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Originally Posted by robustpuppy

America's Test Kitchen just rated them - they liked the All Clad Stainless Steel Slow Cooker with ceramic insert the best. $179. Second was the Kitchen Aid Stainless Steel. $129. Third was the Cuisinart, which I have. $99. I'm not in love with my Cuisinart because it is huge on the outside and boxy, which makes it a bit harder to store. But it works very well. They also liked the Hamilton Beach Programmable with Probe, which was $59, but noted that it didn't have handles on the insert, which made it difficult to remove, especially when hot. This alone would put it out of consideration for me. They did not recommend the Rival, the Hamilton Beach that costs $39, or the West End.

Think carefully before choosing a one with a very small capacity - you will want it to be big enough for a 4-5 lb. roast or chicken or pork butt. You can't fill it a slow cooker to the brim because it won't reach the right temperature quickly enough, which raises food safety concerns, especially if you are cooking meats or poultry in it. You can always freeze your leftovers - many of the foods you'll cook in it will probably freeze well and reheat easily in the microwave or on the stove.

ATC tests products from a cooking perspective as well as from a technical one - e.g., for ease of use, usefulness of features, safety, etc. I have found most of their ratings very useful. I think they are better than Consumer Reports for kitchen items.

As for features, you want programmable. You want handles on the crock. You want low, high, and keep warm settings. You want an on light. A probe is unnecessary - one of those features you think will be useful but that you'll probably never use.

I really like ATC's ranking and will have to look into this because we have always stuck with the cheapest possible crockpot on the premise that it is a simple device not easily improved upon by adding complexity. Removable crock and two temperature settings have served us well for about 15 years.