Rival Cookware Reviews

I'm enjoying my new Rival SD165-6 qt. oval deep
dutch oven - But for the area that I need to use
it in, I really do need a cord about 12 inches
longer. It would really help if I could get a
longer cord for this appliance. Please do what
you can to ship me a longer cord. I will be glad
to pay for it. I can't use it as often as I need
to because of the cord being to short for the space
I have for it. Thanks again for helping me get a longer
cord.

If you look at the other Rival Fondue pot sold on Amazon, you will see that it has much more balanced reviews then this one. People say that it is very good in concept and in a lot of ways, but that it is difficult to keep the tempature steady. That is the exact case with this one too. By this one for $25, here or at Target, and you will be very happy with it, and have saved yourself $15 or more.

Our only experience with Fondue is at a Restuarant in Denver were they make it in front of you, and at one in Breckenridge, CO, where they bring it to you already made. Based on that experience and reading all the reviews we went out in search of the West Bend Fondue maker that people review very well on Amazon. We couldn't find it, so we went to Target and got this one. That nice we cooked up a recipe that we found on Allrecipe.com, and it was great. We made it from start to finish in the fondue pot, and with constant stirring and a few changes to the tempature control, we didn't have any problems. The only way you are going to get more consistant heat is from a gas burner on your stove top.

As for the people that complain about the "electronics coming loose", they are just confused. The light on the thermistat tells you when the heating element is on, not when it is plugged it. Of course it is going to turn off and on. The magnetic hold plug, stays on tight enough to not come loose, but loose enough to breakaway if someone were to trip over it. Granted, it would be tough to trip over a 2 foot cord, but I think it must be the law or something. Anyway, it works fine.

Final Word: A great deal and the same problems as all fondue pots, no more.

I bought this set for my husband and thought we might make fondue every once in a while. It is so easy to clean and extremely easy to use, that we cook in it all the time. We have made several cheese fondues, broths and chocolate. Unlike the "burner" type of fondue sets, this is safe and heats evenly and quickly. I can leave the room and not worry about setting the house on fire. The plug fits well and will only come out if you trip over the cord. This is great if you have pets or kids running around. You will not lose your dinner if someone is clutsy.

We brought our set over to my in-laws for Christmas for a cheese appetizer and it was a huge hit. My mother in law used her set for chocolate. Hers had the flame below and did not heat evenly and took significantly longer to heat the chocolate. It took me seconds to clean my set while my mother in law was scrubbing her old style set. I would highly recommend this brand and type of fondue set!

Bigger than it looks, this little gem of a fondue maker would make a great gift for college students. Why? Not because you can expect your son or daughter to suddenly become a suave sophisticate who entertains their fellow dorm buddies with fondue parties, but because this little gadget really cooks! Takes up less space than a microwave (ok, it won't make popcorn, but microwave popcorn isn't all that good for you anyway...) Remove the fondue ring and it becomes a versatile little pot that, with a little imagination, can cook virtually anything. The adjustable thermostat heats up to 400 degrees, so making soup, chili, hamburgers, grilled cheese, ramen noodles and all their other favorites would be easy. Plus, there's the mom approved break-away safety electrical cord. The non-stick interior makes clean up a breeze.

We enjoy the flexibility of an electric skillet, especially during the hot summer months. Over the years we have used many brands. We purchased the Rival in the fall of 2003 and we used it frequently.

This is an excellent product, especially at this price. It is one of the few electric skillets we've owned that provides an even heat across the pan. The "simmer" actually simmers.

However, I do feel a safety precaution should be noted. Sadly, last night as I picked up the Rival by its handles, the one-piece handle/leg broke. Luckily, the skillet was not in use.

I was looking for something like this when I recently moved into an apartment with a friend . I figured if I had mini-fridge , microwave, and some kind of electric or gas skillet I would be self-contained cooking-wise in my room .
Well I went to my local Target and looked at several models until I spotted the Rival S16 . It was ... which seemed at the time very reasonable, so I got one .
I have been using it for several weeks now and I am blown away by the performance and versatility of this skillet . The shape and design of the pan is very well thought out . It is big enough to cook just about anything and it has perfectly slanted edges so that rice or pasta that is simmering cant sneak up the sides and get stuck . Seems to me like a fairly thick , quality , non-stick coating as well . The speed with which this skillet reaches a usable heat is amazing . It's at least 3 times faster than a pan on a conventional stove , gas or electric.
You can fry hamburgers or steaks , grill oil-free chicken or fish , boil water for mac & cheese (cheese & mac?), simmer pasta or rice mixes , make grilled cheese sandwiches , its endless .
The only negative thing I can say about this product is that the vented plastic lid gets hot enough to emit a plastic odor the first several times you use it. I could sense a slight plastic taste after using the lid on particularly high heat dishes . This goes away after 4-5 uses but I wonder if you put it in the dishwasher, if it would temper the plastic and prevent this ?
All in all a great electric skillet , and I highly recommend it. That ... "reasonable" price has developed into a steal .

