Cuisinart PSC-400 Stainless Steel 4-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart PSC-400 Stainless Steel 4-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
Customer Review: Really Nice Slow Cooker
Summary: 5 Stars
I've gone thru several slow cookers and when the latest got dropped and broken I decided I wanted something a bit more than the basic off-low-high rotary switch model. After researching the available digital models, I settled on this one. I am glad I did.
The design is a bit bulkier than I am used to, but it has nice sturdy handles and is well balanced. The handles on the removable crockery are also big enough to grab with pot holders.
The touch pad programmable timer is easy to set. The three cooking levels (high, low, and simmer) plus "keep warm" are a nice feature.
The book tells you what the temperatures the settings maintain. I like that it will start on "high" no matter what you set it for until it comes up to temperature and then shift to your setting. (Heating quickly past the "Danger Zone") When your cooking time is up, it will shift to "keep warm". The only thing I wish it would allow is dual programming. (Say, 2 hours on high and then 4 hours on low)
Other nice touches: it comes with a dual height rack for the pot and the cord retracts into the body for neat storage.
The instruction book is well written and contains quite a few recipes (70 I think) and the 3 yr warranty is a plus.
Nothing makes cleanup easier than Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners(other than having someone else do it).
Overall I am very pleased with this slow cooker and would recommend it to a friend.
UPDATE 7/3/10: Its been two years since we purchased this and we are still happy with our purchase. We have had no problems with it. We like it so much that we purchased the 6.5 qt. slow cooker as well. (Some things just don't fit in the smaller one.)
I recently discovered you can change the temperature (say, high to low) without resetting the time. Most other digital devices I have (toaster oven and full-sized oven) can't do this.
The unit shifts to "keep warm" when it times out except if you put it on "keep warm" yourself...then it just shuts off. Why would I do this? I was doing a roast the recipe said I should do for four hours on high. The thermometer said it was done in two. So rather than reset the timer, I just shifted it to "keep warm." Two hours later it beeped and shut off. This is not a problem, IMO, just good to know.
Customer Review: A happy convert
Summary: 5 Stars
My very old slow cooker is rarely used. It has no keep-warm setting and is huge. It was a gift. Since there is only two of us, this was just not an appliance that I reached for. Then I found some really good cookbooks for smaller units and with much more interesting recipes than the old dump 'n run versions with ingredients like the ever present cream soups. Those older recipes were too high in salt and fat for us. These newer books recommended tailoring the crock size to the recipe. I needed a smaller unit.
After agonizing about multiple choices, I chose to go with truly modern features. What I have come to like the best is being able to set a specific time and having it automatically move to warm until I am ready to serve. This really came in handy a few days ago when my husband and I were delayed 2 hours getting home.
I have read criticisms about the temperatures being too high. If you read the intros of modern slow cooker cookbooks, they emphasize that newer cookers try to run at temperatures that ensure food safety. This one has an automatic aspect in the first 30 minutes that brings food rapidly up through temperatures into the safe zone before settling down on either the high, low or simmer cooking setting. This stage could be misunderstood as being too high if you have not read the manual. Advice: Use simmer for making soups.
This does mean that some older recipes may need adjusting. But of the recipes we've tried from the enclosed recipe book, as well as from two excellent cook books (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two: For the Small Slow Cooker OR Art of the Slow Cooker: 80 Exciting New Recipes everything has come out beautifully. Some have been done on low and a couple have been done on high, whichever was called for. Both settings worked well.
This 4 qt size has turned out to be the most versatile for us. The crock cleans up very well. Be sure to read the instructions about not rapidly changing the temperature of the crock with either cold ingredients or when washing it.
Customer Review: Excellent choice for a truly useful appliance
Summary: 5 Stars
We have had this slow cooker for three months, using it twice a week. So far we are very satisfied.
