Rival Crock-Pot, $19.99

The machine: A ceramic liner slips into a heated sheath and should maintain temperatures between 170 and 280 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to pull food quickly through the bacterial "danger zone" of 40 to 140 degrees Celsius. (Note: My machine failed to get hot enough at the low setting, so all the testing was done on high.)

The tests: Crock-Pots are convenient not because they cook fast, but because they cook slowly enough to safely leave something stewing all day while you are away from the kitchen. In theory, you come home from work to the aroma of ready-to-eat chili or pot roast.

I made a quasi-Moroccan chicken stew with the Crock-Pot. Prep was lightning-quick: it took me five minutes to get the chicken thighs, onion, spices, and water into the machine. The chicken was done within a couple of hours on high, but I left it on for eight to simulate a workday situation. Five minutes before serving, I freshened up the stew with a handful of chopped cilantro and a grating of lemon peel. The meat was dripping off the bone and ghostly pale, but the whole house smelled wonderful. My normally uncritical dinner companion found the meat bland. But the broth was excellent—the chicken's flavor had migrated to it. I'm not sure such long-term cooking is the best for poultry—it is too lean (oxtail or lamb shanks would thrive here). I'm generally a fan of slow, moist cooking but missed the browning I would have given the meats and vegetables if I stewed them on a conventional stove. The pork chop didn't work in the blind taste test—it was described as "tough" and "bland." Stewed vegetables and an apple crisp came out predictably mushy but flavorful after hours of cooking.

Chicken: B
Pork: D
Versatility: B
Cleanup: A