Cuisinart BW-10 Review

The Cuisinart BW-10 is a bottle warmer with night light in a compact and attractive package. It uses steam heat in a warming chamber to heat both baby bottles and food jars. The warmer is compatible with both glass and plastic bottles, but does the wider silicone Top Pick Comotomo bottle.

Performance Comparison

Health and Safety

The BW-10 scored a 4 of 10 in health and safety. It does have an auto-shut off but does not have an end of cycle beep; once a bottle is taken out, the dial needs to be manually turned to 'off' to disengage the LED light.

Even with maximum heat settings in our testing, 4 ounces of refrigerated milk in a Lifefactory Glass Bottle with silicone sleeve didn't overheat. While never overheating the milk, the Cuisinart still uses steam heat technology which we don't prefer as we note in our buying advice article. For narrow bottles, an adapter ring is provided to seal in some steam for better warming efficiency and safety, however, it has an awkward fit. It is necessary to read the manual to really figure out the purpose of this piece. In addition, glass bottles must use an elevated positioning to keep the glass further away from the warmer's hot plate than with plastic. Without reading directions, we can see how this safety step could be easily missed.

The measured cup is difficult to get the correct amount of water. Even though this device heats on the cool side, if too much water is used, there is a potential for overheating so getting the right measurement is recommended.

Ease of Use

The Cuisinart received a 4 of 10 in ease of use. With many accessories, there are various components to keep track of and clean. If using glass, be sure to set the warming basket to the raised position. Filling the measuring cup exactly with each use proved to be frustrating to us. And, the dial needs to be manually turned off with every use even though the warming has auto shut-off. The nightlight is cool but since water needs to be measuring for each use, you are still getting up to warm the bottle in the middle of the night. The quick reference guide attached to the back of the device is handy. Unfortunately, the well-loved Comotomo baby bottle doesn't fit inside its warming basket.

Warming Efficiency

The BW-10 received a 5 of 10 in warming efficiency. At recommended settings, auto shut-off occurred at 2:55 with a milk temperature of 62F/16.7C. And, at maximum settings, it took the device 6:10 to reach 80F/26.7C. There is no consecutive warming wait time for warming back-to-back bottles.

Ease of Cleaning

The Cuisinart scored a 7 of 10 in ease of cleaning. Though relatively straightforward to clean, it has numerous pieces to negotiate. Regular de-scaling is required once a month to keep it in optimal use by letting 50mL of white vinegar sit in the warming chamber for 2 hours. The hot plate is easy to clean and not obscured by plastic.

Best Applications

If you really want the nightlight function, this has the best one of all the warmers in our review. However, its other features, namely warming efficiency and ease of use didn't cut the mustard and we feel don't justify purchase for a sweet nightlight functionality.

Value

With an overall score of 44 of 100, the Cuisinart BW-10 does not present a great value and we recommend steering clear from this warmer.

Conclusion

It comes as a surprise to us that the BW-10 underperformed as Cuisinart in general is such a well-regarded brand. In our Best Baby Food Maker review, the Cuisinart BFM-100 received third overall, although we did not test the BFM-100's included bottle warmer functionality. In our opinion, Cuisinart needs to go back to the drawing board with this bottle and baby food warmer.