VitaClay Smart Organic Clay Pot Multi Cooker - Toxin Free Clay Rice Cooker, Delay Start Slow Cooker, Stew Cooker, Electric Soup Pot, Yogurt Maker, with Natural Earthen Clay Crock, 8 Cup / 4.2-Quart

I bought this slow cooker three years ago. I don’t trust most slow cookers because of their non-stick inner pot even if they are stainless steel on the outside. There are some on the market which have a stainless steel pot, however I thought that the flavor benefits of the porous even heating surface of the clay would be worth trying.So, three years later we are using the pot almost every day! I like to make very creamy porridge in the mornings. Either I put all the ingredients in the night before and set the automatic delay timer on, or I do it in the mornings and don’t have to worry about watching the pot or turning the heat off when it’s done. The automatic keep warm function is very handy for that. I add wheat germ, raisins for sweetness, hemp seeds and sometimes collagen powder along with the milk to our porridge recipe. I can’t tell you how glad I am to make something so nutritious for my kids for breakfasts with the minimum energy and effort. No more than it takes really to pour a cup of cereal!Other than for breakfasts I use this pot to make quick easy and nutritious meals when we have an extra busy day and either I only have 30mins to prepare a meal, or we need something ready as soon as we get home. Some of my favorite recipes that are a staple now in our family and are part of my recipe collection came from the recipe book that comes with the VitaClay. For example, the veggie sauce just involves cutting up the veggies and then pouring everything into the pot and setting it on stew function for two hours. It takes about 20mins to put everything together but the sauce is super healthy and I love the taste, it seems way more sophisticated than it really is and can easily be used as a main meal with some kind of protein added. Another favorite recipe from the book is their lentil stew and their minestrone soup. It’s my favorite minestrone soup recipe :)Lastly, I love using the pot to make something extra that would otherwise take up too much burner space on the oven top or be too much fuss. E.g. a side of rice or soup. I just have to put in the ingredients and then it cooks, switches off and keeps warm so I don’t have to pay attention to that and just focus on the rest of the menu. Wonderful! Impress your guests with how much you can cook in a short period of time :)There are only a couple downsides for this pot that we have found. Firstly, we are a family of four and sometimes I wish the pot was bigger so I could double the recipes and have enough left overs for a second meal the following day. At the moment only a little is leftover, enough for a side maybe. Also it’s not really big enough to make bone broth in bulk.Second point is that I would not use the pot to make yoghurt. The yoghurt I tried to make several times came out a little soggy and didn’t taste that great. I think that perhaps the porous nature of the pot means that unless you have any to do an extra tough cleaning job before you make your yoghurt the bacteria and flavors from your savory meals probably won’t mix well with making a vanilla yoghurt if you know what I mean! It’s just like a cast iron pan retains flavors I suppose. I just got a special yoghurt maker with separate small glass pots for making yoghurt and we shall see how that goes.Thirdly, although the recipe book is genius, the instruction manual is dodgy to say the least. The English is a little poor and you can tell someone who’s English is their second language wrote it. Secondly, there is an issue with the delay function. I believe you set the timer for the time you want the food to start cooking rather the time you want it to finish. However the manual says the opposite lol. Once you get the hang of how the slowcooker works you don’t really need the manual anymore for the most part and that’s a great relief.Lastly, our lid did break once but it was my husband dropping it by accident. We got a replacement shipped with no problems and have had no other breakages thus far. I am careful not to create sudden changes of temperature for the pot or put it in the sink with other dishes.The lid is hard to lift but the new models I believe come with a little metal hook which solves the problem with the flat lid knob. Customer service did ship me the metal hook after I asked which was great.Some of the The porridge can get stuck on the bottom if I don’t add enough liquid or leave it on warm for too long. However it’s easy to get off since it scrapes off with a wood spatula safely or if the worst comes to the worst you can just cook another meal in it and it will loosen up the bottom burn on.

This pot is amazing! Cooks quickly and evenly. We've had it for years now and we love it. Well worth the money

D O N O T B U Y ! ! LEAD POISONING & FIRE RISK ! ! DESIGN FLAWS ! ! Top Lid, Bottom Heating Element, and other crazy design features.Even though my Clay Pot has not broken after 1 year of using once a week, and is still going strong: I'M NOT USING IT ANYMORE. IT'S GOING INTO THE DUMPSTER. LEAD FREE? Why take a chance with our lives. I'm going back to my stainless steel pot.Thank you, for waking me up ! To the wonderful PERSON who wrote the informative details on mining the different levels of clay, and all the things that can happen in the factory, with all the complex details of manufacturing.ARE WE REALLY GETTING A 99.9% LEAD-FREE CLAY POT. I have been lucky (OR, MAYBE UNLUCKY) using my Vita-Clay for 1 year; and clay pot still has not broken. HOWEVER, THANKS FOR POINTING OUT: Vita-Clay has one lab test showing their pots to be 99.9% free. However, thank you for showing, these tests would have to be done continuously, it depends on different levels and batches of clay, etc. And, you never really know for sure, with all the many other details that go into manufacturing. WHY AM I PUTTING MY LIFE INTO THEIR HANDS? The manual is so stupid. That should make one wonder. Also, I'm not mechanically inclined, however, it's common sense, after using it for one year: Design Flaws - Top, Bottom & Sideways. The heating element is too close to the clay pot. That is why no matter how much I stir it, or make sure the water level is correct, the food burns to the bottom. Eating burnt food is toxic and not healthy. Maybe that's why other people's clay pots are breaking - the heating element is too close to the clay pot. It WILL boil over if I shut with top cover - a major design flaw. Also, impossible to clean, and a cleaning nightmare to clean top cover, which does NOT detach. Ditto for cleaning the bottom heating element when it overflows; which it will do, no matter how much you follow the "manual" or what you do ! It even boils over with just the clay lid on, no matter how little water is in it. No matter how much you baby sit it. I was going to try leaving the clay lid partially open at all times. Hello ! MANY OTHER CRAZY DESIGN FLAWS. ALL OF THIS, AND MORE.I have been crazy to trust this Vita-Clay company with my health and life, this last year. Wishful thinking on my part. How could I be so dumb. There were so many signs. I think it is like so much in this crazy world - cognitive dissonance; false advertising, marketing, and media. Creating false realities. I'm sorry I have been so dumb. THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS N O T TO TRUST THIS COMPANY with our lives, not just being poisoned by lead ! ! I HOPE I DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH LEAD POISONING AFTER USING IT FOR ONE YEAR.Thanks for waking me up. I'm going back to babysitting my stainless steel pot on the stove.