Thanks to the flip-up lid construction, you'll be able to get to the food without finding a place where to put the hot glass lid. Also, it lets all the condensation get back to the pot.
The indicator light may blink sometimes.
The Crock-Pot SCV655B is one of the best options for those who need a capacious cooker to feed the crowd. It can deliver up to 8 servings per one go without sacrificing the taste and texture of the food. Plus, the removable ceramic pot can double as a serving dish.
Rotary knob with 3 heat settings: High, Low, and Keep warm
6.5 L
Aluminium housing, Ceramic bowl
Dishwasher safe removable bowl and lid, Tempered glass lid, Cool touch handles, Non-slip feet, Recipe booklet, ladle, Slotted spoon and turner
2-year limited warranty.
The appliance has a smart and elegant design - a matte black metal casing with gold trim and a tempered glass lid with a cool handle. The inner bowl is very lightweight yet sturdy.
A bit hard to see markings on the dial.
If you're after an attractive slow cooker with a medium capacity, the Morphy Richards 460016 may hit the spot. It can cook up to 3-4 servings at a time. The pot is compatible with all types of hobs except for inductional ones.
Rotary knob with 3 settings: High, Med, and Low; Indicator light
3.5 L
Metal housing, Non-stick aluminium cooking pot
Tempered glass lid, Cool touch handles, Non-skid feet, Dishwasher-safe pot and lid
1 year (+ 1 year when you register the product)
With this slow cooker, you'll be able to sear and slow cook from start to finish in one cooking pot, thus, saving time and effort on washing up.
The pot isn't ceramic and can't be used with metal kitchen utensils.
The Morphy Richards Sear and Stew slow cooker is one of the easiest appliances to use. It will be an excellent option for novice cooks and busy households. The pot looks stylish and can be used for dishing up at the table, which is a real boon.
Rotary knob with 3 settings: High, Med, and Low
3.5 L
Metal housing, Non-stick aluminium cooking pot
Tempered glass lid, Cool touch handles, Non-skid feet, Dishwasher-safe, Power indicator
1 year (+ 1 year when you register the product)
The Russell Hobbs 23200 comes with a removable cooking pot in which you can not only cook food but also serve it to the table.
The housing of the cooker tends to get hot.
This slow cooker provides sufficient capacity to cook a meal for 3-4 people, which makes it a perfect solution for most average families. With chrome exterior, it looks beautiful and requires very little care. You can be sure it will last for a long time.
Rotary knob with 3 heat settings: High, Low, and Keep warm
3.5 L
Stainless steel housing, Ceramic pot
Cool touch handles, Tempered glass lid, Power indicator, Dishwasher-safe, Non-skid feet
1 year (+ 1 year when you register the product)
When in Auto mode, it cooks on the high setting first and then reduces the power automatically to the low setting for the best cooking results.
The lid is not very tight.
The Swan SF17010N is the perfect kitchen appliance for busy people who want to come back home and enjoy hot, delicious, and ready-to-serve meals. With a 1.5-litre capacity and small footprint, it's ideal for confined kitchens, dorms, and motorhomes.
Rotary knob with 3 settings: High, Low, Auto; Keep warm; Indicator light
1.5 L,
3.5 L, 6.5 L are also available
Stainless steel housing, Ceramic pot
Toughened glass lid, Cool touch handles, Non-skid feet, Dishwasher-safe pot and lid
2 years after registration
For Large Companies
With a vast variety of slow cookers on the market today, there is always a question mark as to how well-made they are. And if you're one of those who cherish quality above all, you may really like the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker. Without the multi-function cooking and fancy programming features, it isn't digital or high-tech but it's carefully made from premium materials and is extremely easy to use. Actually, it has only high, low, and warm settings.
If you set the dial to 'Low', the Crock-Pot will deliver a tender meal, and if you switch to 'High', you'll get quicker yet not less tasty results. Typically, dishes need 6-7 hours when cooked on the low mode or 4-5 hours on the high setting. The pot will keep the temperature steady so your food will always get delicious, flavoursome and cooked to perfection, be it a curry, soup, porridge, or stew. And to keep finished meals ready to eat for longer, you can activate the 'Keep Warm' setting.
