slow cooker... should I...

allym464

buy one? I have umm and ahhed over whether to buy one but dont want it to end up like so many kitchen applicances... taking up residence at the back of the cupboard.

It is just me in my household so is it worth the purchase? I am looking to cook during the weekend and stock up the freezer for the week as I commute.

Any advice would be much appreciated! :beer:

santer_2

Couple of advantages are:

Being able to use cheaper cuts of meat

Almost impossible to burn anything

I would get one which has an automatic option

One here, family sized but if you will be freezing things that isn't an issue

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/dp/B003X278MK?!!!!!invihand-21

candygirl

They're fab.I make curries, soup and stew in mine, and freeze any leftovers:D:D

allym464

santer wrote: »

Couple of advantages are:

Being able to use cheaper cuts of meat

Almost impossible to burn anything

I would get one which has an automatic option

One here, family sized but if you will be freezing things that isn't an issue

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/dp/B003X278MK?!!!!!invihand-21

Thanks Santer. Do you know if they eat electricty?

marywooyeah

yes definetly get one! its the only gift my husband's auntie bought us that actually had any use!
far from eating electricity, it costs less per hour to run a slow cooker than it does to leave a light bulb on!
sounds perfect for what you need, you can nmake all sorts in them theres a whole slow cooker thread on the old style board you should check out.

pruney

I love mine, we do brisket in ours amongst other things, after 9 hours its absolutely beautiful! Imagine coming home after a long commute to a lovely hot homemade meal, beats a ready meal anyday!

santer_2

A few things, first american costings but relative I would have thought, also called crockpot over there

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cooking.html

From here, post 5

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/1157805#Comment_1157805

Here it says 1 unit of electricity per 8 hours, the auto ones run at high for an hour then drop to low

http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/energyrunningcosts

" A survey by insurer Esure in 2006 revealed that 5.4 million people are letting their slow cookers go unused

The cookers will come with three main settings, high, medium and low, but the best setting is auto cook — only some models have this option; it starts high and after an hour switches to the low setting. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/18/slow-cookers-gadgets

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090529061941AAEucVR

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sclient=psy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ofL&rls=Palemoon%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&source=hp&q=slow+cooker+running+costs&btnG=Search

stephen77

like above mentioned

hard to burn foods.
use cheap cuts of meat.
put on before work and come home to a meal, especially in the winter
if using nice herbs etc, leaves a nice smell in your house.

If you get home before OH, you can eat your meal and still leave it on for a few hours for your OH to eat and the meal will be fine.

geordie_joe

allym464 wrote: »

Any advice would be much appreciated! :beer:

It's like any other gadget, either you will like it and use it, or you won't.

For every person who says "I love mine, and use it every day", there is another who will say "Bought one, used it a few times then put it in the cupboard and forgot about it".

I have one, but hardly ever use it these days. I did use it a lot when I first got it, but after a while I found things turned out a bit "samey". Plus I got sick of having to plan and prepare my evening meal before I'd had my breakfast.

Having said that, they are good and well worth the money if you use it often enough. As pruney says, they are great for Brisket, in fact they are worth buying even if you only ever cook brisket in them.

Gammon and Bacon joints are brilliant too, in fact, the only time mine ever sees the light of day is when I have brisket, bacon or gammon joints. And every time I cook a joint in it I think "it was worth buying just for this".

If you do want to try one, get it from Argos, that will give you 16 days to see if you like it or not. Then get some brisket, you have to try brisket in it!

santer_2

Putting gadgets in the cupboard is a mistake IMO, mine stay on the worktop

geordie_joe

santer wrote: »

Putting gadgets in the cupboard is a mistake IMO, mine stay on the worktop

I agree, once in there you forget about them.

But.............. I put all sorts in my cupboard and never forget about them, yorkie tin, mixing bowl, measuring jug, roasting tin, electric mixer, pressure cooker, juicer, the list is endless.

I think there must be something about the gadget that makes you forget about it. Deep down you don't like using it, you aren't that bothered about using it, it's too much trouble to use it etc. etc.

So putting it in the cupboard is the perfect excuse for forgetting about it, which is what you subconsciously want to do.