This slow cooker malarkey ... what size do I need?

[notjustamummythankyou]

We're a family of four: 2 adults and 2 under five. I'm thinking of getting a slow cooker but am a bit baffled by the sizes.

I don't have much worktop space in my kitchen and cupboard space is pretty much zero I have a mousehole for a kitchen. What size should I get? And if you have any specific recommendations, that would be even better.

Ta muchly.

My 3.5 litre one is plenty big enough to make food for 4 adults.

Slow cookers are basically all the same - a cheap one will do just fine.

Oh, and it fits a small/medium whole chicken.

Great - thanks!

I would say as long as you can fit a chicken in it, it will be fine.

I started with a smallish oval one then as DCs became teenagers a friend gave us a big oval one which was great. When DCs went off to uni and beyond it was too big and, rather than make large amounts and freeze some, we went to a smaller round one. I can still fit a small to medium chicken in though.

How big's yours, timid?

(oo-er!)

Mine is massive, but I can happily still cook small enough meals to feed an adult and a toddler without anything catching/burning. I usually cook more though and freeze the rest.

Based on that, I'd say buy as big as you can afford in money and cupboard space, as you can cook small portions in a big cooker, but not vice versa.

Very good point Tempus. I've just found a Breville 4.5L on the Argos website for £19.99 down from £29.99. I may have to indulge ...

Just had a quick look. Mine is a Prolex 3.5L, but it looks smaller as it is round rather than oval, although it is probably deeper. I think I got mine at Tesco and remember that it was fairly cheap.