Customer Reviews

West Bend 84846 6-Quart "Versatility Deluxe" Everyday Cooker, Stainless Steel/Black

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a senior citizen who stays busy but still likes a good, hot meal for me and my hubby. I bought this model for its oval shape (to accommodate roasts, chickens, etc.)and because it is lightweight stainless steel. It arrived two days ago and at 8 a.m. today I browned an almost 4 lb. rump roast on the gas range, then added the seasonings I wanted and placed it on the base at the low setting, and left for fitness class. When I returned home at 11:00 a.m., the liquid was bubbling away on the low setting and almost done. I lowered it to the keep warm setting to allow a bit more cooking time. The end result was wonderful; we just ate dinner at 12:30 p.m. rather than later this afternoon. This is a nice appliance and it is versatile; it was convenient to brown the meat right in the cooking pan. However, this unit does cook far more quickly than expected, so it will be used with caution in the future. Sure am glad I wasn't out longer this morning. I rated this with 3 stars because of the heat settings and will probably purchase a regular ceramic oval crock-pot for all-day cooking.

I have been using a different West Bend slow cooker for 7 years and have really enjoyed it. The pot on the old cooker is good quality --- it heats evenly despite being light. I bought this one as a second, and chose stainless so that it would look different from my first, and was sad to find that the pot has a major hot spot where food always burns, and on the first use, the pot was scarred. I don't know if the hot spot is an anomaly; perhaps the non-stainless version is less likely to have hot spots.

I sent the slow cooker back to the company in Wisconsin, and they sent me a new pan, and the new pan does not any hotspots. Presumably, the old pan just had a manufacturing flaw.

UPDATE:

The heating element failed after 13 months, just after the 1 year warranty period. I made a delicious Italian chick pea soup the previous night, and set it to "low" for over 3 hours, usually enough to get the soup to the boiling point. When I served the soup to my guests, the soup was barely lukewarm. I left the soup on overnight to continue to cook to develop the flavors, assuming that the temperature would increase eventually, but when I returned to the soup, I found a thick layer of foul-smelling white viscous material at the top. When I measured the soup's temperature, it was 115 F. We didn't have any power failures and the heating element was clearly warm, just not hot, so it must have been a failure of the heating element, rather than electricity.

I STILL RECOMMEND West Bend slow cookers, just not this model. For my parents, I bought the 5 quart white slow cooker (my third) several months, virtually identical design to my 8 year old slow cooker. The oblong white slow cooker is sufficiently hot, and the pot itself has no hot spots.

As a working woman feeding many mouths, I rely on slow cookers, and I prefer Westbends to the crockery varieties. This model is the pits, though.

OH man, it is so good and so easy to use. It saves sooo much time and trouble. Like I heard once before Just Set it and Forget it, well, this is easier than that.

Before you go to bed just put in your ingredients for breakfast, put on the lid, plug it in and set the heat level and go to bed. And by morning it's cooked and ready to plate up for eating. Then it is easy to wash and put in ingredients for dinner and come home from work and it's done. NO Trouble. No Fuss. I LOVE my new Everyday Cooker.

Mind you I said Everyday cooker cause it is much more than a slow cooker. Cakes, pastries, oatmeal, soups; you name it you can make it in the cooker. You can fry on the base; eggs, burgers, etc. Use the pan on the stove or oven. Easy to adjust the heat level. "Muti-purpose Every Day Cooker." Well worth the money, cause it saves money in the long run with the soups and other items that can be packed and frozen for later use.

I just can't say enought about it. I use it EVERY DAY for more than one meal per day.

I have this model. It is so much more than a slow cooker, but slow it can be! I've purchased Rival products before this one and every thing in a Rival BOILS, even at low setting. This is truly slow and I have not experienced "hot" spots or over-cooking as other reviewers have.

This cooker is for everyday use. It cooks virtually everything a slow cooker does and more! Soups, stews, roasts, chicken (whole or pieces) pork, chili...you name it and it will cook it!

Plan on keeping a "spare" on hand I use it so much.

No problem for me to rate this item a big five stars...

My wife recently used the pot potion of the cooker on our stove (part of intended use) but must have had the flame to high??? and the pot warped. It no longer sits evenly on the base of the cooker. I have never had a pot warp on me and was disappointed about this. I will be contacting the manufacturer to see if they will send a replacement.

I purchased this thinking I was going to throw away my old crock pot. I will keep the old crock pot on hand for things that need surround heat on the vessel wall - I have one recipe where this pot doesn't do the job because the heat is just from the bottom. Otherwise, it's great because the vessel is non-stick - cleanup is a breeze! I make soups, stews, chili, etc in this. This should be called a hot plate cooker because that's what it is - a pot on top of a hot plate. Whereas the traditional crock pot has heat around the vessel wall this does not. The heat source is just from the bottom. This has not been an issue except when I make jook/congee (traditional Chinese porridge). I may have to adjust my recipe but otherwise this pot is a keeper. I even use the nonstick pot on my stove to make sticky things like rice crispy squares. I don't have to add margarine/butter because it doesn't stick. What a bonus!

I had researched "crock pots" and chose this one because it did not have a ceramic inside,they take too long to heat up. I love going from the stove to the heating unit. Which you can use seperatly-pancakes for example. I almost wish it were 8 quarts. Love it!

I have used crock pots since they first came out 30 yrs. ago. I must say that this is the best slow cooker I have evr had. It is easy to clean--dishwasher safe too. No worries about cracking the crock because it is stainless steel. The food does not stick to the pot because of it's non-stick interior. You use the same pot on the stove to brown the meat and vegetables, then just put it onto the base to start slow cooking. That is truly "one pot cooking".

I do wish that it had a timer and turned off automatically, but I'm sure they'll come out with a newer model that has those features.

I have a Rival 5 quart "oval" crockpot that I purchased in January. It gets too hot, even on low, and is more "round" than oval.

I purchased this model, because a friend has one that still works for her after 30+ years.

The stainless steel, non stick interior is better than the crock pot, for weight, durability, and usability. It can be placed in the oven, or in the refridgerator much easier than the crockpot.

What REALLY made me choose this model is the heating unit beneath, which is also non-stick coated. You can use it as a griddle, because unlike most slow cookers, with only 3-4 levels (Off being one of them), the WestBend has a DIAL from low to VERY HIGH (the griddle setting, which I would not recommend for the pot itself.

All slow cookers seem to have too high of heat settings, but with this one, you can dial it low enough to truly give you SLOW cooking. I did a "young turkey" of almost 5 pounds yesterday on "Medium" (betweeen the low and high settings), and it was SO moist, I could not believe it was turkey. The breast was succulent and juicy. I was then able to use the griddle beneath on "Low" to heat regular flour tortillas today and make turkey burritos!

I am giving my crock pot to the Thrift Store. THIS is the only slow cooker I will ever need again!

The ONE bad thing about this, is its lack of an OFF setting. You MUST unplug the unit, or it will still be on at the lowest setting. An inconvenience, but not a problem.

I was a little hesitant to order this product after reading some of the other reviews, but since a friend had one that she liked so much I decided to give it a try. I've only used it 3 or 4 times, but haven't had any of the problems mentioned by others so far. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because of the short time I've owned it. The heat control works fine. Because of the complaints about the nonstick finish, I've avoided metal utensils - no big deal. As suggested by the manufacturer, I oil the nonstick surface after every use. I've used it to pre-brown meats on the stovetop and have not had a problem with warping. The capability of browning in the pot on the stovetop is a major selling point for me - who wants to dirty two pans when you can dirty just one? If any issues develop with further use I won't hesitate to return it, but so far it's great.