Cuisinart PSC-650 Stainless Steel 6-1/2-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker (Silver)

This unit works great and if you are worried about some of the reviewer's comments about it failing too soon, I suggest that you also purchase the 4-year warranty for $11.99 which will then pay to fix or replace the unit should it fail for any reason! I've had a number of other slow cookers including a few Crock Pots (including the new iStir model) and they all failed to maintain a Warm setting that did not overcook the food. I checked this unit and it stabilized at 198 °F on High and more importantly at 148 °F on Warm which has resulted in no overcooked food. I suggest everyone wash their new slow cookers housing, crock, and lid with soap water. Then give it a trial run with the crock filled halfway up with water, to confirm that everything is functioning as advertised. This way any remaining manufacturing oil will not burn onto the stainless steel base or cause orders during the first actual use. I also recommend using only a microfiber cloth on the base and glass lid and have not had any issues keeping the unit, the handles of the lifting knob looking like new. The crock insert is sized to accept large items and is easy to lift thanks to the shape of the crock's handles. I had no problems turning the crock in the sink in order to wash it by hand. BTW: I'm glad that it has a crock pot insert since it will be far more durable than the much more expensive crock pots with metal inserts that have a non-stick coating, which always seems to fail and cause problems. I love the self-coiling electric cord but am a bit disappointed that the plug does not also "fully retract" instead of sticking out the back of the rewinding mechanism. To correct for this, I put a plastic plug prong protector over the prongs to ensure that they do not scratch anything when the unit is not being used. Cuisinart should include one of these on all units since it would only cost them a penny. I'm looking forward to 4+ years of great meals from this great slow cooker.

This is a great crock pot. I am an avid crock pot cooker and make just about everything in my crock pot, even breakfast. I have had many crock pot brands and have used them till they just stopped working. My last crock pot which I replaced was an old Rival that served me for 11 years. Upon it retirement which put me back into the crock pot market I marveled at all the new and updated features available. I wanted one that was programmable since I do much of my cooking over night. I noticed with some of the negative reviews of this model along with other brands that I was considering was that the programmable feature has been troublesome with shutting off. This was the most common complaint with all the crock pots with this particular feature. I assumed it be to a problem with all crock pots with this feature so I could not hold this against the product as with other brands with the same feature. I own many Cuisinart products, pots, pans and coffee maker to name a few. I have had very good success with this brand and chose the crock pot based upon my experience with the Cuisinart products that I own and use. Upon first use of the this crock pot I was very pleased. We love southern food and cook it often. One of our families favorite is crock pot grits breakfast casserole. It cooks all night long and is ready in the morning. With our schedules a crock pot breakfast is just about the best shot we have at a good home cooked breakfast. Most of the other crock pots that I have used in the past burnt the grits some which we have gotten used to and just eat around the burned parts. The Cuisinart crock pot did not burn the grits, we were so surprised and pleased. It cooks a lot cooler which is good, the other ones even on low cooked at a higher temps often lightly scorching the meals. I will have to say that I am once again very pleased with the Cuisinart Products and Quality. This is the first crock pot that I have not bought at Wal-Mart which is not surprising that the quality is much better and the meals come out much more appealing. You can not go wrong in my opinion with the Cuisinart Crock Pot. It is a great crock pot with wonderful results.

I have owned several slow cookers over the years. The most recent one was a beautiful one that I purchased at Target, black and white from Crock Pot. However after reading a number of articles online, I realized that I might have a problem on my hands with the lead. I researched the matter and discovered that the glaze often contains lead. Upon researching further, I discovered that the Cuisinart model was BPA free. It is not easy to find kitchenware that is BPA free. I was pleased to see that. The next question was, was it lead-free? I called Cuisinart and they adamantly indicated that the slow cooker was lead free. For someone who needed to use her crock pot daily, almost 24/7, I really need a healthy crock pot. What is the point of cooking healthy foods if the container that I cook them in, is hazardous to my health? I was hesitant about the bulk aspect of the unit because I have a small kitchen and was concerned that it would take a lot of space. However based on the Amazon reviews and on the fact that the slow cooker is both BPA and lead free, I decided to order it. I could not have made a better choice on the planet!!!! First of all, this is the FIRST slow cooker that I have owned that is cool to the touch. Second, my food does not boil on low, and I lose ZERO water content. I needed an excellent slow cooker to make bone broths which have tremendous medicinal qualities (see Weston A. Price Foundation). And I had read about some persons being so serious about bone broths, that they had a perpetual broth going. To do that, I did not want to come home to a fire because of a deficient slowcooker. With this Cuisinart, I can make a lot of bone broth, the broth keeps going for 3 days, and after 24 hours, I do not have to worry, it goes to warm and then shuts down. because it is cool to the touch, my counter is not heated as was the case with the cheap crock pot brand. As for the bulk size, the slow cooker looks very beautiful on my counter. I have so far made lots of chicken broth, delicious, beef broth and fish broth. I use the bones for beef (knuckles, cartilage and feet as well as bone marrow), for fish (the heads) and for chicken (feet, back, head). I have noticed great improvement in my health, digestive system, excellent sleep. Please read online about all of the benefits of bone broth which man has been doing for thousands of years. Anyway, you will NOT regret purchasing this cuisinart. It is really of a very good quality. Enjoy!!!!Whatever negative review may be out there, I would not worry about it. It is probably a unique single incident. You will ENJOY your Cuisinart slow cooker. And for the price, BPA and Lead free!!!! Enjoy.

