I was delighted to be chosen to test the KCook and so was dh, it even encouraged him to do some cooking!!!
Q1. How would you describe the kCook to friends or family who had never heard of it before? What was your overall impression of it?
It's a food processor that chops and blends your food, then cooks it whilst stirring it. I've told my family and friends and they are very jealous!
My first impression was that it was pretty overwhelming, it looked alot more complicated than I expected it to be, but turned out to be a lot more user friendly than I first thought.
The instructions are not perhaps laid out as well as they could have been and don't explain things properly.
It would have been better with a retractable cord and a place to store the accessories compactly.
The lid could do with some work, it's far too stiff, even my dh struggles with it. It also steams up very quickly so you have to remove the lid to check on the progress, which then lets the heat out. Also, taking the seal out of the lid to clean every time is a real nuisance.
Q2. How easy, or not, did you find to use the kCook? What time saving tips did you find when using the kCook?
The kCook is really easy to use! It was quicker to just boil the spaghetti in a separate pot when making the carbonara.
To be honest it's not a time saving device as such, more a device that allows you to do other jobs whilst it cooks, the actual cooking process takes longer than it would if you'd done it yourself.
Q3. What family meals did you create with the kCook? Did they go down well with your family? We’d love it if you could post some pictures of your dishes on this thread.
So sorry, I didn't think to take pictures! So far we've made rice pudding, risotto, macaroni cheese, spaghetti carbonara, porridge and Stew of Life. They all went down really well, but they ALL took alot longer than the recipe said.
When it comes to family meals I like to batch cook and freeze half, but the kCook bowl doesn't have the capacity for that.
Q4. Did you use the Kenwood recipe app? If so, what did you think of it? Did you discover new recipes you hadn’t tried before?
I've used the recipe app for most of the meals I've made. I think it's an excellent idea but it really needs more work:
*all the recipes I've tried took longer than the app said
*all the recipes I've tried had mistakes in the ingredients or the instructions
*sometimes there's the same recipe twice in the app but each recipe does it differently which is a little confusing
*it would be a fantastic idea to have a search function so that you can search and see if it has a recipe you're looking for, or even better so that you can search based on an ingredient you'd like to use!
I've definitely come across some recipes I've not tried before that I'll try soon.
Q5. If it came up in conversation, do you think you’d recommend the kCook to friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes I would, although I don't think that any of my friends or family could afford it at its current price. It's great for busy mums who want to cook from scratch but also have other things to get on with at the same time. If you're weaning (like my son is) then it's great for making baby food to batch freeze.
I'm very glad to have mine!