With a generous 6.5-litre capacity, the Crock-Pot is currently one of the largest pots on the market, making it ideal for large companies and big families. Per one go, this mighty one can cook enough food for eight people.
As a nice touch, the box includes three useful utensils and a booklet with 24 recipes. The recipe book is very informative and particularly useful because of the cooking time conversion chart that enables users to figure out how long different ingredients need to be cooked.
The Convenience of the Hinged Lid
Although the operation here is as simple as the basic slow cookers offer, the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker still has some extra features like the locking lid and handles. While the hinged lid allows you to stir or add ingredients to your dish without a need to find a place for the wet lid, the handles let you transport the pot across the room. If you prefer, the main pot can be easily removed from the cooker to double up as a serving dish. What's more, the stoneware pot is even oven-safe for some intricate recipes.
All things considered, the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker is a perfect model for family gatherings and parties. It not only cooks tasty dishes for 6-8 people but also can be served right at the table. With that, it's quite easy to use and the flip-up lid construction is great for getting to the food without wondering where to put the hot glass lid.
Additional Info
| Last updated price | £40.00 |
| Stock | May be out of stock |
| ASIN | B007XEJ40S |
Stylish Option
For those who cherish style above all, the Morphy Richards Sear and Stew Slow Cooker 460016 should be high on their wishlist. The folk behind this model have put a great effort into making this slow cooker not only usable but also stylish, fitting it in a refined casing with a rose gold trim, subtle branding, and matte black finish that all give it a very expensive feel. The cooker like this will definitely look smart on your kitchen worktop and rid you of the need to hide it every time your guests are pushing the doorbell.
Another effort has been put into the design of the unit's controls. The dial of the 460016 is made to be fairly large, well-readable and very responsive. On the dial itself, there are three heat settings including High, Medium, and Low, which enables you to cook from 4 to 10 hours. At the bottom of the dial, there is an indicator light showing whether the slow cooker is working or not.
Easy to Use
Not only does this Morphy Richards cooker look gorgeous out on the worktop, but it also has plenty of features that can make it your one-pot go-to.
The bowl is lightweight, meaning it's very easy to transport to your hob for searing meat, brown onions and other vegetables. Although the bowl doesn’t have a handle, a wide rim is thick enough for oven gloves to handle it. This makes it a perfect alternative to those hefty ceramic bowls that are difficult to handle even when empty. The bowl's capacity here makes 3.5 litres with approximately 2.75 litres that are normally considered usable. Therefore, this slow cooker is ideal for stews and casseroles, sauce, soups, cakes, and bread.
Simple and stylish, this Morphy Richards appliance can handle the cooking needs of a family of four. It’ll be particularly great for those who like the idea that food can be seared first (in the same pot) prior to slow cooking. It’s also quite straightforward to get up and running.
Additional Info
| Last updated price | £41.49 |
| Stock | In stock |
| ASIN | B07CQ4X9G8 |
Sear and Stew
Basically, you need to sear food in a frying pan before stewing it in a slow cooker, meaning you need to use additional cookware and clean it afterwards. With the Morphy Richards 460012 slow cooker, however, no longer will you need to do that!
The main benefit of this model is that you can simply take the pot out from the base and use it first on a stove top to sear some meat before adding other ingredients. This way, you'll be able to fry the meat until it gets crispy, golden crust but stays soft and tender inside with incredible mesmerising flavour. The pot features a no-stick coating, so you don't need to worry about burns and sticking.
Unlike ceramic cooking pots used in most other slow cookers, this hob-proof pot is very durable and lightweight. Hence, you can take the pot right to the table and serve directly from it. For easy carrying, it has two ergonomic handles.
On top of that, the pot, as well as the lid, is dishwasher-safe, meaning it can go straight into the dishwasher when you've finished your meal. So, cleaning up will be a doddle too.
A Vast Variety of Meals
Once the pot is in the slow cooker base, you just need to select one of three available settings (high, medium or low) depending on when you want your meal to be ready. The pot allows you to cook not only delicious casseroles, chilli, curry but also a multitude of other popular recipes including desserts. The 3.5-litre capacity will be enough to feed a family of 3-4 members.
