Westbend 6 Quart Versatility The Everyday Cooker - 84716  Product Reviews

"This is the third Versatility Slow Cooker by West Bend that I have purchased over the last 30 years. The advantage to West Bend's Versatility Slow cooker is that you can brown the meat, etc., on the stove and then transfer the pot to the accompanying hot plate. The new cooker does not get hot enough on high to even maintain a slow simmer and the pot is a low quality very thin light metal. I miss the old style terribly. This is definitely not worth the price."

"I was excited to get this SLOW cooker based on Amazon reviews, but based on my uses; it should be renamed "fast cooker". All four temperature settings cooked extremely fast. Even the "keep warm" setting cooked incredibly fast, after 2 hours the dish that should have been 6-8 hours was done. Luckily I was home that day and could turn it off or who knows what would have happened after 8 hours. I was in love with the ability to brown the meat in the pot and on the stove top and then move it to the base, but if it can't cook slowly - the main reason I bought it then it isn't a good deal to me. Also the cord on it was really short and it made it tough to find a good place to plug it in. The lid was a problem too if you didn't set it on the top just right it would fall in since there wasn't much of a ledge or lip for it to hold onto. I read a lot of good reviews and quite a few that said it undercooked, and some that over cooked. Sounds like West Bend needs better quality control."

"I've used the Cooker several times since getting it, all with good results. The heat control just shows Low, Medium, and High so it's a guessing game to know the exact temperature you're dealing with. My pasta turned a little mushy in my Minestrone soup, but next time I'll add that more toward the end."

"I have only had my slow cooker a few months but the stews and meats I've made have come out wonderfully and it's very easy to take the meal from pot to table. It holds a lot of food and with the heating element on the base and removable pot, it's easy to tast buns for sandwiches after the slwo cooked meat is ready."