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Slow cooker which best buys

i have been using a crockpot in the oven but now want to buy a slow cooker. Which one would you recommend and what size for a family of four? Any idea which are the Which best buys?
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Comments

  • No idea, but I used a cheap Tesco one for about 4 years - cost a tenner! That would be about the right size, or the next size up isn't much more expensive. Beyond that you get fancy things like timers etc that seem a bit excessive with a slow cooker...
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,908 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I have an old Tefal one which has three settings: High, Low, and High going down to Low when it's hot enough.

    Very rarely use Low, but the High-->Low is jolly useful!
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • teddysmum
    teddysmum Posts: 9,500 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 26 August 2016 pm31 4:57PM
    I have a good looking (black) 3.5 litre CrockPot, which I got half price from Tesco, as well as using double up and it performs very well, being sturdier than Tesco's cheapie and an Aldi one which I took back, as it was too slow (stew not done after 6 hours on high).


    However, being just two of us, I found myself preparing food which lasted two meals (so having no freezer space meant eating the same two days together), so bought a 1.5 litre silver coloured Breville using free Amazon vouchers.


    The latter is not as well made, but is actually quicker for small meals (two people at most). However, the lid doesn't fit as well (lots report a rattling lid) and the contents can soon become dry, if you don't add enough liquid.


    So for two of us it's the little Breville, with the larger one being used for family meals, stews and joints. (The pot needs to be filled almost to the top as the heat is provided via the base and sides of the container.)
  • Hemera
    Hemera Posts: 57 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I have a Morphy Richards, 3.5L capacity, which works very well and holds 4 portions perfectly, at least for stuff like soups, stews with diced meat and the like. I also use it to cook meat on the bone (chicken legs and lamb steaks mostly), and these end up being a little crowded, but nothing terrible.

    I paid 20£ for it, they have a larger version (around 6L) for a slightly higher price.
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I think i paid about a tenner for the basic Cookworks one from Argos. Probably use it a couple of times a week for 6/7yrs now.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
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  • susancs
    susancs Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    I have an oval design Morphy Richards, which I purchased from Costco some years ago. Mine is a big 6 litre one for a family of 4, but as our children are teenagers we usually have extra teens at meal time so it caters for these as well (just add extra veg or a can of chopped tomato etc).

    I find mine so useful as put it on low in the morning before work and it is done by the time I come home. I do chilli, chicken curry, stews, soup in it. When I have milk leftover I also make rice pudding in it (take hours but so easy just to meaure in pudding rice, sugar and milk and leave it). A firend of mine fills hers with hot water and puts hotdogs in them to keep them hot during her fireworks annual party and another who likes boiled bacon, cooks her joint of bacon in her slow cooker.

    Maybe have a look on Amazon for reviews to see which slow cooker you prefer.
  • pinkshoes
    pinkshoes Posts: 20,350 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Wouldn't touch a Morphy Richards one with a bargepole!!

    The clip holding the front cover on eventually fails and snaps due to the heating and cooling of the cooker rendering it dangerous. A blatant manufacturing fault but Morphy Richards couldn't care less!

    Plenty of other cheap ones that will no doubt last longer than a Morphy Richards one.
    Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
    Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')

    No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
  • susancs
    susancs Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    pinkshoes wrote: »
    Wouldn't touch a Morphy Richards one with a bargepole!!

    The clip holding the front cover on eventually fails and snaps due to the heating and cooling of the cooker rendering it dangerous. A blatant manufacturing fault but Morphy Richards couldn't care less!

    Plenty of other cheap ones that will no doubt last longer than a Morphy Richards one.

    I cant see a clip on my stainless Morphy Richards one and had it years with no issues. Two family members have the same model and no problems over the years. Same model has a large number of really good reviews on Amazon.
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-Oval-Slow-Cooker/dp/B0000C6WH1/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472289586&sr=8-3&keywords=morphy+richards+slow+cooker
  • pinkshoes
    pinkshoes Posts: 20,350 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    susancs wrote: »
    I cant see a clip on my stainless Morphy Richards one and had it years with no issues. Two family members have the same model and no problems over the years. Same model has a large number of really good reviews on Amazon.
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-Oval-Slow-Cooker/dp/B0000C6WH1/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472289586&sr=8-3&keywords=morphy+richards+slow+cooker

    It is a fault when the front panel is moulded, so will only affect some of them. You cannot see the clip as it is on the inside, but once it snaps, there is nothing to hold the front panel on. Just a very poor and cheap design.

    (I have a background in plastics engineering...)
    Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
    Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')

    No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
  • Thank you!
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