Frigidaire Professional 7-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

122 of 126 people found the following review helpful.
Imagine 'big', then double it...
By M. Fried
OUT OF BOX EXPERIENCEThe device was well packaged by the manufacturer to protect against damage, but the unpacking process was a bit convoluted and involved more styrofoam and plastic bags than I'd have liked. Kudos for keeping the ceramic and glass safe, but I've seen much more delicate items packaged with less bulk and requiring less effort to unpack (Apple excels at this).CRAFTSMANSHIP, FIT & FINISH and MATERIALSThe slow cooker is surprisingly light given its overall size. Not so light as to feel cheap or 'disposable', but light enough that most anybody could stow or lift it to counter height without issue. Materials are well chosen, with real metal, glass, ceramic, and plastics that aren't overly cheap feeling. In my experience, slow cookers have typically been extremely simple devices that keep working until you give them away, lose them in a divorce, or decide that the '70's vegetable theme print on the outside is too hideous to endure any longer. Given the fit & finish on this device I have no reason to believe this slow cooker will be any different.USING THE DEVICEThe device features conveniences such as a 'soup' and 'buffet' mode -- great for frequent entertainers or for those looking to serve up their tasty cooking at potlucks, etc. There is also a timed cooking mode for automatic preparation while you are away. Those with more basic needs will find familiar 'warm', 'low', 'med' and 'high' settings.CAPACITYHands down the standout feature of this slow cooker is its capacity. This is a professional-range capacity device and will more than handle cooking for large families and most entertaining needs.Almost more important than capacity are the proportions. I have checked out other large capacity slow cookers and found many to be too narrow and deep, or too wide and shallow. The Frigidaire's proportions are right within the 'goldilocks zone'. Wide enough for two average sized roasts side-by-side, and deep enough for plenty of veggies while keeping everything immersed in liquid.CLEANUPThe removable crock and glass lid clean up easily in the sink or dishwasher, and drips and spills wipe cleanly from the stainless surfaces. The button and dial-free control panel is a smooth sealed surface so there are fewer places for crud to accumulate.IT'S FOR YOU IF...- You are looking for very large capacity slow cooker- You entertain frequently, have a large family, are a potluck junkie, or a caterer- You are looking for a professional grade cooker with a stainless and black aesthetic to match your other appliancesTHINK TWICE IF...- You have doubts about your need or ability to make 7 Quarts of *anything*- You have serious storage constraints -- this fella is big

