Rival Slow Cooker 8 quart Review

large enough for lots of stuff

I've never owned a slow cooker and was a bit concerned after reading that Rival slow cookers received significantly lower ratings than other brands of slow cookers. This one works like a charm. I was also concerned because I read that older models of slow cookers cooked more slowly on low, and that some newer slow cookers cooked at a heat that was too high.

Not to worry. On low, it's exactly that. Perfect and slow and will cook roasts to perfection in 8-10 hours. On high, it works perfectly too. It's a lovely looking black ceramic stoneware insert too. I'm on my way to being a crock pot fanatic. I am a brand new fan.

 

My wife had a Rival crockpot for over 12 years. It always worked great. The idea behind a crockpot is to cood slow and low. My old Rival cooked at 150 degrees on the "Low" setting.

I use the old Rival all the time, and decided to get a second one so I could use them both simutaneouly and cook two recipes at the same time. I looked at the reviews for the electronic Rival models. Everyone said they cooked too hot. So I finally purchased this 6.5 quart model with the simple knob control.

Well, I filled the crockpot full of 8 lb.s of chicken. The next morning, I could smell the burning food. I looked in the pot, and the chicken was boiling on the "Low" setting.

So, the next night I filled it full of a vegetable soup recipe. The next morning, the soup was boiling over ... again on the "Low" setting. The veggies were overcooked and mushy. I measured the temperature and it was 195 degrees.

I won't buy anymore Rival products. I only gave this 2 stars because I guess you could conceivably use it to make soup ... If you're willing to stand over it and turn it off when it starts to overboil.