West Bend 84861WB W.BEND 6qt SLOW COOKER OVAL S/S VERSATILITY Review

I've wandered into those kitchen shops where you drool over everything and can't afford anything.And I lusted after one of their upscale brand slow cookers that move from stovetop burner to oven to fridge with ease (for a few hundred dollars).And it made me wonder whether there wasn't a cheaper way to have the utility (if not the cachet) of those things.

Enter the West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker.

Because the pot is really just a stainless steel dutch oven (with a teflon base to prevent sticking), you can do whatever you want with it--including putting it on the burner unit that comes with it.But you can also use it to brown your meat on the stove in the same pot you use for slow cooking (saving you the trouble of putting a second pot in the dishwasher).You can also dispense with the base and put the thing right in your oven, if you choose.And it's light enough that you won't dislocate a shoulder doing so.

But the mystique of the crock pot, with the stoneware container emitting radiant heat all around your roast or stew--is gone.What you get here is--just a pot and a spare burner.But really, for most things, that's what you need.You don't really need the radiant heat; you need a burner that you can leave on during the day without worrying about burning your house down.And that's what you get here.

You can even use the base as a small griddle (though we don't).But that extra versatility raises some problems for people who aren't paying attention.The dial on the base goes from "keep warm" to "high" -- and then it keeps on going (kind of like the amplifier on "Spinal Tap" that goes to 11, instead of 10).The upper heat levels are for griddle use (I guess), not slow cooking.So you can burn things up if you don't watch what you are doing.

If the All-Clad crowd is too rich for your blood (or you want to see whether the concept will work for you at a tenth the price), you might want to give this one a try.Even if you don't often use the base as a burner, you will gain another pot to cook in.But if for you a crock pot is all about the mysteries of radiant heat, you will want to stick with the tried and true (and heavy) crocks of yore.

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Product Description:
TheWest Bend 84861 Versatility Slow Cooker features 6-Quart capacity, Adjustable temperature control with Griddle Setting, Premium non-stick interior, Lift-out roasting rack, Heat-resistant base (REPLACES WESTBEND 84846)

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