Cuisinart CSC-650 Slow Cooker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I did quite a bit of research before purchasing this slow cooker.
America's Test Kitchen recommends West Bend Versatility slow cooker. It is a truly versatile model, but I didn't like its aluminum insert. As you may know, aluminum can be hazardous to health, so this slow cooker was scratched off my list pretty quickly.
The other models I looked at were All-Clad Stainless Steel Slow Cooker (available from William Sonoma only), Farberware Millennium (also recommended by America's Test Kitchen), Cuisinart CSC-650 and various Rival models ("various Rival models" has an interesting ring to it :) ).
All of the latest slow cookers are made in China, so I was somewhat concerned about the construction quality. One of the main reasons I picked Cuisinart model was a 3-year warranty, compared to just 1 year for the rest of the competition.
Another factor was the generally positive feedback from CSC-650 owners. Cooking.com is probably a better place to check for reviews, because they let you post a review only if you actually purchased that particular item from them.
I had this baby delivered to me about a week ago, and I put it to work right away. I must say I am satisfied with my purchase decision. Having said that, here's a list of things that I do and don't like about this machine...
Do Like:
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- 3-year warranty (1 year for every other slow cooker I researched)
- retractable cord (I wish every appliance had it!)
- cooks well (overall), and no, it doesn't burn food as some reviewers have indicated
- construction quality seems to be good, although it is impossible to say for sure until appliance is a couple of years old
Don't Like:
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- stainless steel housing gets stained quite easily, should have been more fingerprint-resistant
- "Made in China": $99 is a premium price to pay for an item that was manufactured using cheap labor; manufacturers who reap huge profits from the North American market should invest into the local labor market
- cooks most things faster than recipies (even the ones included in Cuisinart booklet) indicate, so you have to keep an eye on your food to make sure it doesn't overcook
After purchasing the slow cooker, I headed straight to the local bookstore to pick up a recipe book. I skimmed through about 6-7 titles, and ended up buying Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. Most of its recipies are made from scratch and rarely use any canned ingridients. It also seems to have the best overall collection of recipies.
Yesterday, I had a few friends over and we had ourselves a feast. I cooked quite a few things in the slow cooker:
- Lamb Goulash (which was ruined/overcooked - the first thing I ever done in this slow cooker)
- Chicken Casseatore (not sure about spelling, it's from the Cuisinart booklet) came out nicely, it was around the time that I started looking closely after the cooking process.
- Short Ribs In Red Wine were perfect, here, again, the cooking time was 5 hours instead of 7 hours indicated in the recipe.
Overall, I am happy. I didn't experience any of the problems reported by some reviewers. I can safely recommend this appliance.

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Cuisinart Slow Cooker has 6 quart Ceramic cooking vessel and brushed stainless steel housing embossed with Cuisinart logo

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Crockpot SCVP600-W Oval 6-Quart Smart-Pot Slow Cooker, White Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this just over a year ago and we've used it extensively. As long as you do soups and very moist meats (lots of liquids) it works fine. It is much too hot for most slow cooking and it will dry out foods on the warm setting.
Even with all of that, I got used to using it. However, the handle to the lid just broke off today and you must buy a whole new lid if you are out of warranty. That is $18.00!!! Rival says that this isn't a known issue and so maybe I'm the unlucky one. Also, when I called customer support, they were very unwilling to give me information about this problem. It seemed to me that they are aware of it, but don't want it publicized. When I asked the rep how long she had worked there, she replied that she couldn't give me that information because of "security concerns". I just wanted to know what level of experience she had!
If you are not going to leave it alone for very long or you only cook with lots of liquids, this may work out for you as it did for me for a year. If you want to have a long lasting more versatile slow cooker, you should probably look elsewhere. And after reading the reviews on most of the other Rival crockpots, I have decided that my initial feelings were justified and I will take Rival products out of my considerations.

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Using Rival's latest 6-Qt. SmartPot Crock Pot, you barely have to give a thought to meal prep. It combines 30 years of reliability with the latest technology, allowing you to set the temperature level and cooking time, so even if you're running late, your meal is kept warm without overcooking. The oval shape allows you to cook larger cuts of meat, casseroles, and even 2 whole chickens at once. The removable stoneware pot with glass lid doubles as a serving dish that's safe for conventional and microwave ovens, the refrigerator and dishwasher.

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Crock-Pot SCR500-GF 5-Quart Slow Cooker Review

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(More customer reviews)I had one of the newer Smartpot crock pots and found that it got way too hot. I then purchased this one and is much more consistent and works very well.

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This 5-quart Crock-Pot Slow Cooker has 3 heat settings, including keep Warm, and features a fun flower print that will fit in perfectly with your serving peices or dishware!The removable round stoneware is dishwasher safe and has a Rinse Clean¿ stick-resistant coating.

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Crock-Pot SCVP600-SS 6-Quart Smart-Pot Programmable Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel Review

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(More customer reviews)Even on the lowest setting it boiled, it cooks at way too high a temperature. Food was overcooked, it is a waste of money. I'll stick with my old one. You would think appliances could be IMPROVED upon over time. It looks good, but doesn't do the job for which it is intended.

