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ProCook Meat Mincer
by Biskey
After the recent horsemeat fiasco I'm sure I wasn't alone in re-thinking how I sourced my meat. I tend to avoid frozen, processed meals anyway, but there are several dishes I like that include mince.
Sadly there are few old fashioned, independent butchers around these days, so I find myself buying most of my meat from the ... supermarkets. I'm sure that most of the fresh mince comes from the right animals, but there are other issues as well, for instance the fat content and the quality of the meat that was minced in the first place.
I was loitering around the meat counter in Morrison's when a sudden thought popped into my head; a memory of long ago and my mother standing at the kitchen table, cranking the handle of a big iron contraption. Of course! A mincer! I hadn't seen one of these things for years, never mind using one. It was another indicator of how we take for granted how our food is produced these days. If we knew more about some of the processes, I'm sure many more of us would be vegetarians.
I'm still happy to eat meat, but I certainly want to know as precisely as I can what it is I am eating and how it has got to my table. I don't kid myself that I can always achieve that, but I saw the meat mincer as one way that I could be a little more certain. This isn't about ethics as far as I'm concerned. If I was that bothered about food ethics I wouldn't be eating meat at all, although using the mincer does give me some degree of control back, and if that means I can make more ethically guided choices, then all to the good.
The one I bought was the ProCook Number 8 Mincer.
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What It Is and What It Does
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The main body is made of cast iron that has been hot-dipped in tin and clamps to the edge of your worktop or table. There's a funnel at the top into which you put the meat to be minced, and then a barrel which is open at the other end. Into the barrel fits a large screw, the turning of which will carry the meat along the barrel towards the stainless steel cutting blade, which is held in place by an end piece that screws onto the barrel and which also holds the mesh plate that will separate out the strands of meat. At the other end of the barrel, a handle fits onto the central screw. I suppose it's a little like one of those old Gatling guns, except that, in this case, the victims are already deceased. The meat goes into the top, you turn the handle and the mince comes out at the other end.
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Tips on Using It
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You will need to assemble it first, but that isn't too difficult. The handle, screw, end piece, mesh and blade are all removable, which is desirable for packing, but also necessary for cleaning afterwards.
Take care handling the blade, which is sharp.
Make sure it is securely clamped. You will need to protect your work surface with some sort of material on both sides where the clamp fits.
Place a plate, or tray under the end of the mincer where the mince will emerge.
It's up to you what you decide to mince. I tend to look out for good cuts of meat that are well priced, perhaps in the reduced section, then I can mince them and freeze portions. I will trim the fat first (although remember that some fat will help to provide taste), get rid of any gristle and OF COURSE remove any bone. Please don't try to mince bone. It's probably not good for the mincer and could result in grittier mince than you've been used to.
Cut the meat into chunks before you feed it into the mincer.
Don't push your fingers too far in. The screw is very efficient, so don't worry that it might take quite a few turns to get everything down and through the blade and the mesh.
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Care and Maintenance
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Disassemble the mincer and wash all the parts thoroughly, but NOT IN THE DISHWASHER, then dry thoroughly and put away until next time.
Make sure that you keep the blade safely and separately wrapped.
Take the trouble to lightly oil the unit from time to prevent rusting.
Try not to bash it about. Don't throw it at hubby, for instance, as that's hard to defend in court and worse still might damage the tin coating which helps to give corrosion resistance.
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A Good Buy?
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Yes. This is a very well-made, solid, heavy duty piece of equipment that should outlive you and possibly several generations to come. It's hard to see what could go wrong if you take care of it, or even if you don't.
Originally priced at £28.00, I bought mine in the shop for £16.00 and I see that ProCook are still selling online at that price.
Hope I haven't minced my words on this one.
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Cookworks Slow Cooker
by busybee87
I decided to purchase a slow cooker as I love the idea of coming home to a cooked meal after work and being able to leave meals to cook when I need to pop out for errands. I had previously had a bad experience with another brand of slow cooker but my friend recommended the Cookworks model as she had one so I was determined to give it ... another shot!
