slow cookers

Multi Cooker turns on the heat any time of day

Cooking starts with heat. Everybody knows that; it is the way in which that heat is applied to food where things get complicated. This, of course, is a good thing. The range of modern cuisine is so widely varied, thanks in great part to all the different cooking methods that are readily available at one's fingertips. With a press of a button or a twist of a dial, meals can be created that range from instantly recognizable to outlandishly strange. Sometimes, even with the same appliance.

From minestrone soup to a good old-fashioned fish fry, the Deni 9135 five-quart Multi Cooker … Read more

Crock-Pot wants to know what time you would like dinner to be

Cooking and waiting go hand in hand. Sure, sometimes, the action is fast and furious, but other times it just becomes a matter of patience. This "hurry up and wait" aspect of meal making isn't a bad thing; flavor develops at its own pace. As cooking can be all about timing, it would not be inappropriate to consider the fact that sometimes it is the actual appliance that needs to catch up. So it seems only natural that the cooking appliance itself should know what is expected of it. Like what time to have dinner ready at.… Read more

Cook fast or slow at the push of a button

The kitchen is all about timing. Sometimes things happen fast; other times patience is required. The slow simmering of an all-day sauce combined with the quick heat of a fast sear on a choice cut of protein brings together flavor combinations that rally our taste buds into believing that anything is possible as long as we take the time to do them right. But it is not just time that has a monopoly on efficiency in the kitchen. It's also about versatility.

The Breville BPR600XL Fast Slow Cooker ($179.95) is capable of cooking up a storm or calmly … Read more

Crock-Pot stays hot in the end zone

Football season is upon us. That means months of football food lie ahead. As fall is ushered in by the kicking of an oblong ball, millions of cheering fans will be applauding the spread. No, not that kind of spread, the food spread. But no matter if the gathering is in the parking lot of the stadium or at a football party down the street, there needs to be a way to get the goods to the game.

A winning recipe for five-alarm chili just isn't worth it if it can't be shared among friends (or unleashed upon … Read more

Breville countertop appliance makes rice and risotto

The Breville BRC600XL Risotto Plus Rice and Risotto Maker is an automatic rice maker that does more than just make rice. An elegant interface offers user easy operation via a set of no-nonsense buttons. The dedicated cooking functions include settings for: risotto, saute, steam, and slow cook as well as the ever-popular automatic rice-making mode.

The multi-cooker is designed for easy automatic operation, but with the inclusion of so many cooking modes, versatility on the countertop is a big feature. The saute function not only provides an easy way to build flavor by browning ingredients before fully cooking, but it … Read more

Greet the summer heat with a slow cooker?

Summer is here and already it is easy to see how fast it will go. The warm weather beckons us outside for fun in the sun, where good times and food will go hand in hand for the upcoming months. With all this time flying about, before we know it the fun will be over (or at least have to be moved inside). And that's when we trade the burgers and the grill for the stew and the slow cooker.

Even though summer has just begun, the Crock-Pot SCCPRP500-LTD Slow Cooker (in a "Limited Edition Crocktober Pattern") … Read more

Turn your slow cooker or rice maker into a sous-vide machine

Having the right kitchen gear there when you need it is a great way to get the job done right. However, as we all know that idealized reality doesn't always happen. Most often a quick substitution of gear or gadget provides an acceptable (or even superior) level of utility. But sometimes, you just have to make it yourself.

The DorkFood DSV Temperature Controller conquers half the battle when attempting to repurpose a piece of kitchen equipment into a sous-vide cooker. The controller is meant for use with a manual slow cooker or similar, non-digital appliance and monitors the temperature … Read more

Flip-top slow cooker

Just like families themselves, family dinners come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of exactly how families get together, one thing for certain is that there will be a lot of them doing just that during the upcoming days. That and making a mess.

Naturally, that would mean making a mess at the dinner table. As family and friends get together for the holidays, food will be served in abundance. It's as traditional as the yearly argument about whatever the yearly argument happens to be. If that argument happens to be about setting the wet slow cooker lid on … Read more

Put your mug on a slow cooker

Kitchens can produce an outstanding amount of variety; from the well-outfitted to the bare-boned, any kitchen is capable of a great amount of versatility (assuming there is food in the cupboard). The personal nature inherent in cooking food extends beyond preparation methods. Sometimes, it is even the appliances that are personalized.

Every cook prepares food in his or her own special way, but adding a personal twist to the ubiquitous slow cooker is what Crock-Pot has in mind here. Via a Web interface, the Create-A-Crock (model number: SCCPCM553-W) allows customers to select from one of nine templates and upload four … Read more

Slow cooker simmers to your time

Well, that happened fast. One moment we were surrounded by backyard barbecues and pleasant meals by the pool. But then, seemingly overnight, it got cold; gone are the pool parties, absent are the invites to grill food on a fire, retired are the trips to the park with a picnic basket. But not to worry, the sun will rise again, the warm weather will return, and we will all find cause to revisit the great outdoors. But until that time, it's best to take it slow. Slow cooker, that is.

The Frigidaire Professional 7-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker is an … Read more