CONSTRUCTION AND LOOKS
This is a very large slow cooker and most definitely you need to consider the dimensions (see Sizes and Capacities section below) before you buy it. If you have the space to store it on display, it does look particularly impressive! The exterior is a mix of shiny (not brushed) stainless steel and black, solid-looking plastic. The control panel is very solid and the buttons feel like they are built to a high standard. Overall the initial impression is of a slow cooker built to last.COOKING POT
The cooking pot is plain black and looks good enough to serve directly to the table. The elegantly curved shape of the cooking pot looks particularly attractive when served to the table out of the main unit.How long the seal will last is something we can't say because it's not something that other slow cookers use. Excess pressure is vented through two small holes in the glass lid. The legs at the base of the slow cooker keep it well off kitchen surfaces.
SIZES AND CAPACITIES
The large size does mean this Crock-Pot slow cooker is not really suitable for cooker meals for two, the food would dry out too quickly. But cooking for four, or two plus an extra portion for freezing, is fine.
The external dimensions are (our approximate measurements because the manufacturers don't provide any) are height 29cm, width 48cm and depth 29cm which is most definitely on the large size. See the pictures in this article to gain some idea of the true size.
Weight of the total unit is a hefty 5.66kg but the cooking pot is a reasonable 2.7kg given its capacity. The length of the electric cord is about 35cm, just about long enough for most needs and conveniently it can be unplugged from the slow cooker and stored in the cooking bowl.
COOKING PERFORMANCE
For the practical cooking test we cooked chicken casserole on high for one hour and then five hours at the low setting. It tasted good and the slow cooker gave excellent results. We also cooked chicken and vegetable soup which was excellent.
FEATURES
As far as energy consumption is concerned the accompanying manual is sadly lacking with no information supplied at all. However, further investigation revealed that the Crock-Pot SCCPBPP605 Countdown 6.5 litre Slow Cooker uses 210 to 230 Watts. This is on the high side but still far more economical compared to oven cooking.
The instruction manual gives a fair amount of information concerning the product and is accompanied by a largish slow cooker recipe book.
OTHER REVIEW OPINIONS
It's not surprising to find that there are many reviews for this up-market Crock-Pot Countdown SCCPBPP605 slow cooker. In general they are good reviews but there are a few worrying comments. One particularly worrying comment which was raised a couple of times was that the cooking pot cracks and that there is no replacement available. We tried to check out the availability of spare cooking pots and phoned the free phone number given on the Crock Pot website. The response we received was that the number was no longer in service.We looked for an alternative number and found none at all. It appears that the only method of contacting Crock Pot is by using their email form, a very serious problem for a company of this size and one which would certainly put us off purchasing any of their products.
We duly sent off a query regarding a working telephone number using their email form and received an email response giving us the number again. We then emailed again saying the number was not working and received an email apology but no explanation.
SUMMING UP
Low setting cooking | |
High setting cooking | |
Keep warm | |
How easy to use | |
Setting up | |
Cleaning | |
Build quality | |
Value for money | |
Overall rating |
Review by David Marks.