The durable Quantanium nonstick cooking surface, reinforced with titanium for lasting food release, is perfect for lowfat diets. This stainless steel Cuisinart set has an impact-bonded aluminum base, which guarantees even heating, and the tempered glass covers allow you to see exactly what’s going on with your cooking. This slow cooker has a sleek design with a stainless steel housing, chrome-plated handles and easy push-button controls. This is also the only slow cooker we tested that offers a retractable cord — ideal for both aesthetics and safety.
A small strip of mirror-polished metal at the top of each rim adds a little extra style, and the included steamer is entirely mirror-polished on the exterior with different side handles than the rest of the set. The bottom of the pans are entirely smooth with rounded edges, and the lack of ridges or seams makes them easy to clean. On the handles are cast stainless steel coating to ensure heat is not absorbed from the body of the cookware set. Individual pieces are usually less than $100, but you typically pay between $100 and $200 for an aluminum or stainless steel set. If you’re willing to pay $200 or above, you can get an extremely large set or a set featuring enameled cast iron or copper cookware. Stainless steel is an extremely durable material but still more affordable than other options.
The glossy surface of the Lodge is also painless to clean, but we found that matte interiors like the one on the Staub gripped onto food and required more scrubbing. For one thing, its shape makes cooking in it particularly easy compared with other ovens we tested. It’s wide and squat enough to allow for searing meat, and the gentle curve from the bottom to the side cuisinart griddler elite of the oven helped onions brown more evenly because they didn’t get trapped in the oven’s corners. By comparison, we had to stir onions more attentively in Le Creuset’s Dutch oven, which has a more pronounced angle between the bottom and sides that can trap food around the edges. As we cooked with each oven, we evaluated how cumbersome they were to lift when full.
Cuisinart’s set includes a covered stock pot, two covered saucepans, two frying pans, a covered sauté pan and a steamer basket. Cookware is constructed from aluminum and features a nonstick ceramic interior that’s free from Perfluorooctanoic acid , a chemical that may cause health concerns, cuisinart pots and pans set according to the American Cancer Society. Pieces are also designed with silicone handles that stay cool while you’re cooking, and the cookware is oven-safe up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cookware is meant to be functional, but you also want it to look good in your kitchen.
Like the other manual cooker we tested, it isn’t a “set and forget” device — the cook has to pay attention to get predictable results. This is actually one of the only slow cookers we tested where we truly had to read the manual before starting. It was not nearly as intuitive as the others, but we were eventually able to get it to cook our prepped food. The Cuisinart 6.5-Quart Programmable offers an additional simmer option, aside from the basic high, low and warm temperature settings. The interface is easy to use and will keep your food warm for up to eight hours. This is perfect if you’re cooking in the evening and hoping to wake up to a warm-cooked meal for breakfast.
We then prepared the same dish again and cooked it on a high setting, but the chicken was then a little too tough for our liking. Other features include interrupt protection where the timer will continue to run so the slow cooker will continue to cook if there is a brief power outage, a one-year warranty and a dishwater-safe lid and pot. Although enamel-on-steel cookware is stick-resistant, occasional food sticking may occur, especially if you are using high heat.