Great, this makes your dorm more like home. I am a sophomore now, and after a year of nasty cafeteria food I got one of these. It 's a life saver. No more running to the cafeteria at bad hours, and it also saves money. If you cook for yourself, you really save on the seven dollars a meal in the cafeteria. It's very safe, and only requires a sturdy surface. =) I dont know how I lived without it.

I've owned this wok for approximately one year and it has had minumum use;maybe twice a month. Once before I had used it and one of the four plastic support legs was loose so I tightened it with a screwdriver. My wife usually uses it the majority of the time. Today while making fried rice two of the legs loosened and the wok sat on the counter. After washing it I looked at the legs and noticed that on each leg there is a minute piece of plastic that fits into a small hole in the base of the wok that prevents the leg from turning. Several of these were missing. I put locktight on all the screws and tightened them but stripped one. The screws are simple metal screws. I thought that I was buying quality. I also noted that the price has dropped dramaticly since I paid eighty some dollars for mine.

Wow, am I amazed at how great this thing works!
I've used a steel wok on an electric range for years, wishing I had a gas range because it would heat and cool almost instantly...as a wok should. Today I stir fried some vegetables in my Rival. After steaming under that great glass lid, I removed it to add my sauce mixture and turned off the heat as usual to start the cool down. The heat went all the way off and I had to turn it up again to finish thickening the sauce. This is the closest thing I can imagine to using I gas burner. You'd better get one of these!

I looked at just about every brand of wok on the market and believe me, this is the best. It's a very heavy-duty stainless steel with a high gloss finish that makes it look great on the counter. I also like the glass lid and the capacity makes it super for entertaining. Being able to put it in the dishwasher really sets it apart from the rest. Excellent value too!

I've used it a couple of times for chocolate, and once with cheese. Chocolate worked great because I melted the chocolate in a double boiler and then poured it into the fondue pot to keep warm. When I did cheese, I made the fondue right in the pot, which wasn't such a good idea. The heating element, like most, is either on or off. This means that it gets things very hot, then the thermostat turns off the element and gets it very cold, before it cycles on again. This makes it impossible to keep things at a simmer while you try melting your cheese. When the heating element is on, there is a ring of boiling cheese right over the heating element, meaning that there needs to be much stirring. Next time I do cheese fondue, I'm going to make it elsewhere (on my stovetop) and then transfer it to the pot to keep warm while I enjoy it.

I received one of these as a wedding gift several years ago. It sat in the box for a couple of years, then after an excursion to a high-priced fondue restaurant, we decided to dig the pot out and see if we could replicate it the cheese fondue we had loved at the restaurant for less at home.

Previously, we had been to parties where people had cheese fondue and I had watched our hosts and hostesses struggle with keeping the gel fuel or Sterno lit, or waiting forever for the candle in the base to heat up the pot. I had never seen an electric fondue pot, so I didn't know how it would compare.

The pot performed wonderfully. There is a thermostat on the electric component that allows you precise control of how hot the pot gets. We have now done oil, cheese and chocolate fondue in the pot and it always works perfectly. The thermostat lets you keep the oil hot enough, but also allows you to adjust the heat downwards as necessary so you don't burn your cheese or chocolate fondue. The pot heats up quickly for fast melting.

Best of all, you can detach the electric switch/thermostat from the pot and completely submerse the pot for cleaning, which is important when you're dealing with gooey cheese and chocolate!

We love this fondue pot! We actually bought a second one for when we have fondue parties, so we can have different kinds of fondue, or a fondue meal without having to wash a pot out. It would also be great for queso dip and chips, and would keep the dip hotter and be less bulky than the crockery-pot a lot of people use for keeping queso dip hot. I really can't recommend these pots highly enough. If you love fondue, get one of these pots today!

I just received this fondue pot a few days ago and I couldn't wait to try it! I had fond memories of my mother serving fondue when I was a child and I have to say, it is just as fun now as when I was 10 years old! Just last night, my boyfriend and I had a nice romantic evening enjoying a fondue meal. I can't remember having such a fun time during dinner!

The pot and forks are of excellent quality and everything is surprisingly easy to clean, which is important if you want to totally enjoy the experience. The pot is an excellent design -- I was impressed by the sturdiness of the legs especially.

If you want to entertain others or just yourself, get this fondue pot! You won't regret it. Fondue is easy and fun!

