Appliance Reviews

I love this slow cooker except for one problem: I had the cooker for only a month when the handle on the glass lid broke off.

There's really not much to say about a product like this. I have no complaints about it. It's a perfect size! It's easy to clean and you can separate it from the base and toss it in the fridge if you want.
This is a great product especially for days when you don't really want to cook. You can toss something in when you leave for work and have dinner ready when you come home. What more could you ask for.

I recently purchased this crockpot, because I was tired of ordering take out all the time after a hard day at work. This was the best purchase I have made in a long time! I prepare the meals the night before, turn it on in the morning before I leave, and come home to a delicious home cooked meal every night. The size is perfect for 2 people or a family of 4. I love the cool touch exterior, and clean up is a breeze! What a change from the old Rival Crockpot I owned 25 years ago!! Try it..you'll like it!

My Boyfriend loves this fryer, He is from Buffalo and craves traditional wings like those made in Buffalo NY. He uses this at least once a week. It is perfect for making small batches of fried goodies.
I love the fact that it keeps him from distroying my kitchen when he makes fried foods. It never splatters beyond the unit itself. Great fryer for small batches or when one person likes fried food and the other dosen't.

The fryer works great - temperature settings, controls, speed of heating. Magnetic power attachment a nice touch. Capacity is kind of low, but for the price, it's a good deal. The removable frying pot is great for clean up. Outer plastic really does stay cool. The old stainless fryers could burn you on contact. The oil does tend to splatter beyond the inner bowl onto the heating element, so odor is a small problem. Other than that, great value. Nothing like home made french fries!

I received this for my birthday and am very pleased with the performance. We've used it at least 10 times in the last month, from small batches of food to large batches of chicken wings and everything has come out perfectly. I've never used a deep fryer before so I figured there would be a learning curve for getting the foods cooked right but there doesn't seem to be one...couldn't be easier to use and clean up is a snap! Love the removable inner pot!

Buyer Be Ware! This rival product let me down. The lid did not fit snug. In fact, it slid around loosely and left a gap on each side of the rim approx. 1/2". Concerned that the defective lid would not hold heat to properly cook food, I called customer service and they sent me a replacement lid once I verified that my lid wobbled when placed on a flat surface. Guess what! The replacement lid did the exact same thing! Needless to say, I returned the item for a complete refund.

This crockpot is an absolute dream. In addition to being a nice hearty size when you use it for just one dish it has the added benefit of being able to make a side dish at the same time. How nice to come home from work to a complete meal. The warm setting is a great bonus too!

This is the first crock pot that I've ever had, and I'm so glad I got the divided one. Meat comes out incredibly moist and flavorful without any special treatment, and with the vegetable compartment meal planning is a snap.

I bought the Hawaiice Electric Snow Maker for my husband's 11 year old niece for Christmas 2003. It was a huge hit. On every family get together since then, she wants to make ice treats for us. It turned out to be a gift that remains interesting and fun. The machine is well built and the blade is protected so little hands are safe...it does need supervision...I wouldn't let a child clean it...just operate it and make the treats.

This gadget in my kitchen gets used more than anything else - even the coffee maker! My husband and our two boys now drink cans of soda as slushies. Be sure to have an automatic ice maker - each glass will use four to five icecubes at a time. It gets a four star because the ice does spray a bit when it shaves and may miss the glass if the child hasn't positioned it accurately enough.

This gadget is a must have during the summer. Especially if you have kids. Easy to use. Easy to clean. And packed full of enjoyment. I use mine everyday!!

I found this retro-fit part at Target on clearance. Thought it'd be ideal for those times when I would be gone longer than the recipe cooking time. Retrofitting an older style crock pot sounded like a great idea. I was disappointed! I used it 3-4 times and each time the food was done earlier than it should have been, even scorched. Reading the reviews on the newer crock pots that come with this programming as part of the pot this seems to be a common problem. Wouldn't buy this again or recommend to anyone.

