Round or Oval Crockpot?

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I love, love, LOVE my 30+ year old round Rival crock pot, but was looking to get a larger one for various team dinners.

I've checked the usual retail websites and read reviews there.  I also checked the Consumer Reports and Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen reviews.

Most reviewers seem to prefer oval crock pots.  

All address functionality and design, but none speak to the performance of round versus oval crock pots.  Ten years ago, I briefly had an oval crock pot, but found that it cooked very unevenly and even had hot spots while my round Rival cooks perfectly.

Does anyone have any recent oval crockpot experience?  If so, in your experience, have the newer generations of oval crockpots resolved the uneven cooking issues of past versions?

[milee]

I have an oval one that's about 2 years old. It cooks evenly and I like it. But it's not one with a traditional "crock". The inner pot is a metal container - which I love because you can brown meat in it and then put it right into the heater part. This isn't the exact model, but it's something like this: www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Premiere-Cookware-2-Quart/dp/B0026A7GRM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1413811911&sr=8-5&keywords=hamilton+beach+crock+pot+nonstick

From what I've been reading, you might not want to get rid of your old one even if you do get a newer, bigger one.  The older ones were manufactured to cook at lower temperatures, which probably helped avoid some of the hot spot issues plus weren't as likely to overcook stuff to mush if you left it all day long.  The newer ones are made to cook at higher temperatures to avoid litigation over food safety issues.  Many people prefer the older ones and look for them at garage sales so they can have one with the lower temp cooking available. 

[chiver78]

I have this oval one - link

I've never had a problem with uneven cooking. I only use mine for things like pulled pork/chicken, and warming up stuff that I've cooked elsewhere in order to serve.

don't know if that helps at all...?

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

milee:  Not to worry, you'll have to pry the 30+ year old round one out of my cold, dead hands.     But, thanks for the recommendation on the Hamilton Beach.

chiver78:  thank you, too, for the reply and recommendation.  

[taz157]

We have both. We use the round one for soups and the oval one for everything else.

[Deleted]

I had no idea there was any difference.  I needed a crockpot.  I went to the store, looked at what they had and bought one.  I currently have an oval one (with removable liner).  when it dies, I'll do the same thing I did the first time.

[Chocolate Lover]

I have no idea what brand my oval crock pot is, but it came from the Dollar Store ages ago and IS a hot spot.  High boils liquids so I never leave anything unsupervised all day unless it's frozen and thick.  I love it anyway.  I can't recall the last time I saw a round one. I like oval because you can get longer, more funny shaped roasts in it. 

I had a newer one, might have been a Rival, that was oval and electronically controlled. Died in under a year.  

[Ryan]

I have an oval one and it seems to work fine. I did hear the same thing about older crock pots and the lower tempatures.  My wife told me that she can't start the crock pot before work because it will end up burning by the time she gets home.

I've heard you can use a christmas light timer to delay start the crock pot though, but I've never tried it.

[Deleted]

Oct 20, 2014 9:43:17 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I have no idea what brand my oval crock pot is, but it came from the Dollar Store ages ago and IS a hot spot.  High boils liquids so I never leave anything unsupervised all day unless it's frozen and thick.  I love it anyway.  I can't recall the last time I saw a round one. I like oval because you can get longer, more funny shaped roasts in it. 

I had a newer one, might have been a Rival, that was oval and electronically controlled. Died in under a year.  

isn't the point of a crock pot the ability to put things in it in the morning before you leave for work and have it ready when you get home?  if you can only use the crock pot when you're there to supervise it kind of defeats the purpose.  why not throw it out and get one that works correctly?

[Deleted]

Oct 20, 2014 9:53:57 GMT -5 Ryan said:

I have an oval one and it seems to work fine. I did hear the same thing about older crock pots and the lower tempatures.  My wife told me that she can't start the crock pot before work because it will end up burning by the time she gets home.

I've heard you can use a christmas light timer to delay start the crock pot though, but I've never tried it.

doesn't it have a timer?  I set the time and then it goes to warm after that.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 20, 2014 9:54:34 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Oct 20, 2014 9:43:17 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I have no idea what brand my oval crock pot is, but it came from the Dollar Store ages ago and IS a hot spot.  High boils liquids so I never leave anything unsupervised all day unless it's frozen and thick.  I love it anyway.  I can't recall the last time I saw a round one. I like oval because you can get longer, more funny shaped roasts in it. 

I had a newer one, might have been a Rival, that was oval and electronically controlled. Died in under a year.  

isn't the point of a crock pot the ability to put things in it in the morning before you leave for work and have it ready when you get home?  if you can only use the crock pot when you're there to supervise it kind of defeats the purpose.  why not throw it out and get one that works correctly?

Because often there is someone there to deal with it in the needed time frame. DH going in to work later, kids home from school to turn it off. I just adjust what's being cooked to the time frame needed. I love that I can put dried beans in it without soaking them and 6 hours later, they're done. I've experimented long enough that I know what works for long days and what to skip. High is the boiling temp, low will be fine for almost everything.

