VitaClay VF7700-6 Chef Gourmet 6-Cup Rice Cooker & Slow Cooker - Perfect for Healthy Meals, Stews, and Family Dinners

The real reason I have nothing negative to write about this Rice and Slow Cooker is because I had no expectations that it would be the same as the other non-stick surface rice cookers and slow cookers.I expected it to - be different - cook differently - and I expected it to - contribute to my general health. IT HAS NOT DISAPPOINTED ME! I use it daily. I have cooked brown rice, white rice, wild rice mix, oatmeal, beef stew, lamb stew, chicken fricassee, split pea soup, lentil soup, black beans, ....... the list is just too long.I am COMPLETELY SATISFIED with this ceramic cooker. It is true that there is a small amount of rice that always sticks to the bottom of the pot. The reason for this is that I wanted to get rid of the poisonous non-stick surface on my previous rice cooker. This does not bother me. It is a very small amount of rice and it does not represent a large waste of food nor a large amount of money. My estimate is that it represents about $5.00 a year if you cook rice almost every day as I do. I am oh-so-very pleased to be rid of the teflon coated rice cooker. It's sitting in my Goodwill Industries take-away box.If you are wondering... do I buy it? Do I not buy it? The answer lies within your expectations. Do you want to be healthy? This is not a non-stick surface! Yes... the rice WILL stick a bit only on the bottom. I soak it for 30 minutes and the rice comes right off. I handle the pot and the top with GREAT CARE. I follow the instructions that came with the manual. No extreme changes in temperature. You can't take the ceramic pot out right after cooking and pour cold water in it. If you think you might be banging the pot and top - don't buy it... you will break it. It is not your old metal rice cooker. It is ceramic. It is somewhat fragile as all ceramic pots are. Do you want delicious food? Buy it. Do you want beef, lamb and chicken that you can cut with a fork it is so tender and juicy? Buy it. Do you want enhanced flavor in recipes you have been cooking for years? Buy it.The product, the packing and the shipping were Amazon's usual EXCELLENT. I had it at my door 2 days after buying and it was packed extremely well.I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS COOKER to anyone that genuinely cares about their health and that is willing to be realistic in accepting that they are purchasing something different than what they are accustomed to. You will fall in love with it and use it many many times as I do!UPDATE: June 29, 2012Still 100% pleased with this purchase. I use it almost every day. Today I put some navy beans, water, carrots, potato, onion, garlic, swiss chard and lamb in my pot... pressed soup and went out with family. When I got back I had an excellent Tuscan Navy Bean Soup waiting for me. My apartment smelled DEELICIOUS!!!! I love this pot. I've cooked about 20 different types of rice in it and the more I use it the more I value it and am so glad I took the risk and bought it.UPDATE: May 16, 2012Still 100% pleased with this purchase and use it almost every day.The best way I can describe the Vita Clay is a cross between the Crockpot and Instapot. I like it for its simplicity and the use of clay, which is free from toxins. The clay pot has is weighty, sturdy, but can still be fragile if handled roughly. The VC cooks quickly and evenly, and I can lift the lid anytime I want without worrying I will harm myself. That is always a plus! Initially, I decided I needed one because a friend of mine had one, and her rice was delicious and the clay pot caught my eye as unique (to me). I did have to spend quite a few extra bucks JUST TO MAKE RICE. I admit I had a little buyer's remorse happening until I finally used my VC for my first batch of wild rice. Since then, I made split pea soup and an Americanized version of Coq au Vin which--I quite humbly put out there-- was just as good as the traditionally prepared French version. Vitaclay is really worth the extra money you would spend on a rice maker and can do so much more! I highly recommend not taking it out of the box and cooking with it, until you read all of the directions. I see people unhappy with it, knowing that damage can come from not seasoning it first. (i.e., cooking a non-edible rice concoction to get things started). I think it is a lovely thing to have in my home and what it does, it does excellently!I've had my rice cooker for about 5 years now and we cracked the pot by accident. My son was making sushi. Scooped all the rice out so it would cool faster (he's 14 and impatient), and then put cold water into the still hot clay pot so it would soak and loosen up the remaining rice that was stuck to the bottom. This is EXACTLY were a little care is needed and we follow a simple rule, when we pull it out of the steamer we always put it on a trivet to act as an insulator between the hot clay pot and the cool stone counter. This is what has made ours last so long. (I can't speak for the possibility of a bad batch of inferior clay pots from the manufacturer, but it does make me wonder if people have not been sensitive to the slow thermal changes that the pot needs to make it last.) Anyway, the other reason we selected this clay pot is because we didn't want a non-stick or aluminum one for health reasons, and the stainless steel ones cool down quicker once it's removed from the steamer. One last tip, everytime before we use the cooker I put a little cooking oil (something tasteless like canola) on a paper towel, and then I wipe it on the inside so there is a micro thin layer down. Then we will fill with the rice and water (remember oil and water don't mix, so the water can't get to the pores of the clay as easily) and steam the rice. This way if there is any rice residue or anything else you cooked in it, clean up is much easier, because most of the food has released from the pot. Hope this helps.I love it due to its healthy way of cooking but unfortunately the clay pot cracked after a few months, I was able to use it for a year though until it did not work anymore due to the on/off button was not working. I think the wire was busted. I am quite disappointed because I expected a lot from this product. I decided to make a comment because I bought a telescoping ladder just a week ago and the auto locking in one step is not working. I hope amazon will be able to help me with this. I still believe in the company's dedication to their customer service.It is difficult and sometime not able to change the default time at the start of cooking. I had tried to reduce the cooking time of white rice from the default time of 40 minutes to 30 minutes but I was unable to do it. I had followed the instruction given in the manual for changing the cooking time.I thought it would be hard to clean but it is super easy. Easy to use and rice is always perfect. I use it to make lentils as well. Delish!Lovely pot. The food tastes great. If you are cooking rice porridge do not add more than 4 or 5 cups of water and keep an eye on the machine. Adding more water like I did, the water overflows making a mess!I only make small amounts of rice and it seems it needs just a little more water than recommended, but it cooks well.