Calphalon Slow Cooker – Honest Review

We ordered a new slow cooker!  The Calphalon Sauté Slow Cooker is what we bought and here is my honest review.

This slow cooker has great reviews online and is unique in that the pot can be removed and used on the stovetop or in the oven.  Two other things appealed to me:  Ceramic non-stick coating and the small 5.3 quart size.

We use our crockpot weekly if not more and our current Rival Crock-Pot had a couple of problems.

Comparing to Rival – Pros

Number 1 problem is that our current one never actually “slow” cooked.  Everything was completely done hours before it should have been and that meant meats tended to dry out if we weren’t around to watch them.

Now it was great to throw in soup at 8 a.m. and have it done by noon, but mostly using the slow cooker is for convenience and actual slow cooking.

Number 2 is the size.  Our crockpot held enough to feed a small army.  And our army is just two people who no longer eat very much.  With less food in the cooker, the food got done even quicker.

Number 3 is the weight.  Gee, that inside pot is heavy.  The new Calphalon weighs nothing at all and is so much easier when removing the food.

Number 4 is clean up.  Letting the pot soak in the sink is not my idea of an attractive kitchen.  It might actually make me a little crazy(ier!)  The new cooker cleans up lickety-split, no soaking necessary!

Number 5 is the lid.  As soon as the ingredients got to boiling in the crockpot, the lid would start rattling and if I wasn’t home to adjust it, it would spew out liquid onto the counter and eventually onto the floor.

The new lid has a tiny vent hole and ta-da, problem solved.  The lid also has a gasket coating on both the inside and outside.  Not only does the lid sit tightly on the pot, it also doesn’t slip around when removed.

Cons

The price.  There are so many different slow cookers available at really good prices, this one coming in at $130 (Target) is pretty expensive.

The Beautiful line at Walmart (we purchased our new toaster from that line) has gorgeous appliances in really pretty colors and finishes.  Their 6 quart slow cooker is on sale for $50.  It’s hard to beat that when I paid nearly three times that amount.

And guess what?  The new Calphalon cooks pretty quickly.  I put on chicken soup and it got done in about five hours.  And that was using a frozen chicken breast!  I certainly would not have wanted to leave food in 8-10 hours while we were out of the house.

Since I only made chicken soup, I did not get an opportunity to check out the searing and baking features, but so far, I think this pot is worth the investment.

Simplifying

I’ve shared how we are working towards living with less and it may seem that purchasing new items is incongruent with this goal.  But, not at all!  We are really trying to keep or acquire things that are right for us in this season of life.  And trading in our old crockpot for a more appropriate one is a good move.

Wrap Up

We have a jam packed weekend coming up which is what always happens this time of year.  I will be making time for some long walks and maybe a bike ride.  Perfect weather cannot be ignored.

I didn’t finish my audio book or my eBook, so I’ll report back on what I’m reading next post.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Whatever you have on your agenda, have a wonderful weekend!