Sending New Crock Pot Back

[Scoot_4_20]

Hi,

I bought a new Crock Pot the other day on amazon.com and it got here yesterday. I opened it and cleaned it, and then loaded it with vegetables, chicken meat, water, and spices, and set in on high to get it hot, and then turned heat down to low after an hour or so (it wan't boiling then). The next time I checked it, an hour later, it was boiling so I turned it off. This morning, I turned it onto "warm" and the next time I looked at it - a half hour later, it was boiling again.

I called the company about this and she said it's the new FDA laws that force them to have all hot settings and no more warm or low settings because people might eat undercooked meat and get sick. I told her I thought it was misleading that amazon and their box advertises 3 heat settings, but they all seem the same.

I'm sending it back. I wanted a slow cooker, not a boiler. Slow cookers used to make meats really tender. From now on I guess I'll cook things in stoneware dishes in the oven, set at about 200*F.

I don't see the point in them selling Crock Pots any more if they don't allow them to slow cook. Their recipes tell you to cook foods for 10-12 hours, but with their new boiling machines, this seems pointless.

 

[double vanos]

I think she was BSing you. What's the point of a crock pot if it won't slow cook?

I do have a question for you though; while in operation, how hot did the outside get? I bought a Walmart crock pot that got so hot you could cook pork chops on the outside if you could have figured out how to attach them.

It was too unnerving to use it; I felt it could possibly burn the house down, so I just threw it away.
Now, Williams Sonoma has a great crock pot but it is pricey. If they have a sale I'm going to get one. It stays cool as a cucumber while cooking.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Unless you can point to some information on the FDA site I simply don't believe it. As recently as August of 2011 the USDA claimed that crock pots were perfectly safe as long as the low temperatures were 170 or greater and the length of time was adequate.

While I haven't purchased a crock pot in many years I doubt very much that they'd have a Low, Medium and High setting unless they actually had a temperature differential between them.

I think your problem was that you started it on high, then dropped the temperature and noticed after an hour it was still on a "high" hot temperature. By their very design crock pots hold heat very well, and I've turned mine up high for a while, and then down to low, but because of the insulating quality it still seems to be "high" hot after an hour and can still make steam for a couple hours after it's turned down. It takes a couple hours for it to really start to cool enough to notice a difference when you consider the quality of the crock pot, along with the amount of food/liquid that needs to cool.

Quite frankly I almost never use high, I just use low and let it cook for a very long time.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

Hi,

It got quite how on the outside, but not on the bottom. Most reviews on amazon.com are good for it, but some people complained of them being not warm enough or, like mine, too hot. I only paid $13 for it + shipping, so I guess you get what you pay for.

This seems like it would be a lot better idea:

Cuisinart PSC-350 3-1/2-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker (they sell for about $60 on amazon).

There seem to be a lot of lemons with cheap brand names. That CS woman didn't seem to have a lot of faith in her company, and offhand, I don't think she gave me very good info. Whatever, I don't want any more of those units.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I call bogus on the "FDA laws". I bought one last year and it has both high and low settings, and a timer that switches it from high to low. What brand was it? Mine is actually a Crock Pot.

 

[NHGUY]

The original "Crock Pot" is made by Rival.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

Mine was a Crock Pot brand also, and between the unit I received and the CS rep I talked to, I don't plan to take a chance on that brand again.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

who is CS and why do people go through amazon to buy anything? They are a clearing house taking a cut on other companies profit. Amazon=Diablo

 

[greenaccord02]

The settings define how fast it reaches it's peak temperature but the peak temperature is the same for all three settings. It should be just below boiling. It's my understanding that they have always been that way.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

I used to have a crock pot that didn't boil food unless it was on high, and even then it got to only about 211*F. These days due to food safety, many pots cook hotter and will boil everything, which over cooks foods.

They say the $60 Cuisinart unit cooks below 212*F in all but one setting. I'll either get one of these or cook in the oven at low temps, like about 200*F.

That new unit I had boiled everything in all settings - even in Warm setting.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
The settings define how fast it reaches it's peak temperature but the peak temperature is the same for all three settings. It should be just below boiling. It's my understanding that they have always been that way.


That's simply not correct.

From my crock pot cook book:

Quote:
For food safety reasons, it's a good idea to cook on HIGH for the first hour to quickly bring the temperature up to 140 degrees. Then turn the dial to LOW and finish cooking.
The LOW setting is about 200 degrees, and the HIGH setting is about 300 degrees. Note that both of these temps are well above the minimum safe temperature of 140 degrees.


Both of my crock pots will create lots of steam with liquid soups if left on high for a couple hours. They'll never steam the inside of the lid if they're left on low for 10+ hours.

When I tested my main crock pot a few years ago with a gallon of water and low was about 165 degrees, medium 190 and high about 220 after several hours at each temperature, however it's a late 1970's vintage and probably doesn't get as hot at each temperature as modern crock pots will. I tested it because I wanted to know what temperature I was using so I could try to duplicate some receipes in the oven.

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
The original "Crock Pot" is made by Rival.


The original crock pot was made by Naxon Utilities Corporation. Rival bought them in the early 1970's.

 

[greenaccord02]

Simply not correct, eh?

From the Crock Pot website:

Quote:

What’s the difference between "Low" and "High" cooking?

Both High and Low stabilize at the same temperature, it is just a matter of how long it takes to reach the simmer point. Once food reaches the simmer point, total cook time is dependent on cut and weight of meat to reach the point of maximum flavor and texture potential. (Most dishes can be prepared on either High or Low.)

...

How do I test my slow cooker’s cooking temperature?

Using an instant read thermometer will ensure that your unit is up to temperature. Crock-Pot® slow cookers reach the simmer point and stabilize on both High and Low at about 209°F.


Still think it isn't true? Click here and be amazed:
http://www.crock-pot.com/CustomerService.aspx?id=faq&fgid=44

 

[JHZR2]

Put any pot on a kill a watt meter and see what the draw is at each setting with a cold pot. That will tell if there is a difference.

Now if the thermostat setpoint is the same, then there may be some reality to it - takes longer but the end target temp where the cutoff is set is the same or higher than old ones, OK.

But that may be "adjustable" somehow.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

Update :

I bought a Hamilton Beach 5 Qt oval slow cooker at Big Lots yesterday, and on the "low" setting it heats water to 185*F, which should be just right for slow cooking.

The "warm" setting seems to be about 130*, so I think I'm going to like this unit. They said I could take it back if I didn't like it for any reason, but I like it.

It had a big dent in the box, and when I got it home I found it has a dent in the unit, but that doesn't seem to affect it's operation in any way, but I'm going to ask them if they'll give me a discount on it. (I paid $20 for it).

I haven't tried the high setting yet, but that should be about 212* or so.

Boiling chicken in the other crock pot the other day ruined it - it's too tough. It's breast meat, but still, I think it would have came out more tender if it hadn't boiled for several minutes.

Now I'm looking forward to some nice tender meats in soups & stews.