Retrofit your low-tech slow-cooker (any/most brands) with the Rival SP100-PDQ. You'll have a poor man's version of a "fuzzy-logic" cooker/warmer, and the fringe benefit is that you can use the one investment on each of your appliances that are compatible with the 'Smart Part' from Rival. You'll notice that this reviewer deemed the device worthy of four stars rather than five: I still prefer the (more expensive, yet cost-effective) product line from the following oriental company: Zojirushi. To view their equipment, follow this no-brainer sequence: Home & Garden > Kitchen & Housewares > Brands > Zojirushi > Steamers & Rice Cookers. As to WHY this writer steers you-all to THAT brand, they specialize in smart rice cookers which can sense when food (not only rice) is ready. Home in on the Fuzzy Logic models. Although Zojirushi includes slow-cookers that have aluminum as the food-contact-surface, I'd say STAY CLEAR of said metal; it's probably not as hardened as the Calphalon aluminum. Whether you select a Rival brand Crock-Pot or that of an imitator, try to make sure that the interior glaze is FDA-approved, specifically that it is LEAD-FREE. I would not trust China to see to it that the glazing has zero lead. As a parting comment, consider a switch to whole-grain casseroles, rather than contemporary ones that settle for grains that either have been stripped of the bran/germ or have been partially boiled ("parboiled") in the factory/plant. A grain that can sprout when raw will impart more life-force to you when cooked (at low temperature) than a denuded or denatured grain. The whole grains will take twice as long to soak, cook, chew, and digest. The husband and the little darlings might be less likely to get cranky with the long-term effects of natural whole grains. Slow-cookers, especially those programmed by the Rival SP100-PDQ Smart-Part, are eminently suited to properly heat-process natural foods for healthy digestion/assimilation.

I can't believe everyone doesn't have one of these! Before I got it, my crockpot meals would overcook and even burn while I was at work all day. I have two sizes of crockpots that are almost new and really didn't want the programmable crockpot as most of the time I use a relatively small crockpot for just my husband and myself and the Smart Pot is rather large.

The Smart Part is easy to operate and has settings for four cook cycles and 3 different sizes of pots (sizes A-B-C on the control). It can be used with any slow cooker. The food is cooked as you program the control and then held at a "warm" temperature for up to an additional 4 hours. We are thrilled with the improved meals I am slow cooking--not mushy and not burnt. A wonderful product at a good price!

I really want to support American-made products, and bought a Waring for its simplicity, good looks and it's "Made in the USA". Well I spent over a [$$$]to to replace a 7-year old Asian-made blender. To make a long story short, it broke down in 3-months w/ very little use - my wife was adament to make it last as long as possible. We sent the blender to a factory-authorized repair shop (we paid the shipping), and it broke down 3-months later. We bought a [...]chinese made blender for [$$$], and it's still working a year later. I will mail the blender back to Waring and tell them to keep their product.

I make at least one smoothie each day, sometimes more. I was tired of paying fifty dollars for a blender every four months. Broken blades, wobbly containers, burned out motors. Believe it or not, this "retro" green is a creamy light green color, much more appealing than the picture. The base is smaller than most blenders, saving a little counter space and it looks cool. It grinds up my pumpkin seeds, handles smaller frozen berries and there is no seed residue. The container is heavy and that might be a downfall for older people. But so far, so good. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a high quality blender. The blades are not monster size but they don't need to be. They do an ultra fine job. Also, the blending time is short. Go for it... you definitely get your money's worth! I did a lot of research before I chose this one. Many of the consumer sites recommended other (even less expensive) blenders but when you read the customer reviews, you find they have multiple problems. This one does not leak and is built like the proverbial brick ----house. This one is a keeper. Thanks, Waring!

I'm not much of a drinker, but it lives up to the hype...so far. Plus, it matches my hunter green kitchen decor!

I thought that this was the only option for under cabinet storage of knives. FYI there is another under-cabinet knife storage alternative out there. I used an internet search engine with the criteria: +"under counter" +knife, and found nice storage tray in the form of a drop down unit. Found one where I could choose one of 5 unstained woods for the face piece, which could then be stained to match the color of my cabinets (birch, hickory, maple, oak, or cherry) I also found another company that has a clear acrylic tray version. The hardware is basically the same for these. One company offers theirs with a slotted wooden block that attaches to the tray by magnetic adhesion allowing it to be removed and cleaned. It opens easily with the aid of two pull-down hinges and adjustable latches provide secured closure.

For those of you who have huge kitchens, stop reading now. For those like me, for whom counter space is at a premium, this is a great product. Fits nicely under the cabinet, although you need to think before you blindly follow the template. If your cabinets are 12" deep cut about 1" off the front of the template orthe block will bind against the wall as it turns. Slots fit my knives and steel perfectly. Really glad I got this product.

We had two knife blocks on the counter, with lots of dull knives in them. We bought two good Global knives, and sent the rest packing to the drawer or the summer cottage. Now we have more counter space and sharp knives. The reason I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 is that it doesn't fit under our cabinets in their recommended installation. Our cabinets are 12 inches (30 cm) deep, and when I installed the block as recommended, it would bump against the wall when I tried to rotate it. So I had to move it forward about 1 inch (2-3 cm). If your cabinets are 13 inches (33 cm) or deeper, you should be okay. Also, the template was slightly off on one of the holes, so check the template against the pilot holes on the block, and modify the template before you mark the cabinet for drilling.

