Cuisinart CSC-400 4-Quart Slow Cooker, Brushed Stainless Steel and Black
by Cuisinart
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: CuisinartBrand: Cuisinart
Model: CSC-400
Product features:
- Stainless-steel slow cooker with removable 4-quart round ceramic cooking pot
- Glass lid keeps in heat and moisture; off, low, high, and warm settings
- 0- to 8-hour timer; auto-shift to "warm" when cook time ends; retractable cord
- Cooking rack, recipes, and instructions included; dishwasher-safe pot and lid
- Measures 14-1/3 by 11-6/7 by 9-1/3 inches; 3-year limited warranty
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart CSC-400 4-Quart Slow Cooker, Brushed Stainless Steel and Black
Customer Review: Automatic pressure cooker is better
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a review of this Cuisinart slow cooker as a cooking appliance, not a comparative rating comparing slow cookers.
I also own an automatic-timed pressure cooker, purchased on Amazon. There were so few recipes for automatic pressure cookers, and so many recipes for crock pots, that I thought I needed this as well.
Here's the result:
10/4/08--chicken in tomatoe sauce
Taste--pressure cooker wins, hands down. Pressure cookers lock in the aroma, creating better tasting food
Time Savings--pressure cooker again wins, hands down--much faster, and can brown right in the pressure cooker; whereas slow cooker requires browning in another pan. Slow cooker's cooking sometimes requires cooking outside cooker because slow cook by itself doesn't kill enough bacteria.
Convenience--pressure cooker again wins. Don't have to wait 5+ hours to eat. My automatic pressure cooker also has timer settings better than this crock pot.
Variety of foods--slow cooker appears to be able to cook a wider variety of foods. There are far more numbers of cookbooks.
Price--automatic pressure cooker costs significantly more, but well worth it.
This particular model has only an 8 hour clock, and I noticed many slow cooker recipes require a 10 hour, sometimes 12 hour cooking time.
For your money, get an automatic pressure cooker first. The primary disadvantage of an automatic pressure cooker is lack of recipes. This is different from a standard pressure cooker, which requires tending.
I'll post more cooking review as I try the slow cooker more.
10/6/08 fruit cobbler--crock pot did probably better than pressure cooker could have done (never tried w pressure cooker). Pressure cooker would have required more liguids. Regular oven could have made fruit cake, and don't think crock pot can.
10/10/08 chili w beef and chicken and kidney beans
Not bad, but pressure cooker would taste better.
Convenience--pressure cooker wins, because Cuisinart required many ingridents to be precooked in a seperate pan.
10/22/08
Onions-- more convenient than automatic pressure cooker, which requires browning onions firs.
Meats and poultry-- pressure cooker is superior because don't have to cook on an external pan first. Also pressure cooker tastes better.
Beans-- pressure cooker cooks these slightly better.
Fish--about equal.
Anything that crumbles in high heat (e.g. veggies, desserts)-- slow cooker probably will work better.
Anything that doesn't taste good with some degree of liquids-- slow cooker will probably taste better.
1/10/09
bread budding--slow cooker is better; pressure cooker would make into mush.
anything that has been in the refrigater a bit long--I suspect pressure cooker is better because its temperature is higher.
Navy beans with bacon--hard to beat the pressure cooker.
Description of Cuisinart CSC-400 4-Quart Slow Cooker, Brushed Stainless Steel and Black
Cooking has never been so easy! The elegant Cuisinart Slow Cooker combines the excellence of traditional cooking with the latest technology for quick, effortless and delicious meals. This versatile everyday-size slow cooker keeps food at the perfect serving temperature and conveniently doubles as a serving dish!Small Appliances
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