PS, is there a difference between crock pot and slow cooker? Should I even care?

CrockPot is a brand of slow cooker. As far as I know, all slow cookers work the same way. I guess the choice comes down to: shape, (round, oval, etc.) and size. I would suggest looking around at different brands and models, and also read reviews.

A crockpot IS a slow cooker.....it is actually a brand name that has now come to refer to any slow cooker. Sorta like kleenex for any tissue products :-)

I have a Crockpot brand slow cooker that is at least 25 years old. It has a removable ceramic insert that can go in the frig or dishwasher. It doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles of newer models but works perfectly well with its high, low or warm settings. I use it often :-) One of my favorite appliances after my food processor.

I'd look for a removable ceramic liner, settings for high and low, and then decide on size. I actually have 3...a small one for hot appetizers, a medium one which is used most often and a large one for holiday dinners.

What Annie said…and also some have a locking mechanism for the lid…thats a plus for travel.

I purchased THIS one about 12 years ago. 6qt, digital with clips. The ceramic liner comes out. Link

CrockPot is STILL a brand name, even though it has become synonymous with slow cooker. Yes, we all say crockpot when talking about a slow cooker, but that doesn't make anything I said incorrect.

I think I know the one that is getting gotten rid of. I had one that was my gmas. I think it was rival brand, squareish, brown, had a number dial on the heating plate. I had to get rid of mine a while back, lol.

But if it's that one, you might find using an oval or rectangle shaped slow cooker easier to use than a round one. Removable liner, hi/lo/warm functions. Or a digital that gives you more variety of temp settings and hold settings. I find having a lid with a hole in it for a probe is handy, but not everyone needs it.

We got our kids all one a few Christmass's ago. They are pretty full proof but if they don't all have them I would for sure get one with a built in timer. I sure wish mine had one.

I used the old round, brown bean pot style West Bend for many many years, made some great dinners in it. No bells or whistles. It had low, and high, and plugged in meant it was on. ;) When I worked in an appliance store in the 70's, the West Bend salesman gave each of us one as a gift - I didn't even pay for it and had years of use. Things were beginning to stick to the porcelain interior a little - it was pretty worn, vintage by then.

What I found was the newer styles were warmer, something about the lower temps of the earlier models was worrying some. I ended up buying a Fagor multi function pot that I enjoy and use but I don't think they are made now.

I can't think offhand of a Hamilton Beach appliance I've had, but a neighbor will sometimes send dinner over to us in a Hamilton Beach cooker. I know he has more than one. I like that the insert can go into the dishwasher.

My sister has a couple of Nesco slow cookers. When she worked in a lab, they would have a pot luck lunch there a couple of times a month and dual slow cookers gave her a way to keep things warm until time to eat. She liked those.

I have one from the 70’s, too. Removable ceramic liner, Hi, Lo and auto shift-starts out high them turns to low after a while. My only criteria was that it be large enough to fit a whole frozen chicken. We would put one in before we left for work and it would be perfectly cooked 9 hours later. Sorry I’m no help regarding newish bells and whistles. If I had to replace mine I’d probably shop goodwill.

I'm going to disagree with some posters. I don't like slow cookers with ceramic inserts. So many slow cooker recipes call for browning some or all of the ingredients before starting the slow cooking process. If your unit has a ceramic insert this has to be done in a separate pan. I prefer a unit that has an insert that can either be used on the stove top or has a browning/sauté function. This saves the step of having additional pans to wash. I'll often brown everything in the evening, put the insert in the fridge and then set up the slow cooking process before I leave for work the next morning.

Regarding the browning at night, into the fridge, and then cooking the next day - warming raw meat without continuing until it's cooked, as would be the case under what gets browned, chilling it, and then warming it again is not a good practice from the perspective of safe food handling. Especially something like chicken, so prone to bacterial contamination anyway, warming without cooking it fully could cause the spread of bacterial contamination.

reff31, what type of slow cooker brand has this feature with the metal pot instead of a ceramic one?

I agree with Elmer. i brown items in a skillet right before putting it in the crock pot.

