Crockpot Help Needed (merged)

[pacanis]

Fill it up with what, the food, the liquid? I do neither and never had a problem, but the liquid does boil after a while (I have only done roasts btw). The thing is, it doesn't dry anything out or toughen it up..... at least in my case.

[elaine l]

My experience is that my old crockpot does fine but the new one....whoa talk about over cooking. I made cocktail franks in a sweet and sour sauce for a potluck while camping. They actually turned black. My dh said "no way I am carrying that up to the dinner" I now know that it requires very little time to cook anything.

[EmsMommy7]

Thanks!

Well gee... that makes sense to me. THe new ones are cooking hotter? I have my mom's old one... probably 40 years old at least.... and it never did this. THe cord was kinda frayed in one spot, crushed I guess.... and it was old, I figured I deserved a nice new crockpot, so I got one.

I made a beef/broccoli recipe, and the thing burned up in about 3/4 hours. That is when I returned that crockpot, actually. I'll bet if I make the same recipe again, the same thing will happen. I just thought "low 8 hours" or "low 10 hours" meant that it would take that long. It would be kinda nice to set it in the morning, go to work, come home, dinner's done... but I find that meals are done much earlier.

Yes, fill it up completely, to the lid. I thought maybe because I only filled it 3/4 of the way (say with the veggies, meat, little liquid, depending on the recipe) that that is why it didn't take as long to cook.

What if I just call the 800 number or something, talk to a rep. at Rival?

I am stumped! The food IS tasty... when it's not overcooked.

[Hoot]

Mrs Hoot pretty much echoes everyone here. New crock pots are fast.
We always make a potful..beef stew..pork and sauerkraut, etc.
I like the suggestion of an AC timer..I might have to look into that.
Good luck!

[Michael in FtW]

Well, we had a discussion on this a couple of years ago and we did some research, but I can't find that thread.

Now, while a Rival service rep might claim that ... The temps used to be 250 low, 300 high. Now they're at 300 low and 350 high. That's not the situation with the original old Rivals.

The old original Rival Crockpots (you plugged it in to turn it on and unplugged it to turn it off) never reached boiling temps - they simmered at around 170ºF. The first generation of Low/High models were the same - they only simmered ... about 172º for Low and 194º for High. Neither setting would ever reach a boiling point.

I don't know when exactly they started upping the temps - but I do know that one of those original pots did a great job of cooking a meal by simmering for 8 hours ...

[keltin]

I was checking the Crock-Pot site to see if there were any answers, and all they say is this:

Question:
What temperatures do the "Low" and "High" settings reach?

Answer:
We can not specify temperature ranges for the "High" or "Low" settings. Our slow cookers differentiate "High" and "Low" by wattage. These wattages are set to ensure that a standard food load (as described in AHAM spec SC-1-1979) will reach a safe internal temperature within approximately four hours. The wattage required to do this is different for different models, and many variables are involved; (start temperature, food load, room temperature, etc.). Eventually slow cookers will reach a maximum temperature, however the temperature will be different for different environmental conditions and different food loads. Given enough time most food loads will reach the same maximum temperature on both "Low" and "High."

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by kelton

Given enough time most food loads will reach the same maximum temperature on both "Low" and "High."

This is what I have been told as well. At either setting it will reach maximum temp. On low it just takes longer to get there. What that temp. is, I have no clue. It is definitely hotter than the older models. I think the legal department requested this change. Ya think??

[EmsMommy7]

First of all... I LOVE this site! Everyone is so friendly and helpful! Thank you all for posting, researching, etc... I really appreciate it!

Okay, second of all, I am confused as heck.. I posted twice, in two different forums, and I replied to the one in the other thread, but now my reply is here too! I know they were "merged," but until I get used the format here, it is making me loopy! HA!

So FINALLY I have some answers! I am going to keep my new one, for when I need a second crockpot, entertain, am home to cook something, etc. And... I am going to look into getting the cord on my mom's old one replaced. It has Off/Low/High settings! I used to use that thing like crazy... beef stews, chicken dishes, and I HAVE carmelized a whole bunch of onions in the thing, omg awesome! THey cooked the entire day and by evening were so tasty.. I made a French Onion Soup! So here I am, going by my old practices with my mom's old crockpot, though I have this new one that's super hot, super fast, not meant to cook all day long.... They should have just left it alone.. .I mean it's called a SLOW cooker!!!

I can't thank you all enough! Looking forward to chatting some more on DC!

Nancy

[keltin]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

This is what I have been told as well. At either setting it will reach maximum temp. On low it just takes longer to get there. What that temp. is, I have no clue. It is definitely hotter than the older models. I think the legal department requested this change. Ya think??

I definitely think the legal department was involved!! Water boils at 212, with added salt and other ingredients, a bit higher than that. In my crock-pot (a Rival, about 4 years old), the liquid is bubbling and boiling where it touches the side, so I know it’s outputting heat around 220+ on Low!

[m00nwater]

This thread explains why I keep getting horrible roasts out of my slow cooker as well. I was starting to think it was me, or the cut of meat. I think I might go back to oven-roasting.