The best family griddle you can buy. It is truly nonstick. You do not need to use oil, unless you want to for flavor. 8 grill cheeses at once, 6 to 8 pancakes at once. Super easy clean up. Cord unplugs from griddle then dunk it into the soap water. Stays cool underneath so can be used on most any surface.

I have used this for eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. It cooks evenly every time. It takes no time at all to clean it. I would definately recommend this to those with families!

I got this as a wedding gift in December, and have used it to make pancakes, hot sandwiches, quesadillas, spanish omelettes... I hated having to sit by the stove cooking Sun morning pancakes one item at a time (in my pre-griddle days). By the time I was done cooking all the batter, and ready to sit down, my husband would already have been done eating!! Now, I can cook these things in a jiffy, and be able to sit down & enjoy eating them with my husband. this has to be one of our favorite gifts that we got off the registry.

I sent this item as a wedding gift. I was horribly embarrassed when I found out the bamboo spoon and chopsticks were covered in mold. I wasn't pleased with the way it was handled.

The teflon/non-stick surface is generously thick and didn't burn when the wok heated up to 400 degrees. The removable base makes cleanup extremely easy. The bamboo spoon and chopsticks were not moldy (see somebody else's review), but they are not really needed anyway. Use silicone tongs; metal will scratch the teflon and plastic/rubber will melt at higher temperatures.

I received this wok as a wedding present and we've used it more than any of our other appliances. It's easy to assemble, it cooks evenly and quick, and it's easy to clean up. Not only do we cook stirfry in it, but we use it with the bamboo steamers for vegetables and it's great for fried chicken and homemade french fries. It's so easy to use that my husband is actually motivated to cook in it, and then he can immediately clean it up when he's finished! The recipes that come with it are great, too.

Sunday is pancake day at our house, so right after my wife Cathy and I finish our music ministerial duties, it's time to head home, change into something more casual and fire up the Rival electric skillet. Whether it's pancakes for two or flapjacks for a crowd, it's all the "griddle" I need to get the job done.

The Rival S16 Electric Skillet is a true modern classic. It sits high off the counter on a pair of integrated handle/feet, protecting the surface below from heat marring. A detachable probe-type thermostat can be dialed from a keep-warm setting of about 200 degrees F to a scorching 425 degrees (everyone already knows 375 degrees is the ideal setting for pancakes). When the indicator lamp winks off, it's time to get cooking.

The skillet is coated inside and out with the latest formulation of DuPont Teflon, still the sine qua non of nonstick cooking. After an initial seasoning, it performed like a family-heirloom cast-iron griddle, releasing even banana pancakes without any additional greasing. The 12"x16" surface handles 4 pancakes made from a 1/4 cup of batter each, a nice easy-to-manage quantity.

Though it's fully immersible, I have yet to wash it. The only cleaning needed after a batch of pancakes is a thorough wipe with a paper towel once the skillet has been allowed to cool.

I bought the Rival Electric Skillet (16x12) at my local Target a while back and my family LOVES it!! We cook everything from pancakes and french toast (while making a side of eggs on it, too!) to fried chicken and even beignets (french doughnuts). I almost bought the 12x12, but I am SO glad I went for the larger one because we can make french toast for all of us at once instead of everyone waiting. Definate buy!!!!

Received my skillet about a week ago, it is HUGE! The non-stick enables me to cook anything with a "no hassle" cleanup! Don't know how I lived so long without one. The temperature control, yes it's tough to see, but is designed that way to keep spills from ruining it, the old ones used to break after awhile, due to exposure to splatters and spills. I will be using this skillet almost every day!

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 believe my rating is too low based on the fact that I bought the wrong product for my needs. I was hoping to get a griddle and warming pan, and I got that.

I also got stainless steel which will take months to season before our food doesn't stick. That's how I discovered that a non-stick surface, which this product doesn't have, is the most important feature to me since I need an all-around griddle. I would recommend this product be used less as a griddle (for sticky foods) and more for brunch and as a warming pan/buffet server.

This is a beautiful, well-made product. I was amazed how quickly the griddle heated to the desired temperature and how evenly it cooked the pancakes I prepared. If you know what you are buying and are buying what you need, you should be very satisfied with this product.

The precise temperature control offered by this product makes it a delight to use. Don't be alarmed by the suggested stickiness in the previous post. In fact, stainless does not need to be seasoned to perform like non-stick cookware. Proper technique, which consists of
1) heating the surface to the desired temperature (1 min),
2) adding oil,
3) waiting briefly for the oil to come to temperature (20 sec),
and, finally,
4) adding ingredients,
will ensure outstanding results. For professional-quality food preparation, stainless steel cannot be surpassed, and this dishwasher-safe product makes the experience painless even for a novice.