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Prepares meals with the touch of a button.Cooking in two easy steps: 1. place ingredients in stoneware, 2. select cook time.Four time settings with automatic temperature settings.Automatically shifts to warm when done.

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Crock-Pot 38501-W 5-Quart Round Smart-Pot Slow Cooker, White Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm an engineer, not a cook, hence the appeal of a crockpot (I can't boil water without burning it...)
I had an old Rival crockpot that worked well for many years (manual, round, and small). It broke, so I bought a 5-quart Smart-Pot at Costco this past weekend. I noticed it ran very hot (top of outside WILL burn your hands if touched!), so decided to test it.
I filled the unit 3/4 full of water and placed it on the high setting (4 hours) and measured the temperature after several hours with a thermometer. Water temperture was about 215 to 220 degrees F. I then repeated the process for the low temperature setting, but the temperature was about the same!
This disturbed me, so I placed a Kill-A-Watt (very handy device to measure electrical power consumption and wattage for electrical devices) between the pot and the outlet. Sure enough the unit draws the same power on the low and high settings (about 245W). Occasionally on the low settings the unit would pulse the power (this is probably how they get the lower temperature; by modulating the power, rather than using separate, and more expensive, heating elements in the manual units). The problem is that sometimes the low setting does pulse the power, and sometimes it does not. Even on the warm setting I found that occasionally the device will draw the maximum power without pulsing. It is apparent to me that they have a controller problem with the SmartPots that is overdriving the temperature. The units themselves run very hot, and I wonder if the excessive temperature causes controller problems.
I am going to return and try another one, but I suspect I will get precisely the same results, in which case I'll avoid the Rival brand entirely. This is an obvious problem that many people have complained about over the past year or so (viz. the comments), so they have either a major defect, or severe quality control problems, both of which shoudl warrant some kind of response from them. I am disappointed. If the second unit works correctly, I'll post on my success.
Interestingly, Rival makes a separate controller for an older crockpot to allow timing and temperature control (same idea of pulsing the heater current, and varying the duty cycle to change the effective heating capability --a perfectly legitimate approach), and it is inexpensive ($13-$15 on the street).

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Rival's Smart-Pot 5-quart white oval crock-pot

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DeLonghi DCP707 Stainless-Steel Programmable 5-Quart Slow Cooker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a guy and have done only basic cooking and even less with a slow cooker. So please take this into account.
I purchased this cooker even thought it had no reviews because most of the other cookers had such a wide variety of star ratings . . . I took a risk . . . and I'm not disappointing.
This slow cooker is all metal, except of course for the lid which is tempered glass and the pot which is ceramic or whatever they are made of. Even the handle on the top of the lid is metal as are the handles on the side of the cooker and seem very solid. None of this cheap plastic with a shiny silver coating stuff. The pot itself is obviously heavy and durable; and the handles on the pot are conveniently placed and formed making it very easy to lift out of the cooking container without burning yourself even when completely full.
The electronic controls are very easy to use with the typical warm, low, medium and high settings and a two hour automatic warm setting after the cooking cycle is finished, and a push of the timer setting button will increase the cook time for 30 minutes while in the cooking cycle. The LCD panel for the controls lights up when any of the buttons are pushed to make reading the settings easier and an icon of a cooking pot turns on once the slow cooker is actually cooking.
This slow cooker is very attractive and would compliment most any kitchen. The overall impression of the slow cooker is that it is of high quality and sound construction. I am looking forward to many years use of this slow cooker but if any problems crop up during the next several months I will edit this post to let ya'll know.
So far I have cooked a whole five pound chicken which cooked to perfection in eight hours on low, and a roast which also cooked to tender perfection in eight hours (even though it wasn't a high quality cut).
So in conclusion I would highly recommend this slow cooker on the basis of the limited use I have had with it cooking two meals.

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Enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals even with a busy schedule thanks to this modern-looking programmable slow cooker. Simply add ingredients to the unit's round-shaped ceramic pot, insert the pot into the cooker, and set the 10-hour countdown timer. After a long day at work or a busy day of weekend errands, dinner will be ready and waiting. Perfect for soups, casseroles, pot roasts, curries, and more, its 5-quart capacity works great for medium-size families or when gathering with friends. The slow cooker provides a user-friendly touchpad control panel and three cooking modes that include high, low, and keep warm. When the cook time ends, the appliance automatically shifts to "warm" for up to two hours, so dinner stays hot and ready to serve without overcooking. Other highlights include a tempered glass lid for keeping an eye on the cooking process, large stay-cool side handles for safe transport, nonslip feet, and stainless-steel housing with chrome accents. The ceramic cooking pot doubles as a serving dish and cleans up easily by hand or in the dishwasher at the end of the evening. Compact and stylish, the slow cooker measures 13 by 11-4/5 by 9-3/5 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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