Nesco American Harvest 4808-25-20 18-Quart Roaster Oven with Stainless Steel Cookwell, Stainless Steel Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My parents received a roaster in 1941 as a wedding gift. All my warm holiday memories featured the traditional turkey and dressing in the roaster. Needless to say it's 2008 and the old roaster is tiring just a bit. The enamel cookwell is fissuring in 2 spots and the rack has had to be welded.
So this year I splurged and purchased this roaster with the stainless steel cookwell just in time for Thanksgiving!
The only negative is the burn in! Now I wasn't around in 1941 when my parents received theirs but I don't remember my mom complaining about a burn in in later years. Anyway I took the roaster OUTSIDE (that's crucial), removed the cookwell, paperwork etc..... and turned it on. 1 hour later the smell was horrific, 2 more hours no change, 8 hours and the smell was still BAD, VERY BAD!!
I turned the roaster off after the 8 hour burn in and since it still stank I did another 8 hour burn the next day and by the end of 16 hours of total burn time the 'stench' had died down. The strength of the stench worried me. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin the Thanksgiving 20 pounder so I plopped a 5 pound frying chicken in the roaster, turned the roaster to 350 and left it cook for 2 hours.
At first I was worried because there was still a little residual smell at the start of the cook but within a few minutes all you could smell was the heavenly roasting bird. 2 hours later the chicken was falling off the bone tender. The entire bird simply slide off the bone as I attempted to lift it gingerly out of the roaster.
The spices had deeply penetrated and my husband and I stood at the roaster and feasted upon the fallen chicken pieces left in the roaster. It was the best roast chicken we had had in recent memory.
Clean up, oh the dreaded clean up, as the old roaster aged cleaning got more and more difficult and it was a much dreaded and hated task. I purchased the stainless cookwell to hopefully facilitate cleanup and now began clean up with much trepidation. Was I pleasantly suprised. After washing out all the organic bits I simply sprayed with a little oven cleaner put the roaster lid on and snickered knowing my husband would end up being stuck with the cleaning next morning. Boy was the joke on me! The next morning ALL the inside was clean and after a quick sponging with some dishwashing liquid the stainless steel cookwell was clean!
So for the first time in the past 20 years that I've been responsible for roasting the bird I am NOT dreading the clean up portion of the program and for me THAT alone is worth 5 stars!
Thank you Nesco no more dreading Thanksgiving

Click Here to see more reviews about: Nesco American Harvest 4808-25-20 18-Quart Roaster Oven with Stainless Steel Cookwell, Stainless Steel

Get 6% OFF

Click here for more information about Nesco American Harvest 4808-25-20 18-Quart Roaster Oven with Stainless Steel Cookwell, Stainless Steel

Read More...

Rival Jeff Gordon NASCAR Special Edition Slow Cooker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It was great to see my brother light up when he opened up his birthday gift. He cooks all the time in crock pots. This one is special because it has his favorite race car driver on it and he got a carring tote made just for the crock pot.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Rival Jeff Gordon NASCAR Special Edition Slow Cooker

Click here for more information about Rival Jeff Gordon NASCAR Special Edition Slow Cooker

Read More...

Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This unit is similar to the one I have (old style 06000), so I have included my review here as well.
I bought one at Walmart last year. I use it pretty often, but mostly for making popcorn. Turn temp to 350, put a couple-three tablespoons of peanut oil in the bottom, and then when the oil heats up throw in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of popcorn. Put the cover on and keep the pot moving while the corn pops. When the corn has just about stopped popping, turn the heat off and pour the popcorn into a bowl. Butter, salt and eat. YUM!
I've deep-fried scallops in it, steamed vegetables, cooked rice, made soup and even baked potatoes. The thing works great! I wasn't going to write a review until I saw Alton Brown talk some trash about it on Good Eats. I got pretty defensive about my humble Presto cooker! He was doing a silly episode about "man food" like corn dogs and thin, square hamburgers. Well, when Mr. Brown was explaining how to fry the corn dogs he said (while holding a Presto mutlti-cooker) that a pot with an heating element on the outside of the bottom wasn't a good idea because first the element had to heat the pot and then it had to heat up the oil. Too slow. After that he displayed three home-use rectangular fryers with immersion type heating elements. He said they were also better because they each had cooking baskets and break-away magnetic cords. He picked the one with the digital controls, while implying that this was somehow better than the manual rotary temp control.
I don't know if A. B. gets paid for product placement on his show, but I really thought he was being disingenuous regarding the Presto "pot." First of all, about the heating element on the bottom of the Presto cooker: During the frying demonstration, Mr. Brown had some text placed over the screen that said that if you didn't have a special electric fryer, that a pot on the stove-top would work fine. Isn't that interesting? What the heck is a pot on the stove, but just a heating element on the outside of a pot that heats up the pot and then the oil inside? That's exactly what he was criticizing the Presto kettle about. What gives? Secondly, the Presto cooker DOES TOO have a magnetic break-away electric cord to keep the unit from tipping when the cord is yanked by accident. Also, the Presto cooker DOES TOO come with a frying-steaming basket, which Brown implied it didn't have. Nya, nya, nya! See, I can be just as immature as Alton Brown!
I don't know if the rectangular fryers are really better, but I'm sure they cost a lot more. My Presto cooker was $26.85 at Walmart. I keep it in a lower cabinet - it doesn't take up much space there. I pull it out when I need it. It's inexpensive, easy to use, and simple. When we go to Maine in August, I'm allowed to take only one of my counter-top appliances. So, I just take the Presto cooker with me. Normally, I cook steel cut oats in a small bowl, sitting in water, in a slow cooker (a bain marie - sort of - found the idea here [link deleted]) I can do the same thing with the Presto cooker. And I have a pot with me on vacation that I can do so much more with.
One last thing. With my slow cooker I use a plug-in timer called a Rival Smart-Part. But it's not rated to control the wattage of the Presto multi-cooker. I found a heavy-duty programmable digital timer that I use to turn the Presto cooker off and on automatically. This device really allows me to use the Presto cooker like a slow cooker, without over-cooking stews and such when I am out of the house all day. The Presto multi-cooker is a terrific appliance! Buy one now, and don't believe everything you see on TV!
Flash Update! Here is another reason to buy a Presto multi-cooker: I'm making a beef stew with red wine tonight. What a mess browning the stew beef! I have a 3 quart Wagner cast-iron chicken fryer, and this is what I used to brown the beef chuck cubes. These days the meat hasn't been aged much, and so it is very difficult to brown properly. I managed to do it in batches, but the stove-top got pretty messy by the time I was done. I put the browned meat, vegetables, and garlic into the Presto cooker ( I made sure to deglaze the chicken fryer with wine and include all the tasty bits) and continued to cook the stew. And then I could proceed to clean up the stove-top while the beef stew simmered away in a different part of the kitchen. I am very pleased not to have to clean up all that oil splatter after dinner!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer

Get 34% OFF

Click here for more information about Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer

Read More...

Panasonic SR-DE102 Fuzzy-Logic 5-Cup Electronic Rice Cooker/Warmer,White Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My first inclination when my fiance said he wanted a nice rice cooker with fuzzy logic like this was to ask, "what the heck does anyone need with a $90 rice cooker?!"
Well, having this has really changed my mind. The rice is perfect. Every time. Got some stuff to add in to the rice? Fine, dump it in at the beginning. The cooker still cooks it perfectly. Spanish rice? No problem. Just put a can of V8, some salsa, and some butter in, fill to the line with water the rest of the way, and press 'start.' Rice to go with Indonesian, Thai, or Indian food? Put in some Turmeric and Coriander and there it is, fragrant and inviting. Brown rice, long grain, jasmine or basmati, it figures out exactly what to do. It also steams vegetables and other things. It does all the thinking for you about how long to cook it.
Oh yes, and cleanup? A snap. If you just cook rice, just rinse out the bowl. It's got a really nice, high-quality teflon bowl so the scraps come out like *that*. Cooked something more complicated? The bowl is also top-shelf dishwasher safe. So easy.
Perfect rice, every time. I love my new rice cooker.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic SR-DE102 Fuzzy-Logic 5-Cup Electronic Rice Cooker/Warmer,White

Click here for more information about Panasonic SR-DE102 Fuzzy-Logic 5-Cup Electronic Rice Cooker/Warmer,White

Read More...

