Maxi-Matic MST-800V Elite Gourmet Large 8-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker, Stainless

Elite Gourmet 8.5 qt.
We have a family of 7 and required a larger crock pot. This one is excellent as it holds twice what we could normally get in our old crock pot. As the exterior is stainless steel, it does get hot. But the upside is that the cooking time is about the same if not better than with the smaller pots. Definetely worth the investmest if you are cooker for larger groups.

Garbage
I should have listened to the negative reviews here, before I bought this. First of all, it does not hold (inside the volume of space available in the ceramic "cooker" part, 8.5 quarts. When you leave the rim clear for the lid, it BARELY hold 8 quarts. I did a water test with a 1/2 gallon milk carton to measure this.

Second, and most importantly, this thing is NOT a "SLOW cooker!" It is a FAST cooker! I followed all directions, I read the manual, and then I put together our family chili recipe and put it into the "slow cooker" to simmer until morning, thinking that in the morning, I would discover well simmered chili. Nope.

I filled the ceramic portion, leaving about an inch from the rim, as the instructions tell you to do, having to alter my recipe to do so. I left the cooker on low, on a stable surface, not heat sensitive, and away from all disturbances. In the morning (about 5.5 hours later) I awoke to a "slow cooker" which had BOILED the food, and...

8.5 QTS? NOT!!!
Got this last week, cooked a first batch of chili yesterday, and this thing is going back. Why?

1. When you make a batch of soup, have a known amount for dinner and put the rest in standard containers to freeze, you find out the actual capacity of the slow cooker. This thing is between 6.5 and 7 quarts max.

2. The crock is a loose fit in the base and has to be carefully centered or you get "hot spots" where the crock is too close to the base. On the "hot spots" you get boling and sticking.

3. I don't know what this fad with brushed stainless steel is about, but my experience years ago in a commercial environment was reinforced by this cooker. Brushed stainless steel mars easily and is difficult to clean without marking. And this thing gets hot!

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