Is aluminum pressure cooker reactive? Will it give "off" flavors? I have an aluminum (not stainless steel) 5 qt pressure cooker that I bought fairly cheaply at a kitchen ware outlet store. It seems the traditional pressure cooker application for canning doesn't matter much what the material is: as long as it doesn't explode under pressure. I'm interested in using mine to cook stocks, beans, etc. The instructions I received with mine indicate several models of several materials and sizes.

Does the aluminum composition risk giving off, tinny flavors when cooking stocks and stews? Is there any other reason to believe I may have purchased the wrong "kind" of pressure cooker?
Provided the surface is bare aluminum, it can create off flavors primarily when cooking acidic foods. To avoid this, many aluminum pans are either coated with stainless steel or anodized for a less reactive outer coating. If your pan is bare aluminum, it should be fine for most cooking applications, but you may not want to use it to cook lower pH foods.

Cooking with Aluminum