KitchenAid KMC4241SS Multi-Cooker - Stainless Steel

Updated after half dozen uses.Very happy with this purchase. One thing I've noticed. The downloaded recipe book is nice, but the majority of the recipes include the use of the stir mixer. I did not get that. I recommend you consider getting the combo package when a good sale price comes up. I've added the stirrer to my camel camel camel alerts. Hoping to get it for a much reduced price. Just made a great beef stew and used a wooden spoon to stir it. Probably would not work for the more delicate items.I downloaded the recipe book to my IPad, and it went right into IBooks. Makes it easy find, open and use whenever I use the Multicooker.Kitchen aid processed my $40 Visa promo card very quickly. They gave constant in progress notice. I know I forget to include the serial number. They obviously want happy customers.Original review.This product has allowed me to make beef stews, chicken soup, and fish stews with ease. Takes about 2 hours to make a fully cooked chicken soup from a 4 pound whole chicken. Same with the beef stew. The beef stew recipe in the free cookbook came out perfectly. Let me explain. We live in an enclosed condo building. My wife hates the smell of fish cooking. She also is dead against using our range top for anything other than cooking water for hard boiled eggs, or plain pasta. Those that have incurred the expense of a kitchen remodel will understand why we are so protective of our kitchen cabinets. They look new. They will stay that way. I put in all the ingredients for fish chowder, including frozen haddock, placed it on our patio, plugged it in, used the soup setting, and 2 hours later a delicious fish stew. No odor in the house at all. The first day I received it, made a great tasting beef stew. I think it's failsafe, in that food comes out perfect. As I experiment further, I will edit this review. Next time, cabbage soup, made on the patio.After experimenting with the settings, which takes some practice to learn, I find it easiest to set the initial setting to boil. Boils very quickly. Then I switch the setting to soup. As I said, two hours to make stew or meaty soup.This is a large device, but its shape makes it much easier to store than a crockpot. Higher than a crockpot, but not as long. Fits easily in my bottom cabinet, where I struggled with the crockpot. It is also much lighter than a crockpot. You don't have to worry about damaging the sink when you clean it. The lift out container containing the food is very light, and very easy to clean. Some have said that they leave it on the counter because it's so attractive. I guess if you have a very large kitchen you can leave it out, but not in most kitchens. I ordered the SS, because of a $ 50 dollar price difference. Otherwise I would have ordered the red or ebony. The SS is not especially attractive.The cookbook that someone mentioned, must be downloaded. Mine downloaded without a problem. It is a cookbook for the multi cooker. The site takes you to cookbooks for various Kitchen aid devices.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! KitchenAid got it right once again, this product works, looks amazing in the kitchen (it looks so good you want to just keep it out all the time) and is very easy to clean. Use only wood or bamboo utensils inside (forget plastic and food) and you will protect the ultra easy cleanable surface...you'll appreciate it when cooking sticky rice dishes or have to remove dried up grains.The operation is intuitive and the pre-set menus are a great help. There is however one point where improvement should be made (not big enough to subtract a star). Add a nice owners manual that has a few sample recipes for all the cycles so that users can feel more confident if they have no cooking experience. Youtube videos are nice but not everyone has that in the kitchen.

YouTube videos are important to watch after making this purchase. I bought this because it matches other stainless KitchenAid appliances we have, and I wanted a "super" slow cooker option in our vacation home. Unpacking was simple and the machine is really solid and sturdy. The available videos are great for an overview of how to make the most of all of the different settings and options. It is quite expensive for a "slow cooker," and making use of many of the most interesting features requires the purchase of ANOTHER stand-mixer-like machine that can do the stirring for you (for risotto, for example). This secondary machine is not required to make risotto with it, but then you have to wonder why you would not just make risotto on the stovetop if you are going to have to stir it yourself anyway. What sets it above a traditional slow-cooker is the ability to truly sear meat and veggies before slow-cooking them. The capacity is less than what I expected given the overall size and weight of the machine, but it is perfectly adequate for cooking portions for a family. At the outset, it seems like a tool that will get a lot of use.

RETURNED - Inner pan/pot did not fit well . Loose. Not a tight seal. Did not appear to be original to the pot. (I have previously owned this same model for 4 years & I know what it SHOULD look like) KitchenAid has discontinued making this item.Item appeared to be 'used' / refurbished as outside hadscrub lines on it as if someone used an abrasive to polish it. Plus there was the inner cooking pot that did not fit correctly. It wasloose making me suspect that it was a replacement item in a refurbished cooker. Audrey

We've used this a few times now and absolutely love it. It has replaced our rice cooker, and two different sized crock pots. It's on its way to replacing our skillet as well. I've used it to sear meat and then slow cook and it works like a charm. We've cooked rice in it and it turned out perfect as well. But the truly amazing thing about this cooker is the fact that it really is non-stick. Clean up is sooo eeeasy!

This is a multifunctional kitchen appliance whose temperature can be reliably well controlled. E.g. the fermentation part of the yogurt cycle can be used to soak/sprout rice overnight to remove harmful anti-nutrients with the addition of a natural probiotic (like whey or sauerkraut juice) to further 'predigest' the grain before cooking. I use the low slow cook option to slow cook brisket or even chicken stock for 24 hours. (But it seems to turn itself off after 12 hours, so you do need to re-set it before going to bed.) My only complaint is that the ceramic non-stick coating has started flaking on the pot's underside and that will be a hassle to remedy.