I have wanted this mixer for 30 years. I finally bought it as a Christmas present to myself two weeks ago. I made a few batches of Christmas cookies and was very impressed. Today, I was making a double batch of oatmeal cookies (the mixer is really not large enough for this!) and as I was scraping the sides of the bowl, I noticed something shiny in the batter. It turned out to be shavings from the silver strip around the mixer head. I ran my finger around the silver strip and ended up slicing the end of my finger. Needless to say, between the silver shavings and my bleeding finger, the cookie dough went in the garbage. I can not believe that an appliance that cost so much money can be made with such shoddy workmanship. I am so disappointed. .... This mixer is going back and I don't think I will ever trust anything from KitchenAid again!

I bought this mixer last week after contemplating making a bunch of holiday cookies. Brought it home and starting whipping up cookies, bread mixes, anything I had in the pantry just to play with the the thing!! My 12 year old son and I have enjoyed using it together. I have done more baking in the past week than I have done all year because of its ease!! I love the fact that you can walk away from it and do other things in the kitchen while it does its work!! Its very powerful and plowed thru a very sticky, thick, cookie recipe that I could only do by hand (unfortunately) in the past because my hand mixer couldn't handle it. Its the type of recipe that when my family asked me to make it I cringed at the thought, now I don't mind at all!! I bought the red one, just to spice up the kitchen, I call her Ruby!! I love this mixer so much I am buying my Mom one for christmas in green!! I highly recommend this mixer!!!!!!!!!! You won't be sorry!

This is one of the most versatile kitchen machines you will ever buy! If you are at all serious about cooking and baking this is the machine for you. We've had KitchenAid mixers in our family for over 50 years and most of them are still going strong. This is my second KitchenAid mixer in 17 years. We gave the first one away (it is still going strong!) and have had this one for almost 8 years. I make two or three batches of bread in it a week. I also have a bread machine, but I use the KitchenAid because it makes more bread per batch than a bread machine AND the bread is better (texture, crumb, etc.) out of the KitchenAid. It doesn't take much longer to make it in the KitchenAid versus a bread machine plus you get 2 loaves instead of 1 for the same amount of time spent.

Besides doing a great job with bread, it is a fantastic general mixer. It is powerful enough to cream butter and suger even if the butter is still refrigerator cold. It whips cream and egg whites to perfection. Use it to mash potatos and everyone will rave about how smooth and light they are. It does a great job with everything else I've made with it. I wouldn't want to bake without my KitchenAid mixer.

Do yourself a favor - get a second bowl, you'll be glad you did. Also, get the attachments like the slicer/shredder. They're great and well made, too. Thanks, KitchenAid for making such a great product. I would give this thing 10 stars if I could.

After less than a year the plastic 'thingie' that makes it turn on broke, and there is no dealer anywhere in sight (I live in PA).....so i am looking for a new one....

This machine is rated favorably in the consumer magazine, but I am beginning to be sceptical of other reviewers on this site! The one I read below seems to either work for Panasonic or just copies reviews from previous years! Anyway, I checked out reviews elsewhere and this is a prime choice. So far so good with mine.

This microwave defrosts perfectly without cooking the edges, just as other reviewers said it would. This was a big selling point for me, and I am very pleased. The sensor feature is also excellent. You can cook items according to whether they are entrees, side dishes, snacks, etc., without having to enter time and power.

The microwave is the same size, color, and wattage of the one it replaced - some of the reasons I selected it, since I don't have a lot of counter space - but it is much more powerful, and cooks in considerably less time than package instructions advise. The only problem so far is a tiny one - the printed plastic sheet covering the control panel is already getting "bubbly."

I am disappointed because the size of this product is not listed. It would be nice to know how big it actually is and if it has a lid to it.

I use this pot for Yankee tarts, and it's wonderful. I put the tart in, in about 20 minutes the tart (Yankee Tarts) is melted and the smell in the crock lasts about 5-8 hours, before I have to dump out the wax and put a new tart in. I love this crock because I can run to the store and leave it plugged in and not have to worry about a fire like you would with a candle being knocked over. This is the best potpourri/tart crock, I'll never go back to candles again!!!

This time of year I love to get out my potpourri and put it in my little crockpot and let the scent of apples and spice waft around in my house. This a great tradition in the evening while doing great holiday crafts, watching TV, and just enjoying the coming into the room with such a good feeling.
I find it to be a great way to make my house a home for the holidays.