I have a Cuisinart round crockpot that I’m really happy with. I’ve been experimenting with cooking stuff Sous Vide in it, and as it turns out the warm, simmer, and low temps actually correspond really well with cooking stuff Sous Vide, so that’s been a lot of fun (combined with my vacuum food christmas gift this year).
My mid 20’s D loves her crockpot. Uses it all the time. Used it last week for ribs. Roasted in the crockpot and then finished them under the broiler. She likes having dinner almost ready after work and then her workout.
I’m another Instant Pot fan - I use mine several times a week for a variety of tasks. I think it’d be a great gift for someone who already loves to cook, but not sure it’s worthwhile for someone who doesn’t cook much as it could seem a bit overwhelming. Also don’t think the wifi feature is worth paying for.
I have an oval 4qt crock pot with a limited timer. It will do low 8 hrs or low 10 hrs or high 6 hrs or high 8 hrs and then turn to warm. I thought this would be ideal but 8 hours on low is often too long. The next one I buy will let me choose how long I cook before it goes to warm. I think 6 hours would be about right for most things I make.
I do think 4 qts is a good size - we have a small family and I can make a dinner that will feed us two nights. I have larger ones that I rarely use. Crock pots need to be 1/2 to 3/4 full to work properly. Under filling a crockpot will make it cook even hotter.
Cooking on warm is not safe, and a delay start would not be safe either.
I have one called a Smart Pot that has the same settings as @uwalummom’s. I use it all the time, and it works as well as it did when I bought it over 15 years ago.
I’ve been reading a lot about the InstantPot, but I’m not ready to commit and add another new gadget to my kitchen.
^^I tossed the crockpots… Now it is Instapot all the way!
The best answer to the OP’s Q “Best slow cooker?” is “The one that will get used regularly!” If the OP’s D is not into cooking, then neither gadget will work.
Can’t say if my D is into cooking or not. She doesn’t like to eat out too much. She is on her own for the first time and still figuring out what she likes. She thinks she is into cooking but I have a feeling it’s not the first thing she would do when she has free time.
@thumper1 A gift card may not be convenient. My kid doesn’t have a car and going shopping is a major event. I also feel like a gift card is a cop out.
Is she living alone, @iglooo? If so, cooking for one is challenging unless you’re fond of eating the same thing. If your daughter is like mine, she’d rather grab something quick or make something easy like a salad or grab an avocado than make a whole instant pot meal. If she’s learning to cook, a good cookbook on cooking for one or two or even a few month’s subscription to one of the programs like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh might be a good gift for a budding home chef.
If you have a gift card to BBB, you can order ONLINE and they will,ship it to you.
Or you can do Amazon. They ship too.
I would not send a Crockpot or an Instapot to anyone unless I knew they would use it. They aren’t exactly tiny things to store…and especially if it seldom gets used.
Here is what I would do…if you really want her to get a Crockpot…get a good Crockpot cookbook…and send that to her…with a gift card to wherever so she can purchase the one of her choice.
My kid actually wanted a red one. She also wanted an oval. She did not want digital controls. She bought one exactly like mine…but red…
Actually, food safety is not based solely on temperature, but on time, as well. I was watching the movie Burnt (with Bradley Cooper) and all the hotshot chefs were using sous vide as a technique, and I wanted to know more about it, so I’ve been doing a lot of research on it.
I checked the temperatures of a water bath in my slow cooker: warm is 133 degrees (safe), simmer is 145 degrees (safe) and low is 162 degrees.(just about too hot for most sous vide recipes).
I would check the temp of your crockpot as well, but I know even on the lowest setting, my food is safe for a long time at that temperature. There are multiple respected websites that back this up.
