PURCHASING A NEW CROCK POT - HELP!!

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  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I have the Hamilton Beach 6 quart Set N Forget programmable. I LOVE that pot! It's not only great as a crockpot, but for transporting food and keeping it warm. Love the meat probe, too. Was worth every penny.
  • woofer00
    woofer00 Posts: 123 Member
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    I just bought the Crock Pot brand 3 qt, works great. No seal on the lid, but a damp towel sitting on the rim does the same thing. I'm cooking for myself, so 3 qt makes enough for a few days of food, which is great for avoiding letting my tastebuds get bored, but sucks for recipes - I want to go buy a 4-5 lb loin or whole chicken and cook the whole thing down, but I know a 3 qt can't handle that, so the cooking repetoire is limited. Chances are I'll go buy a 6 or 7 quart oval within a week for those recipes.

    Manual dial is fine, an integrated timer would be nice, but it's not really essential. Outlet timers are close enough and the crock retains enough heat that I don't have food safety concerns if I get home a bit later than planned. A removeable insert is essential, but the damn thing is heavy - I've banged it on the sink plenty of times b/c it slipped out of my grip while soapy. Liners are a good idea.
  • Mygsds
    Mygsds Posts: 1,564 Member
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    I too was worried to leave on when I was gone so now start at dinner time, cook while watching tv and done before I go to bed . Next day, just have to reheat..absolutely wonderful to make baked potatoes in. Just wrap in foil, throw in. Can do a huge amount at one time..
  • trevor615
    trevor615 Posts: 19 Member
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    Are you going to purchase a crockpot or a slowcooker?. I have heard that there is a difference between the two, though I am not sure what it is.
  • teach54
    teach54 Posts: 22 Member
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    Are you going to purchase a crockpot or a slowcooker?. I have heard that there is a difference between the two, though I am not sure what it is.

    The difference is that "CrockPot" is a trademark, brand name; slowcooker is the generic name. Kinda like how many people refer to "Kleenex", even when the tissue is not that particular brand.
  • trevor615
    trevor615 Posts: 19 Member
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    I went to good old "Google" and found the following. Looks like the differences involve the type of material for the pot and where the heating element is located

    A crockpot is a type of slow cooker, but not all slow cookers are crockpots. A crockpot is a type of slow cooker with a stoneware pot that sits inside a surrounding heating element. A slow cooker is a pot, usually made of metal, which sits atop a heating surface. With this type of slow cooker, sometimes the pot can be removed and the heating surface itself used to fry foods.

    http://www.ehow.com/about_6714017_difference-between-crockpot-slow-cooker.html
  • elephant2mouse
    elephant2mouse Posts: 906 Member
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    We just have a small (4 quart I believe) crock-pot brand slow cooker.
    It has the removable ceramic (I think) interior, which is great for cleaning.
    It only has the two settings, Low, and High... I think a keep warm option would be nice, but we manage without it.
    I love ours, cooking chili in it right now :)
  • GrandeHombre
    GrandeHombre Posts: 7 Member
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    If she was 80, it very well could have been an older pressure cooker. The newer ones are much safer.
    I am scared of pressure cookers, always have been and apparently they still blow up and 80 year old woman lost her leg in Hialeah Fl a couple years back when hers blow up...anyway, crockpots I have owned a few and I love them especially to cook my oxtails or beef. That said they are pretty much the same regardless of brand, but I prefer the oval shaped one to the traditional round as it can fit a whole chicken and a decent size roast, also because of the shape you can fit more food in a single layer and reduce a lot of the liquid you add to "cover" the food, although I never cover the food unless its a pot of soup, my most recent purchase was an oval Hamilton beach 6qt for about $30 in Kohls and it works wonderful....good luck!
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
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    I have only owned two crock pots in my life. One was very basic model and was a hand me down from my grandma circa 1970's. I had that one until just a couple of years ago. It did NOT die. I gave it away because I was moving. It was a Rival brand with a knob for warm, low and high. I purchased a new version of this Rival because I loved my old one so much. Again, because the other one was so good to me I kept it simple. Just the knob for warm, low and high. I think it is the 5 or 6 quart size in the round version. No need for anything fancy and so worth the twenty something dollars I paid from Target.
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
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    I did not know crockpot liners were a thing but I definitely have to look into them for my wife's sanities. Our crockpot we got for $10 from Goodwill, it's straight-up from the seventies and everything about it is wonderful. One knob for 'low', 'high', and 'off', works beautifully, looks like it's deliberately kitschy.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
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    I did not know crockpot liners were a thing but I definitely have to look into them for my wife's sanities. Our crockpot we got for $10 from Goodwill, it's straight-up from the seventies and everything about it is wonderful. One knob for 'low', 'high', and 'off', works beautifully, looks like it's deliberately kitschy.
    Hang on to it! They don't make them like that any more. Those 70's ones never die.
  • BekaBooluvsu
    BekaBooluvsu Posts: 470 Member
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    I like the idea of the rubber seal. I will look for a lid with one. My last slow cooker was I think 7 qt. Loved the size for meat sauces, chili etc. Even though I'm single I search for recipes that freeze well or I just eat the meal for the rest of the week.:smile:
    Just me and my husband right now and I use my crock pot everyday. I start my food the night before, set on high, go to bed, wake up with food ready to go. I bought mine at Wal-Mart for $15(Rival is the brand). Works for my kind of cooking.
  • Alliwan
    Alliwan Posts: 1,245 Member
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    i got one when we got married almost 7 years ago and it is one base with 3 pot sizes and one lid that fits them all. comes with 2qt, 4qt and 6qt. So nice when i dont need a huge one for something but nice to have the huge one when im crockpotting a whole turkey breast.

    it's always the one i recommend to anyone who asks as its so versitile
  • micheledavison39
    micheledavison39 Posts: 821 Member
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    If you are worried about it cooking all day while you are away, cook overnight instead. I have done that a number of times because I am routinely gone for 12-14 hours at a stretch and most recipes are 4-10 hours.

    Turn it on before you go to bed and most things will be ready first thing in the morning. Dish out into containers and reheat later. Or take the whole crock out and put it in the fridge if you don't have time to dish it out that morning.

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