Extended cooking times allow better distribution of flavors in many recipes.
Lower temperatures lessen the chance of scorching of foods which tend to stick to the bottom of a pan and burn easily in an oven.
Less expensive or tough meats, such as chuck roasts or steaks and stew beef, are tenderized through the long cooking process. The slow cooker is a good choice for cooking many venison dishes.
Frees your oven and stove top for other uses, and should definitely be considered as an option for large gatherings or holiday meals. Many people swear by their slow cooker Thanksgiving dressing.
A slow cooker can usually be left unattended all day for many recipes. You can put recipe ingredients in it before going to work and come home to a warm, hearty meal.
Comment: nothing special, but it is bigger than most pots. Works as advertised with no bells and whistles. We had a fancy digital crock pot and it would keep turning off after four hours, so to slow cook overnight didn't work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hamilton Beach 7 qt slow cooker 2009-04-02
Comment: Ordered two of these, and shipped to Florida.
One arrived with a broken pot, and Amazon sent a free replacement
as soon as I notified them!
Now both of them are in my possession, and they have been given as a gift to
a Christian ministry in Bogota, Colombia, who used BOTH of them last week to cook
FOUR large chickens for the ministry people.
They worked JUST FINE. No fancy bells and whistles, just low or high settings.
We are WELL pleased with this product. aND ESPECIALLY PLEASE WITH THE QUICK RESPONSE FROM AMAZON!!
A. SVENDDAL, RB MINISTRIES
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great crock pot! 2008-01-22
Comment: I've had good success in using this slow-cooker. The features I like:
*The glass lid makes it easy to see how the food is doing without letting the heat escape.
*The crock itself is a nice black color and is easy to keep in the fridge if you want to prepare ingredients the night before or keep leftovers in the same pot.
*The keep warm setting is great for serving food, especially at a party
*The outside is a nice looking brushed silver
I've used this pot when I'm away from home and haven't had any problems. I always follow a recipe's directions for the length of time to cook my meals, and I haven't had any problems with burning. I've had it for 5 years now and it is still going strong.
My only complaint is that the rubber ring used to keep the lid on when traveling broke after three uses, which was too bad, because it was a nice feature. However, it's not something I use very often, so I consider this a minor drawback.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Good 2007-02-06
Comment: I think I used this total of 6 times before the crock cracked. I had my other crock pot for 12 years before it even cracked and that was because my son accidentally dropped it. I think the base is poorly made. I would not buy this product again!