Ease of use:
I have the Cookworks 3.5 litre slow cooker which is just the right size to fit a large chicken in (full measurements available on Argos website). If you need to do any pre cooking on the hob, you cannot use the ceramic pot of the slow cooker so you will need to use a large casserole. Otherwise, you can just bung everything into the cooker and leave for as long as necessary. Unlike another model of slow cooker I have tried, the Cookworks slow cooker doesn't dry out food so it doesn't get burnt to the edges and I feel confident leaving it while I go out.
The Cookworks slow cooker has three settings: low, high, and warm. I have found that things will take exactly half as long to cook on high as on low which makes working out cooking times straight forward. The "warm" setting is particularly useful when people are taking ages to get to the table!
Cooking results:
I have now cooked currys, stews and soups in my slow cooker and am totally addicted! Tough/cheap cuts of meat cooked on "low" come out beautifully tender and a chicken done in the slow cooker is fantastically moist. It hasn't failed at anything yet! Unlike another brand I tried, the food stays moist and doesn't dry out.
Easy to clean?
This slow cooker is particularly easy to clean. I simply soak the cooking pot for two minutes in hot water and any food that has stuck to the sides comes off with very little scrubbing. This is ideal as the whole point of a slow cooker for me is to be low maintenance so I don't want to spend ages cleaning it! The main cooking pot is white which I prefer as you can be sure it is lovely and clean when you're done with it.
Value for money:
The Cookworks 3.5 litre slow cooker is only £14.99 (Argos) which for me is incredible value for money. It works far better in terms of cooking results than a more expensive brand I tried. It is fantastically easy to use, has all the settings I need and is easy to clean.
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Morphy Richards 48762
by micheal123
We have been using this Morphy Richards slow cooker for a few months now and I think this product makes meal times much easier than they once were, this oval shaped slow cooker is very easy to use and comes with the added feature of a two compartment bowl allowing you to cook two meals at the same time, it is a six litre model but comes ... with two, three litre bowls and as there are two adults and two children living in my home this is ideal for us making it easy to cook the children something a little different and suited to there tastes and needs.
This product is really easy to use and for me makes meal time much easier, you can set to cook your food at either low, medium or high depending on how fast you want to prepare your food, there is a red light which lets you know that your slow cooker is on and working fine and as it is not good to keep taking off the lid whilst your food is cooking it is great that this slow cooker comes with a glass lid allowing you to check your food and keep a eye on the meal you are cooking, plus the two plastic handles make the handling of this cooker safe and easy.
On arrival I did have to screw the plastic handle to the glass lid but this is simple and easy to do also the Morphy Richards comes with a manual which is helpful to anybody new to cooking with this appliance and you will need to wash the inner bowling before using.
I've found this product to be very easy to clean which is great for me as washing up afterwards is always my least favorite part of cooking, once you remove the inside bowl from the appliance it simply fits in to your dishwasher with ease, leaving you with the simple task of wiping down the cooker itself and placing it into a cupboard until the next time you use it.
Another great thing about this slow cooker is the amount of food you can prepare with it, I have prepared a meal for eight using the Morphy Richards but you can feed up two ten people if you need to, and it also comes with a two year guarantee which is always a added bonus when buying electrical equipment.
There are many great meals which you can cook with the Morphy Richards and the manual which comes with it can help by giving you recipes if you need some, I tend to make a lot of fresh stews and other very healthy meals for my family, I've found that I get great results using it and rarely get any complaints from who ever I am cooking for.
Overall I have been completely satisfied with my purchase, this product has made life much easier when preparing high quality, fresh healthy meals for my family and at the price of 28 pounds (on Amazon) id say it is a great deal and well worth investing in, so this is a product which I would highly recommend to others.
This review can also be found on Ciao under the user name mike83381
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