West Bend 6qt. Slow Cooker with Glass Lid 84866  Product Reviews

"I have been using this West Bend slow cooker since the day it arrived (almost a month) and it cooks beautifully in less time than my old West Bend crock pot. The food comes out tender and never overcooked. The pan is a bit light which makes me wonder if it it will last but that also makes it easier to carry when full so that really isn't a complaint."

"I just purchased this pot a month ago and have used it 3 times. I made a roast and tried to brown it on the stove before slow cooking, but my stove is a glass top and I had some problems. As the pot heated it started to spin on the glass top because it is oval shaped and my burners are round (I think that's why). So I used a bridge burner on my stove to provide more even heating and that improved the problem, but didn't eliminate the clumsiness of use completely. Second item I made was a roast using the heating element on the pot to start the browning, but it is not designed to get very hot so it didn't really brown the meat, but the food turned out great anyway. Last I made pancakes on the skillet portion and it doesn't have temperature levels so I wasn't sure how high to heat it, but I figured out a good level and that dish turned out fine as well. SO overall success was great, but feeling a bit new at the details has caused a little concern."

"When you first put it on the stovetop (I have gas), the stainless steel bottom will bow up, afterwards, when all the contents are the same temperatue it levels out. Cooks great, very attractive."

"After many years of using a conventional Rival crock-pot, I've switched to the West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker. It's great to be able to brown meat on the stovetop and then slow cook it, all in the same pot. That means one less pan to scrub -- and convenience is, after all, one of the main reasons to use a slow cooker. Additionally, the metal pot is lightweight and has a non-stick interior, which is so much easier to wash than a heavy ceramic crock-pot. I also like the oval shape of the pot, which accommodates ribs and roasts much better than my old round crock-pot. This slow cooker also has a non-stick heating base that doubles as a griddle, and the pot is oven-proof -- which I probably won't take advantage of. But, the features I mention above are enough for me to highly recommend this slow cooker to anyone who's hesitant to switch from their old crock-pot to this truly versatile slow cooker. "