All posts in: Slow Cookers

Fast facts about slow cookers

Kitchen & Food
By Scott Nyerges on September 1, 2010 in

Best slow cookers

When it comes to choosing a slow cooker, you have many brands to pick from. But one manufacturer, Hamilton Beach, stands out when it comes to producing what pros and consumers alike say are the best slow cookers available. Three Hamilton Beach slow cookers make the list of Best Reviewed products in our latest report update. What we found most surprising was that a previous Best Reviewed pick, the All-Clad 99009, has fallen sharply out of favor with some consumers.

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Pop culture: A closer look at popcorn poppers

Kitchen & Food
By Sarah Burns on March 26, 2010 in

Man eating popcorn.

It's fluffy, it's crunchy, it's mandatory for movie night. Yes, we're talking about popcorn. Ever wonder how it's created? To learn the answer, we picked the brain of The Popcorn Board, (a national non-profit organization funded by popcorn makers). What we learned: Popcorn kernels contain a tiny droplet of water, which, when heated, expands and causes kernels to pop, releasing their starchy interior from their sturdy outer shell. How exactly you transform this hard nugget into America's favorite light, white snack is totally up to you. To achieve more perfect corn, most consumers use popcorn poppers. Under that umbrella, there are currently four main options: hot air, electric, stovetop, and microwave poppers.

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Target and Wal-Mart go head to head with $3 and $4 appliances

Kitchen & Food
By Sage McHugh on November 19, 2009 in

At an eyebrow-raising price of $3 apiece, Chefmate kitchen appliances are among the cheapest doorbusters we've seen in Target's leaked Black Friday circular. The $3 Chefmate specials include a 12-cup coffeemaker, toaster, slow cooker and sandwich maker.

Walmart has a similar Black Friday doorbuster: your choice of $4 appliances, including a mini chopper, a 2-quart slow cooker and a hand mixer.

Theoretically, you could equip your whole kitchen for $17. These gadgets are priced as impulse buys, but we couldn't find reviews for any of them, and several of the pieces aren't very practical.

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Sears' Black Friday offerings on slow cookers a mixed bag

By Scott Nyerges on November 2, 2009 in

You'll have to move fast if you want to save some money on a slow cooker during Sears' Black Friday sale. Two slow cookers are among the doorbuster deals that are advertised in Sears' leaked circular (remember, items and prices contained therein have not been officially confirmed): the Euro-Pro 6-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $18) and the Hamilton Beach 4-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $10). If you'd rather sleep in, Sears is also advertising sale prices on two other slow cookers all day Friday and Saturday: the Rival 5-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $20) and the Kenmore Black Slow Cooker (*Est. $30).

Are any of these prices worth braving the crowds?

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Summertime, and the cooking is slow

Kitchen & Food
By Scott Nyerges on September 2, 2009 in

A couple weeks ago, I decided it was time to buy a slow cooker: a Hamilton Beach Stay-or-Go 33162H, a ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed pick. Like a lot of New Yorkers, I'm too busy to stay home and prepare complex meals on a nightly basis, and especially in the summertime, who wants to turn on the oven and heat up the apartment? With a slow cooker, I can make healthy meals in a snap, and the apartment stays (relatively) cool.

But slow cookers won't make meals by themselves -- you need recipes for that. Several friends have turned me on to the blog A Year of Slow Cooking. Blogger Stephanie O'Day writes in a friendly, conversational tone that's easy to read. And she's honest: She lets us know which recipes work, which don't, which her kids hate (but she loves), and so on. What's great about this blog is that she illustrates every single recipe with several photos: all of the ingredients needed, as well as before and after shots. Better still, she's got recipes that run literally from soup to nuts, with suggestions for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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