Still, you’ll need to lift it when washing and storing. So, it makes sense to buy a slow cooker that you can lift and maneuver easily. It’s always better to have too much capacity than not enough. This is especially true if you want to make large batches of food and divide them up for daily meals. There’s one button for each programme or cooking function, one each for setting the delay timer (max four hours) and the keep-warm (for up to four hours), and up and down buttons plus buttons for adjusting the pressure or temperature. All of which are clearly marked with a big digital display.

She told me, “Six quarts is ideal for a household of four. Never buy less than four quarts. Most slow cooker meals are great for leftovers, so don’t get one that’s too small. Plus, it takes a while to cook in a slow cooker, so it’s more efficient and cost-effective to cook in larger batches.”If you use a slow cooker frequently and have a lot of counter space, you can also opt to leave it out as part of your kitchen decor.

For when you want to crisp up your cooking to give it that perfect finish, the stoneware bowl and tempered glass lid are safe to pop in the oven. This level of clarity may sound like a no-brainer, but given that multi-cooker buttons can go crazy with colours, symbols and toggling functions, the relative ease of setting a cooker can’t be underestimated during a busy morning.

Think about everyone that frequently eats under your roof, including family and friends. Are you often preparing meals for just yourself? Do you have five or more people to feed? Or are you the go-to chef in your neighborhood? Slow cooker weights differ by brand, model, and capacity. The larger the slow cooker, the heavier it is — especially since inserts are usually stoneware or cast aluminum. For most households of four or more, I recommend a 6-quart slow cooker. The smallest I’d suggest is 4 quarts because slow cooking is a long process. It’s a waste of time to cook for six to eight hours and only get one or two meals out of it. Let’s look at how a few popular slow cookers compare, by weight, in the following chart: Slow Cooker While there isn’t a huge amount of difference between electric pressure cookers, it’s worth noting that this one cooks incredibly well, is one of the easiest to programme, and simplest to clean.

Are you wondering how many servings you can get out of a 1-quart slow cooker? Will a 3-quart model suffice for a family of four?Next I made chilli, again using the sauté function to brown mince for eight minutes. There’s the option of low or high for this function, but the recipe didn’t specify which to use so I opted for high. After removing the beef, I added other vegetables and sautéed again for a further few minutes, before placing all the ingredients in the pot and topping with the lid. This was cooked on the Beans/Chilli function for 10 minutes. The pot looks great, and its smaller 5.6L size makes it easy to carry around and place on kitchen surfaces even if you don’t have much space. However, if you’re looking for a slow cooker to make large meals in, you may be better off purchasing other larger models for the same price. The recipe online doesn’t give details on using any particular functions as it just says the cooking time is two hours, so I manually set the timer. To make enough food for everyone in your home, you must have a large enough slow cooker to accommodate the required number of servings.

We all know that cooking from scratch has a multitude of benefits, from knowing what goes into your meal (so no nasty surprises!) and making healthier choices to choosing the flavours you love. But many people associate scratch cooking with long, arduous sessions spent in the kitchen – the Multi Cooker takes away that time and the effort with its pre-programmed settings, so you can reap the benefits of both scratch cooking and fast food. My only niggle is that I’d like a pot durable enough to throw in the dishwasher every time without being concerned I might be shortening its lifespan. When cookers are this good and as easy to use, you might find yourself using your hob only at the weekend. VerdictDespite my best efforts to eat an extraordinary amount of festive food, I had a lot of leftover turkey to get through. Many turkey sandwiches later, I thought I’d try making a Christmas casserole by adding the remaining meat to the slow cooker alongside vegetables and a tin of tomato.