I love my digital pressure cooker (cooks essential from QVC) I got it several yrs ago because we also had one of those stove top ones. Im scared of it too how it rattled and hissed on my stove, luckily we never had any misshaps but my friend once ended up with pot roast on her ceiling
I use ours frequently for meat dishes but I will select the cheaper cuts of beef and I like how they come out more moist than my crock pot (which I still use) I also use it alot when I didnt have time earlier to get stuff going for example I can make bean soup (from dry) in 30 minutes.
We have a pretty large capacity but thats because I wanted to be able to fit a larger whole chiken in it. I've neer heard of a misshap with a digital but I guess it could happen. Mine has a delay timer and a keep warm function so it will start cooking when the timer goes off, stop and then keep the food warm. Mine has a removable insert similar to a crockpot that I just remove and clean with soap and water and wipe down the outside unit.
There is very little noise (usually initially has it builds up steam and when I press thae button to relase the steam when its cooked) and then I really dont hear anything, my fridge makes more noise
I have a guide that is specific to mine that gives cooking times for things like dry beans,meats,pastas and veggies so i use that as a guide how long to cook my items but I havent bought a pressure cooker specific recipe book.