The vast majority of meals can be prepared in minutes - just toss everything in and turn the slow cooker on. The unit is operated by a knob rather than a tricky display with a lot of buttons, which makes this slow cooker particularly convenient to control for beginners. And owing to a transparent toughened glass lid, you'll be able to monitor the cooking process without disturbing the progress.
Final Thoughts
The Morphy Richards Sear and Stew slow cooker is one of the easiest appliances to use. It will be an excellent option for novice cooks and busy households that would like to sear and slow cook from start to finish in one cooking pot, saving you time and effort on washing up. With that, the pot looks stylish and can be used for dishing up at the table, which is a real boon. We dare say, it's one of the most well-balanced cookers you can find on the market. It's affordable, sleek-looking, and straightforward to use.
Additional Info
| Last updated price | £52.00 |
| Stock | In stock |
| ASIN | B07B6MZW9F |
For All Your Family
The Russell Hobbs Slow Cooker 23200 will give a helping hand to any homemaker. Instead of bending over the stove after a busy day at work, you will come back to a ready meal waiting for you to serve to the table. The capacity of the pot isn't very big (3.5 L) but more than sufficient for making a meal for 3-4 people with leftovers. Like all slow cookers, it doesn't cook quickly. Yet, that's is exactly what sets slow cookers from other appliances. You can pop the food into the pot early in the morning, select the program, and leave it on for the biggest part of a day. When you get back home, the meal will be ready and warm. The Russell Hobbs Slow Cooker 23200 has three standard cooking settings: high, low, and keep warm, which allows you to customize the temperature to different meals. The keep warm function will let you preserve your meal warm for several hours and warm it up quickly later on.
Ergonomic Design
Speaking of the design, the Russell Hobbs 23200 has a user-friendly and easy-to-use control panel. You won't need to look up in the instruction to know how to use it. It's got a single rotary knob, with clearly marked heating settings you can use. The power indicator light featured on the cooker makes it easy to see when the device is on/off. The exterior of the cooker is polished stainless steel which not only adds appeal to the pot but also ensures its durability. The lid of the cooker is made of transparent glass so you can view the cooking process without having to remove it. The cool-touch handles and locks on the lid ensure convenient transportation of the pot and mess-free cooking.
Top Benefits
The Russell Hobbs Slow Cooker 23200 offers hassle-free cleaning. You can wash it by hand and in a dishwasher. There are few parts that need to be disassembled so you should not have any problem. Remove the pot and the lid and load them in the dishwasher or rinse under water.
Reviewing hundreds of slow cookers in the market, we can easily say that the Russell Hobbs Slow Cooker 23200 is one of the most attractive and well-built. It will become a nice addition to any family so you can safely present it to your relatives and friends. The price for the pot isn't mega high and even reasonable, considering its great performance and all the above-said features. We would definitely recommend this model for those who want to complete their kitchen with both a functional and attractive appliance.
Additional Info
| Last updated price | £32.39 |
| Stock | In stock |
| ASIN | B01A84QSRG |
For Small Families
Struggle for space in your kitchen, dorm or motorhome? Then we recommend considering the Swan 1.5 Litre Oval Stainless Steel Slow Cooker. Produced by a trustworthy UK brand, this pot will fit the bill perfectly.
As the name implies, it's a small pot - with a 1.5-litre capacity, it will be ideal for a single person and for couples that usually cook no more than two portions at a time. Also, it will be suitable for those occasions when you want to cook some kind of side dish and need an extra burner. At a price of about £20, the device is a real snip.
Furthermore, a device this small doesn't use a lot of electricity. Actually, it drains just 120 watts of power, which keeps it on the lower side in terms of electricity consumption, making it perfect for caravans or camper trailers that use generators.
Think because it's so energy-low and small, it's not functional enough? It's not the case. The Swan slow cooker packs quite a punch and offers a good set of cooking options including Low, High, and Auto so you can cook a variety of different meals. Whereas the Auto mode is versatile and works for all types of food, the Low setting should be used for cooking meals like stews, casseroles, or curries while the High setting will come in helpful when you need to cook large chunks of meat and other food that need more heat processing.