91 of 94 people found the following review helpful.
Comparison with the Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget 6-Quart cooker
By Scott
I've been cooking with a slow cooker for a couple years now, and the features I value most are a programmable slow cooker so I can control my cooking time, and a large capacity so I can make a lot of food for the rest of the week, as well as something that's big enough to fit a large roast in. The slow cooker that I've been using for the last two years is the Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker, which I really love. Since that seems to be the current top seller on Amazon, I'll use this review to compare the two.Frigidaire Professional 7-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker vs Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow CookerDESIGN and FORM FACTORBoth slow cookers look great and are nice additions to my kitchen. The Frigidaire looks a little more upscale and goes well with the stainless steel appliances in my kitchen, but the HB also has a stainless look to it and looks nice. Although the Frigidaire handles look nicer, the HB's handles are more comfortable, which is nice when I'm picking up a fully-loaded pot. That brings me to the next point - weight. At 14 pounds, the HB cooker is noticeable heavier than the 9lb Frigidaire. It also has a bigger footprint (despite holding less food). I store my cooker on top of my cabinets, so it is a bit difficult to bring it down everytime. The Frigidaire is a little easier to store. Both slow cookers have quality ceramic insets for holding food that look like they are well-made. They are both very good looking slow cookers, but if I had to choose one based on design, I would go with the Frigidaire.WINNER - FrigidaireFEATURESBoth of the slow cookers are programmable. The Frigidaire has a few more options than the Hamilton Beach, including 6 presets (compared to HB's 3). The HB has keep warm, low, and high settings, while the Frigidaire has soup, warm, buffet, low, medium, and high. The "buffet" is a slightly higher temp than the "warm" setting, and these two settings are only to be used for serving food that has already been cooked. I haven't been able to tell much of a difference between the two settings or what the actual temperature difference is, but I generally use buffet for dips and the warm setting for everything else. Ostensibly, you would use the "soup" setting for soups, however there is no real mention of it in the user manual, and I have not been able to find anything that tells me how these settings really differ from the regular cooking settings. I guess it's nice to have, but I can't imagine the heating element on this slow cooker is so precise that it can accurately control 6 different temperature settings, or that anyone even needs that. Generally, foods that are slow cooked are not delicate enough for this to make a difference, so it seems to me this is likely just a marketing tactic to provide a psychological benefit to the consumer. If anyone knows the actual temperature differences please let me know in the comments. The one advantage the HB has is a "probe" setting, where you can insert a temperature probe into your meat and it will cook your food until it reaches the desired temperature. I've only used this feature twice, but it works beautifully. The only disadvantage with it, is that you have to keep up with the probe, which sticks out of the top of the glass, and gets in the way a lot if you're not using it. And if you remove it, you have a hole in the glass that can allow steam to escape. Since I can't determine the actual temperature settings for the Frigidaire, and since I don't really think they matter when cooking food for 5-8 hours (I'm willing to bet no one ever uses the "medium" setting), I have to go with the Hamilton Beach.WINNER - Hamilton BeachCOOKINGI did my best to compare the two slow cookers using recipes on the Frigidaire that I have previously cooked on the HB. From a cooking standpoint, the Frigidaire performed as adequately as the HB and both slow cookers handled this very well. I did prefer cooking with the Hamilton Beach, due to the locks on the handles that pull the lid securely shut and form an almost airtight seal. The lid on the Frigidaire just sits on top of it. I transfer food in my slow cooker a lot, so I like the locks on the HB so I don't end up with soup all over my car. I also think it leads to a better job of cooking the food since it prevents heat from escaping. With both slow cookers I had noticeably better cooking results than when I used cheaper slow cookers. The extra 1 quart provided by the Frigidaire does make a fairly significant difference, but unless you are tripling your recipes (which I sometimes do), the 6-quart HB should be plenty. I do like to make a lot of food and then freeze it for later, but I don't think most people will do this. But it's nice to have that extra quart if you need it.WINNER - Hamilton BeachCLEANUPCleanup is easy. The porcelain interior comes right out and can be cleaned in seconds. Due to the use of low heat, I've never had anything stick in it and never spent more than 60 seconds cleaning it.OVERALLAlthough the Frigidaire is a very nice slow cooker, if I had to choose one over the other, I would go with the Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker. It's definitely big enough to handle everything I've cooked in it, and I can't see the advantage of the extra quart from the Frigidaire since I never fill my slow cooker to the top. Although I prefer the size and weight of the Frigidaire, it's nicer to have Hamilton Beach's cooking probe, and more importantly, the clasps for locking the lid tight so I can transport it. I would definitely recommend the Frigidaire to anyone looking to buy a slow cooker but not over the Hamilton Beach.

86 of 95 people found the following review helpful.
Good, but...
By Dianna L. Burrup
1/18/12 - I am making my first pot of beans today. I noticed right off that the lid does not fit tight and you can see through into the crock pot from the front. I tried it both directions. I think the pot itself maybe faulty as the lid looks fine. Wondering if this is why my beans are not done after cooking for 10 hours mostly on medium today. About 4 of those hours were on high. I pre soaked for 12 hours and I've read to do it for 24, until they are sprouted. It is a beautiful crock tho... and love the handles.1/20/12 - 2 days later: I cooked those beans for 27 hours and still they were not done... I called Frigidare at 888-845-7330 and they were great. She thought the lid was the problem so they are sending a new crock and lid. I'll update on my next crock pot project.2/7/12 - Finally got the new crock and lid today - It's been 18 days since I called, but the lids fits great. It was definitely the crock, as the old lid fit the new one also. More to come...3/12/12 - Cooked a big pot of pinto beans today. They were really great. I soaked them for 18 hours, put them on at 7:30 am, set it for HIGH and 10 hours and added a few ingredients along the way, so took the lid off about 3 times in the afternoon. (it takes a while to get the heat back up to a small boil after the lid is off). Although we ate them after 10 hours, I cooked them another 2 before turning it off for perfection before storing. I am really pleased with it since getting the crock replaced with the lid fitting tightly now.