Mmmmmmmmmm stew!! (Morphy Richards Slow Cooker)

Member Name: dougal868

Product:	Morphy Richards Slow Cooker
Date:	25/08/09 (325 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tender, gorgeous, tasty food and so convenient!!

Disadvantages: This model is possibly a little too large.

Well firstly, I'm not sure about the title of this: 'Morphy Richards Slow Cooker' - it's a little vague and each of the previous reviews seem to be about various different models. Anyway, mine looks like the one in the picture (although it's silver instead of green). The model number is 48715.

So what is it? Slow cookers (or 'crock pots' as they're sometimes known as) are large insulated pots that slowly cook food over a long period at a lower temperature. The slow cooking should allow fuller flavours to develop while keeping the food (especially meats) succulent and tender. Typically, the slow cooker would be switched on early in the day (morning or midday) to have the evening meal ready. They are also said to use less power than a conventional oven although this is debated a little!

I've always liked cooking and don't usually mind spending time in the kitchen. I stepped this up quite a lot when my eldest child started eating solids and I embarked on a mission to stop using jars, packets, etc and start making most of our food from scratch so as to avoid all the salt, etc that's added into convenience foods. I therefore these days try to make all of our meals as healthy and wholesome as possible while also trying to stick to quite a tight budget! I'd heard quite a lot about slow cookers but never really considered buying one but just before christmas last year I decided to buy one. Why? I love stews and casseroles and that thick stodgy winter food and I'd heard someone say that their slow cooker made the most tender, tasty casseroles and also produced that most wonderful stew smell! I also liked the idea of the convenience it boasted - stick it on in the morning and have a gorgeous meal in time for tea!

After a bit of looking around, I decided to go for Morphy Richards as it's a name I know and trust and went for the largest capacity (6.5 litres) as there are 4 of us and I usually like to cook double of things like casseroles so I can freeze some for another day. I bought the slow cooker in Comet for around £35 and, after having a quick look around just now, it seems to still sell for around that price. The slow cooker is oval in shape with a ceramic inner pot and stainless steel on the outside. There is a black dial to select the heat setting and a red light to show you that it's on. The lid is glass so you can check your food without having to lift the lid.

Good things? This is the BEST way to cook food. Whether you're making a casserole or stew, chilli or bolognese or even cooking a whole cut of meat you will definitely get the best results by using your slow cooker. Even very cheap cuts of meat are cooked really nicely in the slow cooker - really benefiting from the tenderising the meat gets from being cooked so slowly.

It is also incredibly convenient to use - just chuck everything in it in the morning, stick it on low and look forward to your succulent, tasty meal at tea time. Very handy if you're out at work but still want to have a proper home cooked meal. And the best bit is the gorgeous smell that greets you when you get home - just imagine that sausage casserole aroma that will hit you as you open the front door mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

This slow cooker in particular is also really easy to clean. The inner ceramic dish lifts easily out of the cooker part so you can hand wash it properly or put it in the dishwasher. The fact it lifts out from the cooker is also really handy as you can put it straight on to the table to serve from too.

Bad things? I possibly would have bought a slightly smaller one as, in fairness, even when I cook double quantities, at 6.5 litres the cooker is still only around half full! A 4 litre probably would have done us and taken up a bit less space on my kitchen worktop. I'm also not sure that you need 3 heat settings - I tend to just stick to 'low' or occasionally 'medium' - having a 'high' setting seems to me to defeat the purpose of having a slow cooker!

Some people also say that you should brown your meat before putting in the cooker which I would say is a downside as it kind of takes away from that quick convenience but I've only ever done this a few times and really can't see the difference or benefit!

All in all this is a brilliant way to cook food and the Morphy Richards cooker is a brilliant slow cooker that I absolutely love. You just can't beat the convenience or quality of the dishes you can make!

I'm just heading off now to cook some rice to go with the chilli I'm slow cooking for tea tonight - yum!

Summary: A must have for stews this winter!