Quick Start
As we've mentioned the included modes, let's talk about the Auto function in detail. This is a particularly handy feature that any novice cook will appreciate. It cooks on the high setting to give the food a blast at first and then reduces the power automatically to the low setting. This way, if you cook meat, it will get very nice and juicy, while vegetables will turn out tender and moist. However, take note that the pot cannot be used to sear the food first, meaning you’ll need to use another pan for that purpose. Some might find it somewhat inconvenient but it is definitely not a big deal, especially considering the item's tempting price.
Also included is a recipe book that will come in handy for beginners. That said, take note that the recipes it includes are created for a 5-litre model, so you'll need to adjust them, which is easy to do. In case you decide to go the next size up/down, this pot is available in two more capacities: 3.5 and 6.5 L.
Additional Info
| Last updated price | £15.97 |
| Stock | May be out of stock |
| ASIN | B004E28O5I |
What Is a Slow Cooker?
A slow cooker is a countertop kitchen appliance designed for cooking at low temperatures for several hours. Unlike multi-cookers and other similar devices, this one is used to facilitate unsupervised cooking so you do not need to monitor it and can go do other things while it is cooking a meal. From simple rice to pasta sauce to casserole, a slow cooker will prepare any meal with no fuss.
The main benefit of using a slow cooker is that you can load all the ingredients in a pot early in the morning, set up the appliance, and forget about it - by the time you get back home from work, your meal will be ready. This makes a slow cooker a must-have appliance for anyone who doesn't have time to fuss with long food preparation but would like to eat at home nonetheless.
This selection of slow cookers includes five top-rated models that will help make dinner preparation much easier for you. Read our guide to find out which slow cooker suits you better.
We also recommend you to take a look at these reviews of food processors and microwave ovens. You might find them interesting and useful.
What Features to Compare
For those who've decided to buy a slow cooker, we offer a few practical tips that should help you find the perfect crock pot. Hopefully, after reading this guide, it will be easy for you to make the right choice.
Design
First things first, consider the design. Though it might not seem that obvious at first, crockpots are not the same: some models are oval while others are round. In general, the oval shape is considered more practical as it can accommodate larger chunks of meat, but if you don't need a big pot, a round slow cooker will suit you fine. Slow cookers can also come in various capacities. Depending on your needs, you can choose a pot from 500 ml up to 7L. Further on, check out the exterior of the device. It should be made of quality materials and surrounded by metal for better heat conduction. For your convenience, we recommend opting for a lid made of glass so that you can easily see what's happening inside the appliance without having to open it during use. Another thing to look out is convenient controls. Many slow cookers come with digital controls, sparing you the need to rely on the guesswork when cooking.
Coating
Next, pay attention to the quality of the coating. As a rule, most slow pots come with a non-stick coating to prevent food from sticking to the bottom and facilitate clean-up of the device. However, not all models can boast of having pots entirely covered with a non-stick coating so make sure the one you choose offers as much coverage as possible. You may also want to check the compatibility of this pot with other cookers. Quite often a pot can be used separately from a slow cooker, but to use it safely, you need to make sure it can be used with your type of cooker.
Heating
Speaking of operation, and heating in particular, what you need to be aware of is that some slow cookers have no temperature control at all and work only at a constant heat setting. These are basic models that should be turned on and off manually. More sophisticated models, in turn, will offer at least several heat settings, such as low, medium, high, as well as keep warm, and allow you to vary the power, providing you with more cooking options. In addition, they will often include timers and preset programs, so you won't need to keep an eye on the device. In regard to the heating element, we advise you to choose a model with a heating element placed in the housing. Such placement is considered the most effective, allowing the slow cooker to generate the heat evenly and to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the whole process of cooking.
Sources:
1. Yvette Fletcher How to buy the best slow cooker, Which?
2. Kathy Hester How to choose a slow cooker, Nava.
3. Slow Cooker Buying Guide, Consumer Reports. September 2016.
4. Slow cooker, Wikipedia. September 11, 2016.
5. Caroline Hire 10 top tips for using a slow cooker, Good Food.
6. Simmering, Wikipedia. September 25, 2016.
7. Slow Cooker Preparation Guide, RecipeTips.
8. Andrea Lynn 10 tips for using your slow cooker to get the best results, TODAY. September 12, 2016.
9. 14 Tips for Slow-Cooker Meals, Food Network.
10. Suzanne Driessen, Glenyce Peterson-Vangsness Slow Cookers and Food Safety, Extension.