This is the first slow cooker I’ve ever owned. I bought it after much consideration. Cook's Illustrated recommded the 4 qt. version of this and Kitchenaide for a 6 qt. cooker. The reviews for the Kitchenaide were all over the map and it was considerably more expensive, so I crossed my fingers, hoping the 6 qt. Cuisinart would be as good as the 4 qt. So far it has been great. I cooked a large brisket over night & then put the brisket in the fridge until the next day. Easiest and tastiest brisket I’ve ever cooked. I live at over 5000 ft. & many of my friends (all with different kinds of cookers) have complained about their slow cookers getting too hot & boiling rather than braising food. This Cuisinart doesn’t seem to do that, and for everything I’ve cooked in it, it has done well. Like the stay warm feature. The crock is heavy but it is pretty easy to clean. The Cuisinart's overall dimensions are smaller than several others on the market. Even so, I do have a bit of trouble fitting the cooker into a bottom shelf in my kitchen. The best part of getting this is that I don’t have to turn the oven on in the summer in order to have a pot roast.

My wife is really putting this slow cooker through it's paces.We are a family on the go and one pot meals work great for us, and it's easy clean up if you use a liner. This particular model is one of the slow cookers recommended by America's test Kitchen in their slow cooker recipe book. It's not the top choice ,I think it was 2nd overall which is good.The retractable cord is the bomb. If you haul your cooker to a lot of functions this is worth the extra you pay. It was also one of the reason's I purchased this model.Though this cooker is a little over priced and has a big footprint ,all the other qualities offset these two factors. I gave it five stars. If it crashes prematurely,I will update my review.​

I read many reviews before deciding to buy the "Cuisinart PSC-650 6.5 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker", in brushed stainless steel. I noticed right after purchase in 2008, that the cheaply made "stainless" steel exterior stained from finger oils when you touch it. These staines were permanent. The steel bowl underneath the crock pot was not of good quality. After the first use, the ceramic crock was washed, dried and returned to the base. I removed the crock before the next use, and saw that the bowl underneath had rusted. To make matters worse, the unit would not power up after 6 uses. I took it apart to find a cheap piece of rolled tin supporting the crock, and two small pieces of insulation. The electronic components were not sufficiently protected against the heat emitted from the unit while in use. Using this crock pot burns out its electrical components! In my opinion, this crock pot should not have been priced at more than $30. My friend also bought this unit, at the same time. She said if the power goes out, and comes back on, the unit does not turn back on. Since we were both infrequent crock pot users, the warranty had expired when both units quit working. These are now in the land fill. On the otherhand, if you only want to use the crock pot a few times, it has some great features.

There was a burning plastic smell the first two times I used it, which has faded, fortunately. It works well on high, but the low setting, even with very little in it, doesn't seem to do much without alternating it on high. I think that's probably because the lid doesn't tightly fit on the top. But, when I use it when I can check on it every 3-4 hours (like making a Sunday chicken stew while running errands, preparing meat chili for a Super Bowl party, etc.) and adjust turning it on high and low (which is probably not the point of these pots for people that turn them on and leave the house, so I understand those people's frustration), it's made very tasty, economical meals. I also think the appearance of it is pleasant enough I can leave it on my kitchen counter, especially turned sideways to take less space. It's not perfect, but then again I haven't had any disasters like others (again, probably because I use it when I can monitor it every several hours), so I'd recommend it. But for people that are looking for something to turn on and come home to something perfect, maybe some other (more expensive?) model is necessary.

I lost my beloved Cusinart slow cooker during some power surges due to some faulty wiring. I actually cried! Then I dried my tears and went to Amazon and found the exact same cooker to replace it with! Slow cooking at its easiest and finest! Truly "set it and forget it" slow cooking! It shuts off automatically and then keeps the food warm. With a 6 1/2 Quart crock I can make large quantities of soups for eating now and freezing for later. It also comes with a rack for delicious roasts! This cooker has paid for itself many times over and looks great in the kitchen too!

I like to cook vegetarian chili and baked beans in a slow cooker during the summer and a crock in the oven in the winter. Even on low my dishes would burn on the bottom. With the simmer feature on this cooker, I avoid this problem, no burning anymore. But...... the unit is ridiculously overpriced compared to other units just to get this feature.

We do a lot of potlucks at church and at work. This pot is easy to carry and transport to those. The ability to lift out the pot makes it so that it doesn't take up a lot of room when time to serve. The temperatures and timer are great! love this purchase!

I love this slow cooker. One of the best ones on the market.

the last slow cooker even on keep warm would boil around the edges. this one does not it cooks very nice and even. the ceramic pot is very heavy and with no grip surface on the handles makes it very hard hard to hold on to. The appearance of the appliance is very nice

LCD screen not working properly from the moment the unit was plugged in. Very disappointed given the reviews. Noticed my unit was the "last" one in stock, Cuisinart suggested a refurbished or returned item. I notice the smaller unit is also "last" in stock. This erodes my trust in the quality of Amazon's electric appliances.