Fagor Splendid 6-Quart Pressure Cooker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)1. Cooking with a pressure cooker
Think of a pressure cooker as a crock pot on steroids. The increased pressure inside the sealed vessel results in an elevated boiling point, producing a higher cooking temperature for faster cooking. The standard pressure for these cookers is 15 psi, raising the boiling point from 212f to 250f. Current design features considerably improve the safety of these pots over WWII vintage kitchen bombs.
Pressure cookers are perfect for pot roasts, stews, soups, stocks and long-simmering sauces, reducing cooking times by as much as seventy percent. Beans cook faster in a pressure cooker, although their soaking time is unaffected. Rice will cook faster, too, although the convenience of a dedicated rice cooker is beyond dispute.
Some pressure cookers let users select a second, lower pressure setting (8 psi, bp @ 215f), which yields considerably less accelerated cooking. Why slow down a high-speed cooker? Because some foods, like veggies and fish, cook quickly, and when cooked at 15 psi it is difficult to control doneness. (Recipes for these foods call for running cold water over the pot lid to quickly reduce the pressure and lower the temperature to stop the cooking. For more usual dishes, one would merely turn off the heat and let the cooking coast to a stop.) Pot-count or hubris may move some chefs to use their pressure cookers to prepare delicate foods regardless of the risk of under/over-cooking. The low pressure setting is intended to help these people. For most cooks, foods that cook quickly are better prepared using conventional methods. Arguably, a clever chef could use a pressure cooker as their only pot for all purposes, a desirable feature when living out of a knapsack on a desert isle where time is money or fuel is precious.
For most cooks, a pressure cooker will not be an essential kitchen utensil, but it is desirable for its ability to shorten long simmer times. An eight-quart pot is probably the most versatile size for most users, because the pot can only be filled to half or at most two-thirds capacity. If veggies are to be steamed rather than boiled, you will need a steamer insert. Expect a learning curve as you discover how to operate the pot and adjust cooking times. A pressure cooker should be stored unassembled, and the gasket (about $10) may need to be replaced occasionally. All parts should be hand washed. The the pot and lid are ruined if dinged where the gasket seats.
2. The Fagor Pressure Cooker
Fagor in Spain is like General Dynamics in the US - a huge industrial conglomerate. Their "Commercial" (and similar "Splendid") model pressure cooker has a substantial heft to it and seems ready to withstand the rigors of the kitchen. An aluminum heat dispersion disc, completely encapsulated in stainless steel, is bonded to the bottom of the thick-walled stainless steel pot. The stainless steel lid is similarly substantial, and is polished to a mirror finish. The handles seen sturdy enough, although they are plastic and subject to damage. An order form for replacement parts is provided in the box and parts are available over the Internet (www.fagoramerica.com). An instruction booklet is incluye, imperfectly translated from the Spanish. An 80-page recipe book is also included, with full color photographs of fabulous dishes, several of which cannot be prepared in the cooker(!).
The regulator control dial on this unit has three positions: Pressurized (15 psi), open, and remove valve. The lid has a safety interlock that prevents it from being opened while the pot is pressurized, and a small plastic rod pops up to indicate the interlock is active. (One reviewer suggested this rod indicates the pot has reached 15 psi, but this is not so; you know the pot has reached 15 psi when steam starts to escape from the regulator valve.) Another safety feature is a slot in the lid that allows part of the gasket to blow out if the pot has been over-filled.
I was attracted to this model pressure cooker because it seemed to represent an attractive price-performance point. My experience has confirmed that. The value of a second, low pressure setting is arguable for all but the most dedicated pressure cooker users, and fancy features like a pressure gauge seem minimally useful. If I were to buy another pressure cooker, I would likely select this model again, albeit in an 8-qt version to compliment the 4-qt size that seemed the best size for this bachelor cook.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fagor Splendid 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

Fagor makes it easy to prepare a meal with this 6%2Dquart pressure cooker%2E Just put all your ingredients in the cooker%2C lock the lid%2C and begin cooking%2E It has a triple safety system with a safety locking handle to prevent accidental opening under pressure%2C a dual pressure control valve%2C and two independent over pressure release valves to avoid pressure build up%2E It also has a built in diffuser base that allows for even heat distribution of heat for even cooking%2E

Get 27% OFF

Click here for more information about Fagor Splendid 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

Read More...

Rival Crock Pot Game Day 3-Quart Slow Cooker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I really like the crock pot. Great for game days. Mine came with the screw that holds the bottom to pot was missing. I ordered it from Amazon and paid for overnight shipping to have it for Super Bowl Sunday.Used it for the Super Bowl but could not us it anymore because the screw was missing, but, its the cutest pot ever!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Rival Crock Pot Game Day 3-Quart Slow Cooker

Get 51% OFF

Click here for more information about Rival Crock Pot Game Day 3-Quart Slow Cooker

Read More...

Zisha Slow Cooker 4L Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)looked exactly like products from china. every introduction is in Chinese. Well, it's OK except the outer layer gets hot when cooking.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Zisha Slow Cooker 4L

Click here for more information about Zisha Slow Cooker 4L

Read More...