I have this one. The pot can be used on the stovetop for browning. It's pretty non-stick. I've had it for a couple of years and haven't had any problems with it. Yikes though. The price has gone way up!

https://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Digital-Saut%C3%A9-Cooker-Stainless/dp/B07GH89F6H/ref=asc_df_B07GH89F6H/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241968156672&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1220924969538919896&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030670&hvtargid=pla-579948890833&psc=1

I like that I have a warm option on my crockpot. The low setting still cooks the food, while the warm holds the food until your ready to serve it. Funny story, when I went back to college the program I was in was having a picnic. I messaged my teacher that I was bringing a cockpot of XYZ instead of crockpot. Boy did we get a laugh out of it.

I have two slow cookers: 1) a Kitchen Aid 6 qt with removeable ceramic insert. It has low, medium and high settings, is programmable up to 12 hours and goes to keep warm when the program is over. 2) An All Clad 4 qt with removeable metal insert. I has low and high settings and is programmable up to 8 hours. I like and use both equally; the smaller one is great for soups, either making them or reheating and serving them. I still serve 5 to 8 adults probably 16 times a year so having both sizes is very helpful but if I didn’t I would have just one based on the amount of food I typically cook. The larger size might still be appripriate for two people if your aim is to cook large amounts and freeze meals, America’s Test Kitchen has done a good “gearheads“ youtube video on slow cookers.

@arkansas girl

The ones I am familiar with are from All Clad and Cuisinart. There may be others.

While technically what @Elmer J Fudd says may be true I've been doing things this way for years and have never had a problem YMMV

" While technically what @Elmer J Fudd says may be true I've been doing things this way for years "

No, not may be true. Is true. Do a search about partially cooking meat if you/re so inclined, you'll find nothing but advice to avoid doing so under any circumstances.

Some years ago, an acquaintance (whom we'd met at a dinner of our mutual friend) invited us over for a backyard BBQ. I wandered over to the grill to visit with the guy while he started. He turned on the propane tank valve, turned on a burner valve, waited a few seconds, and then pressed the ignition button. All while the lid was closed. I usually don't offer advice to someone when they're BBQing but in this case, I spoke up to suggest it was safer to light a gas grill with the lid open, because doing so when it was closed (especially because he waited some seconds before pressing the ignition button) could cause an explosion. His response was similar to the above, to the effect "I've been doing it this way for years and have never had a problem".

About a year later, I learned that this couple had had a house fire. It seemed that the guy was starting the grill and it exploded when he pressed the ignition button. He was thankfully blown backward and suffered only minor burns but the fireball ignited the roof overhang and the fire spread to the rest of the roof. About half of the house sustained damage before the fire was put out.

Repetition of mistakes is just that, not a validation of the thoughtfulness or safety of the approach as in these cases.

NESCO makes a variety of slow cookers, both analog and digital, as well as roasters (on which you can set a specific temperature). Here's a link to the slow cookers.

I wish I could give you mine. I have a large oval Crockpot (branded) that was a good deal at Costco one day a few years back. I have never used it. I'm sure it's great for some, but it's not the way I cook, so there it sits pristinely in an upper cabinet.

Elmer, never go to Vietnam if you are so worried about food safety! My friend has a close friend that has lived their her entire life and the food stories he tells us would make your hair curl! HAHA! They will leave foods out for days...foods that we would make sure to refrigerate without a couple of hours of being cooked. She will leave pork ribs outside all day long before they cook them. Maybe it's just her and she's crazy but I think it's pretty much how they do things there.

Whatever you decide, do NOT get the All Clad. Their electrics are horrible. I sill have the nice aluminum insert and stainless lid that came with mine, but the electric part died LOOOONNNGG ago. I don't think it lasted 2 years, and I rarely use a slow cooker. I also had an AllCl;ad electric skillet that was great...for about a month loner than whatever warranty it had!!

I have two of these and highly recommend them.

Hamilton Beach Portable 6 Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid Lock, Dishwasher Safe Crock & Lid, Temperature Probe, Stainless Steel https://a.co/d/8J0hhV8

Thanks, all! The one that Bumblebeez and others mentioned is the one I ordered. How I hate to lose Ol' Faithful, but time to move on.

@sushipup2

Enjoy your new slow cooker. My favorite way to use it is for Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing which I always make outside the turkey. It saves lots of oven room.

Ditto to what Reff said…stuffing is perfect in crockpot