[tskeeter]

Oval or round?  With good crock pots, the shape doesn't make a difference in how they cook.  Well constructed is well constructed.

So, what fits in your cabinets best?  Round or oval?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I had a round one, got rid of it and bought an oval one.  An oval crock pot allows you to cook things like lamb shanks in them, or large roasts.  Round crock pots made it difficult/impossible to cook either of those.

[wyouser]

Ummmmm....some help for the handicapped here.....Does the shape really matter?  Remember you are dealing with a guy who didn't know until well into his 20's that one is supposed to boil the pasta first before throwing it in the pot with all the other ingredients.  (speak/type slowly and include lots of pictures please)

[milee]

Oct 20, 2014 11:08:34 GMT -5 wyouser said:

Ummmmm....some help for the handicapped here.....Does the shape really matter?  Remember you are dealing with a guy who didn't know until well into his 20's that one is supposed to boil the pasta first before throwing it in the pot with all the other ingredients.  (speak/type slowly and include lots of pictures please)

Depends on what you put in it. If all you make are recipes that are primarily liquid or flexible dishes like soup, chili or beans - then nope, shape doesn't matter because your ingredients will adjust to the shape. If you ever use larger, inflexible ingredients like a beef roast, pork shoulder or turkey breast then it really helps to have an oval shape to fit the long, inflexible ingredient.

[Abby Normal]

We have both.  We use the oval one for things like stews and roasts.  The round one is for soups, meatballs, rice etc.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 20, 2014 11:08:34 GMT -5 wyouser said:

Ummmmm....some help for the handicapped here.....Does the shape really matter?  Remember you are dealing with a guy who didn't know until well into his 20's that one is supposed to boil the pasta first before throwing it in the pot with all the other ingredients.  (speak/type slowly and include lots of pictures please)

Yes, shape does matter.  One of my crock pot recipes is lamb shanks, which are long narrow pieces of bone with some of the most delicious meat ever attached to it, provided you cook it forever (either in the oven, or crock pot).  

Think pieces of meat on the bone roughly the size and shape of a turkey drumstick.

You can always make chili and stews in an oval crock pot, but large roasts (and shanks) do not fit easily in a round one.

[kittensaver]

I had a round one *forever* (probably 20 years). It had two settings: high and low (oh yeah, and "off"). The lid was extruded plastic and fit very loosely. It was fine for a long time, but slow-cooker recipes have come a long way - and many are much more sophisticated than the " and stir" recipes of yore. I agree with others that the oval shape fits many things much better (whole chickens, brisket, shanks, ribs, etc). I recently got the oval Crockpot recommended by America's Test Kitchen and I LOVE it. It does everything the old one did and much, much more. So I vote for oval - unless you just want to stick with your tried-and-true recipes that were intended for the older, round models.

[The Captain]

I have both the oval and the round and use them for diffrent things like other posters here.

However, I may have to pony up and get this just for the geek factor:

www.crock-pot.com/slow-cookers/wemo-enabled-smart-slow-cooker/SCCPWM600-V1.html

"Have you ever been held up somewhere wishing you could just get home to finish your slow-cooked dinner? Wouldn't it be nice if you could control your Crock-Pot® from where ever you are? Now you can. The Crock-Pot® Smart Slow Cooker is WeMo® enabled and works with your smart device to let you conveniently adjust cook settings...from virtually any where. Go ahead…keep on shopping, working or playing for as long as you want! Dinner will be ready when ever you arrive home."

[momofg]

I have a 30+ year old round crockpot/deep fryer.  I think the brand was Dazey.  They are no longer around.  I love it because the temp goes from simmer to 400.  I'm looking for a bigger oval one too, at least 6 quarts.  I like the Hamilton Beach programmable ones.  I'm hoping Santa brings it for me.  

[HoneyBBQ]

Oval.


rickandkathy.com/2014/01/cooks-illustrated-kitchen-tools-and-equipment-list-crock-pots-and-slow-cookers/

[Deleted]

I have a round one from DH's late mom. If I had to buy one, I'd definitely buy an oval one because most roasts (pork, chicken, beef) are longer than they are wide, so they'd fit better in an oval one. 

[aprilleigh]

Oct 20, 2014 13:20:40 GMT -5 The Captain said:

I have both the oval and the round and use them for diffrent things like other posters here.

However, I may have to pony up and get this just for the geek factor:

www.crock-pot.com/slow-cookers/wemo-enabled-smart-slow-cooker/SCCPWM600-V1.html

"Have you ever been held up somewhere wishing you could just get home to finish your slow-cooked dinner? Wouldn't it be nice if you could control your Crock-Pot® from where ever you are? Now you can. The Crock-Pot® Smart Slow Cooker is WeMo® enabled and works with your smart device to let you conveniently adjust cook settings...from virtually any where. Go ahead…keep on shopping, working or playing for as long as you want! Dinner will be ready when ever you arrive home."

I immediately ordered one (well, from Bed Bath & Beyond, so I could use the 20% off coupon!) after clicking that link. OMG that looks so awesome!!! My husband is already trying to figure out how to hack it to do other things!!