If you’re taking meat out of the freezer to go into a stew or casserole then be aware that it should be thoroughly defrosted before being slow cooked. Many brands will recommend browning any meat before putting it in the pot, and some slow cookers are designed to be able to sear or sauté meat in the cooking pot itself before adding the rest of the ingredients. Raw red kidney beans will need to be soaked overnight and boiled before being put in a slow cooker, too.

Easy Time 3.5L Slow Cooker – Morphy Richards-UK

Key specs – Size: 2.4L; Dishwasher safe: Yes; Cooking pot: Stoneware; Settings: 3 (manual); Timer: No

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Key specs – Size: 3.5L; Dishwasher safe: Yes; Cooking pot: Ceramic; Settings: 3 (manual); Timer: No This Cookworks appliance is as simple as they come, and makes for uncomplicated, easy slow cooking overnight or over the course of the day. It has three settings; low, high and keep warm, the latter of which can be used for up to four hours to keep food at a level temperature, while the 3.5L capacity makes a sizeable amount of food that can easily feed a table of four people with room for leftovers. Key specs – Size: 3.5L; Dishwasher safe: Yes; Cooking pot: Not ceramic (appears aluminium, but not stated); Settings: 3 (digital); Timer: Yes First step with any unit is always a good wash first of the lid and inner bowl that you will be cooking in.

Morphy Richards Sear and Stew Slow Cooker 6.5L 461011 Red Morphy Richards Sear and Stew Slow Cooker 6.5L 461011 Red

The best feature of this 6.5L Red Morphy Richards Sear and Stew Slow Cooker is the searing feature. Each slow cooker comes with a simple set of settings: low, high, and either keep warm or auto. A keep warm setting will keep your food at a level temperature, usually for up to four hours, while an auto setting tends to cook food on the high mode until reaching a certain temperature, at which point it will switch to the temperature on a low setting. If you know you’ll be away from your slow cooker when you want to turn the food off a high setting but still keep it warm, this is a useful function. To enter this great competition simply complete below your details and your answer to the following question: To calculate the average price, we add up the cheapest daily prices of the last 90 days and divide by 90.

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Lakeland has a range of slow cookers and this 3.5L oval version is ideal for cooking lunch for two people with leftovers, or dinner for four. It comes with a warning that the outer layer may get hot while cooking, and the handles and cooking pot itself can become quite hot to touch, especially if cooking on the high setting. Like the other slow cookers on this list, it has a plastic handle in the centre of the glass lid making it easy to serve the food without fear of burning yourself. Unlike other products on this list, the ceramic bowl and glass lid are not dishwasher safe, but for people who want a simple, no-frills cooker that they can plug in and switch on before going about their day, the price makes it a top choice. Our tester made a hearty vegetable lasagne in this slow cooker, which lasted for a good couple of meals. It also comes in a 1.5L and 6.5L capacity. What a beautiful slow cooker, and with all the features and quality I’ve come to expect from Morphy Richards appliances, I knew it would be a beautiful addition to my collection 🙂 It’s an impressive looking unit on your bench or in your collection with its shiny red finish making quite an impact.