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See why.Portable Crock Pot
This device is designed to both transport and warm your food for hot lunches anywhere you can find an outlet.
What You Need To Know
This device, a 20-ounce handled lunch tote that resembles a mini slow cooker, is designed to both transport and warm your food for hot lunches at your desk. Once plugged in, it supposedly warms food as a conventional slow cooker does—no office microwave necessary.
We toted a crock filled with refrigerator-cold chicken soup and homemade chili to work and plugged it in as soon as we arrived. We also put the insert and lid through five dishwasher cycles. The good news was that the warming element worked well: The appliance operated inside the temperature-safe zone by quickly heating food above 140 degrees. After about 2 hours, it reached a maximum of 175 degrees and held food at that temperature until the unit was unplugged, keeping our food safe and ready to eat. (Note: It does not insulate as a thermos does, meaning that food will not be kept cold before heating. Nor will it cook raw food like a slow cooker.)
The downside was durability. While the crock didn’t leak when new, the lid lost its snug fit and began leaking a bit after repeated heating, cooling, and trips through the dishwasher. Given that, we’ll continue to use the microwave to reheat leftovers.
Everything We Tested
Recommended with reservations
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
This lunch crock is roughly the same size as the average lunch box and will heat your lunch at your desk while you work. The insert has a 20-ounce capacity and is dishwasher-safe. Its base can be left at the office and the insert serves as a food storage container to transfer to and from home. But since the lid can leak after repeated use, we recommend that you place the insert in a zipper-lock bag when transporting it.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
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