Review on BLACK+DECKER 7-Quart Digital Slow Cooker: Chalkboard Surface, Slate, SCD4007 - Efficient Meal Preparation and Customizable Cooking Experience by Bill Garczynski

Handles are rather thin and made of plastic. I tried to make soup and ate carrots and potatoes. After 4 hours of cooking on high and 4 hours on low, the vegetables were still not fully cooked. It was also annoying that the metal loop you use to secure the lid was awkward to maneuver and I had to wiggle it back and forth a bit to get it out when I needed to secure both sides. Also, I'm not sure if this is a habit from the last multi cooker I had, but to attach the lid you have to pull down the valve on the handle, which also locks the metal loop to the lid. To remove the cover, you must unlock the handles. So when the slow cooker was on for 4 hours and I had to take the lid off, I often wanted to put my thumbs on the liner/lid (which was HOT) so I could use the lever to pull the handle. . Because once they're in place, they're secure - BUT if you need to open them and remove the lid, just pull on them, no leverage. Rather a design flaw and they should take this into account to be more user friendly.