6 Solid Reasons To Avoid Slow Cooker

Lakeland Brushed Chrome Family Slow Cooker review


WHAT IS THE LAKELAND BRUSHED CHROME FAMILY SLOW COOKER?
The Lakeland Brushed Chrome Family Slow Cooker is a simple slow
Cooker that does one job and does it well. No fancy controls, no whizzy
Features, just a knob that selects one of three heat levels (low, high or automobile)
And a little red light to prove that it is on.
The cooking pot is a ceramic crock that's oven-safe to 150°C. The pot is
Heavy, so it's quite a burden to lug around but the up side is that it
Retains heat well, so it is perfect for serving right to the table. The pot and
Glass lid are both dishwasher-safe too.
LAKELAND BRUSHED CHROME FAMILY SLOW COOKER -- DESIGN AND
FEATURES
The stove is discreet looking: a brushed chrome oval-shaped appliance
That's wide but shallow. Due to this simple rotary dial on the front it seems
almost retro. The dial lets you select from three heat levels: low, high and
auto. The latter is the one you'll use most since it uses a high heat until your
dish comes up to temperature, then drops down to a lower heat to cook
A little red light over the knob indicates whether
It's on or not.
The crock pot itself is a heavy ceramic dish -- it weighs over 2kg, four
times the weight of a metal slow cooker pot.
But it also makes it oven-safe (up to 150°C) and good at keeping heat. Its
Glass lid is very good for inspecting food as it cooks. And both the pot and lid are
dishwasher-safe.
This 3.5-litre cooker has a working capacity of 2.5 litres, to allow space for
bubbling and simmering. It is easily big enough to cook a curry for six. For
Batch cooking and larger families consider a bigger capacity -- for #17 more
Lakeland offers a 6.5-litre version with a 5.5-litre operating capacity.

LIKE TO USE?
The straightforward design of the cooker means there's no need to reach for
Simply fill it with ingredients and choose your
setting. The low setting is Perfect for day-long cooking, where you consciously want
The process to be slow so dinner is not ready until the end of the day.
The high setting is for when you are in more of a hurry -- it cooks slowly
But a dish might take 4 hours instead of 6 or 7. Along with the auto setting offers
The best of both worlds -- it starts out high till your components come up to
Temperature, then cooks at a low heat until you turn it off. There's no
Timer, so once you have changed the Lakeland on it is going to keep gently cooking
until you return to it.
There is also no sear purpose for browning meat or sautéing ingredients such
As garlic, onions and spices.
another pan.
The Lakeland cooks perfectly well. We used it on the low setting to create
slow-cooked honey and raisin granola.
Ceramic pot proved surprisingly easy to clean. Where a few oats had stuck to
it, they were admittedly more stubborn than they would have been on a nonstick
surface. But with a ceramic pot there's no fear of damaging it
Using a vigorous scrub.
The traditional, ceramic crock has a couple of other benefits. It's oven-safe to
150°C -- great for reheating another day -- and it keeps heat really well,
Perfect for serving a dish straight to the table. The pot weighs more than 2kg
When empty, so it is heavy to carry when full. But it's easy to grip and, armed
With two oven gloves, not a real problem.
SHOULD I BUY THE LAKELAND BRUSHED CHROME FAMILY SLOW
COOKER?
If you want a straightforward slow cooker with no fancy features, yes. It's
Great value for money and does a fine job of cooking simple, one-pot dishes.
If you'd like more control over your cooking times, consider the Morphy
Richards 3.5L Digital Sear and Stew Slow Cooker. And if you'd prefer a multicooker
That steams veggies and cooks rice, risotto, porridge and more then
consider the Tefal 8-in-1 Multi Cooker or the Sage Risotto Plus.
VERDICT
Cheap as chips but much fitter, this simple slow cooker won't
Disappoint for the price.