So, how does this compare with an old-fashioned crock pot? I’ve measured a bunch of things.
The heating ranges: The pot can be set for Warm, Low, or High. I heated water and measured both the temperature of the water and the temperature of the porcelain liner (using an infrared thermometer)
The Probe: A great feature. You can tell the pot to turn itself down to Warm once the probe reaches a set temperature. You can set the desired temperature between 140 and 180 in 5 degree increments. But you cannot use this for sous vide cooking: once the probe reaches the desired temp, the pot resets itself to Warm: It does NOT try to maintain the temp.
The Timer: You can set cooking time for Low or High of from 30 minutes to 12 hours in half-hour increments.
The Lid: The lock-down lid is a great feature and it works well. Some folks have commented that the gasket gives off an odor, and we found that to be true for the first couple of hours.
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My very old crock pot did a great job and I loved it. Sadly, the crock broke and I couldn’t find a replacement. I bought another “slow” cooker but it cooked WAY too fast. I could set it to cook for 10 hours and the food was done (and starting to burn) after just 4 hours. It wasn’t practical to leave it and go to work for the day. I kept it for a few years but it was relegated to the basement because I couldn’t trust or use it. I had to get a new slow cooker.
After searching several sites, and reading a lot of reviews, I found this Hamilton Beach 33969 6-Qt cooker. I was drawn to it when I saw some reviews which stated it didn’t cook too fast. The meat probe, different program modes, and lock/carry option were all nice bonuses.
I’ve now had this cooker for a few months and I’m working on my second round of filling up the freezer with foods prepared in it. I live alone so the 6-Qt is great for making a lot of food and freezing it for later use. Of course, the food is excellent the day that I cook it as well. I’ve had things cooking as long as 10 hours on low and nothing has ever burned or overcooked. The cooker drops down to warm after the cooking time has elapsed.
I’ve read some negative reviews (every product in the world has some of those), but I’ve seen nothing bad about this cooker. It cooks slow (as one would expect), it cooks thoroughly, and everything tastes great. Clean-up is very simple – nothing sticks since it’s not overcooked. The hole in the cover for the probe also allows some steam to escape (it doesn’t affect the cooking) so that I can still look in and see the cooking progress without having to remove the lid and release all of the heat. Programming is very easy with this cooker as well. London broil came out very tender, roasts, ribs, and chicken were cooked perfectly, sides (potatoes, mac and cheese, etc) came out great, and even pasta dishes have been made successfully.
After my last experience with the cooker which burned everything, I was gun-shy with a new cooker. I’m just so happy that I jumped back in and bought this one. Hamilton Beach did a great job with this cooker!
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After much research and reading of reviews on Amazon, I decided to buy this slow cooker as my first. So far we have used it a handful of times , each time netting us GREAT results. We have cooked using all the settings, including the probe setting. That in particular was eye opening, for we learned that a Boston Butt cooked on HIGH will be cooked to temperature in less than 2 hours. So this slow cooker gets hot! Calibrate your recipes when you first get your slow cooker so as to determine how long each will take. This goes for any slow cooker you end up with, not just this one.
I was worried that the slow cooker would be too big for our family (2 adults, 2 small children). I needn’t have worried. It’s the perfect capacity for a dinner plus one night’s leftovers.
Why did I pick this model instead of the other Hamilton-Beach with a lot more reviews? Because I saw the higher model number on this one and hoped that it meant that this model is the newest one. So far I’ve had none of the problems people have described in the reviews for the other product, so I’d say it was a good gamble. I will update this review if the situation changes.
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How low is low? How high is high? How about sous vide?,
The heating ranges: The pot can be set for Warm, Low, or High. I heated water and measured both the temperature of the water and the temperature of the porcelain liner (using an infrared thermometer)
Old-fashioned crock pot: Warm: n/a. Low: Pot=180, Contents=150; High: Pot=260, Contents=205 (simmer)
This pot: Warm: Pot=165, Contents=145; Low: Pot=215, Contents=170; High: Pot=245, Contents=205 (simmer)
The Probe: A great feature. You can tell the pot to turn itself down to Warm once the probe reaches a set temperature. You can set the desired temperature between 140 and 180 in 5 degree increments. But you cannot use this for sous vide cooking: once the probe reaches the desired temp, the pot resets itself to Warm: It does NOT try to maintain the temp.
The Timer: You can set cooking time for Low or High of from 30 minutes to 12 hours in half-hour increments.
The Lid: The lock-down lid is a great feature and it works well. Some folks have commented that the gasket gives off an odor, and we found that to be true for the first couple of hours.
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|I’m loving this slow cooker!,
After searching several sites, and reading a lot of reviews, I found this Hamilton Beach 33969 6-Qt cooker. I was drawn to it when I saw some reviews which stated it didn’t cook too fast. The meat probe, different program modes, and lock/carry option were all nice bonuses.
I’ve now had this cooker for a few months and I’m working on my second round of filling up the freezer with foods prepared in it. I live alone so the 6-Qt is great for making a lot of food and freezing it for later use. Of course, the food is excellent the day that I cook it as well. I’ve had things cooking as long as 10 hours on low and nothing has ever burned or overcooked. The cooker drops down to warm after the cooking time has elapsed.
I’ve read some negative reviews (every product in the world has some of those), but I’ve seen nothing bad about this cooker. It cooks slow (as one would expect), it cooks thoroughly, and everything tastes great. Clean-up is very simple – nothing sticks since it’s not overcooked. The hole in the cover for the probe also allows some steam to escape (it doesn’t affect the cooking) so that I can still look in and see the cooking progress without having to remove the lid and release all of the heat. Programming is very easy with this cooker as well. London broil came out very tender, roasts, ribs, and chicken were cooked perfectly, sides (potatoes, mac and cheese, etc) came out great, and even pasta dishes have been made successfully.
After my last experience with the cooker which burned everything, I was gun-shy with a new cooker. I’m just so happy that I jumped back in and bought this one. Hamilton Beach did a great job with this cooker!
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|Great First Slow Cooker,
I was worried that the slow cooker would be too big for our family (2 adults, 2 small children). I needn’t have worried. It’s the perfect capacity for a dinner plus one night’s leftovers.
Why did I pick this model instead of the other Hamilton-Beach with a lot more reviews? Because I saw the higher model number on this one and hoped that it meant that this model is the newest one. So far I’ve had none of the problems people have described in the reviews for the other product, so I’d say it was a good gamble. I will update this review if the situation changes.
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