Crock-Pot 5025WG 2.5-Quart Slow Cooker
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List Price: Our Price: $17.77 You Save: $7.22 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Crock-Pot 5025WG 2.5-Quart Slow Cooker
Customer Review: Nice size for smaller family and works great
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this crock pot for a little over a year ( a year and 4 months, to be exact ) and have found it to be a great purchase for me. Perfect size for a medium sized roast and veggies, but works better as to capacity for a couple, or a single person who wants to have a few extra bowls over to freeze for later use. However, this size would probably not be large enough for those households with several children or someone cooking for church events, etc. or very large family gatherings as it's size is more medium.
Roasts come out very tender and still juicy in this crockpot, even cheaper cuts like beef bottom round or butt roast. Higher end meats and other very lean cuts like London Broil come out very tender, as well, but may require the addition of some vegetables for the steam effect since lean cuts don't have the necessary fat to keep them juicy for long slow cook times. I just put whole baby carrots, a sliced Vidalia onion, a few small potatoes cut in half or quartered if larger, some salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of garlic into the bottom of the crock pot and a medium beef roast ( all sides lightly browned in a very hot fry pan first, to seal in juices ) sitting on top. I start the crock pot on high setting for 30 minutes and then turn it down to low for the rest of cooking and follow the correct time per pound of meat. If you want a sauce you can add a half or whole can of cream of mushroom soup or a half each of cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup to the bottom over the veggies. If preferred a roux of the meat juices and flour can be well beaten and then added to the pot instead at the near end of cook time.
Pork roasts come out very nice as well and are perfect for pulled pork ( with southern style barbecue sauce ) sandwiches. Chicken and dumplings work well in this unit and come out juicy and delicious if mostly thighs and darker meat are used. Breasts cooked alone in any crockpot aren't ideal as they don't come out as tender as baked or deep fried, so are not recommended, and may come out dry and grainy, although mixed with darker meat to enable some juice to cover them is okay. Mostly I use beef roasts in my crockpot and just change up the sauce for variety. You can make a cream sauce of frozen baby peas, tiny diced bits of carrot, and fresh mushrooms with some spices of choice ( I like cilantro, garlic, onion, and paprika ), and a roux of a tiny bit of the meats juice and three quarters cup of half and half or heavy cream, well blended, and add them to the roast towards the end of cook time, for a nice and unique change of pace.
This little Rival crockpot works great and offers easy cleanup, although a few foods sometimes do stick to the removeable stoneware pot, but a brief soak in hot soapy dish water, and a little light rubbing with a non-abrasive scrubber sponge brings them off nicely. All in all, a very good and quite satisfactory purchase, especially considering the low price of this model. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Best Crock Pot
Summary: 5 Stars
I have this Crock Pot but my crock insert is white instead of black. I bought this slow cooker probably in the late 1990s. I own three slow cookers (the Rival 3-1/2-quart oval and the Rival 6-quart), and this is the best one and the one I use the most. It is 2-1/2 quarts and is perfect for two people. It cooks the best out of all three of my slow cookers as it does not overcook the food as the other two will. I find that the cooking times listed in most slow cooker cookbooks are very accurate for this Crock Pot, but for my other two larger models, I must reduce the cooking time. I have never had overcooked food in this slow cooker. Everything has always cooked to perfection. Most recipes in slow cooker cookbooks are written for 6 to 8 servings. If I cut the recipes in half, they will fit perfectly in this Crock Pot and fill it 3/4 full. That is just enough food for my husband and me and will usually leave leftovers for one or two more meals for one person. This slow cooker also looks very nice as it is all white and matches my kitchen, so it is always out on the counter. I use it many times a week and I am very happy with it. Since it cooks at such a low temperature, whenever I cook meat, I use the high setting for the first hour and then reduce it to low and cook for one hour less than the stated recipe (since one hour on high is equal to two hours on low). Everything turns out perfectly this way. The potatoes and carrots are perfectly tender and have not cooked down to mush as has happened in my larger, more powerful Crock Pots.
I highly recommend this model if the size is big enough for you because it works the way slow cookers are supposed to work - cooking the food slowly and gently.
Customer Review: 2-1/2 qt is really a 2 qt
Summary: 3 Stars
Update,
This is a great little crockpot!
Unfortunately I can't change the stars from 3 to 4.
I would give it a 5 except for the fact it is NOT a 2 1/2qt it is a 2qt.
I have done pea soup, ribs, lemon pepper chicken breasts, Pot roast, and lamb stew. All between 8 to 10(low)hours and nothing was overcooked nor did the cover rattle or have water spew out the lid seal (like my 6qt does. Must be the vent groves the put on the edge of the crock insert.
I would recommend this product for 1 to 4 people (4 with no leftovers).
After having a 6QT Rival for years the kids have left and we decided to get a smaller one.
This 2-1/2 Qt seemed to fit the bill with making a double batch one for dinner and one for another leftover meal or to freeze.
It came today and lo and behold it only measures '2'Qts of liquid to the top. A bit disappointing for some recipes ie: pea soup which needed the full 2-1/2 qt for a full recipe...1-1/2 qt water, 1lb of dried split peas, ham cubes etc.
So just an FYI on it's capacity.
I noticed they now have 4 vent grooves in the crock where the lid sits.
I suppose it's to let water back in and to prevent the lid from 'jiggling' when the pressure builds up (like in my 6QT.)
I have not used it yet and I will update this when I do.
Customer Review: Not reliable
Summary: 1 Stars
This is the review I submitted two days ago. I had rated the product with 5 stars.
I purchased this crock pot to replace a 1 1/2 qt. size slow cooker that broke. I own three slow cookers--this is the size I use most frequently. The glass lid rattles a bit when the cooker is in use--this doesn't bother me but might bother someone who is doing other things in the room where the crock pot is in use. Replacing the glass lid with a plastic one, or a plastic plate, would probably solve this issue.
I've owned this crock pot about a month now, and have probably used it about 10 times. It's done a great job preparing beans, curry, chicken and a variety of other dishes. The crock and the lid go in the dishwasher. I'd recommend it to a friend.
Today, it's down to one star.
I've had the crock pot 4 weeks. The crock has a big crack in the bottom, making it unusable. I haven't misused it, dropped it, put it in cold water while it's hot, or anything like that. It just cracked while cooking a pot of curry. I've contacted the manufacturer about warranty service--hopefully they'll replace the part...but it's a big time disappointment. Buy something else.
Customer Review: Caution! NOT your regular Rival Product!
Summary: 1 Stars
We currently have two other Rival slow cookers, of larger capacities, and have been very satisfied with the resulting product they produce. We purchased this smaller model for those time when there was just the two of us at home, and we needed smaller meals. While the price is most acceptable for this model, we have found several rather unacceptable qualities to this slow cooker. First, we have never owned a slow cooker, no matter how small, that requires the user to pry out the "crock" from the cooking base with a screw driver before you remove it from the cooking base, for placement on the dining table. This one does! Secondly, this cooks very unevenly, and much more rapidly that the others. Third, the ceramic crock has developed cracks. Other problems include accumulation of water vapor between the crock and the aluminum base, a most objectionable burnt food smell fills the kitchen when in use, lastly, even before the crock cracked, water pooled on the kitchen counter under the crock pot while in use. We attempted to use it again this afternoon. Same results. Tomorrow it is will be placed in the recycle basket, and placed at the curb!