Fighting For Slow Cooker: The Samurai Way
The Test Kitchen's Guide to Purchasing a Slow Cooker
Today's slow cookers come in a wide array of sizes with a great deal of different features. Which
A slow cooker promises to be a bit dream grandma who sits at the kitchen all day
Cooking for you, but use the wrong cooker and that fantasy could fizzle. A cooker might
Run hotter than expected, drying out the food or turning it mushy, or slower than you
Want, so dinner is not ready when you're. Then there can be problems with hot spots,
That make food cook unevenly. And what if operating your system is so perplexing
That you must pore over the manual each time you use it?
For the Perfect machine that would deliver a properly cooked meal and be completely
Simple and intuitive to use, we went shopping. Previous experience taught us that glass
Lids were a must, as they permit you to see progress without losing heat. So were ovalshaped
Crocks, as these can accommodate large roasts and provide more versatility than
round crocks. We also wanted a generous 6- to 7-quart capacity.
Mind, we piled up eight models priced from $39.99 to $148.71.
We analyzed these eight slow cookers, preparing a variety of recipes using both low and
High temperature settings and diverse cooking times.
Map heating patterns, and a panel of testers evaluated how simple the cookers were to
use and clean. We also dismantled some of the dividers to understand the placement
And type of heating elements they contained.
The KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker With Good Glass Lid ($99.99), our former winner,
Handled every recipe with perfect results, albeit a little slowly.
Insulated home, built-in thermal sensor, and crystal-clear controls put a well-thoughtout
Design at your service--and at a reasonable cost. The Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook
Central ($148.71) is also a solid choice. It provides the advantages of a light, unbreakable
Metal crock with stay-cool plastic handles, as well as a brown-and-sear function that lets
You skip using a separate skillet before slow-cooking in recipes which call for it.
Table of 25 or so staffers silently concentrating on tasting a dozen varieties of olive oil,
Peanut butter, or soy sauce. If you continue to the main test kitchen, you might find, say,
Eight slow cookers, each hooked up to a separate thermometer, each of which is
Connected to a computer so we can gauge how equally they maintain a temperature
Dropping one portable grill after another on the sidewalk from a specified height to
see how well they will stand up to abuse.
Testing Slow Cookers
And if you think the test
Cooks here at America's Test Kitchen are obsessive in their pursuit for the best--and
You're quite right, they are--you need to spend some time with this team. The lengths
They go to in order to make certain that their tests are accurate, comprehensive, and
Conducted on a level playing field are sufficient to make the rest of us seem relaxed.
There are strict written protocols for choosing the items to be tested, for conducting the
Tests themselves, and for assessing them. You will find detailed instructions for tasters.
And if there is ever a question, our staff will go back and run the tests again, just to be
sure.
But when that rigorous (and at times seemingly en
dless) process is over, their
Work is truly just beginning. Because it is not enough to say which product or piece of
Equipment came out on top--we need to know why. Sometimes it appears random to the
Rest of us, but these folks don't believe in that word, so they keep digging and assessing,
Consulting experts all around the world and sending samples to labs for analysis, until they
Locate the keys to the particular puzzle. It May be the number of bevels on a serrated
Knife (spoiler: fewer is actually better) or the processing system used in making a
Particular soy sauce, but there'll be a reason. Once they find it, we can love
Even more clearly how solid a base our tastings and testings rest on.
This holds true even for the tiniest kitchen tools--the testing procedure has been just
As disciplined, extensive, and intensive, because this group has never heard of cutting
corners.
Today's slow cookers come in a wide array of sizes with a great deal of different features. Which
A slow cooker promises to be a bit dream grandma who sits at the kitchen all day
Cooking for you, but use the wrong cooker and that fantasy could fizzle. A cooker might
Run hotter than expected, drying out the food or turning it mushy, or slower than you
Want, so dinner is not ready when you're. Then there can be problems with hot spots,
That make food cook unevenly. And what if operating your system is so perplexing
That you must pore over the manual each time you use it?
For the Perfect machine that would deliver a properly cooked meal and be completely
Simple and intuitive to use, we went shopping. Previous experience taught us that glass
Lids were a must, as they permit you to see progress without losing heat. So were ovalshaped
Crocks, as these can accommodate large roasts and provide more versatility than
round crocks. We also wanted a generous 6- to 7-quart capacity.
Mind, we piled up eight models priced from $39.99 to $148.71.
We analyzed these eight slow cookers, preparing a variety of recipes using both low and
High temperature settings and diverse cooking times.
Map heating patterns, and a panel of testers evaluated how simple the cookers were to
use and clean. We also dismantled some of the dividers to understand the placement
And type of heating elements they contained.
The KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker With Good Glass Lid ($99.99), our former winner,
Handled every recipe with perfect results, albeit a little slowly.
Insulated home, built-in thermal sensor, and crystal-clear controls put a well-thoughtout
Design at your service--and at a reasonable cost. The Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook
Central ($148.71) is also a solid choice. It provides the advantages of a light, unbreakable
Metal crock with stay-cool plastic handles, as well as a brown-and-sear function that lets
You skip using a separate skillet before slow-cooking in recipes which call for it.
Table of 25 or so staffers silently concentrating on tasting a dozen varieties of olive oil,
Peanut butter, or soy sauce. If you continue to the main test kitchen, you might find, say,
Eight slow cookers, each hooked up to a separate thermometer, each of which is
Connected to a computer so we can gauge how equally they maintain a temperature
Dropping one portable grill after another on the sidewalk from a specified height to
see how well they will stand up to abuse.
Testing Slow Cookers
And if you think the test
Cooks here at America's Test Kitchen are obsessive in their pursuit for the best--and
You're quite right, they are--you need to spend some time with this team. The lengths
They go to in order to make certain that their tests are accurate, comprehensive, and
Conducted on a level playing field are sufficient to make the rest of us seem relaxed.
There are strict written protocols for choosing the items to be tested, for conducting the
Tests themselves, and for assessing them. You will find detailed instructions for tasters.
And if there is ever a question, our staff will go back and run the tests again, just to be
sure.
But when that rigorous (and at times seemingly en
Work is truly just beginning. Because it is not enough to say which product or piece of
Equipment came out on top--we need to know why. Sometimes it appears random to the
Rest of us, but these folks don't believe in that word, so they keep digging and assessing,
Consulting experts all around the world and sending samples to labs for analysis, until they
Locate the keys to the particular puzzle. It May be the number of bevels on a serrated
Knife (spoiler: fewer is actually better) or the processing system used in making a
Particular soy sauce, but there'll be a reason. Once they find it, we can love
Even more clearly how solid a base our tastings and testings rest on.
This holds true even for the tiniest kitchen tools--the testing procedure has been just
As disciplined, extensive, and intensive, because this group has never heard of cutting
corners.
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