Cuisinart CSC-650 6.5-Quart Slow Cooker
A Nice Crock Pot!
I have always loved making big batches of chili with a slow cooker or “crock pots” as I used to call them, but I hadn’t had one in years before I bought this one. I have had it for almost two years now and enjoy the meals we make with it. I love the looks of it and its wonderful features!
This slow cooker from Cuisinart is huge! It actually has a 6 ½ quart capacity! I now make
very big batches of chili these days and there is even enough for the neighbors! This eases my workload by allowing me to freeze some for later as well.
Description…..
I love the sleek looks of this crock pot! It is 9 inches high by about 17 inches wide and is a generous 12 inches deep. It has rubber feet on it for no slipping and a really handy retractable cord. The body has an overall brushed stainless steel look and the black ceramic pot inside is
removable! The lid has a stay cool handle (not quite as stay cool as I would like) and is made of glass for easy viewing.
It is 350 watts and has two black knobs which control cooking settings. It can be set anywhere from one to eight hours and has three temperature settings ranging from warm to high. This Cuisinart comes with a recipe book and so far I have tried five or six successfully. I tend to stick with what I know for cooking and don’t venture out to a lot of recipe books, but found myself intrigued by some of the ideas this booklet gave me.
My Experiences with it -
I bought this Cuisinart Slow Cooker because there were many months during my remodel that I did not have a stove! This slow cooker was the next best thing to me and served us well during that time frame! We are still pulling it out for great batches of chili and other soups and casseroles. I really like the almost endless possibilities it offers me and I love to be able to throw things in a pot, turn it on, and go! It is really nice when those after school activities creep up on me and there is still a great hot meal ready for my whole family.
It is very nice to be able to lift the large ceramic pot out of the appliance and serve it directly at the table on a hot pad. Even without the heat of the appliance itself, the ceramic insulates the food nicely and keeps it hot for long periods of time.
There are a couple things that make this slow cooker less than perfect for me. The handle on the lid appears to be a stay cool type, but does get hot enough that I have to use an oven mitt to lift it. In addition, I like to cook on “low” because “high” usually seems to be too high. This crock gets hot! If I could change anything, I would probably lower the heat on the high setting. I want to be able to cook chicken and other meats on a hot setting, but I don’t want to scorch some of my other ingredients! I end up using the lower setting as a result most of the time and it seems to cook everything for me just fine.
Cleaning and Storage
This is one of the few things in my kitchen that I soak overnight. I soak it overnight and then food comes off pretty easily. The ceramic pot fits nicely in my dishwasher on the bottom rack and cleans to like new condition. The brushed stainless steel on the exterior housing of the appliance itself also wipes down nicely and I use Windex on it once in a while to shine it up. The cord retracts nicely away and storage is easy.
I love the way it easily fits right under the cabinets on the counter for storage and the appliance is attractive enough to fit right in. If I need more room on my counters or will not be using it for a while, I can put it away in a pull out shelf inside my cabinetry below.
Sidenote:
As I stated above, this slow cooker gets hot!!! The ceramic pot itself is extremely hot when on the kitchen table for serving, but the stainless steel housing of the appliance also gets hot to the touch. I keep it pushed back pretty far on the counter to be really careful.
Lastly -
This is a great slow cooker and I love the large capacity that it offers! It is versatile and easy to operate and I love the freedom it offers me when I am running around all day and don’t have time to cook!
If you like to bake or cook, here are some more interesting products:
The Rosle Garlic Press
SiliconeZone Bread Pan
SiliconeZone Mufifn Pan
All-Clad Jelly Roll Pan
All-Clad Square Cake Pan
All-Clad Birthday Baking Set
Cuisinart Breadmaker – (yummy fresh bread anytime!)
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