In researching our purchase and reading numerous reviews, we found that the Cuisinart generally received positive evaluations. There were a few negative ones, but obviously we discounted them and went ahead with the Cuisinart anyway. Some reviewers criticized it for overheating food, but overheating in a slow cooker is usually a sign that the pot was underfilled. A good slow cooker should have the power to heat a full pot to over 200 F, so it should come as no surprise that the heater can boil a low pot. The Cuisinart instructions specifically warn against underfilled pots, and we have had no overheating problems with even half-full pots.
We have not had this cooker long enough to comment on durability. Contrary to some opinions, our impression is that the Cuisinart is a solidly constructed, well-designed appliance, made with high quality materials. No sign of a lemon here.
We use our 4 qt cooker to make meals for a family of four. We debated whether to get a larger size, but in retrospect we realize that a one gallon pot holds more than enough for our family.
Programmability was important to us, and we like the userfriendliness of this unit. A few reviewers have lamented the lack of a delayed start program, but a feature that encourages you to leave raw food at room temperature for a prolonged period did not sound that desirable to me. The cooker will automatically switch to a safe warming mode in case you are not around at the end of the cooking cycle.
A cookbook is included, but most of the recipes are one or two steps beyond the convenience of a mix-and-go meal. We have bought cookbooks with simpler recipes, and have been happy with the results.
There are other slow cookers that will perform the basic tasks competently for less money than the Cuisinart. For the extra cost you get programmability, a nice appearance, superior quality, and a few unexpected extras.
Customer Review: Nice looking and good slow cooker
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first slow cooker. I wanted something which is of medium size good enough to cook food for two+ numbers of people, good looking matching to the rest of the stuffs in my kitchen and I think this is one of right cookers for such a requirement.
I had a bad experience to start with as the cooker came with one of its rubber legs detached with a loose screw moving inside the cooker body. I was very excited about its arrival but the crippled cooker hit my mood in a sad swing. I did not have the patience to return it and wait for another week. So, I opened up the cooker after a busy work day, fought with it for couple of hours and somehow managed to fix it. I tell you, when working on it, I was regretting why at all I opened it up. Whatsoever, when I could get it fixed, that gave me some short of accomplishment and I was hungry enough already not be able to wait till the slow cooker finishes its cooking :)
Now comes the cooking, I never cooked a slow recipe but I bought the slow cooker after tasting the 12 hours slow cook lamb in one Greek restaurant in Banff, Canada during our last out of the country vacation. So, I was all excited to cook the Greek style slow cooked lamb. Got the recipe from internet and the rest was very simple. After 10 hours of cooking ( 3 hour HIGH and the rest on LOW ), what a juicy and beautiful dish came out from the cooker was sheer joy to watch ( a thing of beauty is a joy forever, you know! ) and it spread extreme impatience to eat that good stuff. I also cooked some sausage based soups which came out real delicious. From my little experience, I can tell that the recommended spices and herbs for a specific slow cook dish are very important as those create the great flavors under slow cooking.
In summary, though initially I was disappointed, I was happy eventually and I could make my wife and my friends happier with the bliss of the product.
Customer Review: DOA (Not the Cusinart company we remember)
Summary: 1 Stars
Bought, followed instructions. On first use "high" was way too high, low and simmer didn't work at all.
Cooked on "high" anyway, but the top didn't fit tightly and rattled as steam / liquid bubbled and seeped out from under the lid (no, I didn't over fill) and liquid leaked over the edge and into the metal heating container, staining it.
On second use wouldn't cook at all in manual or using the clock. Searched and found a few others who had the same problem. Contacted Cuisinart through their web form and received a generic response (TEN DAYS after sending the complaint).
In the interim I sent it back and bought a non-digital Hamilton Beach Stay or Go, figured if it's designed to lock down and travel, the lid must be designed slightly better, and after 2 uses, it's fine (low is a little too high, but it doesn't leak so I'll live with it).
Cuisinart has subsequently sent me another generic response....
I have been a long time user of their food processors, but imho, since they have been sold they are potentially becoming just a nameplate. It's beyond me that American companies can't insist that their Chinese manufacturers adhere to some reasonable level of quality control, especially since the Chinese seem to be having a "blast" learning from and copying our high-tech military electronics and manufacturing that we have so foolishly given to them.