which slow cooker for my daughter ?

ariba10

Aldi have a 3.5 Ltr Slow Cooker on sale from next Sunday for £12.99 with a 3 year warranty.

morganlefay

Thank you kind people. I don't use a SC myself, found that everything tasted exactly like everything else - no matter how I varied the herbs etc, it's my son-in-law who cooks things my daughter doesn't like. I wonder if anyone uses a SC which starts off on a higher setting and can then be programmed to turn itself down ? My daughter wants not to have to fry stuff at crack of dawn, but put stuff in cold, get it up to heat (she having gone off on school run and then to work by then) with the SC turning itself down so that when she gets home from work/school collection there'll be a lovely cooked chuck or casserole waiting for her. I think less water is a very good tip, but am not sure if there is a SC which would turn itself down ?

Principia_2

Aldi have one for £13, 3.5litre, this Sunday 15th.

Personally I've never got on with slow cookers, I've tried three and I find the veg always has a slight caramelised taste to it. Veggie chilli is lovely but I tend to make a big batch of that on the top of the stove anyway which is how I make my stews/soup anyway.

Mojisola

morganlefay wrote: »

My daughter wants not to have to fry stuff at crack of dawn, but put stuff in cold, get it up to heat (she having gone off on school run and then to work by then) with the SC turning itself down so that when she gets home from work/school collection there'll be a lovely cooked chuck or casserole waiting for her.

Why do you need one that turns itself down? With mine, the SC goes on 10 minutes ahead of putting everything in, all the ingredients are added and it's left to cook. The timings suggested in the recipe book allow for everything warming up.

If I'm adding water or stock, I'll usually put it in hot but it's not essential. Likewise, I'll sometimes brown things off but that's for flavour rather than cooking times.

morganlefay

Thanks Mojisola - my earliest SC (about 20 years ago) said you HAD TO fry everything so it was all very hot before you put it in the SC, and then it would cook nicely, I found that a real pain. Now reading on here I discovered that people put stuff in their SCs cold, and it just cooks all day anyway. If you have a good book which has recipes like that in then that might be the answer for my daughter ! Could you tell me what cookbook you use please ?
JackieO I think your lovely melting chicken is exactly what my daughter wants to have, but cooked during the day not overnight: do you have a good SC cookbook ?
Maybe her problem is not the actual SC but what her husband is doing with the food, and also too much liquid.

pigpen

I take off the lid.. sling food in.. turn it on, replace the lid and ignore it until slopping out time. Mine has 1 temperature.. 'Cook' .. and 4-12 hour cooking time.. after the cooking time it goes to keep warm temp until you turn it off.

The only thing I put in later are dumplings in the stew and corned beef in the hash..

Yorkie1

I've got one (think it's a murphy richards from amazon) with an auto setting. In this model, this means that it cooks on high for a bit then turns itself down after a bit.

You do need to check the model / brand, though - sometimes auto means 'keep warm' instead.

Popperwell

I have two spare slow cookers(one small/one large)One make I don't remember the brand(bought at B&M)the other Russell Hobbs(Sainsbury's):oI use a Tesco's one that has three settings Low, High and Warm(manual)the RH has an automatic function.

I'm afraid in case of breakdowns and income problems I have spare of just about all kitchen gadgets including kettles...

Mojisola

morganlefay wrote: »

Now reading on here I discovered that people put stuff in their SCs cold, and it just cooks all day anyway. If you have a good book which has recipes like that in then that might be the answer for my daughter ! Could you tell me what cookbook you use please ?

I just started with the booklet that came with the slow cooker and then adapted other recipes once I was used to how it worked.

jcaow

For something different and that really works try the wonderbag. You heat up whatever you're cooking then the wonderbag keeps it cooking by insulating it without using any electricity. I love it as I don't like leaving things switched on when we go out etc and for the one you buy one will be donated for humanitarian relief.