"I had lusted for this slow cooker for ages. I have now had it for about a year and a half, and am on my second one. The first one, the crock developed a crack in it when I put cold leftover ribs in it to warm them slowly. Kitchenaid customer service was great, though, and replaced the entire unit for me. Since then, I've had no problems, but I've been much more aware of what I am cooking and at what temp. It's gorgeous, but be warned...it cooks very hot for a slow cooker. It's so large that I cannot use it for everything. If you are cooking a smaller cut of meat or things like steel cut oats, it's just too large to really cook slowly,even on low. Things like that will dry out and overcook. BUT for when you are cooking a large roast with all the veggies, a big pot of chili, soup, etc...it's wonderful. I would never throw anything really cold or frozen in there now, though, because I am afraid of the crock cracking again, and this time I would be out of my 1 year manufacturer's warranty.
So, it's not as great as I had hoped for. But I think it's a beautiful appliance. I do not reach for it every single time I need to use a crockpot, however...so I'm leaving it 4 stars instead of 5."