Overall satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a slow cooker brand as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria. One of the issues this recipe highlighted was the loose lid of the cooker. While this resulted in a tempting aroma of soup as it cooked, it also allowed steam and condensation to leak out. When cooled, this left a puddle of water on the worktop. The exterior was very hot on the high setting. Switching it to the keep-warm setting preserved the soup at a hot – but not boiling – temperature.

Features & functionality: the slow cooker had additional settings and features that improved its performance and functionality (i.e. a timer, temperature gauge, keep warm setting ect.).

Get ready to cook up a storm in the kitchen, without fuss or mess. With little or no oil required, you can now cook with confidence while retaining that delicious taste you crave. All with zero guilt. Some slow cookers will automatically shift to this mode after a programme has ended, while others require switching manually. Kmart earned four stars for performance, value for money, ease of use and ease of cleaning. It settled on three stars for features & functionality, design and overall satisfaction. Editor’s notes Removing the need to sauté in a pan before transferring to the pot, the Sage Fast Slow Go is as useful for slow cooking converts as it is to experienced cooks. Functioning as both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker, it includes sensors at the top and bottom to monitor temperature. This makes inconsistently cooked stews a thing of the past.

Delayed start:This feature lets you set your slow cooker to start at a later time. This is a handy setting if you’re going out all day but your recipe doesn’t require much time to cook. Low fat:Slow cookers only produce a small amount of evaporation, so there’s no need to add oil to your cooking. Using a fattier cut of meat or adding a bit of water (or other liquids like bone broth) should be enough to prevent the food from drying out. Slow cookers are also brilliant for less-than-confident cooks, easily creating all those meals that seem a bit scary on the hob. That’s because slow cooking develops the flavours of food for richer, tastier results. It’s not just dinners that slow cookers excel at making either. They make great porridge, granola, stewed apples, bread and butter pudding, fudge and dips. You can use your slow cooker to melt chocolate, as a Bain-marie. How much should I spend on a slow cooker? Dreaming of a crispy stir-fry, fluffy potatoes, or a perfectly cooked risotto? Just choose your settings and let the Multi Cooker do the work. With features like adjustable cooking times, preset functions, including a keep warm function, and a range of cooking temperatures, you're in complete control of your kitchen. Multifaceted and a breeze to use, the Russell Hobbs 6L Slow Cooker makes a great addition to any kitchen countertop. Slow-cook joints, stews, and casseroles thoroughly and prepare meals without breaking a sweat! Easy to use, simply throw in the ingredients, choose the appropriate heat setting, and allow rich flavours to develop. It also flaunts a stylish stainless steel finish to complement any kitchen interior.With Product Care TM you have certainty that your product is covered for a specific period of time. If, during the Product Care TM term, your product fails to operate as a result of an Eligible Fault*, we will provide a one-off replacement of Your Product. Support

If your culinary aspirations extend beyond the one-pot wonder, meet Russell Hobbs Multi Cookers. These versatile kitchen wonders can steam, sauté, fry, and even roast, offering a full range of cooking options in a single, easy-to-use appliance. Safety-wise, with a sealed lid and sturdy base, we found this machine felt safe to use no matter which program we tested. Basic slow cookers won’t get hot enough to sauté meat or vegetables, so you’ll need to do this in a pan before transferring the contents to the bowl. However, more expensive models offer a different one-pot solution. This can either be bowls that you use on your hob or in your oven in place of a pan (some will even be induction compatible). They will need to be moved to the slow cooker base. Machines with a sauté function for high-heat browning can simply be switched to slow cooking.Touch interface: Buttons and dials are the enemy of any messy cooker – the fewer crevices, the better. Touch interfaces are easy to clean, however, are generally only found on more expensive models. Russell Hobbs steamed ahead with five stars in every research category. This win included top marks in performance, features & functionality, design, value for money, ease of use and ease of cleaning. Editor’s notes Finally, I made a dessert recipe of baked stuffed apple, which didn’t require any pre-cooking. Having stuffed apples with sugar and sultanas, I placed them onto a foil ‘saucer’ in the pot and poured hot water around it. Using low for six hours (of a recommended 4-6), the apples overcooked and disintegrated. Slow cookers range in size from a compact 1.5 litres to a 6.5-litre bowl, so be sure to choose the right size for the way you intend to cook. As a rough guide, 1.5-3 litres will feed one or two people, 3-5 litres, three or four people and anything over five litres should suit a large family, with six litres or more ideal for batch cooks who like to fill the freezer. Alternatively, a larger cooker is great for those who like to eat what’s leftover for lunch the next day. Design: the design of the slow cooker was functional (i.e. not oversized, a see through lid, heat proof handles ect.) and aesthetically pleasing with a sleek design.

The most glaringly obvious downside to a slow cooker is of course that it’s slow at cooking. This means its cooking application is rather restricted. While some of the best slow cookers out there will provide a myriad of features that let them cook a wide range of foods, most cheap models will be limited to three settings – low, high and warm. Performance: the slow cooker made meals within the indicated time frame and performed as expected without breaking down or malfunctioning. Easy to clean:The ceramic bowl inside a slow cooker is usually removable for easy cleaning. Any leftover residue is usually easy to wipe off after a good soak.Where it disappoints is the adhesive left on the chalk board and a leaky lid on the high setting – things that could be worked around if you don’t mind occasional wiping up. Otherwise, it cooks well and has the potential to be a handy kitchen appliance. Verdict Ultimately, which slow cooker you add to your kitchen will come down to your preferences, as well as how many meals you plan on cooking with it. With 19% of survey respondents admitting that they don’t use their slow cooker as much as they thought they would, it’s important to do your research before you head in-store, because you may find a better deal elsewhere, or even decide that a multi-cooker may actually be a better option for your household. When testing these slow cookers we were keen to try out each of their main cooking settings, so while a more simple manual slow cooker was used to make a stew or simple curry, we pressure cooked meat and steamed fish in the more complex slow cookers on the market. When slow cookers came with digital settings we attempted delay-start recipes and tested how easy they were to use. The Ninja Foodi Multi-Cooker is certainly mighty, but if you like your gadgets it could be a great investment. You can of course just use this multi-cooker as a slow cooker, for which it has a generous 6 litre capacity, but you can also take advantage of the sear setting to brown meat and veggies before slow cooking for a more rich flavour.