Save your money. I have two electric slow cookers but the setup I use most is my homemade one that was inspired by the latest high-dollar slow cookers. I use a round cast iron casserole (with lid) on top of an electric skillet. I brown the meat in the casserole on top of the stove first then just move the casserole to the electric skillet for long, slow cooking at a bare simmer. I'm using a Zojirushi electric skillet because I had it but any inexpensive skillet or grill that your casserole fits into/onto should work fine. I wondered if there would be any difference because there is no side heat but if that affects anything I can't detect it. Also, the casserole doesn't cover the whole skillet surface so I'm sure some heat is lost but again, that doesn't seem to affect anything and may even make it easier to get the heat down to a bare simmer. You do have to fiddle a little to determine the skillet setting that produces a suitable simmer but that's easy and a one-time thing - just mark the spot. BTW, if your electric skillet has sides and you can turn the heat down low enough, it's a great place to poach fish. If not, try it in an oval iron casserole on an electric skillet or grill. Once you've poached wild-caught salmon you won't want to fry/bake/broil it again, especially since it's nearly impossible to overcook and dry out the fish. If you like to experiment, try variations on the standard court-bullion as your poaching liquid.

We got the KA (7qt?) slow cooker last winter (was a godsend during our kitchen reno--I could make some home-cooked meals!!!). Had originally purchased at L&T with a 20% coupon in the SS finish (BB&B only carried it in the Cinnamon color), but within a day or two of purchase, another store that offers coupons, ironically in the same shopping ctr., had it for the same price, and not only could I use a coupon, they were offering a $30 store gift card (for future use) with the purchase of that item. Needless to say, I made the swap! With that kind of bargain available (and the KA cooker is supposed to be a good one) I just couldn't justify spending the much higher price for the A-C (although I did like the one with the stove-top usable insert). The one downside to the KA; the silicone/rubber gasket around the lid (ostensibly to prevent spills during transport, or steam escape?) tends to pick up cooking odors which seem impossible to remove. I tried soaking in bleach, can't remember if I tried vinegar yet, but will try again. Otherwise, it worked well for us.

I used the same bean pot style enameled West Bend slow cooker for decades. I was doing bookkeeping in an appliance and hardware store newly married and the West Bend salesman sent one to each of us. Completely simple. It had high or low, off or on. Nothing else and did a wonderful job. I could put it on cooking as I left for the office and come home to a kitchen that smelled wonderful and a fully cooked tender meal. After many years of use, the interior was looking pretty stained and worn. What i found in researching new was that all more recent models cooked hotter than those early appliances. It was explained as a safety thing, food temps. Only - hotter was not turning out better tasting products. In frustration, I bought a Fagor multi cooker after carefully researching its temps. Could have been as long as 20 years ago? The browning function worked flawlessly, it would slow cook on high or low, there was a rice cooking setting and it would pressure cook or even just keep warm. I use it a lot and enjoy it still. I don't know what I'll do when it quits - I understand they've gone out of business. I think I could be tempted by a Breville product, I've had quite good luck with their small appliances. Mushy discolored vegetables is making me think possibly cooking at too warm a temp and I don't know how you get away from that since someone has decided the original cooler cooking models were not always safe. We were certainly never sick from my original (70's) West Benn Bean pot style 😊

Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who went to W-S and paid big bucks for the large oval All-Clad....and I couldn't be happier with it! I gave away the only other crockpot I'd ever owned 15 or 20 years ago. Couldn't stand the mushy texture of meat cooked in it, and it was a PITA to clean. But then I had a couple of important events coming up, and a cp seemed like the only answer to the logistical problems. For one party, I had to transport and keep a large quantity of food warm for 4-5 hours. For the other, it supplemented the meager oven space in my kitchen when serving a crowd. In both cases, it worked like a charm! After hours and hours, nothing was scorched, and nothing was dried out. There are 2 models. I got the super-duper deluxe version. :) I know, I'm a sucker. But the more expensive one has a cooking insert that can be used on the stovetop to brown stuff before you begin the actual slow-cooking process. That makes such a difference in taste and appearance, and without the hassle of browning in one pan and then transferring to the cp. Honestly, I think you'd be wasting your money to buy the one without this feature. Better to buy a $35 or $40 one in that case, because you'll have most of the same limitations. The insert is dishwasher safe. The base is a snap to clean. The digital display is great. And it's just soooo purty!! lol I also find that the recipes available are far superior to the ones I tried a decade or two ago. (No doubt due to all the info available on the internet now.) Although I've actually only used it about 10 times so far, I'd rate 5 or 6 of the dishes a real success. After years of 'making do', I'm gradually replacing the junk with high-quality kitchen tools now that the kids are grown. Although a crockpot wasn't even on my (incredibly long) wish list to begin with, I'm just delighted now that I splurged. sm