if you subscribe to cooks illustrated online,...

[Anonymous]

any chance you could tell me the bottom line on their slow cooker evaluation from Aug. 2010? I like their reviews but not enough to subscribe!

[Anonymous]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
WINNER
Crock-Pot Touchscreen
The control panel is extremely easy to use, and the timer counted up to 20 hours, even on high. Sunday gravy thickened to the correct consistency, pot roast was tender and sliceable, and onions caramelized perfectly.

??? ??? $129.99
RECOMMENDED

All-Clad Slow Cooker with Ceramic Insert
Pot roast and gravy cooked to the correct consistency, and temperatures fell into the right ranges. But we got equally good results from our top-ranked model at a much lower price. The button controls are easy to use, but the timer could not be set for more than six hours on high.

??? ?? $199.95
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Breville Slow Cooker with EasySear
Although this large cooker ran hot, the tight seal of its metal lid yielded fall-apart meat in Sunday gravy. Pot roast overcooked, though, and onions for the soup burned. We couldn’t see the food through the steel lid. For this price, we expected a timer and warm cycle.

?? ?? $179.95

KitchenAid Slow Cooker
The meat in Sunday gravy was tender, but the pot roast was dry. The onions didn’t cook evenly. The heavy insert’s square shape made pouring easy. The control panel has five cooking settings, but the timer stops after eight hours on high.

?? ?? $129.99
NOT RECOMMENDED

Cuisinart Programmable Slow Cooker
The first model wouldn’t turn on; the second struggled to cook the onions evenly. The construction was flimsy, the buttons hard to push. The low setting produced tough meat. Sunday gravy fared better on high.

?? ? $99.95

Elite Cuisine by Maxi-Matic Programmable LED Slow Cooker
This cooker produced tender meat but broke after two uses. The second model we ordered barely cooked the onions. The settings were confusing; we thought we’d turned the machine on, but an hour later we found that the timer hadn’t begun to count down (the only way to know if it’s working).

? ? $39.99

Kalorik Slow Cooker
This timer-less machine ran the hottest on high, meaning onions burned, and Sunday gravy was dry. On low, it took almost eight hours to reach its high temperature and failed to reach the food-safe temperature of 140 degrees within two hours.

? ? $29.98

[Anonymous]

The ??? should be stars above, it pasted funny. The first 1-3 stars are for cooking, the second 1-3 stars for design.

[Anonymous]

THANK YOU!!!