain seekers, but you can get a lot more convenience without spending too much more
Credit: Tayama
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Our Verdict
While not a standout performer in any regard, the Tayama offers a convenient and expedited way to pressure cook that is similar to many models. The one major downside is that it doesn't offer a saute function, so for things like chilis and stews, you'll have to saute the onions and garlic in a separate pan and then transfer them to the pressure cooker. Every other model we tested lets you saute everything right in the pressure cooker pot before adding the rest of the ingredients and latching the lid on for the pressure cooker portion. This saves some dishes and makes things a bit more streamlined. However, if you don't mind doing an extra dish or two, or you're mostly just making rice and beans, it gets you everything you really need in a pressure cooker.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
The Tayama is a decent pressure cooker at a great price.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
User Friendliness
The Tayama scores low in this metric. In our experience, convenience is one of the first things you lose when you start looking for low-budget pressure cookers, so you will have to deal with a few extra quirks when using it.
The major annoyance is that there isn't anywhere to store the lid. This design left us either plopping the condensation-laden lid onto the counter while we served food or having to balance the lid in one hand while plopping food onto a plate with the other. Most other models have a hinged lid or a handle that doubles as a lid holder, which fixes this issue.
The other complaint we had with the Tayama was the interface. Selecting a cooking mode is easy enough, as it dedicates a button to each of its cooking functions. However, adjusting the time or temperature is done with a single button. So not only do you have to push the button repeatedly to get your desired time, but if you overshoot it, you have to keep pressing to go back around to the beginning. This was a common and frustrating one with our fumbling fingers. A second down arrow button would have fixed this and made our experience much more streamlined.
The lack of up/down arrows makes the Tayama's interface slightly less user friendly than others, but it's still fairly easy to use.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
While both of these downsides are relatively minor, we did feel that they took away from the convenience of pressure cooking. Also, you can completely solve both of these issues by spending extra on the Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Quart, so you'll have to decide whether that's worthwhile.
Cooking Performance
The Tayama was the worst performer in our cooking testing for one reason: it does not offer a saute function. This lack means many meals will require sauteing on the stovetop before moving to pressure cooking.
Not being able to saute right in the pot is by no means a dealbreaker, but it does take away that one-pot simplicity that draws many people to pressure cookers. Outside of sauteing, the Tayama was quite capable in our testing, serving great rice, tender meat, and savory soups. All around, its actual pressure cooking performance was pretty much on par with many of the top performers. One area where it did exceptionally well was rice preparation, with its offerings rivaling those of the much more expensive Breville Fast Slow Pro.
The Tayama's lid lock.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Cleaning
Here again, the Tayama earned a low score. It's not that this device is tough to clean; it just isn't as convenient as the other models we tested.
The biggest issue we ran into when cleaning the Tayama was its lid. While the gasket is removed easily, the lid has some nooks and crannies that are somewhat difficult to get clean and hard to dry. This design made it one of the few lids that we felt had to sit out on a drying rack for a while before being put away, whereas most models could be wiped down with a rag and put right into the cupboard. The nonstick pot also wasn't quite as slick as other nonstick pots, allowing more grime to build up. We were also reluctant to put the nonstick coating through the dishwasher, resulting in more scrubbing.
Despite some annoyances, the Tayama is not terribly difficult to clean.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Again, these aren't huge issues, but the Instant Pot is a good bit easier to clean and costs more, so you'll have to decide how much that extra convenience is worth to you.
Cooking Features
The Tayama was the worst scorer in our cooking features testing, mainly because it lacks an all-important saute function. Otherwise, it has a reasonable number of presets for cooking most meats, grains, and beans.
A Full List of The Tayama TMC-60XL's Cooking Functions
Sterilization, Soup/Stew, Slow Cook, Rice/Risotto, Beans/Lentils, Fish/Vegetables Steam, Chicken/Meat, Manual
Should You Buy the Tayama TMC-60XL?
Pressure cookers generally all cook similarly, so the inexpensive Tayama gives you pretty much all the cooking performance for a lower price. However, it is a bit less convenient and more challenging to clean than most other models, so there is a downside to that low price. If you're looking for the speed of pressure cooking at a low price, the Tayama delivers but is harder to use and clean than other models that cost a bit more. If you're looking for something that can quickly cook rice, beans, and chicken, the Tayama provides everything you need at a reasonably low price.
What Other Pressure Cooker Should You Consider?
If you're drawn to the Tayma because of the lower price, we prefer the Instant Pot DUO Mini, which is a better performer overall and costs less. It is also far easier to use and offers better cooking performance than the Tayma.
—
Max Mutter and Steven Tata
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