Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

KittyBoo_2

I have a really old slow cooker (must be about 20 years old as oldest son is 23 and I used it when he was little). I don't know if its because its an old fashined one but you can't cook veg. in it. I tried it once and it was as hard the next morning as it was when I put it in. I would love to be able to just chuck everything in but I think I will need to invest in a more up to date one. The old one cooks meat beautifully but I have to pre cook the veg and then put it in the next morning to warm through for dinner. Any ideas of the best one at the moment. I am going to buy my son one as well.Thanks

SkyBlue_2

Such good advice, but I am confused now!

Not sure whether to go for a big or small one....and get the impression the cheap ones might be a bit iffy?


Am I right in thinking a medium sized, oval shaped, not too cheap SC is the best buy?

You make them sound like such a good investment. I adore casseroles and like the idea of just bunging stuff in and having a stew or whatever for dinner that night

Pink.

SkyBlue wrote: »

Such good advice, but I am confused now!

Not sure whether to go for a big or small one....and get the impression the cheap ones might be a bit iffy?


Am I right in thinking a medium sized, oval shaped, not too cheap SC is the best buy?

You make them sound like such a good investment. I adore casseroles and like the idea of just bunging stuff in and having a stew or whatever for dinner that night

Whatever size you decide on you can cook less than full capacity in it so I'd recommend you go for as big as you can. Even if you live alone you can usually freeze any leftovers.

One that is regularly recommended on this board is the Morphy Richards 6.5ltr which is on offer in Argos at the moment reduced from £33.97 to £22.64.

Pink

peachespeaches

The Morphy Richards 6.5L one is reduced to £25 with Marshall Ward catalogue online. But I had a MW code for £10 off £25 PJ387 so ordered it from there. I hope its not too huge. I use a Le Creuset casserole which is 3.75 L at the moment, but I thought I could get a whole chicken in the big one.

Does it matter if you do smaller amounts?

Erlang

pudding06 wrote: »

has anyone bought the breville 4.3ltr one? I bought it at the weekend but cant find what watts it uses - if you catch my drift.

We were introduced to slow cookers (SC) nearly 25 years ago, the original one bit the dust (well the crock) about 5 years ago so we bought a Cookware one.
Now I always thought it was a bit more vigorous than the original one. On checking out the specification for buying my son (new Uni student) a SC
I was surprise to see via Argos some are rated as high in Watts as 630W the lowest I could find was a 330W. :eek:

Now I can't be certain but I am sure the original one was only 100W and took all day to cook well, and you had to pre-heat everything to start it off.

Although 630W isn't as much as a conventional cooker it is still quite a bit of wattage for 7 or 8 hours.

It doesn't take away from the convenience, but makes my fatherly economic advice of "As cheap as running a lightbulb" slightly embarrassing.

child359

Hi there

I am looking into getting a slow cooker, as I work during the day and only have about 20 minutes to prepare a meal at night and I thought one of these would be perfect for the autumn/winter.

I thought I would tap your knowledge for which is the best one to go for? Does it go that the more you spend the better they are?

I would appreciate any help and your thoughts

Pink.

Hi child359,

These threads should help you to decide. There are too many to list here but if you do a search for slow cooker in the title you should be able to find more.

Advice about slow cooker

any advice on a new slow cooker please

What size slow cooker would you recommend

Slow Cooker for me and 10 year old daughter...is it worth getting one?

Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

Also have a look in The Complete Slow Cooker Collection to see lots more sugestions and recipes.

Pink

lil_me

How many are you cooking for and do you plan on cooking more and keeping left overs?

I have a 6.5 litre Morphy Richards one and it'll make about 8 portions for us, so I have left overs which I freeze/use up the next day, love it!

Some say you pay for what you get and that the cheaper cookworks from Argos etc don't last but I know people who've been using them for years.

child359

Pink-winged wrote: »

Hi child359,

These threads should help you to decide. There are too many to list here but if you do a search for slow cooker in the title you should be able to find more.

Advice about slow cooker

any advice on a new slow cooker please

What size slow cooker would you recommend

Slow Cooker for me and 10 year old daughter...is it worth getting one?

Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

Also have a look in The Complete Slow Cooker Collection to see lots more sugestions and recipes.

Pink

Sorry I did do a search last night but I didn't find anything recent to help me, I will look into your suggested threads.

Thanks

child359

lil_me wrote: »

How many are you cooking for and do you plan on cooking more and keeping left overs?

I have a 6.5 litre Morphy Richards one and it'll make about 8 portions for us, so I have left overs which I freeze/use up the next day, love it!

Some say you pay for what you get and that the cheaper cookworks from Argos etc don't last but I know people who've been using them for years.

I am cooking for me and my son only but happy to freeze left overs for spare meals. I do this quite a lot with meals anyway and it helps me throughout the week anyway.

Thanks for your helpful reply:T