which slow cooker to buy?

[EllaSaturday]

Please help me find a slow cooker! I need to feed a family of 4 and the idea is to put it on before leaving for work and then eat 10 hours later when I get back.

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MNHQ

I have a six litre one that has a non-stick steel pot. That way I can brown stuff on the hob (if I have time), cook double and freeze half, then shove it in the dishwasher rather than soaking and scrubbing.

I cracked two ceramic ones before I switched to the steel pot...

Steel pot here too, mine has a browning function so you can soften onions then brown the meat, add vegetables, stock etc then switch it on. It was about £40-50 from qvc. It's also a pressure cooker and has several other functions

What make are they?

Instant Pot Duo 60 -it's an electric pressure cooker with slow coming function. You can set the timer for when you want to eat, then it works out when it needs to start and starts automatically.

Mine was a tenner from tesco, brilliant!

I have a Morphy Richards one with steel pot. It doesn't have a timer but always been fine left for 10 hours on low.

I have the 5.something litre Crockpot with timer. I thought it was too big first (family of 4) but it's great cooking a meal and then freezing the leftovers for another time.

I always recommend the Argos Cookworks range. Excellent value for money and does exactly what you need it to.

Oh and don't forget to join the fb group Slow Cooked Wonders too.

I have the morphy richards 4.5ltr flavour savour. It has a stainless steel pot and cleans so easilyit is also very pretty
not cheap but worth it. The pan also goes on the hob

the link is to the 6.5 ltr version, i have the smaller one but it is ample for 4 of us and takes a whole chicken

I've got an inexpensive large capacity slow cooker with a ceramic pot from Sainsbury's and I love it. I've had a a couple of the years and prefer an oval shape as I can do a whole chicken if I want to.

A well fitting lid is important. I'm intrigued with the metal pot versions though.

depending on your budget of course... i couldnt rate the tefal 8-in-1 any higher!! Its changed my life... slow cooker... and also the BEST rice cooker ive ever owned, it also can be used as a steamer, and does porridge and oats,

Me and mum both have it and couldn't live without it ! (Life saver on rice, i always used to overboil it and end up with slush ha ha)

www.amazon.co.uk/Tefal-Multi-Cooker-RK302E15-Stainless/dp/B00843M30U

I love mine but if I chose one now I'd definitely go for one with a timer

I second a cheap & cheerful one from Tesco. Does the job perfectly well without any frills.

No point spending a lot when, if you are anything like me, it'll end up at the back of the kitchen cupboard never seeing the light of day again.

You can always invest in a better one if you find you use it a lot.

Drama,
I use my expensive one a lot more than i used my cheap one, it is more versatile and easier to wash.

Apologies for hijacking the thread slightly, but I have a slow cooker question or two :-)

I've borrowed my mum's spare slow cooker to have a go with. It's very old (mid-80s looking at the colour!) and has no instruction book. It's made by Tower and is only dinky - capacity 1.5l. But there are only 2 of us so size should be ok.

However, it has no heat control - it's either on or off. The label underneath says it's 50W.

I see that most slow cookers have high/low settings. Does anyone have an experience of the much more basic one like this?

I'm going to try it for the first time when I'm home all day, just to make sure it's ok. I plugged it in briefly when I got home tonight, and it started heating up ok, so seems to be in working order.

Oh, and any suggestions for a good recipe to start with? DP doesn't like red meat or onions, so something chickeny and onionless would be great!

Thanks :-)