Slow Cooker Review

Evaluating reviews of slow cookers

Consumer Reports has the most recent review source we found, with a comprehensive Dec. 2008 review of slow cookers. Editors at Consumer Reports prepared four different dishes in 15 slow cookers with six- to seven-quart capacities. The article also includes tips on choosing a cooker. Cook's Illustrated is another good source. Editors there prepared baked beans, pot roast and beef chili in seven slow cookers, evaluating models on overall results, ease of use and value. They also measured water evaporation and internal meat temperature. Of the reviews we read, these are by far the most credible and detailed.

We also found an excellent slow-cooker review on Slate.com, where author Jill Pellettieri prepares 15 dishes in eight slow cookers. She awards points for performance, ease of use, aesthetics, value and flavor of the finished dish. About.com guide Diana Rattray also offers a valuable article on the top 10 slow cookers she has encountered in her decade of experience as an expert on Southern food. We found several other sources of slow cooker recommendations, including Southern Living, Woman's Day and Good Housekeeping, but these magazines don't specify testing methods, and sometimes it's unclear whether editors examined any slow cookers in person. We found comments posted by owners at Amazon.com, Cooking.com, Target.com and Epinions.com to also be very helpful, particularly with regard to reliability and cooking performance.

Slow cookers are widely known as crock pots, but "Crock-Pot" is actually a trademark of Rival, which dominates the market. Unfortunately, the loudest complaints we read were aimed at Rival crock pots -- in particular at the Rival 38501 Round 5-Quart Smart-Pot Crock-Pot (*est. $40). The Smart-Pot is one of Rival's programmable slow cookers, which can be set on high for either four or six hours or on low for eight or 10 hours. After that time, the cooker switches to warm. However, of the more than 100 owner reviews we read at Amazon.com and Epinions.com, 70 percent are negative. The most consistent complaint is that even the low temperature setting is too high and that food can boil and burn on low or even on warm. Several owners also complain that escaping steam causes the lid to rattle, and condensation runs down the outside of the pot. Jill Pellettieri tested this slow cooker for Slate.com and found that it burned both her mushroom barley soup and rice pudding, leaving a black residue that was almost impossible to remove.