Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

LJM

i have the morphy richards 3.5 litre oval slow cooker and a 1 litre one also perfect for us a family of 4 i can have 2 things going at once and i can bulk cook for the freezer,i have been told cookworks is very good and cheaply priced

grannigrunt

If the lid on your slow cooker is letting the steam out, try wrapping foil round it to make a better fit.

brownsauce

Argos have reduced the price of their slow cookers again

the 6.5L is only 21.49!

Naseby

For anyone who is interested, Aldi are selling a Stainless Steel 3.5 litre Slow Cooker on 14th July 2011 for £13.99. Three heat settings, High, Low and Auto. Also has "boil, dry protection".

HTH

canidothis

Ive recently bought a new slow cooker but am finding even the low setting a bit hot - pork chop casserole was burnt and a mush to be honest - am I do something wrong?

ariba10

canidothis wrote: »

Ive recently bought a new slow cooker but am finding even the low setting a bit hot - pork chop casserole was burnt and a mush to be honest - am I do something wrong?

We have found that the larger modern Slow Cookers tend to do that.

We sent two back for that reason.

We have two smaller S C bought in car boot sales that are perfect.

Rainy-Days

Argos currently have the Breville 3.5 litre one on half price for £12.49 :T good reviews on it as well

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

As a single person living on her own I plan to get a 5.7L one once and for all, which I can plonk in oven, microwave, freezer etc (Slow cookers though cheap that dont do this is false economy IMHO) as I don't want the hassle of having to use separate pots and pans to prep up whatever it is I am cooking.
If I have to go to John Lewis and other reputable retailers so be it. You get what you pay for. If however there is a John Lewis type genuine equivalent then I can go for it provided it genuinely does what I want it to do.
I am also skeptical about TV Chef endorsement marketing of Kitchen appliances etc, it is NO gaurantee of qaulity and quite frankly I would rather go for long established makes with a pedigree than some TV Chef whizz. ( I was cheated with a TV Chef stock mix ugh), but if TV chef makes excellent product ie AWT Juicer then I would buy, but not otherwise.
I sometimes think that in the pursuit of saving money on this forums people end up getting less rather than more and sometimes it is worth it to pay out for something that will do job first time.
I have also used Tesco slow cookers for years with inconveniences. I brought a med capacity Crockpot and plan to eget a larger size as a LIFETIME decision, not to keep buying again and again and again. My two pence.
I am currently testing current model a Crockpot I can put in oven etc so I will hold off till I see how it performs.best wishes to all in our collective moneysaving and becoming 'experts' in it.For me this is only done by grabbing fantastic quality goods at dirt cheap prices!!!

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

I would up one's culinary skills in slow cooking cooking. I think slow cooking demands a different set of skills. Good recipes , authorative cookery books (call me a snob extravagant swearword if you like!!! I am ready for it!!) and good cookery equivalent in tools etc.

Living_proof

I use mine constantly and I think the current white oval one is a Cookworks. Prior to that I had a Morphy Richards round one with tan ceramic inner. The oval one is a better shape for chickens, etc. but the old round one seemed to cook at a steadier lower temperature, and I think the lid was a better fit. I have often considered what I would get next time and whilst I only cook for two I bulk cook and freeze lots of portions (my aim is to cook as such just once a week, and simply re-heat and cook fresh veg the rest of the time) and I have a theory that if I buy a humungous SC I could put hot water in and then an ovenproof dish of some kind with small portions. It would be a bain marie within a bain marie if you see what I mean. Has anyone tried this?