Apparently slow cookers coat 18p

[MarmaRell78]

DH has rushed into tell me that running a slow cooker costs only 18p for 8 hours, so this will be how all our meals are cooked!
With that in mind, does anyone have a good suggestion for a recipe book for vegetarian slow cooking?
Or failing that good vegetarian/ vegan recipes Thanks!

Cost! Ffs

My slow cooker is 270 watts. That's 0.27 kwh per hour.
Current rate of electricity on the capped rate: approx 27p per kwh
0.27 8 hrs 27 = 58p
In October the cap will go up, making 8 hours of slow cooker = £1.06

Average electric oven uses around 2kwh per hour on a medium heat.
One hour in the oven = 54p currently. 98p in October.

So it depends what you are cooking and how long it would take in the oven. If it would take less than an hour in the oven, you may be cheaper there. If it would take longer than an hour, then the slow cooker may be the way to go...

Sorry

0.27 8 hrs 27 = 58p

Was meant to be

0.27kwh x 8 hrs x 27p = 58p

I think you’d be better off with an instant pot.

meat, for example - something that would take hours in the oven only takes 30 minutes in the instant pot.

I think vegetarian you'd be better off with the oven. Slow cookers are great for meat.

Some savings you can make are:

• cut out meat


• batch cook


• eat fast cook things e.g. stir fry & noodles over slow cook things e.g. tagine, risotto


• always boil water in a kettle not the pan


• use a lid

I would not switch to a slow cooker for lots of my vegetarian meals as they will not be cheaper to cook that way.

Also tell your DH to work out what to cook himself!!

You're probably better off batch cooking huge portions of veggie pasta sauce, lasagne and cottage pie and using the microwave to heat them.
I have a slow cooker for a couple of meat dishes the DC's like but never used it for my veggie food.

Problem is all your meals will be watery slop with lumps of not quite cooked veg in them. I don’t mind my slow cooker for pulled pork and a few other things but you don’t get the same umptiousness as with a cooker.

We got one in Aldi a few years back, we're vegetarian and only really use it for cooking beans from scratch. We tried out quite a few recipes but it does just end up mushy slop. They are are really best for meat that benefits from long slow cooking.

I think a few veggie meals from a slow cooker will soon change his mind. They are fine for some meat dishes, but I would never cook anything vegetarian in them.

@DevilsVineBlues ooh how much does the pressure cooker cost to run please?

It’s hard to say how much the pressure cooker costs as power usage will be variable but if it’s 1000w which many are that uses at most 28p/hour at current rates. However it’s not necessarily drawing the full amount the whole time, and cooks very quickly so you wouldn’t even use it for an hour.

If all your meals are coming out like watery slop you are putting too much liquid into your slow cooker. You put less liquid in the slow cooker than you would if you were cooking it in the oven. I hardly put any liquid in my slow cooker and sauces come out lovely.

I could actually do with a guide to energy use of different appliances as I am fairly low energy use overall (my household bills are below average and we are not big appliance users) but I am not well informed about the details.

I do like my IP - slow is good for meat I guess but veggies aren’t brilliant. I also use an airfryer.

This thread has some good details: www.mumsnet.com/talk/legal_money_matters/4618028-the-how-much-does-this-cost-to-run-thread?page=2&reply=119496065

Agree with others, I love my slow cooker and it cooks meat much better than my pressure cooker or hob but I can't see the value for any veggie meals we eat save perhaps dhal or lentil Bolognese when I will be out all day and want something when I come in. I use pressure cooker on the hob for beans and they cook really quickly. We boil all our water on the hob rather than electric kettle as that saves money.

If your cooking something for 8 hours in slow cooker it would be on a low setting which 80w -150w an hour. Even this wouldn’t be 18p for 8 hours at current prices.

slow cooker are cheaper for cooking larger cuts of meat, stews etc.

You would probably be better off with a ninja. I love my slow cooker but it's usually for meat.

I think you should let him crack on. Tell him you're looking forward to tasting all the delicious meals he's going to make.

Definitely this. Don't be volunteered to be doing the thinking about it.

Everything I make in the slow cooker always taste a bit ...meh. Passable but disappointing. Maybe it is just me? Anyway, could I throw a pressure cooker into the ring as another energy saving option with a tastier outcome? I love my ninja foodi but you can pick up old school pressure cookers for the same price as a slow cooker.

The slow cooker will kick out some heat whilst it cooks though, so if you have someone working from home and can put it in the same room, you'd remove the need for daytime heating whilst it's cooking, which your oven can't do. can't believe this is something to consider now

Have you considered rehoming your DH?m

Seriously, 18p for 8 hours. What planet is he on?

Apparently a slow cooker uses between 1.2 and 1.7 kWh over 8 hours.